(CNSNews.com) - The Libertarian Party, commenting on the recent shooting of a 6-year-old Michigan boy said on Friday that giving kids more access to guns may actually help reduce such tragic incidents in the future.

Party Chairman Steve Dasbach said such a thesis was contained in a Justice Department study entitled "Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse" which was conducted between 1993-1995. Dasbach thinks some politicians should read that study. "Instead of using the death of Kayla Rolland (in Michigan) as an excuse to impose more gun control, politicians like Bill Clinton should read this study since it demonstrates that children who are taught by parents to use guns responsibly are far less likely to commit crimes," Dasbach said.

The study, according to Dasbach, had child psychologists question about 4,000 boys and girls aged 6 to 15 in Denver, Pittsburgh and Rochester, New York, in order to determine the relationship between problem behaviors like drug use, teen pregnancy and crime.

The study found:

• Children who get guns from their parents don't commit gun crimes (0%), while children who get illegal guns are very likely to do so (21%).
• Children who get guns from parents are less likely to commit any kind of street crime (14%) than children who have no gun in the house (24%) and are dramatically less likely to do so than children who acquire an illegal gun (74%).
• Children who get guns from parents are less likely to use drugs (13%) than children who get illegal guns (41%). The study also reported, "Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of delinquency and drug use (than boys who get illegal guns) and are even slightly less delinquent than non-owners of guns."

Dasbach believes the findings are "a slap in the face to conventional wisdom about children and guns and a sharp rebuke to Bill Clinton's renewed calls for mandatory trigger locks and other gun control measures in the wake of Tuesday's shooting in Mount Morris Township, Michigan.

When asked if the Libertarians are saying that every parent should buy their child a gun, Dasbach replied, "Of course not. Deciding whether to give your son or daughter a gun and teaching them how to use it is a serious decision that every parent will have to make.

Many parents will properly decide that their children are not mature enough to learn how to use a gun safely. But the point is: responsible parents are better able to make that decision than a bunch of irresponsible politicians in Washington, DC," Dasbach said.

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