Date: 26 Aug 94 19:59:21 EDT From: William Winter <73163.3063@compuserve.com> Subject: LP Release: Crime Bill To: 3-*PR Libernet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------NE WS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 1528 Pennsylvania Avenue SE Washington DC 20003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For immediate release: August 26, 1994 For additional information: Bill Winter, Director of Communications (202) 543-1988 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Libertarian Party: Violent criminals will love Clinton's crime bill WASHINGTON, DC - "There are only two groups in America happy about the passage of the new $30 billion crime bill -- career criminals and the Clinton White House," charged Steve Dasbach, Chairman of the Libertarian Party. "Criminals love it because the 'three strikes and you're out' provision will guarantee that violent criminals will be released from jail, while we continue to fill our prisons with non-violent offenders guilty of victimless crimes," said Dasbach. "President Clinton likes it because it allows him to talk tough, while not doing anything. Clinton boasted that the crime bill will make 'every neighborhood in America safer.' He was lying -- and he knows it," said Dasbach, head of America's third largest party. "Even adding 100,000 new police officers will not guarantee a reduced crime rate. After all, the District of Columbia has more police officers per capita than any other major American city. It also has one of the highest crime rates. All this bill does is further curtail the civil liberties of law-abiding citizens. It surrenders traditionally local law enforcement to the federal government. And it's loaded with billions in wasteful spending," he charged. "This crime bill also mounts an aggressive assault on the right to keep and bear arms. It bans 19 semiautomatic firearms by name and other unnamed semiautomatics, using a definition so broad that as many as 181 types of weapons could be outlawed. Will this stop criminals? No -- it just further disarms the victims, depriving them of the basic right of self-defense; all the while failing to address the real causes of crime," said Dasbach. "There's one thing we did learn from this bill -- the real difference between the Republicans and Democrats," he said. "Democrats wanted a $33 billion crime bill; Republicans helped pass a $30 billion bill. That's a difference of only 10%. And that's what politics in America has come down to -- fighting over that 10-cent on the dollar difference. That's why America needs the Libertarian Party; to provide a real alternative." Dasbach said he hopes that Congress will learn from its mistakes, when it becomes clear that this bill has failed to reduce crime. "In every election year, Congress rushes to pass a new crime bill. But, until Congress chooses to learn from past mistakes, we are unlikely to see Congressional action leading to safer streets," he said. Approximately 125 Libertarians serve in elected and appointed office around the country, including four State Representatives in New Hampshire and three mayors in California. The Libertarian Party platform calls for vigorous defense of the Bill of Rights, free enterprise, civil liberties, free trade, and private charity. # # #