Bush Backs Tougher Gun Control Statutes

Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush on Friday embraced tougher gun control measures being considered by Congress, including raising the legal age for purchase of a handgun from 18 to 21.

The Texas governor also expressed support for efforts in the Republican-led Congress to ban large ammunition clips. He said he favors instant background checks, although those he would like to see implemented are less restrictive than ones backed by the White House and most Democrats on Capitol Hill.

“I think there’s problems everywhere when people illegally use guns, and so the first question we must ask is: Is it possible to have reasonable laws to keep the guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them?” Bush said at a news conference.

Bush had previously rejected calls to toughen federal gun laws, saying there are enough statutes on the books and that these measures simply need to be better enforced.

During a debate in the Senate earlier this year on a bill to plug an existing loophole in the law that permits purchases at gun shows without a background check, Bush declined to take a position on the measure.

Later, he opposed the Clinton administration-backed bill that would have given authorities up to three days to do a background check.

Bush said he favored a rejected Republican amendment, which would have required background checks at gun shows and at licensed gun dealers’ shops to be done within 24 hours.

The two Democratic presidential contenders, Vice President Al Gore and former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, have both offered gun control measures of their own.

Gore has called for licensing of all gun owners, while Bradley has proposed registration of guns as well as the licensing of gun owners.

Meanwhile, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said Friday that Bush, as a law enforcer, must divulge if he ever used illegal drugs.

Bush, who has been hounded for months over the issue, gave a limited answer last week, saying he has not used any illegal drugs in the last 25 years.

But Jackson, a two-time former Democratic presidential candidate, said at a meeting with reporters that “you have to answer the question. It won’t go away.”