 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 9 * May 10, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Clinton unveils gun control package By Donald Murray
As the nation continued to debate the causes of the recent Littleton tragedy, President Clinton unveiled a package on gun control measures with bipartisan support. The president challenged sportsmen and hunters to take a leadership role on this issue and to accept certain restrictions and inconveniences as part of a prudent step to save lives and to curb juveniles’ easy access to firearms. The proposed legislation calls for:
Existing NACo policy supports a number of these initiatives, including a requirement for background checks that would cover persons who buy firearms at gun shows and restoring a waiting period before any handgun is purchased. Last year, more than 4,000 gun shows were held with somewhere between 25 to 50 percent of the weapons sold coming from unlicensed dealers. In 1994, NACo was part of a national coalition effort that successfully supported legislation banning assault rifles and large capacity ammunition clips. The association also has strong policy calling for locking devices on all handguns. The 1994 law banned the future importation and manufacture of high-capacity clips with more than 10 rounds, but it allowed the importation of high-capacity clips that were manufactured before the law was signed in 1994. The president’s proposal would stop the further importation of these "grandfathered" magazines. Under current law, juveniles under 21 are prohibited from purchasing a handgun from a federally licensed dealer. However, 18 to 20 year olds can "possess" a handgun or purchase one from "private collectors." The legislation seeks to close this loophole. Last November, the five-day waiting period under Brady expired. The Administration now proposes to reinstate a minimum three-day waiting period for the purchase of a handgun and to allow law enforcement agencies to take up to an additional two days, if necessary, to check additional records such as outstanding warrants on domestic violence or records of involuntary commitments to mental hospitals. Without a mandatory waiting period, local sheriff departments do not have a cooling-off period to protect the public from crimes of passion or impulse suicides. Another key feature of the package is a provision that would prevent violent children from ever legally purchasing a handgun. Handguns are not regulated for safety by any federal agency, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The end result is that many guns lack the most basic kind of safety device such as load indicators which could warn the user that the gun is still loaded. In Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina, state law limits the purchase of handguns to one gun a month. The Administration has proposed a nationwide limitation to focus on "straw purchasers" who make multiple purchases in one state and then sell these weapons in another state or county.
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