While Bill Clinton was performing in the theatre of press conference politics, the United States House of Representatives was passing legislation to take a proven, tough law enforcement program nationwide.
Today highlights the difference between political theatre and proven, effective public policy.
Project Exile began as a Richmond, Virginia effort to fully enforce existing federal laws against violent criminals with guns and drug dealers carrying guns on the streets of that city. In three years, the gun murder rate in Richmond has been cut in half and the program has been adopted with similar success in Rochester, Birmingham, Oakland, and other cities. In recent months, the states of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, South Carolina, and Colorado have adopted state models of the program, and a number of other cities and states are considering similar programs. Today's vote in the House is a tremendous step toward NRA's goal of a national effort to do what the Clinton-Gore Administration has refused to do, that is, fully enforce existing tough laws against violent felons who illegally carry and misuse guns. According to Syracuse University, federal prosecutions of gun laws decreased by almost fifty percent during the Clinton-Gore Administration, while federal referrals to state authorities for prosecutions decreased by thirty percent.