Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals
More Than Half a Million Felons, Fugitives and Domestic
Abusers Denied Guns. Since taking effect in 1994, the Brady Law
has helped to prevent a total of more than 536,000 felons, fugitives,
domestic abusers, and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns.
In November 1998, the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS) took effect under the Brady Law, allowing access to a
fuller set of records that law enforcement officials can use to conduct
checks of all prospective gun purchases -- not just for handguns. As
of March 2000, NICS has conducted over 10 million background
checks on gun purchasers, and stopped an estimated 179,000 illegal
gun sales. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, Background Checks for Firearm Transfers,
1999, 6/00]
Taking Deadly Assault Weapons Off America's Streets. In 1994,
President Clinton and Vice President Gore successfully fought for
passage of the assault weapons ban, which prohibits the manufacture
and importation of 19 of the deadliest assault weapons and large
capacity ammunition clips that hold more than 10 rounds of
ammunition. To protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, more than
650 types of hunting and sporting weapons are specifically exempted
by the ban. [Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, PL 103-22]
Banning the Importation of Modified Deadly Weapons. In 1998,
President Clinton announced a general ban on the importation of more
than 50 non-recreational, modified assault weapons. The Treasury
Department concluded that modified semiautomatic assault rifles that
accept large capacity military magazines "or LCMM rifles" are not
"particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes"
and are generally not importable. The more than 50 models of
firearms affected by the decision are modified versions of military
assault weapons that were banned by the Bush Administration in
1989 or by the assault weapons ban of 1994. [Treasury Department Press
Release, 4/6/98; Presidential Memorandum, 11/14/97]
Cracking Down on the Most Serious Gun Criminals. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore have established a tough records of
enforcement of our nation’s gun laws by helping law enforcement
take serious gun criminals out of our communities and put them
where they belong: behind bars. The number of federal firearms cases
prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys increased 16%, from 4,754 in 1992
to 5,500 in 1999. And, by providing federal, state and local law
enforcement and prosecutors with the tools they need to crack down
on gun criminals, overall gun prosecutions have increased 22 percent.
In addition, the average sentence for federal gun offenders has
increased by nearly two years, and federal law enforcement is
successfully targeting the most serious gun offenders. Between 1992
and 1998, the number of of federal gun defendants sentenced to
prison for three years or more went up 20 percent, and the number
sentenced to five years or more went up 12 percent. [Justice Department
Press Release, 1/18/00]
Largest Gun Enforcement Initiative in History. This year,
President Clinton has proposed the largest gun enforcement initiative
ever. The initiative would provide a record $280 million to add 500
new federal ATF agents and inspectors to target violent gun criminals
and illegal gun traffickers that supply guns to criminals and juveniles,
and fund over 1,000 new federal, state, and local gun prosecutors to
take dangerous gun offenders off the streets. This initiative would
also expand the ATF’s crime gun tracing program by providing
tracing equipment and training to 250 additional law enforcement
agencies and by creating the first nationally integrated ballistics
testing system. The new ballistics testing system will help law
enforcement use the unique "fingerprints" of bullets or shell casings
left at the scene of a crime to identify gun criminals -- even in the
absence of a firearm. [Justice Department Press Release, 1/18/00]
Strengthening Penalties that Apply to Gun-Carrying Criminals
and Drug Traffickers. In November 1998, the President signed a
law to clarify and strengthen the federal penalties that apply to
violent criminals and drug felons who commit crimes while carrying a
gun. This new law makes it clear that violent criminals and drug
felons who possess a firearm during the commission of a federal crime
are subject to an additional -- and mandatory -- sentence of five years.
The law provides that in addition to the penalties that apply for
underlying violent or drug crimes -- criminals receive a mandatory
minimum sentence of at least seven years for brandishing a firearm,
and of at least 10 years if the firearm is discharged. [White House, Office
of the Press Secretary, 11/13/98]
Launched the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative. In 1996,
President Clinton launched the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction
Initiative (YCGII) in 17 cities to help trace crime guns to their source,
as well as identify and arrest violent gun criminals and the adults who
illegally supply firearms to youth. Since then, the President has
expanded the YCGII initiative to 37 cities. ATF agents now conduct
more than 200,000 crime gun traces for local law enforcement every
year -- nearly four times the number of crime guns traced in 1993.
