THE BIG ISSUES.

• Position: Presidential election 2000

THE ELECTION IS ABOUT MORE THAN PERSONALITIES THE NATION'S FUTURE IS AT STAKE.

With President Clinton leaving office, this year's Presidential campaign is wide open. Americans will be deciding not just who will live in the White House, but what kind of country the U.S. will be s it enters the new millennium. Here s a guide to what's at stake--from social issues, like school prayer and abortion, to affairs of state such as foreign policy--and a chart so you can see where the candidates stand.

SCHOOL PRAYER

For decades those for and against prayer in public schools have fought a series of bitter engagements, but the drumbeat for school prayer has grown louder since the school shootings last spring in Littleton, Colorado.

Organized school prayer has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, but proponents of school prayer argue that the Constitution's First Amendment, which separates church and state, was never meant to outlaw prayer, and that a silent, nondenominational prayer would not violate the Constitution. Some candidates also want schools to post the Ten Commandments and other Judeo-Christian material.

Opponents of school prayer say any organized prayer during school hours violates the rights of students by forcing one set of religious beliefs on students of other religions. Even silent prayer, they contend, forces prayer on students who may not want to participate.

GUN CONTROL

Federal law bans assault weapons--rapid-firing, semiautomatic rifles modeled on military weapons--and requires background checks on handgun buyers, to make sure that guns don't fall into the hands of people with criminal records or histories of mental problems.

Gun-control advocates want to close a loophole that allows guns to be sold at gun shows without background checks. Others want to ban inexpensive guns, so-called Saturday night specials. Several candidates support requiring child-safety locks on guns.

Opponents of gun control argue that the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to own guns. They say that banning guns, or registering them, won't stop gun violence, but will mean more government interference in citizens' private lives. Solutions to violence, they argue, should focus on punishing criminals, not gun owners.

THE ENVIRONMENT

In one corner of the environment ring are those who believe government regulation is needed to control industrial polluters, reduce automobile emissions, and protect endangered animals and resources.

In the...