From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Schumer unveils gun licensing proposal Friday, 2 June 2000 22:43 (ET) Schumer unveils gun licensing proposal NEW YORK, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer unveiled a national gun licensing program Friday in New York City and urged New Yorkers to elect fellow Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton so it might become a reality. "New Yorkers deserve a senator in Washington who we can absolutely count on every single time there's a critical gun control vote," said Schumer, at a Manhattan news conference with the first lady and Alfredo Valentine, head of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, who lost his son to gun violence in 1994. "New York needs Hillary Clinton because she will vote with us on gun control 100 percent of the time." The gun licensing program would involve a three-year renewable license with a photograph that can be renewed similar to a driver's license or a passport -- if the individual has not committed a crime. Schumer's proposal, which he said he will introduce next week, would require a person to pass a gun-safety course and obtain a gun license to buy a firearm. The legislation includes a verification system for private sellers to verify the validity of a license as well as grants for states to put a licensing system in place. "I'm happy to be here today to state my very strong support for Chuck's new landmark gun licensing legislation," said Clinton. "We will not give up, we will work every single day to build a constituency, to get the votes that we need in the Senate to pass this important piece of legislation because it is critical to the future of our children and all of the people of New York." Clinton, who is running as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York, took the opportunity to point out the differences on gun control between her and Republican opponent Rick Lazio. "I'm running a campaign based on clear differences on the issues and supporting this bill is another one of the important differences between me and my opponent," said Clinton. This was something she could not do when her opponent was Republican New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani whose views on gun control were almost identical to her own. Giuliani dropped out of the race two weeks ago to focus on his battle against prostate cancer. At a New York City campaign stop Friday, Lazio said that as a former prosecutor and co-sponsor of the Brady Bill he's proud of his gun control voting record, emphasizing that he has actually voted on gun control bills and "didn't just talk about it." Lazio said he hasn't seem a gun licensing program he thinks will work but that he is in favor of smart-gun technologies so that only the owner can fire the handgun. -- Schumer introduces a(nother) licensing proposal. What no-one seems willing to point out to these chumps is that the US Supreme Court already ruled that the Brady background check was an unconstitutional "unfunded mandate" on the States. Now most states kept going with it anyway, but I can guarantee that anything as bureaucratic as what Schumer is proposing would be strongly opposed by many states and it would never see the light of day. Having a system of grants would be unlikely to cover the cost of setting up such a scheme, as the Canadians have demonstrated by overshooting the estimated cost by several hundred percent. It's the same as suggesting a federal driver's license. Steve. -------[Cybershooters contacts]-------- Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
