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TIME: Almanac 1993
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TIME Almanac 1993.iso
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101992
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10199920.000
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEK, Page 24SOCIETYGun Shirts Are Out
Parents and teachers move to get rid of a violent teen symbol
For teenagers in the Washington area, they are a hip
fashion statement: T shirts emblazoned with a 9-mm handgun or
a Mac 10 semiautomatic pistol on the front and rap lyrics such
as "Mac Dad'll make ya jump, jump" on the back. But to alarmed
teachers and parents, the hot-selling shirts are inciting
echoes of gun violence that has become a part of the area's teen
culture and claimed 385 lives last year alone. At several
schools, principals are asking students to turn the shirts
inside out or change clothes.
The gun-shirt craze has been a jackpot for vendors, who
collect $13 to $15 a garment. Some sellers have continued
peddling the shirts, claiming a teenager who wears a gun shirt
isn't likely to attract attention to himself by also toting a
gun. Other vendors insist it is only a fad but have halted the
supply in response to parental concern. "But T shirts don't kill
people," says manufacturer Ben S. Ali, who has stopped selling
the shirts. "People kill people."