To Save the Next Kayla.

• Position: Brief Article

Should Congress pass new gun-control laws?

YES

Every day, gunfire takes the lives of a dozen children in America.... For the past eight months, the leaders in Congress have simply failed to get together to complete a final [gun-control] bill for me to sign.... I want Congress to send me a final bill that closes the loophole that allows criminals to buy firearms at gun shows, bans the importation of high-capacity ammunition clips, holds adults accountable when they allow young people to get their hands on deadly guns, and requires child-safety locks for all new handguns, the kind of locks that would have prevented a first-grader from taking Kayla Rolland's life.

I've also asked for support on three other vital measures: to develop smart guns that can only be fired by the adults who own them; to require that new handgun buyers first get a photo license showing they passed the Brady background check and a gun safety course; and to hire 1,000 new gun prosecutors....

In a country of 270 million people, no law can stop every act of gun violence. But we can't just throw up our hands as if gun safety laws don't make a difference.... When we passed the Brady Bill, people argued it wouldn't make any difference because criminals don't buy guns at stores.... But it turned out a lot of them did. Brady background checks have now blocked gun purchases by 500,000 felons, fugitives, and stalkers. And gun crime is down more than 35 percent since 1993.

--PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, MARCH 4, 2000

NO

As per usual after a tragedy involving firearms, the issue of gun control is again heating up.... President Clinton said he...