House to Debate Volatile Gun-Control Bill

The House, under heavy pressure from advocates of gun control and of gun rights, is expected to begin debating legislation today that both Republicans and Democrats acknowledge is fraught with political peril.

For Republicans, many of whom represent rural areas where owning a gun is about as common as owning an automobile, any changes in federal firearms law are so sensitive that Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois has decided not to press members to follow a party line.

Many Democrats, hoping to retake the closely divided House in 2000, sense an opportunity to capitalize on an issue that has galvanized the public since 15 people died on April 20 in the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. But they are also keenly aware that the issue could backfire even as the House Democratic leadership pushes for new gun restrictions matching what the Senate already has approved.

“This is a harder vote in the House,” President Clinton said in a speech Tuesday at the White House. He was flanked by about 40 House Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Constance A. Morella of Maryland, who supports key provisions of the bill that passed the Senate on May 20, such as mandatory criminal background checks for purchases at gun shows.

Clinton said some House members who might vote for the bill represent rural areas and are vulnerable to “scare tactics” from the gun lobby.

The president was talking about Democrats like Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan. Stupak, a member of the National Rifle Assn. and a former state trooper, has voted consistently against gun control--a stance in tune with his northern Michigan district.

But Stupak recently said he is tempted to vote for any measure that promotes gun safety.

Major lobbying groups are watching his actions. The NRA and an organization called Handgun Control are running advertisements in his district.

“There’s no doubt, no matter how I vote there’ll be some repercussions,” Stupak said. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. I want to hear from my constituents.”

Predicting how Stupak and other fence-sitters would vote is complicated by the fact that the House Republican leadership still was culling through scores of proposed amendments late Tuesday to set the format for a debate on juvenile justice legislation that includes gun laws and other issues. Democrats complained that Republicans were rigging an extremely complex process behind closed doors without leaving them time to respond.

The legislation the Senate passed would require all firearms transactions at gun shows and other informal markets to be subject to criminal background checks. (Currently, only federally licensed firearms dealers must comply with such checks; unlicensed vendors are exempt.)

The NRA has endorsed a measure by Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) that would modify the Senate’s language. Among other changes, Dingell would require that background checks at gun shows be completed within 24 hours. The Senate bill would allow up to three business days to screen buyers.

“We want sensible legislation that’s going to work for law-abiding citizens and gun dealers,” said Jim Manown, an NRA spokesman.

A spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said that as many as 40 to 50 Democrats could support Dingell. But at least some Republicans, like Morella, are endorsing other measures that replicate the Senate bill. Congressional aides said late Tuesday that the outcome was impossible to predict.

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Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this story.