    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [June 15, 1999]
    [Pages 938-940]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Gun Control Legislation
    June 15, 1999

        The President. Please be seated, everyone. Welcome to the Rose
    Garden on this beautiful afternoon. I want to especially thank those who
    will be speaking after me, Representatives Connie Morella and Carolyn McCarthy and our leader of the Democrats in the House, Dick
    Gephardt. I thank the many Members of
    Congress who are here, and others for whom they speak who are not able
    to be here this afternoon.
        I also want to thank Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Under Secretary Jim Johnson, Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics Jan
    Chaiken, representatives of the law
    enforcement and faith communities, gun advocacy, and victims groups who
    are here today.
        Five and a half years ago, here at the White House, I signed the
    Brady bill into law. I was especially pleased to be standing that day
    beside two great women fighters against gun violence, Sarah Brady and Attorney General Janet Reno.
    Today I am proud to be here with Congresswoman Morella and Congresswoman McCarthy and many other of the women Members of the United
    States House of Representatives, along with some men they allowed to
    come along today--[laughter]--and who appreciated being invited.
        I think it is important to note that women Members of both parties
    in Washington and women who belong to both parties in America, all over
    this country, have been in the forefront of this fight. They care about
    it as mothers, as sisters, as daughters, as citizens of this country. In
    the audience with us today are a number of mothers and fathers whose
    children have been victims of gun violence, and others who have
    personally suffered from it. Particularly to those who have been
    personally affected, I thank you for coming.
        On that day when I signed the Brady bill, I said that our efforts to
    produce this bill proved once again that democracy can work. The
    American people and their grassroots demand for commonsense action
    against gun violence prevailed over the entrenched and very powerful
    Washington gun lobby. Now, in the aftermath of the terrible shootings at
    Littleton, our Nation is even more galvanized to act on every front

    [[Page 939]]

    to reduce crime, especially violence committed by and against our
    children.
        In recent weeks, we've talked about the need to reduce our
    children's exposure to violence in the media and have taken steps to do
    just that. We've talked about the need for parents to be more present in
    their children's lives, and we are taking steps to give parents new time
    to do so. We've talked about the need for a national grassroots citizens
    effort to combat violence against children, and we're in the process of
    establishing that. But we've also talked about the need to take new
    steps to keep guns out of the hands of juveniles, criminals, and others
    who shouldn't have them.
        Now is the time for those of us in Government to act by
    strengthening the Brady law. Congress has a chance to do that this week.
    Once again, the gun lobby is resisting with all its might. Once again,
    we're battling not just for the safety of our families but for the
    soundness of our democracy.
        Support for the Brady bill is as bipartisan, as broad as the
    American people. Teachers, doctors, law enforcement officials, even gun
    manufacturers, support it. About the only ones who are against it,
    still, are the NRA and its allies in Congress. It seems that every day
    they try another procedural or rhetorical trick to confuse everyone and
    avoid responsibility. These are the same kind of tactical smokescreens
    they threw up 6 years ago.
        Back then--now, let's just remember--I want every Member of Congress
    to think about this before they vote on Thursday. What did they say 6
    years ago? They said the Brady bill threatened the right of citizens to
    own firearms. Well, today we know the second amendment, hunting, and
    sport shooting are alive and well in America, just as alive and well as
    they were in 1994. But we also know they said gun violence wouldn't be
    reduced if the Brady bill passed. But since 1993, gun crimes have fallen
    by over 25 percent. Police chiefs all across America believe the Brady
    law is vital to their efforts.
        You remember the gun lobby said that requiring background checks at
    gun stores wouldn't keep guns out of the hands of criminals, because
    criminals don't buy guns at stores, they said. Well, that claim has now
    been disproved hundreds of thousands of times.
        Periodically, the Justice Department estimates how effective the
    Brady law has been in keeping guns out of the hands of those who
    shouldn't have them. Today I'm pleased to announce the latest figures.
    Since it went into effect in 1994, the Brady law has blocked over
    400,000 illegal gun sales. That's a pretty good record for the United
    States of America.
        Two-thirds--two-thirds of those sales were to people indicted or
    convicted of felony crimes. Most of the rest were fugitives or had
    records of domestic violence, drug abuse, or mental illness. We have
    stopped over 400,000 gun sales that were dangerous since 1994 because
    Congress listened to the American people and not the NRA and passed the
    Brady bill. And I'll say again, every single red flag they threw up
    about all the danger and all the burden and all the problems this would
    be to gun owners was wrong, wrong, wrong.
        Now, Congress has another vitally important choice before it. Are
    they going to strengthen the Brady bill or weaken it? The Brady law has
    worked. It's worked so well, in fact, that criminals now have to buy
    their weapons at places not fully covered by the gun laws, like gun
    shows and flea markets.
        Now, you remember when the NRA said in 1994, ``We don't really need
    the Brady bill, because people don't buy their guns at gun stores; these
    criminals don't buy their guns there.'' So, now they want to protect the
    sales at the places where the criminals do buy their guns, the flea
    markets and the gun shows. Someone ought to go back before we vote on
    Thursday and read them what they said in 1994 and remind them where they
    do buy the guns.
        Earlier this year, I sent to Congress measures to close the loophole
    by expanding the background checks to gun shows and to flea markets
    where guns are sold along with other items. Last month the Senate passed
    these measures, thanks to a tie-breaking vote by Vice President
    Gore and despite efforts by the gun lobby
    to shoot new loopholes in the Brady law. The Senate did the right thing,
    and the House should follow suit.
        Now, I want to be fair to the House Members who are not here. This
    is a harder vote in the House, and we have to work harder to help them
    and to stand by them. Why? Because some of our Members who desperately
    want to vote for this bill come from congressional districts which are
    less populous than almost all States and where the influence of the NRA
    and their ability to promote scare tactics and misinformation is
    relatively greater. So, it's a harder vote,

