Clinton takes gun control message to schoolchildren

April 17, 2000
Web posted at: 3:01 a.m. EDT (0701 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- In an essay written for school children, President Clinton calls on Congress to pass his gun- enforcement initiative because "the debate about gun violence isn't about politics, it's about saving lives."

In the article -- part of a report on "Guns in America" in the April 17 issue of TIME for Kids -- the president said that as the April 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings approached, everyone must work to prevent such incidents in the future.

"Congress should pass common-sense legislation to require background checks at gun shows, require child-safety locks for handguns, and ban large-capacity ammunition clips," Clinton wrote.

The magazine is owned by the same parent company that owns CNN.

Clinton also called on the gun industry to change the way it designs and distributes guns.

In an opposing essay in the same article, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, likened the president's proposals to punishing an entire class when only one person has broken the rules.

"Instead of blaming guns and punishing responsible gun owners, we should focus on criminals and those who misuse guns and cause harm," Craig wrote.

Craig, a board member of the National Rifle Association, wrote that education, not legislation, is the key to stopping gun violence.

"We teach children 'Stop, look and listen,' 'Stop, drop and roll,' they should also learn 'Stop, don't touch, leave the area and tell an adult' when they see a gun," he said.

Gunshots killed 4,223 Americans younger than 20 in 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.