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Tuesday September 21 5:44 PM ET
Bush Launches Gun-Crime Initiative In Texas
By Hilary Hylton
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Gov. and Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush, who has come under fire for his opposition to tighter gun controls, said Tuesday he was allocating $1.6 million in state funds to a new initiative to crack down on gun crime.
Bush said $1.28 million will be used to pay for the appointment of eight special prosecutors who will vigorously prosecute criminals who use guns within the framework of existing laws. Another $360,000 will be used to fund a public awareness campaign aimed at reducing gun violence under the slogan ``Gun Crime Means Hard Time.''
At a news conference with Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, Bush repeated his position that new laws are not the way to eradicate gun violence, like the killing spree that left eight people dead in a Fort Worth, Texas, church last week.
``The best way to protect our citizens is to vigorously enforce the tough laws we have on the books,'' he said.
``This program gives law enforcement the opportunity to combat gun violence by enforcing the toughest laws on the books, whether federal or state,'' Bush told reporters.
Since the wave of recent U.S. mass shootings, Bush's opponents, notably Vice President and leading Democratic presidential contender Al Gore, have attacked Bush for what they say is a pro-gun stance.
As governor Bush signed a law allowing licensed Texans to carry concealed guns and also signed legislation supported by the National Rifle Association that bars Texas cities from suing gun manufacturers to recover costs associated with gun crimes.
Gore ridiculed Bush's assertion that killing sprees such as those in Fort Worth and at a Littleton, Colorado, high school in April were caused by a ``wave of evil'' sweeping America.
``Too frequently tragedy happens when evil meets a wave of guns flooding across our country,'' Gore said last week.
Bush's stance on guns plays well with voters in Texas, where widespread acceptance of the eye-for-an-eye principle is also reflected in broad support for the death penalty.
Some commentators believe Bush will have to strike a different tone while campaigning in other states because of rising support for increased gun control following tragedies such as Fort Worth, Littleton, the Atlanta day-trader killings in July, and the Los Angeles Jewish center slayings in August.
Bush reiterated Tuesday his view that it was impossible to prevent killings such as those in Fort Worth because such attacks were the work of disturbed individuals bent on killing. ''In this particular case, it is hard to convince a crazy man not to act. If it wasn't a gun it might have been a pipe bomb,'' he said in response to reporters' questions.
However, the new program was intended to create a deterrent, he said. ``Maybe somebody hearing the message that there will be consequences'' would be persuaded ``not to carry a gun in the first place,'' he said.
Bush said the Texas program was modeled on a similar one in Richmond, Virginia, which he said had brought about a dramatic reduction in gun violence.
Under the Texas program, eight new assistant attorneys general will work with local district attorneys and the staff of the four U.S. attorneys in Texas to prosecute gun crimes.
Bush for president !