[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[November 24, 1993]
[Pages 2067-2068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Covenant Baptist Church
November 24, 1993

    The President. Thank you. First of all, let me say to you, Pastor, 
and to the whole staff and family of Covenant Baptist Church, I thank 
you for taking us in here and letting us be a part of what Hillary and I 
have always done at Thanksgiving, being a part of some ministry to take 
Thanksgiving to people who would otherwise not have it. I want to also 
thank the Coalition for the Homeless that's working with you for the 
work that they have done to try to turn homelessness into a temporary 
condition by moving people through shelters into having the skills and 
the strength and the power to take control of their own lives.
    I think it's important that the people of America know, all the 
people of America know, that in our cities where people have many 
problems, most of the people who live there are good, God-fearing, law-
abiding, hard-working people who are doing things like this to help 
their friends and neighbors and who want things to work better.
    So my commitment to you is to do what I can as President to help you 
succeed here, in your church and on your streets. And I hope that all 
Americans on this Thanksgiving, including many Americans like me and 
Hillary and our family who have more than they could ever have asked 
for, will take some time out to work, as you are working, so that other 
people who don't have so much can also have something to be thankful for 
on Thanksgiving and throughout the year.
    Thank you, and God bless you all.

[At this point, the President and Hillary Clinton were presented with T-
shirts.]

    The President. Let me say one other thing, Reverend Wiley. I like 
this church also because you've got a husband and wife team here who are 
both pastors, both pastors of this church, and making this thing work as 
a family, along with your distinguished father who preceded you in the 
pulpit. Reverend Wiley, it's good to see you. And we like to see people 
working together like this and all of you doing that. I appreciate it 
and respect it very much. Thank you for your service and your ministry. 
I'll wear this jogging. Thank you.

Handgun Control Legislation

    Q. Mr. President, did you get a deal on the Brady bill?
    The President. It looks like the Brady bill is going to be passed 
any minute, and I am very happy. Right before I left to come over here, 
it appeared that an agreement could be

[[Page 2068]]

reached between Senator Mitchell and Senator Dole to end the Republican 
filibuster of the Brady bill. I am elated. It is a wonderful 
Thanksgiving present for the American people. It will enable us 
nationwide for the first time in history to check people who are trying 
to buy handguns for their age, for their mental health history, for 
their criminal history. It will be a beginning in what must be a long 
and relentless assault on the problems of crime and violence in this 
country. And we are beginning. It's a great Thanksgiving present, and 
next year I look forward to passing the crime bill and to continuing to 
do this work for as long as I'm in this job. It's very important.
    We're going to rebuild the families, the neighborhoods, the 
communities, the schools, and safety and security, from the grassroots 
up. This is the first step. I am very happy. Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 1:46 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Dennis and Christine Wiley, pastors, Covenant Baptist Church.