EMERSON SAYS GUN CONTROL BILL `NOT GOOD IDEA'

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Congressman Bill Emerson opposes a bill that would require a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases.

"I don't think the Brady bill is a very good idea," Emerson said in a telephone interview from his Washington area home Easter weekend.

"Frankly, there are better procedures for determining whether firearms purchasers have criminal records."

The Cape Girardeau Republican said, "The proposal is designed more to harass legitimate gun owners, hunters, collectors and shooters than it is to prevent crime.

"The Brady bill is a major step in gun control and interfering with the rights of law-abiding citizens," he maintained.

The bill is named after former presidential press secretary James S. Brady who was shot and left paralyzed in the 1981 shooting of then-President Reagan.

Last Thursday, Reagan endorsed the bill, which his administration had opposed.

Rep. Edward F. Feighan, D-Ohio, who introduced the Brady bill for the third time in Congress on Jan. 3, said Reagan's support "signals the end of the (National Rifle Association's) ability to block anti-criminal handgun-control measures through intimidation."

Feighan said, "The Brady bill would have passed this year even without President Reagan's endorsement. With it, our victory is assured."

But Emerson said it's far from certain that the bill will win passage in the House.

"It's only a bill," said Emerson, noting that it has yet to be approved by the House Judiciary Committee. "It's not something that the full House has considered at all."

Last year, the measure got through the Judiciary Committee but it never came up for a vote on the House floor. The bill lost by about 40 votes the year before. The full Senate has never voted on it.

President Bush has consistently opposed a waiting period as a way to control the spread of handguns, instead favoring the idea of a computer check on buyers at the time the guns are purchased.

But Attorney General Dick Thornburgh has said that it could take years for criminal records to be computerized nationwide and made available to gun stores so that such a system could be implemented.

Emerson, however, said the Justice Department has been "working hard" on developing such a computerized system.

"The handgun-control people have really been muddying the water and deny the efficacy of this technology," he added.

"The technology is there to determine at the point of sale if one has a criminal record. So what is the purpose of a seven-day waiting period?" questioned Emerson.

The Bush administration contends that the Brady bill would fail to catch the majority of criminals who obtain guns illegally rather than through purchases at gun shops.

Instead, Bush is pushing for legislation that would require tougher prison terms for crimes involving guns.

Emerson agrees with Bush. "I continue to believe that the onus ought to be on the criminal and not on the law-abiding citizen," said Emerson. "A criminal that wants to commit a crime with a firearm is going to get one."

Bush is being urged by some officials in the administration to soften his opposition to the Brady bill.

These officials reportedly are urging the White House to offer Congress the option of passing crime-bill provisions sought by the president in return for Bush's support of the Brady bill.

Emerson said he doubted that liberals in Congress would support such a trade-off.

The congressman is one of the sponsors of a Bush-supported crime bill now being considered in the House.

Among other things, the legislation would:

Restore an enforceable federal death penalty.

Curb the abuse of habeas corpus.

Combat criminal violence involving firearms.

Protect witnesses and other participants in the criminal justice system from violence and intimidation.

Address the problems of gangs and serious juvenile offenders.

Combat terrorism, sexual violence and child abuse.

Provide for drug testing of offenders in the criminal justice process.

Enhance the rights of crime victims.

Emerson said: "There are now around 2,350 murderers sentenced to death in this nation, but only around 140 executions have occurred in the past 20 years.

"The time between sentencing and execution has averaged about 6 years, and many of the prisoners remain on death row for up to a decade, or more, while litigation in their cases continues.

"Right now, we're stringing out the habeas corpus procedure for death-row inmates forever and ever," he said.

Emerson said the crime bill would toughen penalties and streamline judicial procedures.

"There is a general sentiment in this country that criminals have more rights than victims," said Emerson. "This bill is a bill that would reverse that tide."