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(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Al Gore flatly called for a total ban on handguns during last night^s appearance on CNN^s "Larry King Live" and, in the process, riled up gun owners and NRA members a year before the critical Presidential election.
"Al Gore wants a total ban on lawful ownership of handguns," said James J. Baker, executive director of NRA^s Institute for Legislative Action. "He didn^t mince words. He didn^t stumble. He said what NRA members have suspected all along, that he believes firearms have no place in our society, that he wants to ban them and take them away from lawful American citizens."
During the September 16 program, Gore referred to 9 mm and .380 caliber handguns -- two of the most popular handgun calibers, owned by millions of law-abiding Americans. "I think that we should ban so-called junk guns. I think we should ban assault weapons like the weapons used here, yes. I think that the kinds of weapons that have no legitimate use for hunting or the kind of weapon that a homeowner would use, I think they should be banned, yes, those kind of weapons ... These semiautomatic handguns ... they really have no place in our society," Gore told Larry King.
Baker said Gore should do his homework before calling for a total handgun ban. "Apparently, Al Gore does not know that literally tens of millions of Americans own these very popular handgun calibers, for personal protection, sport shooting and other lawful purposes," Baker said. "Indeed, these very common firearms hold a valuable place in the hands of peaceful citizens who exercise their Second Amendment right to own a firearm."
NRA members and law-abiding, gun-owning voters are paying attention to Gore^s proposed ban, Baker said. "Our phones have been ringing off the hook," Baker said. "Our members and gun owners in general heard Gore^s message loud and clear. He wants to ban handgun ownership in America and that is a message that lawful Americans who value their rights will reject at the polls. When given the choice, Americans vote for their rights and their freedoms, a lesson Al Gore has apparently not yet learned."
Uploaded: 9/28/1999
Uploaded: 9/28/1999