As Americans hold their breath while the Florida votes in the presidential election are being recounted, the close race in this election occurred because Americans are pretty evenly divided on the major issues separating the candidates. Among these issues are abortion, social security, health care, and gun control. Both candidates have significantly different views on these issues, with Al Gore favoring tighter gun control legislation while George Bush has the support of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for his support of gun owner’s rights.
In light of the fact that the majority of Americans favor stricter gun control legislation, hand gun murders by schoolchildren across the nation are on the rise, and increasing numbers of homicides due to hand guns, it would be a mistake to cast one’s vote for George Bush because of his views on gun control. The only two items on Bush’s gun control agenda are aggressive enforcement of existing gun control laws, and the Texas Governor “favors raising the minimum age for handgun possession from 18 to 21” (Twohey 1). Al Gore, in contrast, is basically supporting only minor changes in gun control legislation, but even his gun control platform as expressed below is perceived as being too threatening to the NRA and the republican camp:
Favors a photo ID licensing system for handgun purchases
Favors limiting handgun purchases to one a month
Favors increasing penalties for gun-related crimes
The position of Al Gore favors the sentiments of a majority of Americans, 47 percent of who feel new gun control laws are necessary as opposed to 41 percent who favor stricter enforcement of current laws (Twohey 4). Yet, virulent attacks by the NRA continue to be unleashed by the NRA and republicans, including Charleton Heston’s scare-tactics ads that portray Gore as being in favor of appointing Supreme Court Justices who will completely dissolv
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