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Allies Rebuke NRA Leader's Words
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some influential Republicans who have traditionally supported the National Rifle Association sought to dissociate themselves from recent remarks by an NRA leader about President Clinton.
But NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre remained unrepentant Sunday about his contention last week that Clinton is ''willing to accept a certain level of killing to further his political agenda.''
''I stand by my comments that if this administration would enforce the federal law they'd save lives, and they're not doing it,'' LaPierre said Sunday on NBC's ''Meet the Press.''
Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said LaPierre's remark about the president was not ''terribly helpful to trying to reach a consensus on a very difficult issue'' that Congress continues to struggle with.
''I think it's an extreme statement,'' Hyde, R-Ill., said on CBS' ''Face the Nation.'' ''I wish it hadn't been said.''
On ABC's ''This Week,'' Former President Ford said gun control requires ''reasonable compromise,'' adding: ''You can't take the hard-line, NRA position -- that's a loser.''
White House spokesman Joe Lockhart, traveling with Clinton in India, said there had been ''an appalling silence from political leaders over the last week, particularly the Republicans who are the NRA allies'' to repudiate LaPierre's remarks.
Meanwhile, the administration will ''keep the pressure on in every possible way'' to persuade Congress to pass gun safety measures, Clinton domestic policy aide Bruce Reed said on ''Fox News Sunday.''
Last week, the nation's largest gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, agreed to make its handguns more childproof by installing safety locks and developing ''smart gun'' technology that limits a gun's use to its rightful owner.
LaPierre discounted the deal's importance, saying there was not much new in it. Reed disputed that and credited the company with a ''courageous decision.''
The NRA's president, actor Charlton Heston, said the British owners of Smith & Wesson do not place the same value on the Second Amendment's right to bear arms as do Americans.
''I am not comfortable about the Brits telling us how to deal with our Bill of Rights,'' Heston told ABC. ''I think we settled that in 1776, didn't we?''
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Austria's Glock GmbH could follow Smith & Wesson in accepting government handgun restrictions in exchange for some legal protections.
Referring to the Smith & Wesson plan, a senior executive with the U.S. unit of Glock said the company hasn't signed on, but is considering it.
Paul Jannuzzo said Glock is ''still doing the balancing test. We are still weighing the idea of bleeding to death with legal bills vs. the cost of complying'' with the government demands.
The Journal notes that Glock relies largely on sales to police departments and would be vulnerable to a new government strategy of having law-enforcement agencies give preference to gunmakers that sign a version of the Smith & Wesson settlement.
Clinton is seeking laws to require safety locks on all handguns, ban the import of large-capacity ammunition clips and require background checks before a weapon could be purchased at a gun show.
The House and Senate have passed separate versions of the bill but have not found a compromise. A sticking point is how to handle background checks for gun buyers. Clinton wants a 72-hour waiting period. Many Republicans and the NRA favor instant checks, or 24-hour checks at most.
Also Sunday, LaPierre came under criticism for his assertion last week that Clinton ''has blood on his hands'' in the death of former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong.
Byrdsong was shot to death last summer by a white supremacist who had failed a background check but was not arrested. LaPierre said lax law enforcement by the administration was to blame.
In a letter to Clinton, Byrdsong's widow, Sherialyn, called LaPierre's comments ''appalling.''
''I certainly do not in any way think my husband's blood is on your hands,'' she wrote, ''and I applaud your efforts.''
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Allies Rebuke NRA Leader's Words
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some influential Republicans who have traditionally supported the National Rifle Association sought to dissociate themselves from recent remarks by an NRA leader about President Clinton.
But NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre remained unrepentant Sunday about his contention last week that Clinton is ''willing to accept a certain level of killing to further his political agenda.''
''I stand by my comments that if this administration would enforce the federal law they'd save lives, and they're not doing it,'' LaPierre said Sunday on NBC's ''Meet the Press.''
Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said LaPierre's remark about the president was not ''terribly helpful to trying to reach a consensus on a very difficult issue'' that Congress continues to struggle with.
''I think it's an extreme statement,'' Hyde, R-Ill., said on CBS' ''Face the Nation.'' ''I wish it hadn't been said.''
On ABC's ''This Week,'' Former President Ford said gun control requires ''reasonable compromise,'' adding: ''You can't take the hard-line, NRA position -- that's a loser.''
White House spokesman Joe Lockhart, traveling with Clinton in India, said there had been ''an appalling silence from political leaders over the last week, particularly the Republicans who are the NRA allies'' to repudiate LaPierre's remarks.
Meanwhile, the administration will ''keep the pressure on in every possible way'' to persuade Congress to pass gun safety measures, Clinton domestic policy aide Bruce Reed said on ''Fox News Sunday.''
Last week, the nation's largest gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, agreed to make its handguns more childproof by installing safety locks and developing ''smart gun'' technology that limits a gun's use to its rightful owner.
LaPierre discounted the deal's importance, saying there was not much new in it. Reed disputed that and credited the company with a ''courageous decision.''
The NRA's president, actor Charlton Heston, said the British owners of Smith & Wesson do not place the same value on the Second Amendment's right to bear arms as do Americans.
''I am not comfortable about the Brits telling us how to deal with our Bill of Rights,'' Heston told ABC. ''I think we settled that in 1776, didn't we?''
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Austria's Glock GmbH could follow Smith & Wesson in accepting government handgun restrictions in exchange for some legal protections.
Referring to the Smith & Wesson plan, a senior executive with the U.S. unit of Glock said the company hasn't signed on, but is considering it.
Paul Jannuzzo said Glock is ''still doing the balancing test. We are still weighing the idea of bleeding to death with legal bills vs. the cost of complying'' with the government demands.
The Journal notes that Glock relies largely on sales to police departments and would be vulnerable to a new government strategy of having law-enforcement agencies give preference to gunmakers that sign a version of the Smith & Wesson settlement.
Clinton is seeking laws to require safety locks on all handguns, ban the import of large-capacity ammunition clips and require background checks before a weapon could be purchased at a gun show.
The House and Senate have passed separate versions of the bill but have not found a compromise. A sticking point is how to handle background checks for gun buyers. Clinton wants a 72-hour waiting period. Many Republicans and the NRA favor instant checks, or 24-hour checks at most.
Also Sunday, LaPierre came under criticism for his assertion last week that Clinton ''has blood on his hands'' in the death of former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong.
Byrdsong was shot to death last summer by a white supremacist who had failed a background check but was not arrested. LaPierre said lax law enforcement by the administration was to blame.
In a letter to Clinton, Byrdsong's widow, Sherialyn, called LaPierre's comments ''appalling.''
''I certainly do not in any way think my husband's blood is on your hands,'' she wrote, ''and I applaud your efforts.''
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Slowpoke Rodrigo...he pack a gon...
Vote for the Neal Knox 13