[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 19 (Monday, May 15, 2000)]
[Pages 1030-1032]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Million Mom March Organizers and an 
Exchange With Reporters

May 8, 2000

    The President.  Hello, everybody. I just finished a meeting with 
Attorney General Reno and Secretary Shalala and Chief of Staff Podesta, 
and I have met with all these folks, these women and their men 
supporters who are the organizers of the Million Mom March. They're 
going to be here and in over 60 other cities on Mother's Day, marching 
for commonsense gun safety legislation, asking Congress to act, building 
on the grassroots efforts that have brought success in the petition 
drive in Colorado and the Legislatures of Maryland, Massachusetts, and 
California.
    And I think what they're doing is profoundly important. We in the 
administration want to do whatever we can to support them. They are 
taking a stand for their children. Many of them have lost loved ones. 
They have lost children. They have lost spouses. And there will be many 
more just like them who are here.
    They want Congress to act on the commonsense gun legislation before 
it, and of course, they want Congress to go beyond that to licensing, 
registration. They have not proposed taking away anybody's gun. They 
have proposed making life a lot safer for the American people and their 
children. And I think what they're doing is a very noble and good thing. 
I hope it will prompt Congress to act.
    It is unconscionable--it is now over a year after Columbine and over 
10 months since they've had a chance to pass this legislation. And I 
hope their presence here will--and throughout the country--will be 
successful. I am quite sure they will succeed over the long run if they 
stay with it, because they represent the heavy majority of the American 
people, and they have borne a heavy burden in their own lives which they 
have been willing to put into this effort. And I'm very grateful to 
them.

Gun Safety Legislation

    Q.  What's stopping Congress from acting, at least pressure from the 
moms----
    The President.  Well, we'll see if this makes a difference. I think 
that the people in the gun lobby have historically been very effective. 
But I think that if you look at the specifics of the legislation before 
Congress, there's a huge majority of the American people for it. And I 
think what all these folks are going to remind them of on Mother's Day 
is that they're watching, and they want action.

[[Page 1031]]

    And this is not an issue that can be dealt with in business as usual 
and buried for the--[inaudible]--interest groups. It needs to be 
resolved, and I hope it will be. And if it does, it will be far more 
because of them than because of us. The only way we can pass this is if 
people have to look into the eyes of parents who have lost their loved 
ones, if they have to look into the eyes of people who have lost their 
spouses, their brothers, their sisters, and answer why don't we have 
this commonsense safety legislation; why is this the only area of our 
national life where we don't have prevention as our primary strategy?
    They won't be able to answer that. You can't talk to these folks 
that have been talking to us this morning and answer that.

Death of John Cardinal O'Connor

    Q.  Mr. President, you're going to the funeral of Cardinal O'Connor 
today. Can you give us some thoughts this morning on his impact on 
America and religious life, and what his passing might mean for the 
future?
    The President.  Well, I'm going because he was a leader of the 
Catholics and the biggest Catholic diocese in the country and because, 
in particular, he was a devoted chaplain in the armed services. And I 
feel particularly grateful for that. And of course, it will be up to the 
Church and to the Pope to decide his replacement and what happens after 
that. But I think he played a very large role in the life of the Church. 
Even when he was controversial and when he disagreed with me, I liked 
the fact that he was outspoken, and he stood up for what he believed in.

Israeli Interim Framework Agreement

    Q.  Mr. President, the Israeli Foreign Minister said today that the 
Gaza is so big that it's clear that there's not going to be an interim 
framework agreement. Are you disappointed by that?
    The President.  I just disagree with it. I think there will be a 
framework agreement.
    Q.  By the deadline, sir?
    The President.  Well, maybe not by the deadline. But they thought 
they might trip the deadline a little. But I think we'll get an 
agreement, an overall agreement by September. And I think they'll get 
there. There are substantial gaps, but if they want to do it bad enough, 
they'll do it.

Situation in Zimbabwe

    Q.  Mr. President, can you comment on the situation in Zimbabwe with 
the farmers and squatters there?
    The President.  Well, I've got Ambassador Holbrooke over there now 
working on a lot of the troubles in Africa, including the situation in 
Zimbabwe, and I hope it can be worked out in a lawful manner. And I 
think it's quite sad what's going on because it's a very important 
country, and it's very important to South Africa and South Africa's 
future, as well as to the future of the people who live in Zimbabwe. And 
I hope we can get them--we can do something that will encourage them to 
return to a progressive and stable path. They're working at it.

Situation in Sierra Leone

    Q.  How about Sierra Leone?
    The President.  We're working now on what can be done to restore the 
vigor of the U.N. peacekeeping mission there and make it work. It's very 
important. I spent a lot of time on that the last 4 or 5 days, and we're 
working on it.

Gun Safety Legislation

    Q.  You seem very subdued. Do you have a cold?
    The President.  No. I'm just--if you had been here talking to these 
people about all their children's lives and all that, you'd feel 
subdued, too. I mean, I just--I feel very sad that I haven't been able 
to get this legislation voted on. I think this is a really big deal.
    We've gotten--yesterday we got the crime statistics--crime down 8 
years in a row, murder at a 30-year low. But it's still one of the most 
dangerous countries in the world, only because we have stubbornly 
refused to take prevention seriously when it comes to guns, to keep guns 
out of the hands of criminals and children. And we've had the crime rate 
come down 8 years in a row, so we now know we can turn the crime rate 
around. And the next big barrier to bring it way down and make this a 
really, really safe country is to take these commonsense preventative 
measures.

[[Page 1032]]

    And yes, I am subdued. I'm frustrated, and I'm very sad because I 
don't want any more kids to die. And I want them to come here on 
Mother's Day, and I told them before you came in here that if they 
didn't get tired, they'd win this fight. I've been watching these kinds 
of issues all my life, and it's like civil rights or something where 
there's this huge organized resistance. But if they just keep at it, 
they're going to win.
    I think they should have won more already, and I'm going to do what 
I can to help them.

 Note:  The President spoke at 10:15 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs 
David Levi of Israel; and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard 
C. Holbrooke. A tape was not available for verification of the content 
of these remarks.