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• Gun-Toting Preteens in Great Britain

  Call me a peacenik, but it seems to me that if you’re seeking reassurance from a school headmaster that someone should be granted a gun license, perhaps the applicant is a tad too young to have his own firearm. Well, the Wales police think differently. It’s become known that they’ve granted several gun licenses to teens and preteens, some as young as 11 years-old. Although this knowledge has caused an uproar amongst many parents concerned with gun violence, it’s perfectly legal, since Great Britain has no minimum age limit for shotgun certificates and the Wales police have assured the public that each applicant for a gun license goes through a rigorous background check—including, when necessary, getting a reference from a teacher. Read More... Posted Mar 09 2008, 02:38 PM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: wales, gun control, children with guns, gun violence

• Today's Lesson: Suicide Notes

  Students at a school in Wales were asked to write imaginary (we hope!) suicide notes in class. But wait, there's more: the school is very close to a town where several teenagers hanged themselves. The town of Bridgend, in South Wales, had had seventeen suicides since January of 2007. Police are investigating the possibility that some of the deaths were linked in some way. Back to the school:   Read More... Posted Feb 27 2008, 11:00 AM by Brett Singer with | with no comments Filed under: education, teachers, teen suicide, wales, heather has two mommies, ninth grade, maya angelou

• 17th Teen Kills Self In Town With Multiple Suicides

  A town in Wales is reeling from a wave of teen suicides, and when a 16-year-old girl was found hanging in the woods this week, the total deaths reached 17 in a little over one year. Some media reports have speculated on a possible internet suicide pact among teens in the area, but the police say there is no evidence of this or of any possible criminal causes of the deaths. While many of the victims did use a social networking site, the authorities say this played no part in the deaths, and argue against the more sensational media coverage. The parents of a 15-year-old boy in the same area who killed himself last week ask for more media restraint, and say "their son may have been influenced by media reports they believe glamorized earlier suicides." Is there an internet connection between the teens who took their own lives?  Read More... Posted Feb 20 2008, 02:33 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: teens, mental health, depression, internet, media, social networking, suicide, adolescents, reports, wales, parents of teens, cluster