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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 9, 1999

                PRESIDENT CLINTON UNVEILS INITIATIVES TO
               PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES FROM GUN VIOLENCE

                           September 9, 1999

Joined by Mayors and Police Chiefs from across the nation, President Clinton today will urge Congress to help keep our communities safe from gun violence by quickly passing common sense gun legislation. The President also will unveil: (1) new reports from the Justice and Treasury Departments showing the effectiveness and importance of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) a $15 million gun buyback initiative sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and (3) $147 million in COPS grants to help communities hire 1,600 additional officers, including 750 officers for schools.

KEEPING GUNS OUT OF THE WRONG HANDS. Today, the Justice and Treasury Departments will release reports from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms that underscore the importance of the Brady Background Checks and enforcement of our gun laws.

     National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Report.
     In its first seven months of operation (November 1998-June 1999),
     the NICS conducted over 4.7 million background checks and blocked
     an estimated 100,000 prohibited gun sales - bringing the total
     number of sales stopped to felons, fugitives, and other prohibited
     persons to over 400,000 since the Brady Law took effect in 1994.
     Key findings of the report:

Vast majority of checks completed swiftly. Over 75 percent of NICS checks are completed within 30 seconds; 95 percent, within 2 hours. When a check cannot be completed within 24 hours, the individual being checked is nearly 20 times more likely to be a felon or other prohibited buyer than the average purchaser.
Most denied sales to felons. Under the Brady Law, denials are issued by either the FBI or state and local authorities. Of sales denied by the FBI, 76 percent were based on a felony conviction; 11 percent for domestic violence misdemeanors or restraining orders.
High costs of shorter background check timeframes. If the FBI had only 24 hours to do a background check, instead of 3 business days under current law, 20,000 prohibited purchasers - over 41 percent of FBI denials - would have received guns.

     ATF Enforcement Report.  This report details the way the ATF, FBI
     and local law enforcement work together to ensure effective and
     thorough enforcement of the Brady Law.  Although the vast majority
     of NICS checks are completed within three business days, in some
     limited instances this may not be sufficient time.  In following up
     on incomplete checks, the NICS may discover that a gun has been
     transferred to a prohibited person.  In such an instance, the FBI
     immediately contacts ATF, which handles these cases as a top
     enforcement priority.  Treasury has added 60 additional federal law
     enforcement agents to assist ATF in investigating and recovering
     weapons transferred to prohibited persons.  And since the NICS took
     effect, ATF has opened over 1000 criminal investigations involving
     individuals who have illegally attempted to purchase firearms -
     over 200 of which have been referred to U.S.  Attorneys for federal
     prosecution.

GIVING COMMUNITIES TOOLS TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE. The President today also will announce two important tools for communities to combat crime and gun violence: a new HUD gun buyback initiative and funds for hundreds of communities to hire more police officers.

     HUD Gun Buyback: Taking Guns Off the Streets.  The President will
     announce a $15 million HUD initiative to help create gun buyback
     programs in communities across the country.  Police departments and
     several cities have initiated similar programs, allowing citizens
     to turn in their guns in exchange for money, vouchers for gifts or
     clothing, and other items of value.  The funds will enable public
     housing authorities (PHAs) to partner with local law enforcement
     departments to establish gun buyback programs - removing up to
     300,000 guns from circulation by the end of the year.

     The initiative will encourage a cap of $50 for each working gun,
     and encourage PHAs to provide the awards in the form of gift
     certificates for goods or services rather than cash.  Every
     HUD-sponsored buyback will be run by a local police department -
     with no amnesty given for any crimes committed with returned
     firearms.  And to ensure the permanent removal from circulation of
     guns retrieved, all guns must be destroyed unless there is a need
     for an ongoing law enforcement investigation.

     COPS Grants: Putting More Police Officers on Our Streets and in our
     Schools.   The President also will announce that the Justice
     Department will release more than $146 million in Community
     Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to fund nearly 1,600
     additional officers.  $61 million will be provided to 151 state and
     local law enforcement agencies to hire over 850 new officers for
     our streets; and $85 million will be awarded to 319 state and local
     police departments to put over 750 police officers in schools.

FIGHTING FOR COMMON SENSE GUN LEGISLATION. Finally, the President will renew his call on Congress to pass sensible legislation supported by a bipartisan coalition of Mayors and Chiefs. The President will urge Congress to complete work on juvenile crime legislation and pass a final bill that includes the common sense gun provisions passed in the Senate to close the gun show loophole, require child safety locks for handguns, bar the importation of large capacity ammunition clips, and ban violent juveniles from owning guns for life.

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