FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    AG
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1994                                   (202) 616-0189
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888

          ATTORNEY GENERAL PREVIEWS YOUTH GUN INITIATIVE WITH 
              NEW GRANTS TO FIGHT PROBLEMS OF KIDS AND GUNS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In preparation for a Youth Handgun
Violence Initiative to be announced later this fall, Attorney
General Janet Reno today unveiled 19 new Department of Justice
youth and firearm grants worth more than $5.3 million, including
projects to disrupt illegal firearms markets, reduce young people's
demand for guns, and make it safer for them to travel to school.  


     "If we are to fight crime effectively in the 1990s, we must
focus more on kids and guns," said Reno.  "Unless we act now, a
generation of young Americans will grow up in a world where gunfire
is as normal as blue jeans and school books."

     The grants, to be distributed by the Department's Office of
Justice Programs, also include funding for several task forces to
prosecute firearms violations, a boot camp program to instill
discipline and values in wayward youth, anti-gun violence
curriculum training for teachers, improved background checks on
applicants for federal firearms licenses, and a survey of gun
violence among youth. 

     "The crime bill's strength is its balanced approach to
fighting crime," said Reno.  "Today's announcements show us how
tough enforcement and common-sense prevention strategies can work
hand-in-hand to start turning youth gun crime around."

     Later this fall, the Attorney General will announce a Youth
Handgun Violence Initiative, designed to coordinate federal, state,
local and private resources in the fight against youth gun
violence.  The crime bill, signed by President Clinton in
September, includes a new federal ban on youth handgun possession,
new penalties for those who sell guns to kids, and new crime
prevention programs to fight youth crime.

     Earlier this week, Reno met with Mark Rosenberg of the Centers
for Disease Control and Dr. Alfred Blumstein of Carnegie-Mellon
University to discuss emerging trends in youth gun violence. 

     A list of the grants is attached.

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