House Backs NRA, Rejects 7-Day Wait for Handguns

The Democratic-controlled House, siding with the powerful gun lobby, Thursday rejected a proposed nationwide seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases that had the support of President Reagan and many law enforcement officials.

By a vote of 228 to 182, the House adopted a substitute proposal endorsed by the National Rifle Assn. that called on the Justice Department to devise a plan for effectively identifying felons who attempt to purchase handguns. The provision will be a part of an omnibus anti-drug bill expected to be passed by the House next week.

The vote was a big victory for the NRA, which previously had been thought to be losing its effectiveness as result of the recent rise in drug-related killings and the growing political involvement of law enforcement officials on behalf of some gun control proposals.

Although advocates of gun-control were disappointed by the outcome, their leaders noted that it is highly unusual for as many as 182 House members to vote in favor of any handgun control measure. Rep. Edward F. Feighan (D-Ohio) called it a “historic achievement” for the proposal even to be considered on the House floor.

Gun control supporters said that their proposal would have been defeated by an even bigger margin had it not been for Reagan’s expressed support for a waiting period, the vigorous lobbying of Sarah Brady, wife of disabled White House Press Secretary James S. Brady, and what Feighan characterized as “the diminished credibility of the NRA.”

Surrounded by many of the uniformed police officers who lobbied Congress with her, Mrs. Brady, whose husband was wounded in 1981 during John W. Hinckley Jr.’s attack on the President, vowed to continue her crusade for a waiting period. “We’re going at it with renewed vigor, and next time we’re going to win it,” she said.

Although Reagan, a lifelong NRA member, endorsed the concept of a waiting period, the Administration made no effort to lobby for the proposal before it reached a vote in the House. Vice President George Bush, the GOP presidential nominee, also refused to support it.

And even though Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis does favor the waiting period, support for the proposal cut sharply across party and ideological lines. Among those House members who spoke out in favor of the waiting period were two staunch conservatives, Republican Reps. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois and Daniel E. Lungren of Long Beach.

Lungren, a member of the Judiciary Committee, recalled that he had been instrumental in helping the gun lobby defeat several more extreme handgun control proposals in the past because he believed the NRA’s argument--which that group has since abandoned--that the only change in law that is needed is a waiting period for handgun purchases.

“I think a seven-day waiting period is eminently reasonable,” Hyde declared. “You’ve got a lot of emotionally disturbed people out there. If you make it a little more difficult for someone who is angry and wants to kill someone . . . maybe we’ll save some lives.”

Many liberal Democrats--most of them from the West--opposed the waiting period. Among them was House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), who told reporters recently: “I come from the West, man, where drop your gun belt is fighting words.”

‘Brady Amendment’

Widely known as the “Brady amendment,” the defeated provision would have required handgun purchasers to provide the dealer with their name and address. The dealer would then submit the names of prospective purchasers to the local police, who could veto the transaction within seven days if the person proved to be a convicted felon or was otherwise barred by law from owning a gun.

Supporters of the amendment argued for it primarily as a way of preventing angry or emotionally disturbed people from buying guns and using them--either on themselves or on others--before they had time to consider their actions. They argued that Hinckley, who was traveling erratically around the country before his assault on Reagan, might never have purchased a gun if he had been forced to wait in one place for seven days.

“If Hinckley hadn’t been able to get ahold of a gun as easily as he did, maybe the President wouldn’t have been shot and maybe Jim Brady might have been a whole person today,” said Rep. Peter W. Rodino Jr. (D-N.J.) Likewise, Rep. Silvio Conte (R-Conn.) told the story of a woman in his home state who purchased a handgun and killed herself and her two children just a few days after being released from a mental institution. He argued that she would never have been sold a gun if the the Brady amendment were law because she was known by authorities to be a danger to herself.

Led by Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), opponents of the amendment argued that it would do no good to impose a waiting period because law enforcement authorities currently do not have the capability to screen gun purchasers, many of whom could be expected to offer false identification.

Fingerprint Computer

McCollum’s substitute proposal, which was adopted, calls on the Justice Department to develop a proposal within six months for a nationwide computer fingerprint identification system that would enable gun dealers to identify convicted felons on the spot.

Opponents of the Brady amendment argued against it on grounds that most crimes are committed with guns that have been acquired illegally, not from a gun dealer. They also opposed it on grounds that it would violate states’ rights.

Although it was adopted, McCollum’s amendment is not expected to lead to the implementation of a nationwide identification system. Feighan predicted that the Justice Department, after six months of study, would find such a system to be too expensive and unworkable, and Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose) noted that law enforcement officials would strenuously oppose giving gun dealers access to records of the criminal justice system.

“Can you imagine the havoc that would create?” he asked.

Both the NRA and the nation’s leading police organizations lobbied heavily before the vote, and many uniformed policemen sat in the gallery as the votes were cast.