Michael Dukakis' long-time support for tighter government controls on handguns provided ample ammunition for George Bush and the National Rifle Asociation. Dukakis, who supports a federal seven-day waiting period on handgun purchases and a ban on ``Saturday Night Specials,'' accused his opponent of distorting his stance on gun control. ``I've always supported the right of hunters and sportsmen to own weapons and (for) people to protect themselves in their own homes,'' the Democrat said. Dukakis backed the so-called Brady amendment to impose a uniform, mandatory seven-day waiting period on handgun purchases in all states. Bush opposed the Brady amendment, which went down to a 228-182 defeat Sept. 13 after intense lobbying by the NRA. Bush, a lifetime member of the NRA, elicited cheers from crowds across the South and West whenever he declared his opposition to new federal gun controls. ``I'm a sportsman, I'm a hunter, (I) like to do it, and I don't believe we need the federal government going forward with gun control legislation,'' Bush told a rally in Billings, Mont. In opposing a federal waiting period, Bush found himself on the opposite side of several national police organizations, worried about the vagaries of state laws. Only 22 states now bar instant gun purchases. Dukakis vehemently denied ever telling a gun owners' lobbyist, ``I don't believe in people owning guns, only the police and military. And I am going to do everything I can to disarm this state.'' In 1976, Dukakis supported a Massachusetts referendum to ban private ownership of handguns. The referendum failed. Dukakis currently favors the ban on Saturday Night Specials, as well as ``additional efforts to keep guns out of the hands of the criminally or mentally dangerous, including background checks.'' Dukakis boasts that as governor he supported a law setting a mandatory one-year prison sentence for those illegally carrying a gun, and stiffened penalties for felonies commited with a firearm. He says 22,000 Americans are killed each year with handguns. At one point the Dukakis campaign threatened a lawsuit against the NRA over ads berating the Democrat's record on guns and crime. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, long a favorite of the NRA, came to the defense of his running mate, saying, ``I saw those ads about Mike Dukakis going to take the guns away from you. I sure wouldn't be running with any fellow if I thought he was going to take my shotgun away from me.'' Bush said he supports ``mandatory sentences for those caught using a gun during a crime.'' But in a letter to the NRA, the Republican attacked what he called the ``gun control myths.'' ``Those who invent these myths threaten more than the rights of our 70 million gun owners and 25 million hunters,'' Bush said. ``Federal licensing, gun registration, background checks, or a ban on firearms to name a few, would only restrict the rights of the law-abiding, leaving criminals free to commit crimes with illegal weapons.'' Dukakis told a crowd in Pueblo, Colo., that the charges he is against gun ownership are ``a lot of baloney.'' ``What I'm concerned about is teen-agers in major cities of this country running around with Uzis and AK-47s (automatic military weapons) and killing people'' in street gangs and drug deals, Dukakis said. ``That's the kind of thing that's got to be controlled, not innocent sportsmen who have a perfect right to hunt.'' Bush, as a congressman from Houston, voted for the original federal Gun Control Act of 1968. That law, enacted after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., barred convicted felons from buying or owning guns and banned interstate and mail-order sale of handguns. But Bush says he also supported the 1986 McClure-Volkmer Act that allowed the interstate sale of rifles and shotguns. Bush, in his campaign literature, says, ``I have always opposed federal gun registration or licensing of gun owners.'' But he added, ``We must balance the legitimate interests of gun owners with the rights of society. ... We must do all we can to keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals.'' In a debate with other Republican candidates before the Gun Owners of New Hampshire last Feb. 2, Bush said, ``I'm not only a hunter but I'm a lifetime member of the NRA. I do have a deep appreciation for the Second Amendment rights'' to keep and bear arms.
Michael Dukakis ' efforts to end government controls on handguns provided ammunition for Rep. George Bush and the NRA in the 1988 presidential election against Dukakis . Although Dukakis supported the Brady Bill , a 7-day wait for gun purchases , and a ban on Saturday Night Specials , he said he is not against guns for sports and protection . Bush , as a presidential candidate and a lifetime member of the NRA , supports new federal gun controls , although he voted for federal laws in 1968 as a congressman . Dukakis says 22,000 people are killed yearly by handguns ; Bush says ... "I have a deep appreciation for Second Amendment rights . "