    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 15, 1997]
    [Pages 602-604]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony
    May 15, 1997

        Thank you. Thank you very much. President Gallegos, Auxiliary
    President Lippe, to all the distinguished law enforcement
    representatives who are here; Senator Thurmond, Senator Biden, Senator
    Leahy, Congressman Stupak; members of our Cabinet administration. I'd
    like to thank all of those who support this endeavor every year, and
    especially this year Tommy Motolla and Gloria Estefan and most
    importantly, to the family members of those who have lost their lives in
    the service of our country.
        In just 2 weeks, on Memorial Day, the American people will pause to
    pay tribute to the fallen military heroes who died to preserve the
    liberties upon which our Nation was founded and which have enabled it to
    endure for more than 200 years. Today we stand here on Peace Officers
    Memorial Day to pay tribute to a sacrifice no less great and no less
    critical to our liberties.
        The police officers whose names are carved on the memorial are also
    our fallen heroes. And in the hearts of their families and the people
    whose lives they touched, their heroism will always shine.

    [[Page 603]]

        Officer Lauretha Vaird was a 9-year veteran on the Philadelphia
    Police Department, a single, working mother. She often said that her two
    greatest loves were her boys and her badge, and she dedicated her life
    to them both. She was a community police officer who walked the streets
    of her beat with pride. One day she responded to a silent alarm at a
    local bank. And as she tried to prevent an armed robbery, a gunman's
    bullet took her life and left her children with only the memory of their
    heroic mother.
        Officer Brian Gibson was a community police officer who grew up on
    streets he would later patrol. A native of this city, he served our
    country as a United States Marine in the Persian Gulf before joining the
    DC police force, a decorated officer who pounded the pavement to fight
    drugs and the people who sell them. One night he was killed at point-
    blank range by a raging gang member as he simply sat in the police car
    just a short ride from that memorial where his name will be carved. He,
    too, left behind a grieving family and friends and a legacy of courage.
        Today we honor the service and take pride in all the stories of the
    116 men and women who gave their lives to protect our safety. Our safety
    was their purpose and passion. And while we can never repay them for
    their ultimate sacrifice, we can, and we must, honor their memory not
    only in words but in actions that do justice to their lives and to the
    great loss their families and loved ones have suffered.
        For too many years in our country, crime seemed destined to keep
    rising regardless of citizen outrage or law enforcement frustration.
    Then, slowly, you in law enforcement began to turn the tide, building
    bridges to concerned citizens and needy children and troubled
    neighborhoods, but losing brothers and sisters along the way.
        Four years ago, we joined you as a nation to reclaim our streets,
    our schools, and our society with a commitment to a comprehensive
    approach to crime based on what you told us--what you told us would
    work. You told us we needed more police on the street, tougher penalties
    and better prevention. You told us especially we needed more community
    police officers. Today, we're putting 100,000 more of them on the street
    to join with you.
        You told us illegal handguns and deadly assault weapons were
    undermining your efforts to fight gangs and drugs, so we banned them
    with the Brady bill and the assault weapons ban. Just since the Brady
    bill was enacted in 1993, 186,000 felons, fugitives, and stalkers have
    been denied the right to buy handguns. Today we take another step--
    [applause]--thank you. Today we take another step to protect our
    communities from gun violence by dangerous drifters who threaten our
    safety.
        Two months ago, after the terrible tragedy at the Empire State
    Building, I directed the ATF to require people who buy guns from
    federally-licensed dealers simply to prove they were not just passing
    through. Today, we're releasing a new application to make sure that
    certification of residency is an unavoidable step for gun purchases.
    Those who can't prove it, can't purchase.
        These efforts--[applause]--thank you. And thanks to you, these
    efforts are working. Crime is dropping, and all over America,
    neighborhood by neighborhood, hope for a safer future is slowly but
    surely being restored. It is all the more bittersweet that as crime has
    dropped in this country 5 years in a row for the first time in more than
    two decades, we must still gather to carve new names into the hard stone
    of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
        In 1996, we added 116 names. While the loss of even one of those
    officers' lives is one too many, that is the smallest number of police
    officers to lose their lives in the line of duty since 1959. Today, in
    honor of those 116 officers, let us pledge to redouble our efforts so
    that every year, there will be fewer and fewer names, until one year we
    will gather with not a single name to add to that roll of heroes. Let
    that be our goal and our solemn obligation.
        I ask you all now to move with us to our most pressing priority--to
    take back our streets from violent gangs. Once again, we known what to
    do because you have told us what to do. You have proven in place after
    place that it can be done, in cities like Boston where youth murders
    have dropped by 80 percent in 5 years and not a single child has been
    killed with a gun in a year and a half. If we can do it in one community
    in this country, we must be able to do it in every community in America.
        In February, I sent legislation to the Congress that follows law
    enforcement's advice and Boston's lead, to declare war on gangs and
    youth violence with more prosecutors, tougher penalties, and better
    prevention programs for at-risk young people. For as tough as we must

