Bill Clinton: “You can say that; I can't. [Laughter] I just want to mention a couple of other things. These fine police officers have…”

“You can say that; I can't. [Laughter] I just want to mention a couple of other things. These fine police officers have been here. In 1994, a lot of the folks that voted with them for the Brady bill and the assault weapons ban and the 100,000 police got beat when they ran for reelection. They got beat in places like Michigan and Arkansas because we live in a State--I did and you do--where probably nearly half the people have a hunting or a fishing license or both. I guess I was 12 years old the first time I picked up a .22 and started shooting cans off fence posts. But you know, I couldn't figure out what they were all saying back in '94, ``Well, this is a terrible thing if we check to see if a person's got a criminal record before we give them a handgun. This is a terrible thing that we're not going to keep peddling these assault weapons that were designed to kill people.'' And a lot of folks said to folks in Michigan and Arkansas, ``You're going to lose your rifle. Boy, they're coming after you next.'' Let me tell you something, folks. We've had two deer seasons since then; not a single Michigan or Arkansas hunter has lost the rifle they were hunting with in 1994. Not a one. Not a one. Not a one. But according to what Sarah Brady said last night, 100,000 felons, fugitives, and stalkers did lose the right to get a handgun, and we're a safer country because of that. I would never knowingly do anything to interfere with the right of the American people to hunting and sporting use of their weapons. But I'm telling you, folks, a lot of those folks who talk about it have never seen the war zone that a lot of American children live in. I have looked into the faces of people who live on blocks where 13-year-old kids have been shot down on lark drive-by shootings. As I said last night, the convention was opened by a man who fought in Vietnam without incident and had his body riddled with 9 bullet holes in 45 seconds. So we can find a way to hunt and to fish and to shoot in contests and to have a big time and protect people. Surely, we can. I want the Congress to ban these cop-killer bullets. They're fighting that, too. [An audience member required medical attention.]”