Guns, particularly handguns, are viewed by many as the root cause of crime and violence in American society. Others view firearms as nothing more than tools that must be handled carefully and safely and can be used in a variety of shooting and hunting sports, as well as in the legitimate defense of home and family in a crime-ridden society. Those who advocate stronger gun-control measures have not satisfactorily addressed the issue of how disarming the law-abiding citizen will take guns out of the hands of criminals, who ignore society's laws. Both advocates and opponents of gun-control laws, which would make guns less accessible to citizens, wish to see death and violence in society reduced, but the root causes of violence in society have not been identified in the gun-control debate. Too many people in America are homeless, go hungry, lack the basic skills that would be provided by an equal education, and have little prospect of breaking the chain of events that keeps them impoverished intellectually and economically. Given these conditions, it is no surprise that so much interpersonal hatred exists in our society. We are raising generations of angry children because we have not addressed the conditions that deprive them of opportunities for developing self-esteem and the skill and education necessary for positive achievement and adequate incomes.