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    and we're going to have to work harder, all of us.
        But look at what they're being asked to do. They're being asked to
    reject the measures that the Senate passed, which were by any standard
    moderate and commonsense, and instead adopt bills that were ghostwritten
    by the NRA. Listen to this: The gun lobby's bill would leave a gaping
    loophole in the gun show provision, would exempt flea markets from Brady
    checks altogether. Now, this is from the same group that told us in 1994
    there was no point in regulating sales at gun stores because the
    criminals got their guns somewhere else. So, now we want to go somewhere
    else, and they can't wait to protect that. Someone should ask about this
    before we have a vote on Thursday.
        This provision of theirs would invite felons, fugitives, and
    stalkers to buy their weapons at flea markets or walk out in the parking
    lot at the gun show. The gun lobby's bill would shorten the time allowed
    for background checks, giving thousands of criminals a year the chance
    to slip through the system. They would let gun dealers ship weapons--
    now, listen to this--I want to say this again. Sometimes we get up here,
    we read these speeches, and I get too much in a hurry. I want you to
    listen to this. They would let gun dealers ship weapons directly to
    unlicensed buyers across State lines, reversing 30 years of settled law
    that has helped to control interstate gunrunning.
        I want the House to reject these bills and pass legislation that
    will strengthen, not weaken, the Brady law. I want us to honor the
    sacrifices of those people in Littleton, Colorado, not turn our backs on
    them.
        I also think the House should take further action to reduce gun
    violence, especially among the young. Yesterday the Vice President announced a new Government study showing that
    young people, age 18 through 20, make up just 4 percent of our
    population but commit 24 percent of all gun murders. We could save lives
    by raising the legal age of handgun possession from 18 to 21, and I ask
    the House to do that as well.
        I also call on the House to mandate that child safety locks be sold
    with all new handguns, as the Senate has done.
        Let me say, I have been deeply encouraged by the comments we've been
    getting, the calls we've gotten here at the White House, from people
    identifying themselves as Republicans as well as Democrats, people
    identifying themselves as long-time NRA members, who say, ``This is
    crazy. Why are we out here fighting an attempt to close the loopholes in
    gun shows and flea markets? How can we be against child safety locks?
    Why should kids under the age of 21 be walking the streets with these
    guns?'' America is in a different place than they were in 1994. The
    numbers are larger and more intense. We have all been sobered by what we
    have been through in these school shootings and the 13 children a day
    that die by gun violence in ones and twos and never make the evening
    news.
        This is too important an issue to be decided by strong-arm lobbying
    tactics in Washington. The heart and soul of America is on the line. And
    out in America, this is not a partisan issue.
        I would like now to introduce someone who embodies the best of our
    bipartisan efforts, Congresswoman Connie Morella, from the State of
    Maryland.

    [At this point, Representatives Constance A. Morella, Carolyn McCarthy, and Richard
    A. Gephardt made brief remarks.]

        The President. Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to adjourn.
    Congress has to go back to cast a vote. I want to thank Congresswoman
    Morella, Congresswoman
    McCarthy, Leader Gephardt, all the Members who are here.
        I don't know what will be on the evening news tonight, but one thing
    I hope will be remembered: Carolyn McCarthy, who has earned a right to stand here before God and
    every American and say whatever she pleases about this issue, said that
    the Congress needed to hear from the American people in the next 2 days.
    And Dick Gephardt said that Congress needs to listen to its heart.
    Connie Morella said it is a nonpartisan issue. I hope those three things
    will be heard and remembered.
        God bless you, and thank you for being here.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Sarah Brady, chair, Handgun
    Control, Inc.