Bob Dole: “very often the best ideas spring from the grassroots and those of us in Congress should take notice. One idea that has…”

“very often the best ideas spring from the grassroots and those of us in Congress should take notice. One idea that has taken off at the local level involves buying back guns for toys, for clothes, even for tickets to sporting events. In Chicago, more than a thousand weapons, including a projectile launcher that was featured on the front-page of the Chicago Tribune, were recently exchanged in a guns-for-shoes program sponsored by the Foot Locker Co. and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. Last Christmas, America cheered a young man named Fernando Mateo, a New York City carpet store owner who initiated his own toys-for-guns effort. And in many other cities throughout the country, local governments and private and community groups have initiated similar gun repurchase programs. Today, I am introducing legislation that will lend a helping hand to these local initiatives by establishing a Federal gun buy-back program, to be administered by the Attorney General.”