Kids with guns is not just a Gorillaz song. According to a study from the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College, teenagers are carrying firearms at a much higher rate than they did just two decades ago — and the most frequent carriers are white kids from wealthier families.
Researchers look at the trend of handgun carriage among kids between the ages of 12 and 17 years old from 2002 to 2019, using data recorded by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. They found a 41% increase in overall gun carrying. Among the biggest risers: rural kids, white kids, and kids from households with an income over $75,000. (To be fair, that’s pretty firmly middle class, even though the study classifies them as “higher-income” households. But still: the more money, the stronger the likelihood of carrying a weapon.) Young men in particular were more likely to carry across these demographics.
