The background material, articles and critical thinking questions included in this document were designed to help participants prepare for a Town Hall Meeting on protecting children from violence. The document reviews civil liberties and the conditions leading to violence, and includes papers on the Bill of Rights, freedom of expression, online censorship and sex crime laws. It also examines conditions leading to violence, including guns, and the need for community effort to solve problems that lead to youth violence. Other subjects discussed include school safety and student security, media violence, protecting young people on the Internet, hate groups, and related legislation that recently became law in California. Appendix