Mississippi has a gun problem, or more precisely a teenage gun problem.

While much of our local attention has been focused on a string of horrific shootings — many ending in death — as rival neighborhood gangs seek retribution, simply looking at the issue as a Natchez problem would be myopic.

True, Natchez has had 12 murders this year alone, many at the hands of either teens or very young adults.

But make no mistake, the problem with armed juveniles is happening all over.

On the Gulf Coast this week a 14-year-old was arrested for stealing a gun from his own mother and sold it to another 14-year-old on school grounds.

On the other end of the state, near Tupelo, a 17-year-old has been charged in two separate murders and the shooting of two others.

While teenagers have long had minds of their own, the problem is reaching epic, and deadly, new lows.

Parents are clearly to blame, but so is our society.

The majority of Americans place the priority squarely on themselves, not on others.

We live in a world that’s all about me.

The result is that we’re raising children that lack respect for authority or for one another.

We must realize that this is our fault. We need to cut out all of the realistic shooting video games, horror movies and other media options that simply mock death and work to instill a sense of respect among our children.

Doing that will not bring back the dozen souls have been killed in this senseless violence, but it could prevent the next 12 people from being gunned down too soon in life.