Bill Clinton: “Good morning. This morning I want to talk to you about crime and violence and what we can all do about it. On Tuesday…”

“Good morning. This morning I want to talk to you about crime and violence and what we can all do about it. On Tuesday evening in Garden City, New York, a gunman shot and killed 5 rush-hour commuters on the Long Island Rail Road and wounded 20 others. On Thursday night in California, there was a memorial service for 12-year-old Polly Klaas. She'd been kidnaped from her bedroom 2 months ago. Her little body was found last Saturday. These tragedies are part of the epidemic of violence that has left Americans insecure on our streets, in our schools, even in our homes. The crime rate has hit every American community from our oldest cities to our smallest towns to our newest suburbs. As a suburban California woman, the mother of a 10-year-old girl, said a few days ago, ``There's no safe place to go. There's no place that's safe.'' If our Nation is to find any meaning in these tragedies, we must join together to end this epidemic of violent crime and restore the fabric of civilized life in every community. There is now some hope amidst the horror because decent people are fighting back against crime. Just before Thanksgiving I signed the Brady bill into law. It requires a 5-day waiting period before anyone can purchase a handgun so there can be a check of someone's age, mental health, and criminal record. The Brady bill became law because you, the American people, were stronger than the gun lobby.…”