Gun Control: Candidates’ Stands

Here are synopses of the top Democratic and Republican candidates’ stands on gun control, as presented by their official campaign Web sites.

Republicans George W. Bush

Supports stronger enforcement of existing gun laws; voluntary safety locks; automatic detention for kids who commit crimes with guns; instant background checks at gun shows by allowing access to the instant check system; the current ban on automatic weapons; banning juveniles from possession of semi-automatic “assault” weapons and raising the minimum age to possess a handgun to 21; banning the importation of foreign made, “high-capacity” ammunition clips.

Opposes government mandated registration of guns owned by law-abiding citizens.

Alan Keyes

I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. The Founders added the 2nd Amendment so that when, after a long train of abuses, a government evinces a methodical design upon our natural rights, we will have the means to protect and recover our rights. A strong case can be made that it is a fundamental DUTY of the free citizen to keep and bear arms.

If we want to end violence in our land, we must warm the hearts of this people with a renewed dedication to the God-given equality of all human beings. We must recapture the noble view of man as capable of moral responsibility, and self-restraint. Purify the heart and we will not have to worry about the misuse of weapons.

John McCain

Supports “effective, common sense measures that help keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, children and the mentally incompetent” but do not keep law-abiding citizens from exercising their rights. Supports background checks on purchasers, including instant background checks for all commercial firearms sales, including gun shows and redemption of guns at pawnshops. Supports trigger locks. Opposes federally mandated “waiting periods” because criminal background checks can be done swiftly without imposing restrictions on law-abiding citizens.

Democrats Al Gore

“We must do more to get guns off the streets and out of the hands of violent criminals, without affecting the rights of sportsmen and hunters.” Supports ban on assault weapons and the Brady Law.

Bill Bradley

Proposes “the toughest anti-gun measures ever proposed by any Presidential candidate” which would ban all “Saturday Night Specials”; require registration of all 65 million handguns in this country: Require licensing and a safety course for every person who owns a handgun; prohibit gun dealers from selling guns in residential neighborhoods; require mandatory trigger locks for guns and background checks at gun shows; limit handgun purchases by any one person to one a month.

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Go online to www.spokane.net/election for more information on presidential candidates’ views on gun control.