Women's Issues in the Debate
Presidential Debate 2 Excerpt: Gun Control
The complete transcript of this debate is available from the Commission on Presidential Debates
Mr. Lehrer:
New subject, new question, Vice President Gore. How do you see the
connection between controlling gun sales in this country and the
incidence of death by accidental or intentional use of guns?
Vice President Gore
Jim, I hope that we can come back to the subject of education because
the governor made an extensive statement on it and I have a very
different view than the one he expressed. But that having been said, I
believe that -- well, first of all, let me say that the governor and I
agree on some things where this subject is concerned. I will not do
anything to affect the rights of hunters or sportsmen. I think that
homeowners have to be respected and their right to have a gun if they
wish to. The problem I see is that there are too many guns getting into
the hands of children, and criminals, and people who, for whatever
reason, some kind of history of stalking or domestic abuse really should
not be able to get guns. I think these assault weapons are a problem.
So I favor closing the gun show loophole. In fact, I cast the
tie-breaking vote to close it, but then the majority in the House of
Representatives went the other way. That's still pending. If we could
get agreement on that, maybe they could pass that in the final days of
this Congress. I think we ought to restore the three-day waiting period
under the Brady Law. I think we should toughen the enforcement of gun
laws so that the ones that are already on the books can be enforced much
more effectively. Some of the restrictions that have been placed by the
Congress in the last couple of years. I think -- in the last few years
I think have been unfortunate. I think that we ought to make all schools
gun free. Have a gun-free zone around every school in this country. I
think that measures like these are important. Child safety trigger locks
on a mandatory basis, and others.
Governor Bush
Well, it starts with enforcing law. When you 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.
If you commit a crime with a gun, there needs to be absolute certainty in
the law. And that means that the local law enforcement officials need
help at the federal level. 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. One of the reasons we have an
instant background check is so that we instantly know whether or not
somebody should have a gun or not. In Texas I tried to do something
innovative. There's a lot of talk about trigger locks being on guns sold
in the future. I support that. But I said if you want a trigger lock to
make your gun safe, come and get one for free. So we're distributing 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. I disagree with the vice
president on this issue. He is for registration of guns. I think the
only people that are going to show up to register or get a license -- I
guess licensing like a driver's license for a gun, the only people that
are going to show up are law-abiding citizens. The criminal is not going
to show up and say hey, give me my I.D. card. It's the law-abiding
citizens who will do that. An I don't think that is going to be an
effective tool to make the -- keep our society safe.
Mr. Lehrer:
All right. So on guns, somebody wants to cast a vote based on your
differences, where are the differences?
Vice President Gore
Well, I'm not for registration. I am for licensing by states of new
handgun purchases.
Mr. Lehrer:
What's that mean?
Vice President Gore
A photo license I.D. like a driver's license for new handguns and, you
know, the Los Angeles --
Mr. Lehrer:
Excuse me, you would have to get the license -- a photo I.D. to go in
and before you could buy the gun?
Vice President Gore
Correct.
Mr. Lehrer:
All right. Who would issue the --
Vice President Gore
The state. The state. I think states should do that for new handguns,
because too many criminals are getting guns. There was a recent
investigation of the number in Texas who got -- who were given concealed
weapons permits in spite of the fact that they had records. And the "Los
Angeles Times" spent a lot of ink going into that. But I am not for
doing anything that would affect hunters or sportsmen, rifles, shotguns,
existing handguns. I do think that sensible gun safety measures are
warranted now. Look, this is the year -- this is in the aftermath of
Columbine, and Paducah, and all the places in our country where the
nation has been shocked by these weapons in the hands of the wrong
people. The woman who bought the guns for the two boys who did that
killing at Columbine said that if she had had to give her name and fill
out a form there, she would not have bought those guns. That conceivably
could have prevented that tragedy.
Mr. Lehrer:
Back to the question about the differences on gun control. What are
they, Governor, from your point of view, between you and the Vice
President?
Governor Bush
Well, I'm not for photo licensing. Let me say something about
Columbine. Listen, we've got gun laws. He says we ought to have
gun-free schools. Everybody believes that. I'm sure every state in the
union has got them. You can't carry a gun into a school. And there
ought to be a consequence when you do carry a gun into a school. But
Columbine spoke to a larger issue. It's really a matter of culture.
It's a culture that somewhere along the line we've begun to disrespect
life. Where a child can walk in and have their heart turned dark as a
result of being on the Internet and walk in and decide to take somebody
else's life? So gun laws are important, no question about it, but so is
loving children, and character education classes, and faith-based
programs being a part of after-school programs. Some desperate child
needs to have somebody put their arm around them and say, we love you.
So there's a -- this is a society that -- of ours that's got to do a
better job of teaching children right from wrong. And we can enforce
law. But there seems to be a lot of preoccupation on -- not certainly
only in this debate, but just in general on law. But there's a larger
law. Love your neighbor like you would like to be loved yourself. And
that's where our society must head if we're going to be a peaceful and
prosperous society.
Vice President Gore
I also believe in the Golden Rule. And I agree with a lot of the other
things that the governor has said. We do have a serious problem in our
culture. Tipper and I have worked on the problem of violence in
entertainment aimed at children. She's worked on it longer than I have.
But I feel very strongly about that. And if I'm elected president, I
will do something about that. But I think that we -- I think we have to
start with better parenting. But I don't think that we can ignore the
role played by guns. I mean, the fact is that there -- even though no
state wants them, there are guns in some schools. And the reason it's so
difficult for schools to control that is because in recent years there
has been a flood of cheap handguns that are so widely available that kids
are finding ways to get ahold of them. And I think that if you look at
the situation as it exists here in the United States compared to any
other country in the world, it seems to me pretty obvious that while we
respect the rights of hunters and sportsmen, we do need some common sense
gun safety steps to stem this flood of guns that are getting into the
wrong hands.
Governor Bush
Yeah, no question about that, but there also needs to be strong
enforcement of the law. Some kid who feels like -- doesn't matter where
the gun comes from, it could be a cheap gun, expensive gun. What matters
is something in this person's head says there is not going to be a
consequence. So in my state we toughen up the juvenile justice laws. We
added beds. We're tough. We believe in tough love. We say, if you get
caught carrying a gun, you're automatically detained. And that's what
needs to happen. We've got laws. If laws need to be strengthened, like
instant background checks, that's important.
More Excerpts:
Environment
Gay/Lesbian Rights
Health Care
Racial Discrimination/Hate Crimes
Back to Women's Issues Debate Index
Discuss the debate in the forum, or join one of the other current discussions:
