[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 9 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Pages 439-443]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Dan Rather of the CBS Evening News

March 2, 2000

Gun Control Legislation

    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, thank you for doing this. You're 
proposing registering guns like cars. But if you're going to do that, 
then why not take the next step and regulate guns, as we do cars? After 
all, if there's something seriously wrong about cars, the Government can 
regulate automobiles. Are you willing to do that?
    The President. Well, first of all, I don't think we should minimize 
the impact that

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licensing handgun owners themselves would have. That's what I want to 
do. And I think it's a very important step. Now, it's tough to pass in 
this Congress because most of the Republicans agree with the NRA that 
guns are different, and even though it might save lives, we shouldn't do 
it. But I think it's very 
important.
    There's a practical problem with the guns, of course. There are over 
200 million of them already out there. But I think if we would begin the 
process of making handgun owners get a license before they can buy a 
gun, pass a Brady background check, and then have a gun safety course, I 
think it would make a difference.
    I think if we did that, plus had child safety locks, closed the big 
loophole in the background registration law by covering the gun shows 
and the urban flea markets, and then continue this technology into safe 
guns so that as soon as possible we can sell guns and adjust them so 
that, by fingerprints, they can only be fired by the adults who own 
them, all these things together would make our country a much safer 
place. And I'm going to continue to fight for it.
    We need to start by passing this legislation that the Congress has 
had for 8 months now. The Senate passed a pretty strong law, with the 
Vice President casting the tie-breaking vote. The House passed a much 
weaker law. And they've just been sitting on this for 8 months. I hope 
that these last 2 tragic days will finally move the Congress to act. And 
I'm going to meet with the leading conferees on the two bills in the 
next few days to try to do that.
    Mr. Rather. But you're not prepared to take the step to try to 
regulate guns?
    The President. I think that the most important thing we can do now 
is to pass the legislation before the Congress, and then try to pass 
legislation that would require the owners themselves, people who want to 
buy handguns, to be licenses, just as car drivers are. I think that's 
the next big step, and I think it will make a big difference.
    Just with the Brady bill and the assault weapons ban and the more 
police on the street, we've got the murder rate down to a 30-year low. 
But it's still way too high. And the accidental death rate from children 
is astronomical. It's 9 times higher than the next 24 industrial nations 
combined. So we've got to do more with this. And I want to focus on this 
agenda. I think it will drive the death rate down from guns both for 
murders and from accidental death rates.

Michigan Shooting

    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, how, if in any way, would your new 
proposals have prevented or even helped to prevent the shooting of this 
6-year-old girl in Michigan?
    The President. Well, I think--there are two things I'd like to 
mention. One is something that is still in the bill. If this gun had a 
child trigger lock on it, then the child, in all probability, could not 
have figured out how to undo the child trigger lock and fire the gun. So 
that's very, very important.
    Then I had a provision which neither the Senate nor the House 
passed, to make national a law that today I think fewer than 20 States 
have, which would hold adults responsible for the kinds of activities 
that this young boy tragically engaged in when he killed that little 
girl. I think that it ought to be national, not just in a few States.
    And so I hope the Congress, and maybe the conference, will 
reconsider that, even though even the Senate wouldn't pass that. They 
ought to take a look at this now, because clearly the adults bear the 
primary responsibility here. And people would think twice before just 
leaving a gun hanging around the house that a kid could walk off with if 
that were the case.

Gun Control Legislation

    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, there are so many questions about this 
issue that run so deep in the American character, as well as our 
history. With, as you've mentioned, at least 200 millions guns out 
there, what about the argument that says, listen, there's really no 
chance that we're going to have meaningful gun control in this country 
unless you go out and get those guns back, and that's simply not 
practical?
    The President. Well, I think, first of all, you never want to make 
the perfect the enemy of the good. Look how much good

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the Brady bill has done. It's kept a half million felons, fugitives, and 
stalkers from getting handguns. And that's one of the reasons that the 
murder rate is at a 30-year low. So it won't solve all the problems, but 
it will solve some.
    Secondly, especially if we could license people when they come in to 
buy handguns, we could then couple that with a very aggressive gun buy-
back program. Keep in mind, yes, there are more than 200 million guns 
out there, but a lot of them are in the hands of collectors and not 
regularly in use. What we need to do is to get these cheap guns off the 
streets, and with an aggressive gun buy-back program we could do that. 
Just with the few million dollars we spend on it every year, we get a 
huge number of guns, offering about $50 a gun.
    So I would also like to see that program expanded. If you could get 
a lot of the older guns that are just out there floating loose off the 
street, if you could license the handgun owners, if you could have child 
safety locks, and then if we could proceed with this safe-gun technology 
so that in the future all the guns that were sold could only be fired by 
the adults who are their rightful owner, I think you'd go a long, long 
way toward making this a much, much safer country.
    And it wouldn't in any way infringe on the rights of hunters and 
sport shooters, except to ask them to do what the rest of us do when we 
go through airport metal detectors or get driver's licenses. We undergo 
a little bit of inconvenience so that society as a whole would be a lot 
safer. And I think we have neglected this far too long.
    As I said, there's not enough urgency in the Congress. You've got a 
dozen kids a day still getting shot to death out there. And this bill 
has been up there for 8 months. So this is one place where I think the 
United States Congress is completely out of touch with the American 
people, largely because of the genuine fear people have of the organized 
NRA interest back in their district. And they just no longer reflect the 
views of the majority of the people.
    I had a woman tell me yesterday when I was touring a high-tech 
facility in northern Virginia that her husband was a Republican and an 
avid hunter, who strongly supported these initiatives. And I think 
that's where the American people are. It's time for Congress to get in 
step with the American people and take these actions that will make our 
children safer.

