Saturday, December 14, 2013

Guns and teens

There are physiological reasons why older teens are very poor candidates for gun purchases. WE KNOW brain development between the ages of 18 to 21 takes on changes not indicative of any other age. It is not a mental health issue although sometimes those problems manifest in that age group. Sometimes schizophrenia manifests for the first time in this age group. If one performs a computer search of "schizophrenia and 19 years old" there is a myriad entries from the age of 19 through 23 and mostly are male.



By Dr. Erik Steele, a physician in Bangor, is chief medical officer of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.
Posted April 25, 2013, at 12:04 p.m.     
Among the most mysterious things (click here) on the planet is the brain of a male in his late teens. It has been designed by evolution for purpose without much perspective, passion without much reason, reproduction without much responsibility and performance without caution. If it was a car, it would be a Corvette convertible with 430 horsepower, no seat belts or brakes and a horn that blared, “Hey, babe, wanna go for a ride?”
That’s why we send their owners to goal lines and front lines, but don’t let them drink until they are 21. That’s why we love having them as sons but are reluctant to have them date our daughters. And as we were reminded last Monday in Boston’s marathon, it’s why we should not be surprised that among the millions of teen males growing up around us, one of them seems like a great kid one day and — under the influence of an influential, older ringleader — does something stupid, crazy or appalling the next....

These are some of the symptoms of schizophrenia by the Mayo Clinic and if it doesn't sound like an older teen male, don't ask me what does. These symptoms are also that of depression. Are all teens requiring a diagnosis, of course not, but I think that is the point. Isn't it? It is difficult to discern real problems from elusive problems that dissipate into adulthood.

Negative symptoms (click here)
Negative symptoms refer to a diminishment or absence of characteristics of normal function. They may appear with or without positive symptoms. They include:
Loss of interest in everyday activities
Appearing to lack emotion
Reduced ability to plan or carry out activities
Neglect of personal hygiene
Social withdrawal
Loss of motivation

The USA is having an epidemic of violence in their high schools. It has gone on now for more than a century. The escalation of gun violence stared in the early 1900s and I'm sorry but they are primarily young men. But, it exploded in the 1990s. The stark difference from the past is what invoked The Assault Weapons Ban.

October 10, 201112:00 PM
Under most laws, (click here) young people are recognized as adults at age 18. But emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don't reach full maturity until the age 25. Guest host Tony Cox discusses the research and its implications with Sandra Aamodt, neuroscientist and co-author of the book Welcome to Your Child's Brain....


This is Mondragon. It is the first semi-automatic weapon developed in the 1880s and patented in the 1887. Note the 'clip' in front of the trigger. This weapon was developed first in Mexico and later was used in battle beginning in 1903. The school shooting increased dramatically from the past in the USA in the 1990s.

I am a strong believer in statistics and the PREDICTABLE manifestation of product infusion into a society. That is what has occurred with assault weapons. It very obvious. As soon as there was a better wigget, the distribution in society was nearly automatic. The use grew in preference of having a badder and better gun. 

In the 1900s the USA was still primarily an agrarian society. Owning and using firearms was a NECESSITY. Hunting was a mainstay to a families survival. Guns were used to defend homes from criminals. So, the APPEARANCE of them in crime also escalated and they appeared in schools as solutions to arguments, etc. In many cases in the past history of the USA, these young men killed themselves as well as their victims victims. Murder-suicide is caused by mental health problems and/or social pressures of poverty or social rejection. The question as to whether social rejection occurs before social isolation in any of these cases involving mental health.

One could argue automatic weapons have been around for centuries and it would be true, however, the use of them in regularity didn't occur until the Gatling gun in 1861. But, those were military weapons and large and heavy. The lightweight machine gun occurred in 1991 in the Thompson submachine gun. The weapon of choice for gangsters in the early 1900s. Perhaps the most famous CIVIL use of these weapons was the St. Valentine Day's Massacre. But, it was a massacre, wasn't it? The automatic weapons was never sincerely a benevolent part of the USA society. It eventually would be banned from gun sales in the USA.

Assault weapons have been a focus in military combat and the USA would never expect a soldier not to operate one in protection of their own lives. But, to translate that into the civil experience has failed. They are available, the the success use of these guns in a social environment has failed. The assault weapon has not been a good friend on any occasion it manifests in the media when reporting horrendous events of massacre.

Seventy one young people were killed by weapons in schools during the 1990s. The highest decade of deaths by gun in schools in the countries history. The most in that decade was Columbine. Up to that event there were 55 schools deaths by gun and Columbine then took an additional 15. The largest group of that decade. Previous to Columbine there were 1 or 2, I think there was one instance of five. 

The Assault Weapon's Ban was invoked in 1994. Following that ban there was ONE child dead by gun in that decade. Columbine was a turning point for the USA.  

The shooting in schools still occurred in the 2000s. There were ten deaths in schools that century until September of 2004.

updated 9/13/2004 8:28:49 PM ET
The expiration Monday of a 10-year federal ban (click here) on assault weapons means firearms like AK-47s, Uzis and TEC-9s can now be legally bought — a development that has critics upset and gun owners pleased.
The 1994 ban, signed by then President Clinton, outlawed 19 types of military-style assault weapons. A clause directed that the ban expire unless Congress specifically reauthorized it, which it did not.
Studies done by pro- and anti-gun groups as well as the Justice Department show conflicting results on whether the ban helped reduce crime. Loopholes allowed manufacturers to keep many weapons on the market simply by changing their names or altering some of their features or accessories....

There were 59 schools deaths for the remainder of that decade. The worst were the lives of 33 people at Virginia Tech. The expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban returned the violence to the school environment as it was before it was enacted.

In the 2010s the numbers of deaths in schools increased in only 4 years beyond the total of 2000s. To date in the 2010's decade there are 73 deaths, the largest being Sandy Hook in Connecticut numbering 28, the next was six in Santa Monica. The other shooting in this decade were one or two deaths with the next largest was three.

Obviously, the Assault Weapons Ban secured the most dangerous guns within our society out of the hands of young people. There is no dispute about that. These are events in a place which is a vital component to a young person's DEVELOPEMENT and it DIRECTLY relates to the success they have in life. 

Schools are vital to the nation's brain trust and I resist to get clinical about this, but, the allowance of these weapons within the USA society directly relates to it's competitiveness in the world, including national security. If young people don't believe they are safe they will be distracted to their academic achievements. Guns are an inhibition to a young person's success in life. You don't have to take my word for it, all one has to do is realize the decline of USA's education success in relation to other nations where guns are banned completely.

The fact young people can enter the military as early as 16 years old and that means their brain development might even lend itself to being a good soldier, however, that same brain development in our society adds danger to their lives.

Now, either the country comes to term with the fact dangerous guns are a detriment to the educational environment of our children or don't complain when the USA can't supply enough engineers to bring real jobs back to the USA.

The global community can help end gun violence in the USA by removing dangerous guns from products imported by the USA and adding criminal penalties to any violation of those prohibitions. Additionally. End the commercial ads to the public of any nation of these weapons no different than cigarettes and cancer. Assault weapons in the world is a cancer and needs to be ended as a means to an economic component of any society.