Gore & Bush Recall Columbine
George W. Bush and Al Gore are marking Thursday's somber anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings with events highlighting their different approaches to the issue of gun control.
Governor Bush, visiting a school in Temple, Texas, called for teaching better values to combat student violence, while Vice President Gore, appearing at a New Jersey high school, pushed for stricter gun control laws. The vice president also offered a rare compliment to his Republican rival.
Bush called the Colorado shootings a "terrible tragedy that shattered our sense of safety and security." Twelve students, one teacher and the two teen gunmen died.
"Strict enforcement of tough laws is important," the Texas governor said in prepared remarks. "But ultimately the safety of our children depends on more than laws. It depends on the values we teach them, and the kind of culture we create and condone."
The presumptive GOP nominee promoted "character education" for students, which already is part of the Texas curriculum. He said he would support federal grants to teach character education and would create American Youth Character Awards to honor young people.
That proposal drew praise from the vice president. "I compliment him for doing that," Gore said in New Jersey. "I think that's right near the top of the list."
The vice president congratulated Americans for recognizing school violence has no "easy, glib, silver-bullet answer" but is a complex problem involving violence in the entertainment media, stresses on working parents, overcrowded schools and more.
"The one thing that all of these events, including Columbine, have had in common is that they involved guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them,'' Gore told an assembly at Fort Lee High School.
"One of the lessons of Columbine is that we have to stand up to the NRA and the gun industry and get guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them," he said.
Bush also said he wants better enforcement of juvenile gun laws as well as a lifetime ban on gun possession for juvenile offenders.
In recent polls, two-thirds of respondents say the candidates' gun control plans will be an important factor in who they choose as president. A new poll released Wednesday also gave Gore, a slight edge over Bush.
"It's already clear that gun control as an issue is more important in this election than it has been in any presidential election year in modern times," said political scientist Robert Spitzer of the State University of New York College at Cortland.
Gore proposes broad changes, from requiring photo licenses for handgun buyers to requiring manufacturers and licensed sellers to report sales to a state authority.
Instead of new policies, Bush supports stronger enforcement of existing laws. He opposes government-mandated registration of guns owned by citizes who have not broken any laws.