Women's Issues in the Debate
Presidential Debate 3 Excerpt: Gun Control
The complete transcript of this debate is available from the Commission on Presidential Debates
Mr. Lehrer:
Governor Bush, another kind of gun question. It will be asked by Robert
Lutz. Mr. Lutz?
MEMBER OF AUDIENCE:
We would like to know why you object to the Brady Handgun bill, if you
do object to it. Because in a recent TV ad it showed that the National
Rifle Association says that if you are elected, that they will be working
out of your office. That kind of bothers me when I see an ad like that. I want you to explain that ad to me.
I'm for instant background
checks at gun shows, I'm for
trigger locks ... I think we
ought to raise the age at which
juveniles can have a gun.
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Governor Bush:
Well, I don't think I ran the ad. I think somebody who doesn't want me
to be president might have run that ad. That wasn't my ad. I think it
might have been one of my opponent's ads. Here is what I believe, sir.
I believe law-abiding citizens ought to be allowed to protect themselves
and their families. I believe that we ought to keep guns out of the
hands of people that shouldn't have them. That's why I'm for instant
background checks at gun shows, I'm for trigger locks, I think that makes
sense. Matter of fact, we distributed free trigger locks in the State of
Texas so that people can get them and put them on their guns to make
their guns more safe. I think we ought to raise the age at which
juveniles can have a gun. But I also believe strongly that we need to
enforce laws on the books that the best way to make sure that we keep our
society safe and secure is to hold people accountable for breaking the
law. If we catch somebody illegally selling a gun, there needs to be a
consequence. If we keep somebody -- you know, illegally using a gun,
there needs to be a consequence. Enforcement of law, and the federal
government can help. There is a great program called Project Exile in
Richmond, Virginia, where we focused federal taxpayers' money and federal
prosecutors and went after people who were illegally using guns. To me
that's how you make society the safest it can be. And so, yeah,
sometimes I agree with some of these groups in Washington and sometimes I
don't. I'm a pretty independent thinker. The one thing I'm for is a
safe society. And I'm for enforcing laws on the books. And that's what
is going to happen should I earn your confidence.
common sense gun safety
measures are certainly
needed. None of my proposals
would have any effect on
hunters, or sportsmen,
or people who use rifles.
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Vice President Gore:
Well, it was not one of my ads, either, Governor. But I am familiar
with the statement, and it was made by one of the top-ranking officials
of that organization. Let me tell you my position. I think that some
common sense gun safety measures are certainly needed with the flood of
cheap handguns that have sometimes been working their way into the hands
of the wrong people. But all of my proposals are focused on that
problem, gun safety. None of my proposals would have any effect on
hunters, or sportsmen, or people who use rifles. They're aimed at the
real problem. Let's make our schools safe, let's make our neighborhoods
safe. Let's have a three-day waiting period, cooling off, so we can have
a background check to make sure that criminals and people who really
shouldn't have guns don't get them. But I would like to use my remaining
time on this exchange, Jim, to respond to an exchange that took place
just a moment ago. Because a couple of times the governor has said that
I am for a bigger government. Governor, I'm not. And let me tell you
what the record shows. For the last eight years I have had the challenge
of running the streamlining program called Reinventing Government. And
if there are any federal employees in this group, you know what that
means. The federal government has been reduced in size by more than
300,000 people. And it's now the smallest number that we have had since
the -- the smallest in size since John Kennedy's administration. During
the last five years, Texas's government has gone up in size. Federal
government has gone down, Texas's government has gone up. Now, my plan
for the future, I see a time when we have smaller, smarter government
where you don't have to wait in line because you can get services online
cheaper, better, faster. We can do that.
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