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Clinton signs bill with stiffer gun-related penalties

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, November 13) -- President Bill Clinton once again focused Friday on his adminstration's crime-fighting efforts, signing a measure that would increase penalties for federal offenses committed with guns.

The legislation also expands an existing scholarship program for survivors of federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty to include families of all public safety officials.

Praising the work of law enforcement officials who risk their lives every day, the president said, "We have to take action to prevent more needless, tragic deaths (of police officers); to work for those who have given their lives; and we have to take action to help the families they leave behind."

Clinton

"We know from painful experience that the most serious threat to the safety of police officers is the criminal armed with a weapon. Most police officers who lose their lives die from gunshot wounds," Clinton said at the White House signing ceremony.

Clinton began his speech with some remarks on the current crisis with Iraq. The president said Iraq can still avoid a military onslaught if the country resumes cooperation with United Nations weapons inspectors.

In an effort to prevent the deaths of police officers, the legislation sets out a series of stiff penalties for crimes involving guns: five years will be tacked onto sentences of criminals who even possess fire arms when they commit a violent crime or drug felony.

This codifies a June decision by the Supreme Court when the justices ruled there should be an additional and mandatory five-year penalty even if the criminal was simply in possession of a gun -- locked in a car trunk or glove compartment, for example.

Other penalties include an additional seven-year sentence for brandishing or pointing a gun during a crime while another ten years would be added if the gun is fired. And the mandatory penalty for any subsequent offenses involving guns is increased from 20 years to 25 years.

Under the new law, a two-year-old program providing $5,000 scholarships for the survivors of federal law enforcement officers will be expanded to include families of all public safety officials.

"I'm very proud that we're announcing these scholarships but I can't wait for the day when there's not a single person eligible for one," Clinton said.

Under the Police, Fire and Emergency Officers Educational Assistance Act of 1998, college scholarships would be extended to the dependents of all public-safety officers, including police, firefighters, correctional officers, and rescue and ambulance squads, who are killed or incapacitated in the line of duty.

On Iraq, the president signaled that military strikes in Iraq are not imminent, giving Iraq's Saddam Hussein a chance to avoid the crisis by cooperating. "Iraq's continued refusal to embrace a diplomatic, peaceful solution, its continued defiance of even more United Nations resolutions makes it plainer than ever that its real goal is to end the sanctions without giving up its weapons of mass destruction program."

"Saddam Hussein has it within its hands -- within his hands to end this crisis now by resuming full cooperation with UNSCOM," the American president said.



RELATED STORIES

Clinton pushes crackdown on 'illegal arms bazaars' (11-7-98)

Clinton back to work pushing legislative agenda(8-27-98)

Background checks stopped 69,000 handgun sales in 1997(11-7-98)



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Friday, November 13, 1998

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