PEOPLE

The Southeast Missourian asked people how they felt about President Clinton's push for a new crime bill that would include harsher gun-control laws, more police on the streets and a ban on foreign hand-guns.

Peggy Proffer of St. Louis: "I live in St. Louis where in the last week there have been drive-by shootings and people shot who were caught in the crossfire. There should be restrictions and waiting periods for purchasing guns. Do some research on who is buying guns."

Chris Ellegood of Cape Girardeau: "There are too many hand guns anyway. The NRA should not oppose this bill, because it deals with handguns, not rifles. If we had fewer handguns, how would sixteen-year-olds get a gun? We also need more police on the streets."

Ronald Phelps of Malden: "We need further gun restrictions and background checks, but more in the inner city than here. In Dunklin County we only have six to eight officers to cover a full county. It's impossible. They do what they can on what they got. We need more police."

Brent Statler of Jackson: "Gun restrictions would cut of the crime rate a lot. I wouldn't have a gun. I might have an accident. I feel uncomfortable. It would help to have more police. It depends on the quality of officers to make it work."

Clayton Spears of Sikeston: "We need the death penalty. They'll put the police out there and then the government will take the funding away after a certain period of time. Who'll pay the extra police then?"

Beverly Langston of Dyer, Tenn.: "If they want a gun bad enough, they're gonna get it, whether it's legal or not. If you take the guns away from the citizens, they have no protection. We could lose our rights to bear arms. I don't know if I could even shoot anyone, but I would like a gun just for safety."