    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 13, 2000]
    [Pages 926-927]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 13, 2000

        Good morning. This weekend Americans celebrate the first Mother's
    Day of the 21st century. For most of us, it's a happy occasion, a chance
    to thank the women who gave us life, cared for us as children, nurtured
    us into adulthood. But for thousands of mothers and fathers whose
    children have been killed by gunfire, tomorrow will be a day of sad
    memories.
        Every day in America, nearly a dozen children are killed by guns,
    and 12 families receive a wound that never heals. And every day in
    America, millions of moms and dads watch their children walk out the
    door in the morning and wonder if they'll come home safe that night.
        That's why the First Lady and I are giving our strong support to
    tomorrow's Million Mom March. Tens of thousands of mothers and others
    are marching in Washington and more than 60 other cities across our
    Nation. They're saying, enough is enough. Congress must pass commonsense
    gun legislation to protect our children without constraining the rights
    of legitimate gun owners.
        Many of the organizers have lost children of their own and other
    loved ones to gunfire. This past week I met with some of them at the
    White House and heard their stories: a son shot while playing with
    neighbors in his own backyard in New York; a teenager shot at his front
    door by party crashers in Virginia; a daughter shot with four others by
    classmates at her Arkansas middle school; a young man shot by Illinois
    gang members who expected, just like on television, that he would get up
    and walk away.
        These moms are finding in their fear and loss the strength to send a
    wake-up call across America. As a father, I was heartbroken by their
    stories; as an American citizen, I was inspired. They're saying gun
    violence touches us all, wherever we live, whatever the color of our
    skin, whether or not we have children. They remind us that the loss of a
    child is a loss for us all. And they know we have the power to do
    something about it.
        We do have the power to teach our children the right values, to
    build strong communities, to crack down on those who use guns to commit
    crimes. But the key to our success in this, as in so many areas, has got
    to be more prevention, doing more to keep guns out of the hands of
    children and criminals in the first place. There's no reason why we
    can't do that.
        The Million Mom March is calling on Congress to act on the
    commonsense gun legislation

    [[Page 927]]

    that has been before it for 10 months now. The bill wouldn't take away
    anybody's gun or make anyone miss a day during the hunting season. What
    it would do is to close the loophole that lets anyone buy a gun at a gun
    show without a background check. It would require child safety locks
    with all new handguns. And it would ban the import of large capacity
    ammunition clips, which nobody is using for sport or self-defense, and
    which makes a mockery of our assault weapons ban.
        I think the Million Mom March is already a success, before anyone
    takes the first step. These people are helping to lead a grassroots
    effort that has already put stronger laws in place in States like
    California, Massachusetts, and Maryland. They're letting the gun lobby
    know it is no match for America's moms. But our nationwide fight won't
    be over tomorrow, no matter how many march. We have so much work still
    to do.
        Throughout our entire history as a nation every movement for social
    progress, every step toward safety and justice for all has been fueled
    by the energy and effort of ordinary citizens. The Million Mom March is
    the latest successor to that great American tradition. If the moms stick
    with it, they will succeed. They will make America a safer, more humane
    nation. Helping to keep guns out of the wrong hands is a Mother's Day
    gift we can all be proud of.
        Happy Mother's Day, and thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 10:25 a.m. on May 12 in the Ohio Army
    National Guard Facility in Akron, Ohio, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on
    May 13. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on May 12 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.