[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 18 (Monday, May 9, 1994)]
[Pages 945-946]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Hunters and Sportsmen

April 29, 1994

An Open Letter to Hunters and Sportsmen:

    I have been a hunter since I was 12. Where I come from, it's a way 
of life. And I will not allow the rights of hunters and sportsmen to be 
infringed upon.
    But I know the difference between a firearm used for hunting and 
target shooting and a weapon designed to kill people. The 19 specific 
types of assault weapons that would be banned by the proposal currently 
being considered in Congress have no place on a deer hunt, in a duck 
blind, or on a target range--and they certainly don't belong on our 
streets, in our neighborhoods, or on our schoolyards.
    But they are on our streets, in our neighborhoods, and on our 
schoolyards--they're the weapons of choice for drug dealers, gangs, and 
terrorists. And every year they kill children and police officers, 
mothers, and fathers.
    Our crime bill will make a big difference in stopping the violence 
in our neighborhoods, by putting 100,000 new police officers on the 
streets and putting tough penalties like three-strikes-you're-out on the 
books. But we've got to keep Uzis and Street Sweepers out of the hands 
of criminals. Every major police organization wants us to--and nearly

[[Page 946]]

80 percent of the American people feel that way too.
    High-paid lobbyists argue that the assault weapons ban will infringe 
on our right, as hunters and sportsmen, to own guns. But what they don't 
tell you is that the proposal I support specifically safeguards hunters' 
rights. It explicitly protects more than 650 hunting and recreational 
rifles from the ban.
    So that's why I'm writing you for your help. Call your 
representatives, and tell them that you know the difference between a 
hunting rifle and a weapon that was designed for the battlefield. Tell 
them you support the proposed ban on assault weapons--because it 
protects your rights and it doesn't protect criminals.
    Thank you.
    Sincerely,
                                                  Bill Clinton

Note: This letter was made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary but was not issued as a White House press release. This item 
was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.