Asserting that escalating violence against and by children and adolescents is the manifestation of a range of serious and long neglected problems, this report examines the contribution of deadly firearms to the prevalence of violence in American communities, presents statistics on national trends, and describes state actions. Following an executive summary, the report presents trends in child and teen firearm deaths from 1979 to 1997 due to homicide, suicide, accident, and unknown intent. Age and racial differences in deaths due to firearms are also presented. In addition, state statistics for firearm deaths from 1995 to 1997 are presented in a tabular format. The report continues with an examination of actions taken by various states and communities to protect children from guns. Gun safety laws are described, including laws related to trigger locks, child firearm access prevention laws, and transfer/sale/possession restrictions. The type of gun control laws is delineated by state. The report concludes with recommendations for actions to be taken by parents and grandparents, educators, religious leaders, and community leaders. (Contains 26 references.) (KB)