Elizabeth Dole opposes concealed weapons law, backs mandatory safety locks May 12, 1999 Web posted at: 12:07 a.m. EDT (0407 GMT) WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 12) Vowing she "won't shy away from tough issues," Elizabeth Dole said Tuesday it is "wrong" to allow Americans to carry concealed weapons and that she supports mandatory safety locks on guns two gun-control proposals that GOP front-runner George W. Bush opposes. "I think police work is hard enough already. No one should make it harder. I think it's wrong to let people carry concealed weapons," Dole said in a prepared text for a much broader speech on the career paths of women. The announcement for specific gun-control measures distinguishes Dole from the rest of the GOP presidential field for the 2000 election. "It's the right thing to do and I won't shy away from the tough issues, even if some in my party don't like it," Dole said. While saying she opposes people being allowed to carry concealed weapons, she said it is ultimately "a matter for states to decide." In 1995, Texas Gov. Bush signed a bill into law that overturned a statewide ban on carrying concealed weapons that had been in place since 1871. | |
|