    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [March 17, 2000]
    [Pages 483-484]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Teleconference Remarks With Mayors on the Gun Safety Agreement With
    Smith & Wesson
    March 17, 2000

        The President. Hello.
        Participant. Hello, Mr. President.
        Participant. Hello, Mr. President.
        The President. Thank you all for joining us. I'd like to start by
    asking everyone here on the phone to say their names and the city and
    the State they represent.

    [[Page 484]]

        We have with us here, in the Oval Office, Attorney General
    Spitzer of New York, Attorney General
    Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mayor
    Penelas of Miami. And Mayor Bill
    Campbell of Atlanta was here; he just walked
    out. So we're all here. But why don't we--everybody else who is on the
    phone say something about it, who you are.

    [At this point, the teleconference participants introduced themselves.]

        The President. We're delighted to have you on the phone call. And I
    want to say on behalf of not only the White House but Attorney General
    Reno and Deputy Attorney General Holder, Secretary Summers and Deputy Secretary Eizenstat, and Secretary Cuomo, we very
    much appreciate what you've done, and we congratulate you. I think that
    this agreement will fundamentally change the way the gun industry does
    business, and all of you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your
    leadership and involvement have helped to make all American communities
    safer. We couldn't be here without you, and I thank you.
        Now, we've got to build on what we've accomplished today and
    continue to reduce gun violence. The long roster of leaders with us here
    today is proof that the whole Nation supports what we're doing, and we
    just need you to go out there and keep working with responsible members
    of the gun industry to keep this momentum going. And I hope we can get
    some other manufacturers to join us.
        I wonder if anybody who is here wants to say anything and anybody on
    the phone would like to say anything now.

    [The participants made brief remarks.]

        The President. Thank you very much. If I could just echo two of the
    points that were made. First of all, I agree with the last point Mayor
    Penelas made. This proves, this agreement,
    that nobody was in it for the money. Everybody said all along, the
    States, the municipalities, and the Federal Government, nobody wanted
    any money damages; we just wanted a change in the way America lives to
    make it a safer place.
        The second thing I'd like to say--to echo what Mayor Archer and
    Attorney General Spitzer said--is Smith & Wesson stuck their neck out
    here, and I think that all of us, including the Federal Government, in
    our procurement policies, if we really are serious about making America
    safer, ought to send a clear signal that we appreciate what they did. I
    think that that will accelerate the day in which the other manufacturers
    will follow suit.
        I thank you all very much. This is a happy day, and I'm glad to talk
    to you all. And thanks for joining the phone call, and thanks for
    agreeing with the settlement.
        Thank you all. Goodbye.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:37 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Mayor Alexander Penelas of Metro-
    Dade, FL; Mayor Dennis W. Archer of Detroit, MI; Eliot Spitzer, New York
    attorney general; and Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut attorney general.
    The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also
    included the remarks of the participating city officials.