Bill Clinton: “Thank you very much for your question. First, let me say, this young man has asked maybe the most important question in…”

“Thank you very much for your question. First, let me say, this young man has asked maybe the most important question in America today, but he's also asked a health care question. So I'll give you one line on the health care implications of this and come back and answer his question. Why is it a health care question? Because one reason we pay more for health care than any other country is we have more kids getting shot and cut up and showing up at the emergency room, imposing enormous costs on this system. We have the highest rate of childhood violence and killing of any of the major countries in the world. It's a big issue. Here's what we're doing. We are in the process of passing a crime bill which will do the following things, and it should be passed, now, in a few weeks: First, it will ban 19 assault weapons, the purpose of which is only to kill people, not to hunt. Second, it will make it illegal for minors to own or possess handguns, except under the supervision of an approved adult for an approved purpose. Third, it will provide funds to schools that have high levels of violence to set up things like metal detectors and do other things to make children more secure in the schools. The fourth thing it will do, and this is where you come in--you asked your question. The fourth thing it will do is to provide funds to schools and States throughout the country to teach young people ways to resolve their differences and deal with their anger and their frustration, short of resorting to violence. Because a lot of our kids are growing up in troubled families, are not taught how to do this. And a lot of young people don't think about the future, they just lash out and hurt people. So all these things are in this crime bill. I think they're very, very important. We're also going to provide for more police officers on our street who can work with young people, work in the schools and go into schools and do things like the D.A.R.E. program, the drug education programs to try to keep drugs out of the schools. But I think all of these things will really make a difference. Now, what can you do about it? We can pass all these programs, and unless every school in this country has committed young people and committed parents trying to keep the drugs out and the violence out and the guns out, it's going to be hard for us to succeed. So we're going to give you the tools to do it, and then you have to organize, school by school, to get it done. I'll do my part, and I want you to do yours. Doug White. Do you think you can remember all that? [Laughter]”