Firearms: Chicago's Uphill Battle

As housing officials mop up illegal weapons, the N.R.A. has a novel solution to crime in the projects: more guns

There are few innocents in Chicago's violent public housing projects. Children who live in the 19 complexes scattered around the city regularly witness random shootings and brutal deaths. One of the first things they learn is to hit the deck when gunfire erupts. Playing in the courtyard of the Henry Horner Homes -- a 21-building project made infamous by Alex Kotlowitz's book There Are No Children Here -- Meeka Boyd, 11, described the shooting of a young man on a basketball court that she saw last year. Her friend Netisha Stroger, also 11, saw a girl shot in the leg on...

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