U.S. survey:
By Pete Pichaske
Isle schools safest
from gun violence
Phillips News ServiceWASHINGTON -- Hawaii's stringent gun-control laws make isle schools among the best in the nation at protecting students from handgun violence, according to a survey by a leading gun-control group.
Hawaii was one of four states to receive an A-, the highest grade given, in Handgun Control Inc.'s latest survey of state laws aimed at keeping guns out of schools.
"Hawaii is more than an island paradise. It's a place that takes very seriously the need to protect children from handguns," said Handgun Control spokeswoman Naomi Paiss, noting that the isles received the same grade in last year's survey.
"If more states could emulate Hawaii, I could take a vacation in late August."
States were rated based on the existence, and strictness, of six types of gun-control legislation: carrying concealed weapons; juvenile handgun possession; selling guns to juveniles; child access prevention; "local rights" that allow cities to enact stricter gun-control laws than states; and, the regulation of private or "secondary" gun sales.
Hawaii received at least a B in every area.
Despite near daily national reports of shootings and a handful of horrific incidents, it has been at least a decade since the last shooting in a Hawaii school, according to state Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.
The most recent incident involving a gun was in September of last year, he said, when a distraught special education student displayed a handgun at Campbell High School. The school was evacuated and the student gave up the gun without firing it.
"Any incident is too many, but it does appear that we're calmer than most places," said Knudsen.
Besides Hawaii, Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts also received an A- in the survey. Five states -- Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana and Wyoming -- received an F.
Handgun Control Chairwoman Sarah Brady said this year's survey was especially significant, coming after last year's shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School.
"The Littleton shooting was a watershed event for most Americans," Brady said. "At the time that our children are heading back to school, states should be doing everything they can to make sure that this is not only a productive school year for them, but a safe one as well."