Since 1996, ATF has initiated over 640 gun trafficking investigations
related to youth in YCGII cities that involved over 27,000 crime
guns. The President’s FY 2001 budget proposes to increase YCGII to
50 cities with more ATF agents and additional resources to help more
cities to trace crime guns. [White House Fact Sheet, 4/27/99; FY 2001
Budget, p. 110; ATF, Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative 27 Communities,
2/99; ATF, Commerce In Firearms in the United States, 2/00.]
Working to Pass Common-Sense Gun Laws. President Clinton and
Vice President Gore have repeatedly called on Congress to build on the
success of the Brady Law by quickly passing a set of common sense
gun safety measures designed to keep guns out of the wrong hands
and save lives. The Administration has proposed legislation, that passed
in the Senate last year with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Gore,
that would require background checks on all firearm sales at gun
shows; require child safety locks for every handgun sold; bar the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips; and ban the most
violent juvenile offenders from owning guns for life.
Historic Agreement with Smith and Wesson. On March 17, 2000,
President Clinton announced an unprecedented partnership between
the government and Smith and Wesson -- the largest handgun
manufacturer in the nation -- to bring about meaningful reforms in the
way the industry does business. The agreement represents the first
time a major gun manufacturer has committed to fundamentally
change the way guns are designed, distributed and marketed. Key
provisions of the agreement include new design standards to make
guns safer and prevent accidental shootings and gun deaths, such as
locking devices and smart guns; and new sales and distribution
controls to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and help law
enforcement crack down on illegal gun traffickers, such as cutting off
dealers who sell disproportionate numbers of guns that turn up in
crimes. [White House Fact Sheet, 3/17/00] http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Accomplishments/crime.html
More Than Half a Million Felons, Fugitives and Domestic
Abusers Denied Guns. Since taking effect in 1994, the Brady Law
has helped to prevent a total of more than 536,000 felons, fugitives,
domestic abusers, and other prohibited purchasers from buying guns.
In November 1998, the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS) took effect under the Brady Law, allowing access to a
fuller set of records that law enforcement officials can use to conduct
checks of all prospective gun purchases -- not just for handguns. As
of March 2000, NICS has conducted over 10 million background
checks on gun purchasers, and stopped an estimated 179,000 illegal
gun sales. [Bureau of Justice Statistics, Background Checks for Firearm Transfers,
1999, 6/00]
Taking Deadly Assault Weapons Off America's Streets. In 1994,
President Clinton and Vice President Gore successfully fought for
passage of the assault weapons ban, which prohibits the manufacture
and importation of 19 of the deadliest assault weapons and large
capacity ammunition clips that hold more than 10 rounds of
ammunition. To protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, more than
650 types of hunting and sporting weapons are specifically exempted
by the ban. [Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, PL 103-22]
Banning the Importation of Modified Deadly Weapons. In 1998,
President Clinton announced a general ban on the importation of more
than 50 non-recreational, modified assault weapons. The Treasury
Department concluded that modified semiautomatic assault rifles that
accept large capacity military magazines "or LCMM rifles" are not
"particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes"
and are generally not importable. The more than 50 models of
firearms affected by the decision are modified versions of military
assault weapons that were banned by the Bush Administration in
1989 or by the assault weapons ban of 1994. [Treasury Department Press
Release, 4/6/98; Presidential Memorandum, 11/14/97]
Cracking Down on the Most Serious Gun Criminals. President
Clinton and Vice President Gore have established a tough records of
enforcement of our nation’s gun laws by helping law enforcement
take serious gun criminals out of our communities and put them
where they belong: behind bars. The number of federal firearms cases
prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys increased 16%, from 4,754 in 1992
to 5,500 in 1999. And, by providing federal, state and local law
enforcement and prosecutors with the tools they need to crack down
on gun criminals, overall gun prosecutions have increased 22 percent.
