[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 6 (Monday, February 15, 1999)]
[Pages 212-213]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

February 6, 1999

    Good morning. Six years ago I determined Washington had to get off 
the sidelines and join the frontlines in the fight against crime. I 
committed my administration to recovering our streets from violence, to 
reclaiming our neighborhoods as safe havens for families. Since then 
we've pursued a new strategy of law enforcement based not on tough talk 
but on tougher penalties, better prevention, and the substantial, 
visible presence of community police.
    This strategy is showing remarkable results. Since 1993, crime rates 
in America have fallen to the lowest point in a quarter century. 
Property crime is down. Violent crime has dropped 20 percent in the last 
6 years. The murder rate is the lowest in 30 years. Americans can take 
pride in streets that are safer, but mostly they can take comfort in 
lives that are more secure.
    There are many reasons that crime is in a sharp decline. Chief among 
them is our growing ability to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 
Gun-related crime is on the wane, and it's no wonder. According to a 
recent report by the Justice Department, the background checks we 
required in the Brady law have put a stop to nearly a quarter-million 
handgun purchases. Thanks to Brady, we turn away more than 200 felons a 
day, sending them home empty handed instead of well-armed. And now that 
the instacheck system is in effect, we can conduct these checks in even 
less time. Retail gun stores, sporting goods stores, licensed gun 
dealers: They're all working to keep guns out of the hands of felons and 
fugitives.
    But there's a loophole in the law, and criminals know how to exploit 
it. They go to gun shows. Last year there were more than 4,400 gun shows 
all across America. I come from a State where these shows are very 
popular. I have visited and enjoyed them over the years. I know they're 
the first place where many parents teach their children how to handle 
firearms safely.
    But at the same time, at too many gun shows, criminals are buying 
guns with no

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questions asked. That's because the law permits some sellers--one-
quarter to one-half of the vendors at a typical gun show--to skip the 
background checks required by Brady. That is a significant loophole. 
It's wide enough that criminals reach right through it, grabbing, 
collectively, thousands of firearms that disappear without a trace.
    Last fall I asked the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney 
General to report on the problem and to come up with solutions. I now 
have their report. It is sensible and sobering. It shows conclusively 
that gun shows are a forum for gun traffickers, a cash-and-carry 
convenience store for weapons used to maim and kill.
    We must close this loophole. America cannot allow its gun shows to 
become illegal arms bazaars, where lawbreakers shop side-by-side with 
the law-abiding. That's why I strongly support the recommendations of 
Secretary Rubin and Attorney General Reno. We should extend Brady checks 
and gun-tracing records to any and all open markets where large numbers 
of firearms are sold. And we should vigorously and fairly enforce the 
rules. The gun lobby may not want to hear this, but clearly it's the 
right thing to do.
    No background check, no gun. No exceptions.
    To toughen enforcement of the existing law, my balanced budget 
includes new funds to hire more than 100 agents of the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. These agents will help arrest violent 
criminals and gun traffickers, and will shut down illegal purchases of 
firearms. My budget also increases funding for firearms prosecutions and 
expands our successful efforts to keep guns out of the hands of violent 
youth.
    In these efforts, I am thankful for the leadership of Senator 
Lautenberg, and Congressman Blagojevich, who will introduce legislation 
to make this gun show policy the law of the land. I'm joined today by 
Senator Lautenberg, along with Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois, and 
Congresswomen Julia Carson from Indiana, as well as Deputy Attorney 
General Eric Holder. I thank them all for their support.
    I'm looking forward to working with members of both parties in the 
coming months, so that together we can strengthen the laws that serve us 
so well, and in doing so, build a stronger America for the 21st century.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:05 p.m. on February 5 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February 6. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
February 5 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.