Bush Calls for Getting Tough on Illegal Gun Users

A week after a gunman killed seven people and himself at a Fort Worth church, Texas Gov. George W. Bush said Tuesday that it is time to get tougher on criminals illegally possessing guns.

Bush, the Republican presidential front-runner, said the way to make streets safer is to vigorously enforce existing federal and state laws.

“We have some very tough laws against gun violence in Texas, and federal law with its mandatory sentences is tough as well,” Bush said. “Only with tough enforcement can we win the war against gun violence.”

Bush and Atty. Gen. John Cornyn unveiled a two-year, $1.6-million program to hire more prosecutors and expand the state’s ability to enforce laws that add prison time for crimes where a weapon is used.

In some cases, state law enhances the sentence for gun use. In others, federal law adds a five-year sentence for criminals who use or possess a gun, said Ted Delisi, a spokesman for Cornyn.

Bush signed Texas’ 1995 concealed weapon law that banned guns from certain places, such as churches and synagogues. But he was criticized by Democratic Vice President Al Gore for also signing a 1997 law that forced houses of worship to alert visitors that guns are off-limits. That law bars prosecution of those with concealed weapon permits who take guns into churches unless they received such notice.