It seems that teenagers in Stockton, CA are getting their hands on firearms, and now the media is all concerned. To be fair, armed teens running around–something that is illegal–is grounds for people to be concerned. After all, if they’re already breaking one law, how many more are they breaking…and these teens are breaking the law.

Right now, it seems the media is worried about where they’re getting the guns.

Teens in Stockton not even old enough to drive are getting arrested for robberies and even murder. But where are they getting the guns?

In the state of California, you have to be at least 18 years old to buy a rifle or a shotgun and 21 to purchase a handgun.

There is a program already in place to reduce crime and more officers being added to the police force, but community leaders say more work needs to be done to help keep guns away from kids.

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Community leaders say guns have become fairly easy for young people to obtain. They believe teens get weapons from either stealing them or from their friends who may be selling them. Some are even getting them from home.

“When you have somebody who, actually has seen somebody, they are ambulating some behavior right, so there has to be an adult in this, in these situations whether it’s in the community or at home. It’s something that we as a community need to address,” said Samuel Nunez with Fathers and Families of San Joaquin County.

A group of local teachers who formed an organization focused on preventing gun violence says the first step in reducing violent crime starts with education, at home.

“If there is a gun in your house, you need to remember that is your responsibility as a gun owner to lock up that firearm, so your child doesn’t get it. Lock it up in a way that they don’t know where the key is, and they don’t know the combination,” said Schardt.

First, I’d be willing to bet that the kids doing this, if they’re getting the gun from home, are getting it from parents who may not be lawful gun owners themselves. After all, much of this kind of behavior is learned behavior, and only so much of that comes from television and music.

However, the primary way these kids are getting guns is via the black market, and I think we all know that. Black market dealers don’t check ID, don’t run background checks, and don’t care about gun laws.

Either way, this is a reminder that if children can get their hands on guns like this, how are we going to disarm anyone?

Gun control advocates may well think that punishing the law-abiding citizen will make a difference, but these are children we’re talking about here. The very people almost no one wants to see armed, and they’re getting guns. Do you really think the criminals won’t be able to get their grubby little paws on them any time they want?