‘I had to protect myself’: What Maryland is doing to stop kids from seeking guns

J.P. doesn’t remember exactly when he bought the gun; perhaps he was either 11 or 12. But the now-15-year-old remembers why he felt a need to get it. “A lot of people hate, and they don’t want you in the world,” he said. The West Baltimore youth looked down as he spoke, arms folded across his chest, and described his preteen years as a time when he was younger, homeless and had to make money to feed himself. Not having a gun was not an option.