US Presidency
1976

The way to cut down on the criminal use of guns is not to take guns away from the law abiding citizen, but to impose mandatory sentences for crimes in which a gun is used, make it harder to obtain cheap guns for criminal purposes, and concentrate gun control enforcement in highcrime areas. My budget recommends 500 additional federal agents in the 11 largest metropolitan high-crime areas to help local authorities stop criminals from selling and using handguns. The sale of hard drugs is tragically on the increase again. I have directed all agencies of the federal government to step up law enforcement efforts against those who deal in drugs. In 1975, I am glad to report, federal agents seized substantially more heroin coming into our country than in 1974. As President, I have talked personally with the leaders of Mexico, Colombia, and Turkey to urge greater efforts by their governments to control effectively the production and shipment of hard drugs.