[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 19 (Monday, May 17, 1999)]
[Pages 878-879]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Departure for Fort McNair, Maryland, and an Exchange With 
Reporters

May 13, 1999

Senate Action on Gun Control Legislation

    The President. Good morning. On Monday we brought parents and 
students, religious leaders and educators, and representatives of the 
entertainment and gun industries to the White House to lay the 
groundwork for a national campaign to reduce youth violence.
    We agreed that this was no time to point fingers or to pass the 
buck, but instead a time for everyone to take responsibility. Parents 
must take greater responsibility for their children's actions and get 
more involved in their children's lives. The entertainment industry must 
do its part.
    Even now, in the aftermath of Littleton, there are some in the 
entertainment industry who say there is nothing they can or should do. 
But that is wrong. Hundreds of studies show that the aggregate impact of 
sustained exposure to violence over the media to children, principally 
on television but also in the movies and now in video games, generally 
desensitize children to violence and its consequences, and therefore, 
make the more vulnerable children more violence-prone.
    The entertainment community is helping parents to limit children's 
exposure to violence. It should also not market indiscriminate violence 
to children. If this is a job for all of society, the entertainment 
industry is very much a part of our society and must do its part.
    Perhaps the most courageous statement at the summit, however, came 
from representatives of the gun manufacturers. They vowed to be part of 
the solution, to work with us to pass sensible measures to keep guns out 
of the hands of criminals and children.
    One of the most important measures we agreed on was legislation to 
require background checks at gun shows. In the past 5 years, the Brady 
law has stopped more than

[[Page 879]]

a quarter million felons, fugitives, and stalkers from buying handguns. 
But there's a loophole in the law: tens of thousands of guns are sold 
every year at gun shows without any background check at all.
    Last night a narrow majority of the Senate voted to preserve the 
dangerous gun show loophole. For the life of me, I can't figure out how 
they did it or why they passed up this chance to save lives.
    Just last November, over 70 percent of the voters in Florida, not 
generally thought of as a liberal State, voted to close the gun show 
loophole.
    I ask the Senate to reconsider its decision. There is simply no 
excuse for letting criminals get arms at gun shows they can't get at gun 
stores. Today the Senate will have another chance to debate commonsense 
measures that most gun makers and sportsmen and ordinary citizens would 
welcome. The American people are watching this debate. They care very 
much about the result.
    As we all saw Monday, the gun manufacturing industry is ready to 
make progress. The country is ready to make progress. The Congress 
should be ready to make progress. We can't expect parents, young people, 
and the media to take responsibility if we in Government aren't willing 
to do our part.
    Thank you very much.

Funding for Kosovo

    Q. Mr. President, the Kosovo money bill--is it getting so loaded 
down that you may have to veto it?
    The President.  Well, I believe that we're actually making progress. 
I got a report from Mr. Podesta this morning, and I think there is some 
effort to trim down the bill some and to get it in position where I can 
sign it, and I hope it will be done quickly. We need the funds now, and 
we need the demonstration of support for the Kosovar refugees and for 
Macedonia and Albania now. It needs to be done as quickly as possible. 
And I'm, frankly, pretty encouraged this morning.
    Q. Do you think the American people understand the war, Mr. 
President? Support for the war seems to be declining, according to 
national polls.
    The President. I think they do understand it. I think they 
understand that it is overwhelmingly a humanitarian problem. I think 
they understand that there's a great difference between ethnic cleansing 
and mass slaughter and ethnic conflicts, which are so prevalent in other 
parts of the world. I think they understand that this is not something 
the United States is doing alone but with the strong involvement and 
leadership of our European allies. And I believe they understand that we 
have an interest in seeing peace and freedom in Europe.
    I think they are probably frustrated that it's not already over, but 
I said in the beginning we have to be prepared to pay the price of time. 
And the most important thing is that our children will understand it 
years from now if we stand against ethnic cleansing and we can turn the 
world against it, and they will not forgive us years from now if we do 
not.
    Thank you.
    Q. Central American aid, Mr. President?
    Q. Are there offsets that you would accept?
    Q. Will Yeltsin be impeached? What happens if Yeltsin goes?
    Q. Central American aid--
    The President. That is there, and I hope we get it.

Note: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. in the South Lawn at the White 
House. A portion of the exchange could not be verified because the tape 
was incomplete.