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On gun control, the Brady Bill, and Reagan's belat

As a late convert, Ronald Reagan preached for federal handgun
control with the fervor of a new believer. But one day of lobbying
after 10 years doesn't markedly alter the prospects for changing
the law.

A decade ago, it might have been different.

A new president recovering from the bullet wounds of an
assassination attempt might have been able to press Congress to
action on handgun controls. But the Reagan of 1981 opposed national
gun control legislation, calling it a diversion from real action
to combat crime.

Reagan last week declared his support for a bill requiring a
seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases. He did so at a
George Washington University ceremony marking the 10th anniversary
of the shooting that almost killed him and permanently disabled his
press secretary, James S. Brady.

It is called the Brady Bill, and Reagan said Congress should
enact it without delay. ``It's just plain common sense that there
be a waiting period to allow local law enforcement officials to
conduct background checks on those who wish to buy a handgun,'' the
former president said.

When he was in office, Reagan had endorsed the idea of waiting
periods, but he said they should be imposed by state laws, not by
the federal government. Sixteen states now require waiting periods.
Where state laws match the week's wait required by the federal
bill, it wouldn't apply.

The waiting period is supposed to provide time for a police
check to determine whether a buyer has a criminal record or a
history of mental illness.

The variance in state laws was never clearer than after John W.
Hinckley Jr. bought a pistol in Texas, which doesn't require a
delay or background check, then fired it at Reagan in Washington
on March 30, 1981. Hinckley said later he doubted he would have
done it if he'd had to wait a week for the gun.

Reagan said he had supported and signed a 15-day waiting period
when he was governor of California. He didn't say yes or no when
an earlier version of the Brady Bill was before the House in 1988,
during his second term. Others in his administration opposed the
measure, which was rejected by a 36-vote margin.

Reagan now favors afederal law to fill the gaps left by the
states. He said he's still a member of the National Rifle
Association and still supports a constitutional right to bear arms,
but believes that with it ``comes a great responsibility to use
caution and common sense on handgun purchases.''

He also said that he'd always supported the idea of a waiting
period, and ``maybe there was some misunderstanding'' about his
earlier position. Maybe there was, but Reagan certainly didn't try
to dispel it.

He said as president that a federal handgun control law would
be virtually unenforceable. Better, he said, to stiffen penalties
for criminals who use firearms in committing crimes.

That's about the position the Bush administration has taken
since inheriting the political problem of gun laws, an issue that
often is framed by the concerns of home states and congressional
districts rather than by party or political philosophy. A liberal
Democrat with a pro-gun constituency is not likely to be found on
the side of federal controls.

Advocates of the Brady Bill say the measure is gaining support,
and they claim they can gain House approval this spring. They
thought the Reagan endorsement would add momentum. Rep. Charles A.
Schumer, D-N.Y., a leading sponsor, said the former president had
put the Bush administration in a box on the issue by generating
pressure for the bill.

The White House countered by saying that the administration
might deal with gun control as part of a broader package in which
Congress would approve Bush's crime bill.

There's no sign that Democrats backing the Brady Bill would be
make that bargain; the Bush crime measure includes provisions on
the death penalty and criminal court procedures that have been
opposed by liberals who favor handgun controls.

And the complications don't stop there. The two top Democrats
in Congress both are opposed to the current Brady Bill. Speaker
Thomas S. Foley of Washington kept the measure from a House vote
last year. Sen. George J. Mitchell of Maine, the majority leader,
said he won't support it without changes ``to have a waiting period
that makes sense and accomplishes something ....''

``I don't think the Brady Bill will pass in the form in which
it now stands,'' Mitchell said Sunday on the NBC program ``Meet the
Press.''

He said there should be a central national register of criminal
records, so that there would be a real way to check gun buyers, and
Congress should appropriate money to pay for the process.

Nor did Mitchell buy the idea that Reagan's endorsement had
changed the outlook. ``There's a great deal of political analysis
which tends to generalize from specific events,'' the Senate leader
said. ``I don't know of a single member of Congress who has changed
his mind because President Reagan changed his mind.''
 
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