    [[Page 604]]

    be on violent juvenile crime, we also must ensure a safer environment
    and positive opportunities and role models for our children in the most
    vulnerable communities.
        Statistics show that half of juvenile crime at least occurs in the 3
    hours after school is closed and before the parents come home. My bill
    will help to launch 1,000 after-school initiatives. Who can be against
    allowing a child to stay in school instead of on a street corner? Who
    can be against teachers as children's role models instead of thugs? Who
    can be against adults to supervise children instead of a lawless world
    of gangs to guide them?
        Finally, we know we must cut off young people's access to guns that
    can cut off their lives. And I believe someone who commits a violent
    crime at 17 should not be able to turn around and buy a gun for a
    birthday present at 21. I want a juvenile crime bill to extend the Brady
    bill to violent juvenile offenders.
        I also believe that these guns should be sold with child safety
    locks. We protect aspirin bottles in this country better than we protect
    guns from accidents by children.
        In March, I directed Federal agencies to provide their agents with
    such child safety devices, and I'm pleased to say that today every FBI
    and ATF agent has a child safety lock. By October 15th, every agent from
    the DEA to the U.S. Marshal to the Border Patrol to the Park Police will
    have one, as well. If a child safety lock is good enough for law
    enforcement, it ought to be even better for the general public.
        In the last 4 years we have proved that we can work together and
    learn from each other and that when we do, we can restore hope and
    improve safety in our communities. Now we have a chance to build on that
    progress by passing a smart, balanced juvenile justice bill that does
    more than talk tough. The American people deserve that. A juvenile crime
    bill that doesn't crack down on guns and gangs, that doesn't guarantee
    more prosecutors, probation officers, and after-school hours is a crime
    bill in name only.
        Today I ask the Members of the Congress to work with me, without
    regard to party, to pass a juvenile crime bill that will help us to work
    toward year-in and year-out fewer and fewer people to honor here, until
    there is no one new to add to the wall.
        To the family members of the victims who are here, I know and I must
    say again that nothing we can do or say can bring them back or ease your
    sorrow. Only God and the time and comfort you give to each other can do
    that. But I ask you this: to know that the cause in which your loved
    ones died, right against wrong, law against lawlessness, hope against
    fear, is a worthy and noble cause. And because of their efforts and the
    efforts of others who wear our uniforms, it has now become a winning
    cause.
        It is our job, those of us who remain, to make sure that we press on
    and on and on until such tragedies are a stunning exception, not a
    numbing statistic. As we go forward into that future, that is our most
    solemn obligation to you.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m. on the West Grounds of at the
    Capitol. In his remarks, he referred to Gil Gallegos, president, and
    Karen Lippe, auxiliary president, Fraternal Order of Police; Thomas
    Motolla, president and chief operating officer, Sony Music
    Entertainment; and entertainer Gloria Estefan. The Peace Officers
    Memorial Day and Police Week proclamation of May 7 is listed in Appendix
    D at the end of this volume.