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Rudy Giuliani on Gun Control
"What I believe is the 2nd Amendment gives the citizenry the right to bear arms. Government can impose reasonable regulations, generally those reasonable regulations would be about criminal background, background of mental instability... basically the ones outlined in the opinion of the judge who wrote the Parker decision -- Judge Silverman. And so if regulations go beyond that, they are inconstitutional. I think states can have a little bit of leeway... New York can have a little bit stricter rules than Kentucky or Texas. But generally you've got to comply with this ruling."
"The constitution grants you an individual right to bear arms, there can be restrictions-like there are in any other right-restrictions have to be reasonable. And if the restrictions go too far by a state or by the federal government, then they are unconstitutional. And the restrictions in the case of the District of Columbia went too far, and he declared the DC code unconstitutional. And he was right. And I agree with that, and it kind of guides the way I would look at it in the future."
I do not think the government should cut off the right to bear arms. My position for many years has been that just as a motorist must have a license, a gun owner should be required to have one as well. Anyone wanting to own a gun should have to pass a written exam that shows that they know how to use a gun, that they're intelligent enough and responsible enough to handle a gun. Should both handgun and rifle owners be licensed... we're talking about all dangerous weapons.
Boston Globe, p. A4 Mar 21, 2000
"I don't think [the assault-weapons ban] is one of the most critical issues right now."
The assault-weapons ban is something I supported in the past.
ALAN COLMES: But you said — pardon me, what happened was the Brady Bill. Crime was down nationally. New York was a beneficiary. GIULIANI: No, crime... COLMES: Get a good police chief in Bill Bratton. GIULIANI: No. Crime wasn't down nationally. The reality is New York City is the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994. In Boston, for example, I went back and looked at the 2000 statistics, there was a 60 percent greater chance you could be the victim of a crime. In most other cities it was 100 percent. New York City went from being the crime capital of America to the city number 191 for crime. COLMES: But crime went down nationally after the Brady Bill was passed, the crime rate went down all over the United States. GIULIANI: But it didn't stay down all over the United States the way it did in New York. In fact, during a debate between President Clinton and Bob Dole, President Clinton talked about the crime decline in New York, in America, and Senator Dole made the point that were it not for the decline in America, the statistics in New York would not have led to a decline in crime. COLMES: But the Brady Bill did lead to a decline in crime. You have to acknowledge that. GIULIANI: The Brady Bill was part of the crime bill. The crime bill overall helped. I am not saying it did not help. But the reality is that what we did in New York was nothing short of totally unexpected. Nobody thought it was possible.
"Rudy understands that what works in New York doesn't necessarily work in Mississippi or Montana."
Rudy Giuliani waded gently into it Wednesday, a day after GOP rival John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said that the attack did not throw him off his support for constitutional gun rights. "Obviously, this tragedy does not alter the Second Amendment," Giuliani said in a statement. "People have the right to keep and bear arms and the Constitution says this right will not be infringed." His emphasis on state-by-state solutions to gun control in the GOP primaries contrasts with his past enthusiasm for a federal mandate to register handgun owners--an even stiffer requirement than registering guns. Giuliani, as New York mayor and former Senate candidate, and Mitt Romney, as Massachusetts governor, supported the federal ban on assault-type weapons, background checks on gun purchases and other restrictions reviled by many gun-rights advocates.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: But you said--pardon me, what happened was the Brady Bill. Crime was down nationally. New York was a beneficiary. GIULIANI: No, crime... COLMES: Get a good police chief in Bill Bratton. GIULIANI: No. Crime wasn't down nationally. The reality is New York City is the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994. In Boston, for example, I went back and looked at the 2000 statistics, there was a 60 percent greater chance you could be the victim of a crime. In most other cities it was 100 percent. New York City went from being the crime capital of America to the city number 191 for crime. COLMES: But crime went down nationally after the Brady Bill was passed, the crime rate went down all over the United States. GIULIANI: But it didn't stay down all over the United States the way it did in New York. In fact, during a debate between President Clinton and Bob Dole, President Clinton talked about the crime decline in New York, in America, and Senator Dole made the point that were it not for the decline in America, the statistics in New York would not have led to a decline in crime. COLMES: But the Brady Bill did lead to a decline in crime. You have to acknowledge that. GIULIANI: The Brady Bill was part of the crime bill. The crime bill overall helped. I am not saying it did not help. But the reality is that what we did in New York was nothing short of totally unexpected. Nobody thought it was possible.
Now says states should decide appropriate gun controls. As New York mayor and Senate prospect in 2000, favored variety of federal controls, including ban on assault-style weapons and waiting period for purchases. Also favored a federal mandate to register handgun owners and require handgun buyers to "demonstrate good moral character and a reason to have the gun."