In addition, the average sentence for federal gun offenders has
increased by nearly two years, and federal law enforcement is
successfully targeting the most serious gun offenders. Between 1992
and 1998, the number of of federal gun defendants sentenced to
prison for three years or more went up 20 percent, and the number
sentenced to five years or more went up 12 percent. [Justice Department
Press Release, 1/18/00]
Largest Gun Enforcement Initiative in History. This year,
President Clinton has proposed the largest gun enforcement initiative
ever. The initiative would provide a record $280 million to add 500
new federal ATF agents and inspectors to target violent gun criminals
and illegal gun traffickers that supply guns to criminals and juveniles,
and fund over 1,000 new federal, state, and local gun prosecutors to
take dangerous gun offenders off the streets. This initiative would
also expand the ATF’s crime gun tracing program by providing
tracing equipment and training to 250 additional law enforcement
agencies and by creating the first nationally integrated ballistics
testing system. The new ballistics testing system will help law
enforcement use the unique "fingerprints" of bullets or shell casings
left at the scene of a crime to identify gun criminals -- even in the
absence of a firearm. [Justice Department Press Release, 1/18/00]
Strengthening Penalties that Apply to Gun-Carrying Criminals
and Drug Traffickers. In November 1998, the President signed a
law to clarify and strengthen the federal penalties that apply to
violent criminals and drug felons who commit crimes while carrying a
gun. This new law makes it clear that violent criminals and drug
felons who possess a firearm during the commission of a federal crime
are subject to an additional -- and mandatory -- sentence of five years.
The law provides that in addition to the penalties that apply for
underlying violent or drug crimes -- criminals receive a mandatory
minimum sentence of at least seven years for brandishing a firearm,
and of at least 10 years if the firearm is discharged. [White House, Office
of the Press Secretary, 11/13/98]
Launched the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative. In 1996,
President Clinton launched the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction
Initiative (YCGII) in 17 cities to help trace crime guns to their source,
as well as identify and arrest violent gun criminals and the adults who
illegally supply firearms to youth. Since then, the President has
expanded the YCGII initiative to 37 cities. ATF agents now conduct
more than 200,000 crime gun traces for local law enforcement every
year -- nearly four times the number of crime guns traced in 1993.
Since 1996, ATF has initiated over 640 gun trafficking investigations
related to youth in YCGII cities that involved over 27,000 crime
guns. The President’s FY 2001 budget proposes to increase YCGII to
50 cities with more ATF agents and additional resources to help more
cities to trace crime guns. [White House Fact Sheet, 4/27/99; FY 2001
Budget, p. 110; ATF, Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative 27 Communities,
2/99; ATF, Commerce In Firearms in the United States, 2/00.]
Working to Pass Common-Sense Gun Laws. President Clinton and
Vice President Gore have repeatedly called on Congress to build on the
success of the Brady Law by quickly passing a set of common sense
gun safety measures designed to keep guns out of the wrong hands
and save lives. The Administration has proposed legislation, that passed
in the Senate last year with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Gore,
that would require background checks on all firearm sales at gun
shows; require child safety locks for every handgun sold; bar the
importation of large-capacity ammunition clips; and ban the most
violent juvenile offenders from owning guns for life.
Historic Agreement with Smith and Wesson. On March 17, 2000,
President Clinton announced an unprecedented partnership between
the government and Smith and Wesson -- the largest handgun
manufacturer in the nation -- to bring about meaningful reforms in the
way the industry does business. The agreement represents the first
time a major gun manufacturer has committed to fundamentally
change the way guns are designed, distributed and marketed. Key
provisions of the agreement include new design standards to make
guns safer and prevent accidental shootings and gun deaths, such as
locking devices and smart guns; and new sales and distribution
controls to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and help law
enforcement crack down on illegal gun traffickers, such as cutting off
dealers who sell disproportionate numbers of guns that turn up in
crimes. [White House Fact Sheet, 3/17/00] http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Accomplishments/crime.html
