    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [April 6, 1998]
    [Pages 507-508]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Assault Weapons Ban
    April 6, 1998

        Thank you very much, Secretary Rubin.
    Thank you for your efforts. Madam Attorney General, thank you. Mr. Vice President, thank you. And to the members of the law enforcement
    community and Secretary Kelly, Mr. Magaw, Attorney General Miller, Congressman Engel, to
    representatives of Handgun Control and the victims of violent crime, and
    to all of you who have come here today, I thank you very much.
        As the Vice President and the Attorney General and the Secretary of
    Treasury have said, 5 years ago we made a commitment as an
    administration to recover our Nation's streets from crime and violence,
    to provide security for our families and our children. It required a new
    determination by communities and by Government. It took a new philosophy
    of law enforcement, based not on tough talk, which was always in ample
    supply, but on tough action and smart action, a philosophy based simply
    on what works, community policing, strong antigang efforts, targeted
    deterrence, smarter, tougher penalties, a comprehensive strategy that
    includes all these elements and puts community policing at its core.
        We're well on our way to putting 100,000 new police officers on the
    street ahead of schedule. And as the Vice President just told us, crime
    rates are dropping all across America to a 25-year low. Violent crime is
    down, property crime is down, and murder is down dramatically. From the
    crime bill to the Brady bill, from the assault weapons ban to the
    Violence Against Women Act, our strategy is showing results. And
    Americans should take both pride and comfort in this progress.
        But statistics tell only part of the story. The real measure of our
    progress is whether responsibility and respect for the law are on the
    rise. The real test of our resolve is whether parents can unlock their
    front doors with confidence and let their children play in the front
    yard without fear. And the fact remains that there are still far too
    many children in harm's way, too many families behind locked doors, too
    many guns in the hands of too many criminals.
        No statistics can measure the pain or the brave resilience of the
    families shattered by gun violence. Some of them are here with us today,
    and I would like to acknowledge them, people like Dan Gross, Tawanna Matthews, Brian
    Miller, Byrl Phillips-Taylor. Byrl's 17-year-old son was killed with an AK-47.
    Tragedies like theirs are a brutal reminder of the task still before us.
    They are a challenge and a call to action that we as a nation cannot
    ignore, and I thank these people for being willing to continue the fight
    through their pain. Thank you very much, all of you.

    [[Page 508]]

        If we are going to move forward in building a safer, stronger
    America, all of us, police and parents, communities and public
    officials, must work together. We must remain vigilant. Last November, I
    asked the Treasury Department to conduct the thorough review Secretary
    Rubin has just presented. That is why our
    administration has concluded that the import of assault weapons that use
    large-capacity military magazines should be banned. As everyone knows,
    you don't need an Uzi to go deer hunting. You don't need an AK-47 to go
    skeet shooting. These are military weapons, weapons of war. They were
    never meant for a day in the country, and they are certainly not meant
    for a night on the streets. Today we are working to make sure they stay
    off our streets.
        Two successive administrations have acted on this principle. In 1989
    President Bush banned the import of 43 semi-
    automatic assault rifles. In 1994 this administration banned the
    domestic manufacture of certain assault weapons. And in Congress,
    Senator Dianne Feinstein and the late
    Congressman Walter Capps led the fight against foreign gun manufacturers
    who evade the law. As long as those manufacturers can make minor
    cosmetic modifications to weapons of war, our work is not done. And we
    must act swiftly and strongly.
        That is what Secretary Rubin's
    announcement amounts to today. We are doing our best to say, you can
    read the fine print in our law and our regulations all you want, and you
    can keep making your minor changes, but we're going to do our best to
    keep our people alive and stop you from making a dollar in the wrong
    way.
        It is our sworn duty to uphold the law, but it is also our moral
    obligation, our obligation to the children and families of law-abiding
    citizens, an obligation to stop the terrible scourge of gun violence. As
    parents, we teach our children every day to distinguish right from
    wrong. As a nation, we must also remember where to draw the line.
        Today we draw it clearly and indelibly. If we do this, if we follow
    the recommendations set forth in this report, we chart the right course
    for America toward a future more free of fear and a new century brimming
    with confidence and great promise.
        Again, to all of you who played any role in this important day, I
    thank you on behalf of the people and the children and the future of the
    United States. Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Raymond W. Kelly, Under Secretary
    of the Treasury for Enforcement; John W. Magaw, Director, Bureau of
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and Iowa Attorney General Thomas J.
    Miller.