Commenter MP raises an interesting question "then why the gun fetish? are kids more likely to be killed by gun accidents, or criminals?"

It turns out Matt Yglesias (as roughly represented by the cohort of white males dying in the District of Columbia 18 to 34 years old between 1999 and 2003) has an equal probability of dying of unintentional injuries (presumably including not only gun accidents but car accidents) and homicide (thanks CDC) - 18.2 in 100,000.

So, while I am strongly against the arming of suburban children, someone in Matt Y's situation may indeed have a pragmatic interest in exercising their 2nd amendment rights.