More headlines: Al Gore on Gun Control

(Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)

Less rhetoric on gun control from Gore

Last April, on the first anniversary of the shootings at Columbine High School, Vice President Al Gore castigated Gov. George W. Bush for offering only “half a solution” to the problem of gun violence. He has virtually stopped talking about gun control or the National Rifle Association. Mr. Gore’s aides said he had not backed away from his gun control agenda, which includes licensing new handgun owners and limiting handgun purchases to one a month. Source: James Dao, NY Times on 2000 election Sep 20, 2000

Gore says Bush lets NRA make gun policy

In a speech to the Association of Health Care Journalists, Gore said, “Bush has convinced the NRA that he wants to take the gun lobbyists out of the lobby & put them right into the Oval Office.” Gore’s point was that gun violence was straining the health care system, to the tune of $2.3 billion annually, and that Bush was so deeply in the pocket of the gun lobby that he could not recognize this problem.

Bush dismissed those accusations. “I make my positions on what I think is right. I’ll make the decisions as to what goes on in the White House,“ he said. Repeating an accusation he has made before, Bush said: ”I’ve never been a member of the NRA. Gore has been, if I’m not mistaken.“

This accusation momentarily befuddled both campaigns, neither of which could find evidence that Gore had belonged to the gun lobby. A Bush spokesman said Bush might have been referring to an NRA official saying that Gore had once been so opposed to gun control that he could have been the poster boy for it.

Source: Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, p. A20 on 2000 election May 5, 2000

Photo id’s for gun purchase; ban junk guns

Q: What would you do to stop violence in the schools?
A: The one thing that all these incidents have in common is that they involve guns. And that’s why I’ve helped to pass the toughest new gun-control measure in the last generation. I’m now proposing photo-license IDs for the purchase of a new handgun, a ban on assault weapons and Saturday night specials and so-called junk guns, and a policy of zero tolerance in our schools. Source: Democrat Debate in Johnston Iowa Jan 8, 2000

Ban certain guns & “super-trace” all guns

I know about fighting for gun control. I cast the tie-breaking vote to take on the NRA and close the gun show loophole. It took a hard fight to pass the Brady bill and make it the Brady law to establish the 3-day waiting period. I want to go farther and completely ban Saturday night specials and junk guns and assault weapons and have what’s called super tracing so that when a gun is used in any kind of crime it can be immediately traced. Source: Democratic Debate in Durham, NH Jan 5, 2000

School violence: zero gun tolerance & better parenting

Q: How would you address this problem of hate crimes and violence in schools?
A: I think all of us have done a lot of soul searching about that. There was an appreciation of the fact that there were a lot of things involved. We need to get rid of the guns, get them out of the hands of the people who shouldn’t have them. We should have a policy of zero tolerance in schools. I think we need better parenting. Source: Town Hall Meeting, Nashua NH Dec 18, 1999

Zero tolerance for guns in schools, to end school violence

Q: How do you plan to end violence in schools, and how will you assure parents that our children are going to be safe? A: We ought to have zero tolerance for guns in schools. We ought to have more guidance counselors, more psychologists. We ought to ban the assault weapons and the junk guns and the Saturday Night Specials, and gets guns out of the hands of the people who shouldn’t have them, and license all new handgun purchasers. Source: Democrat Debate at Dartmouth College Oct 28, 1999

Child-safety locks on guns & more restrictions

The House voted 280-147 against legislation to restrict access to guns and impose safety locks on them. Gore said, “I will personally lead the fight to pass [these laws] as President.”

Five weeks earlier, the Vice President broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate chamber on a crucial gun-control vote.

Source: Time Magazine, p. 38 Jun 28, 1999

Close gun-show sale loophole

I think that many of the measures to restrict the easy availability of guns to children and to others who should not have them can make a real difference [on teen violence like the Columbine shooting]. I broke the tie in the Senate to close the gun-show loophole [which allows gun sales without an i.d. or background check]. I now call upon the House of Representatives to pass that measure tonight. Source: CNN.com/AllPolitics ‘On-Line Chat Transcript’ Jun 17, 1999

Enforce background checks for all gun purchases

Earlier this week, Gore cast the tie-breaking vote on a [Senate] bill that would require background checks for people who purchase weapons at gun shows or who want to retrieve guns they have previously sold at pawn shops. “There is a difference between passing a law and enforcing a law,” Gore said. “We need to make sure we they are toughly enforced.” Source: Manchester (NH) Union Leader, “Gore Asks Voters” May 23, 1999

Click here for 18 main quotations from Al Gore on Gun Control. Click here for definitions & background information on Gun Control. Click here for VoteMatch responses by Al Gore. Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Al Gore. Click here for MyOcracy.org quiz by Al Gore. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of Al Gore. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of Al Gore.
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