Gun Control and Politics

    Mr. Rather. Is it, or is it not, your contention, Mr. President, the 
basic problem has been the Republican-led Congress?
    The President. Oh, absolutely. Now, we have some Democrats who live 
in rural districts where there are a lot of hunters and where they're 
afraid of this because when I passed the assault weapons ban and the 
Brady bill, back in '93 and '94, there's no question that the NRA beat 
about a dozen of our Members. There's no question they did. These people 
who voted with us to make our streets safer and save lives gave up their 
seats in Congress.
    But public opinion has shifted a lot since then. And this is 
primarily a problem of the leadership in the Republican Congress being 
unwilling to part from the NRA. And I hope that they will do it now, 
because I think a lot of their Members want to. And almost all these 
Members of Congress could vote for this legislation and not be 
threatened at all, and they need to do that.
    Mr. Rather. When I talk to the Republican leadership in Congress, 
they--and I will say, somewhat gleefully--say, ``Look, there are at 
least 60 Democrats in the House who, no way, no how, are going to vote 
for any additional gun control legislation.''
    The President. Well, that leaves us with about 140 on our side, 
which means they only have to produce 80 for us to have a majority. So 
they ought to do that. There's 80 Republicans who come from suburban 
districts where their constituents strongly support this and where they 
would not be defeated by the NRA if they went with us.

National Rifle Association

    Mr. Rather. You've mentioned the NRA several times. Everybody knows 
the National Rifle Association pours a lot of money into a lot of 
campaigns to beat just this kind of legislation that you have proposed. 
But is it, or is it not, reality that what you have are tens of millions 
of Americans who own guns

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and whatever their party affiliation, however they feel about you, are 
just adamant about not controlling guns any further, and that's the real 
problem?
    The President. Well, it is, but most of them--a lot of gun owners--
keep in mind, I'm convinced a majority of hunters and sport shooters, 
once they understand that these regulations do not in any way, shape, or 
form, impact their ability to conduct their lawful affairs, will support 
what amounts to a minor inconvenience--doing a background check at a gun 
show, for example, having a child safety lock on a handgun--to save 
lives.
    And I'll say again, I know public opinion has changed. In New 
Hampshire, we lost a Democratic Congressman who voted for the assault 
weapons ban and the Brady bill. He lost his job in '94. And I went up 
there in '96 and met with a bunch of people who were hunters and 
sportsmen, and I said, ``Now, the NRA told you we were going to take 
your guns away and inconvenience you.'' And I said, ``If you missed a 
day in a deer season, I want you to vote against me, too. But if you 
didn't, they didn't tell you the truth, and you need to stick with us.'' 
And we won, and won handily there.
    So I think people are changing as they understand this is simply 
commonsense safety measures, and as a society, we all undergo minor 
inconveniences so that our children can grow up safe. And it's 
ridiculous--the United States is the only country in the world that 
would allow this kind of, I believe, recklessness with the public 
interest. Nobody else does it, and that's why we have the highest murder 
rate and the highest accidental gun death rate of children, because we 
don't take these commonsense measures.
    I think we ought to make this a safer country. And we can do it, 
I'll say again, without interfering with people's right to hunting and 
sport shooting.

Meeting With Congressional Leaders

    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, I know you have a meeting to go to. 
You've been very generous with your time. A last question. So many 
people, when I talk to them, they say, ``Look, it's fine for the 
President to talk this way, but he's going to see rocks grow and water 
run uphill before he sees any real gun control legislation.'' Now, 
you've made it clear you don't believe that. What can you do to move 
this along? Can you call the Members of Congress to the White House for 
a special meeting to compromise? What can you do?
    Mr. President. Yes. Well, I'm going to bring down the leaders of the 
House and the Senate, the Republicans and Democrats, who are in charge 
of this bill in the conference. The House and the Senate version are in 
a conference. They're supposed to come up with a unified bill and let 
the House and Senate vote on it. And I don't have any doubt if they 
report out a good bill, it will pass. And I'm going to do everything I 
can to pass it.
    I don't believe that. They said--once they said we'd see water run 
uphill before we had Brady background checks. And then before we banned 
assault weapons. And then before we banned these large-capacity 
ammunition clips. We did all that, but we left some loopholes in the law 
that we ought to close. We ought to require child safety locks. We ought 
to invest in safe-gun technology. And we ought to license handgun 
owners.
    You know, every significant reform in a controversial area is 
considered to be impossible when you start. But you just start, and you 
keep working, and you keep working, and you keep working, and eventually 
it happens.
    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, thank you. I'd love to come by sometime 
and talk to you about Colombia and China and Taiwan. But I appreciate 
you taking time today to do this.
    Thank you very much.
    Mr. President. Thank you very much, Dan.
    Mr. Rather. Mr. President, I really appreciate you taking time to do 
this. Great. Thanks a lot. Tell the First Lady hello for us.
    Mr. President. I'll do it.

Note: The interview was taped at approximately 4:06 p.m. in the 
Roosevelt Room for later broadcast and was embargoed by the Office of 
the Press Secretary until 6:30 p.m. In his remarks, the President 
referred to Kayla Rolland, who was shot and mortally wounded by a 6-
year-old classmate in Mount Morris Township, MI. A tape was not

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available for verification of the content of this interview.