Dole Plays Partisan During Fund-Raising Visit

ORANGE — Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, making an appearance in Orange County to help freshman U.S. Rep. Ed R. Royce (R-Fullerton) raise money for reelection, vowed Tuesday that President Clinton will face a tough fight if he pushes sweeping new gun control laws.

Clinton said last weekend at a Los Angeles stopover that he is looking at the idea of a national system to require licensing and training of guns owners. But Dole, one of the President’s most frequent critics during a stormy first year, said bluntly at a press conference: “I just don’t think that’s going to fly. . . . That’ll shorten his license.”

With violent crime an issue of increasing concern to voters, last week’s passage of the so-called Brady Bill--a long-stalled effort to require a five-day waiting period before anyone can buy a gun--was seen as a landmark step by gun-control advocates. But Dole said the Democrats should be careful before pushing too hard for any broader measures.

The Kansas senator, nearing the end of a two-week tour across 10 states to help fill the campaign coffers of congressional Republicans, said placing new restrictions on non-criminals who want to own a gun is not the answer.

Instead, Dole said he supports a tactic already adopted in some states to provide an “instant check” of the backgrounds of potential gun buyers. If adopted at the federal level, the computerized system would tap into a log of 18 million people nationwide with criminal records or a history of psychiatric problems, Dole said.

Quick to portray the Republicans as tough on crime, Dole also voiced his support for measures pending in Congress that would require tougher sentences for repeat felons guilty of violent crimes, less restrictive use of evidence in court against some child-abuse suspects and the denial of prison funding to states that free inmates before 85% of their sentences are served.