George W. Bush's position on
Gun Control: When in existence, the Assault Weapons Ban prohibited 19 different firearms such as the AK-47, Uzi, Tech 9 and Street Sweepers. On September 13, 2004, the Assault Weapons Ban expired and the Bush Administration has no interest in reinstating the Ban. Also concerning gun control, Senators handed a decisive defeat to S 1805, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which would have sharply limited liability to weapons manufacturers and distributors. The bill's support rapidly began to unravel following the passage of amendments that extended the 1994 ban on 19 semiautomatic weapons and required background checks for those purchasing handguns at gun shows. The vote was 8-90 against the bill. The amendments, initially hailed as a huge victory for gun control advocates, put lawmakers from both parties in conflicted positions.
Description of the Candidate's Position: President Bush has provided $80 million in funding for Project Childsafe, established in 2001, which provides free safety locks, which help to prevent the misuse of firearms by children, to gun owners. Bush also established Project Safe Neighborhoods; a federal-state partnership dedicated to targeting gun crime and has given over $1 billion in federal funds to the program. Bush also implemented the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) providing resources to participating cities to institute programs to comprehensively trace the origin of firearms used during the commission of crimes, with special focus on crimes involving youth and juvenile offenders. President Bush has expanded the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative from 37 cities in 2001 to 60 cities in 2004, and has requested an additional $16.2 million in his FY 2005 budget to extend the program to an additional twenty cities. During the Bush administration, the Assault Weapons Ban expired, adding 19 different firearms to the list of arms that citizens may rightfully own.
Quotation from the Candidate: "It starts with enforcing the law. We need to say loud and clear to somebody, if you're going to carry a gun illegally, we're going to arrest you, if you're going to sell a gun illegally you need to be arrested, and if you commit a crime with a gun there needs to be absolutely certainty in the law. The local law enforcement officials need help at the federal level. Need programs like Project Exile, where the federal government intensifies arresting people who illegally use guns. And we haven't done a very good job of that at the federal level recently. And I'm going to make it a priority." "Secondly, I don't think we ought to be selling guns to people who shouldn't have them. That's why I support instant background checks at gun shows. There's a lot of talk about trigger locks being on guns sold in the future, I support that, and so we're distributing them in our state of Texas for free. I think we ought to raise the age at which a juvenile can carry a handgun from 18 to 21."-Presidential Debate at Wake Forest University Oct 11, 2000
Assessment of the Proposal:
Positive: "Disarm Americans. Force every law-abiding citizen to surrender all firearms and America will at last be a safer place to live. Sounds absurd doesn't it? But the anti-gun lobby, fueled by misinformation and the FBI's unprecedented political support of gun control - is effectively eroding Americans' constitutional right to keep and bear arms." Catherine Farmer of Liberty Haven believes that the problem doesn't lie in gun control but rather in self control. Stating that only totalitarian regimes disarm their citizens, Farmer believes that gun control rests in personal accountability. "Far from vigilantism, the right to keep and bear arms is affirmed in our Constitution, and is rooted in centuries of responsible citizenship."
Negative: Wendy Cukier, Rebecca Peters, and Rachel Stohl wrote an article from the Center of Defense Information which covered their negative assessment of Bush's decision to let the Assault Weapons Ban expire. "While the Bush administration may be interested in allowing free access to guns for responsible American citizens, these policies have worldwide effects. Like pollution, guns know no borders. Whether it's Washington DC, Toronto, Port-au-Prince or Beirut, the permissive gun laws in the United States offer the world's criminal market easy access to an extraordinary range of lethal weapons. In fact, 50% of handguns recovered in crime in Toronto come from the United States. 80% of guns used in crimes in Mexico come from the U.S." The three women continued by stating that the massive proliferation of guns to citizens around the world is a much greater threat than the weapons of mass destruction that has lead or government to action.
Comparison: Gun control is viewed very differently between the two candidates. Concerning background checks on all gun purchases made at gun shows, Kerry supports while Bush opposes. Bush is sharply opposed to requiring a safety course and license before any gun purchase, an issue Kerry is in support of. While Kerry supports allowing lawsuits against gun manufacturers, Bush strongly opposed the notion. Kerry would like the reimplementation of the Assault Weapons Ban; the same ban President Bush let expire on September 13, 2004.
Sources:
Center for Defense Information
Jurist: Legal Intelligence for Democracy
Presidential Match Presented by AOL News
Policy Memo: The Bush Administration Record on Law Enforcement and Crime Prevention
Link to Kerry's Issue Page