Bill Clinton: “Communities and Law Enforcement Officers June 9, 1999 Thank you very much. Madam Attorney General, Secretary Slater…”

“Communities and Law Enforcement Officers June 9, 1999 Thank you very much. Madam Attorney General, Secretary Slater, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Greg Meeks, Mayor Williams, and other distinguished panelists in the gathering: Let me say I will try to be brief because I want to get to the roundtable discussion, but there are one or two things that I want to say. First, I thank all of you for coming here. This is a truly extraordinary group of Americans, people who don't always see eye to eye on issues, sitting down for a real heart-to-heart conversation about something that is profoundly important to all of us. And I thank you for that. Second, before we get into this whole issue about the safety and security of our communities, I'd like to say a few words about another important law enforcement issue that is breaking today in Washington, involving our efforts to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Just before the Memorial Day recess, the United States Senate passed a bill designed to close the dangerous gun show loophole, to require that safety locks be sold with every handgun, to ban the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips, and to ban violent juveniles from owning handguns as adults. Now the House of Representatives will take up such legislation. According to reports in the morning paper, the House leadership has decided to bypass the Judiciary Committee and just report out a bill that dramatically waters down the provisions in the Senate.…”