Ready, Aim, Fire
A new gun plan triggers a war between the feds and the NRA
RICHMOND, VA.--The stark black-and-white billboard says it all: "An illegal gun gets you five years in Federal Prison." Posted along Interstate 95--the "Iron Pipeline"--the sign serves as a warning to anyone even thinking about running guns here. It also symbolizes one of the most successful, yet controversial, efforts in a sharply escalating federal war on guns--a war that is being fought on Capitol Hill as well as in the streets.
The billboard is part of "Project Exile," a two-year-old federal experiment that is designed to stem violent crimes--in this case, the high number of murders in Virginia's historic capital city. The strategy: Instead of prosecuting gun-related crimes using state laws that can be weak, move them into federal jurisdiction. There are several tough laws on the federal books that deny bond to convicted felons caught with guns and to those arrested on drug-related gun offenses. The laws also specify long mandatory sentences. "The idea was simple," says James Comey, a federal prosecutor in Richmond. "Let's do a hell of a lot of gun cases, let's do them in federal court, and scare the pants off the bad guys."
It's been a big hit here: Federal and city officials credit the program in large part for a 36 percent drop in the number of fatal shootings in Richmond since 1997. "We used to drive around in our squad cars and see gunfire flashing all around," says Michael Zohab, a Richmond police sergeant, adding that these days when a drug dealer is asked why he's not packing weapons, his response is often: "I don't want to be `Exiled.' "
Legislation looming. The program's success has also set the stage for a heated confrontation between the Clinton administration and gun-law opponents. With the administration poised to send a sweeping new crime bill to Congress, the National Rifle Association vows to wage a vigorous fight against the proposed legislation--using Project Exile as its main weapon. The NRA will try to persuade Congress that the administration should put its resources into federal prosecutions of gun crimes and not into new laws controlling the sale and possession of guns.
The irony is that Attorney General Janet Reno actually agrees with the NRA on Project Exile's promise--but not its exclusivity. She will soon issue a directive to federal prosecutors around the country urging them to consider implementing new programs in their districts like Project Exile. But the administration's new crime package will include only $5 million for such efforts. Among the other new provisions are background checks for buyers at gun shows, a lifetime ban on gun possession by juveniles convicted of certain violent crimes, and child safety locks on all guns.
Not surprisingly, the NRA has different priorities. It wants Congress to put up $100 million to start Project Exile clones in every major U.S. city. Summarizing the NRA's position, Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said: "When you confront a felon with a gun, you take him off the street. I mean every cop who walks the street knows that. Yet you have this never-ending debate about gun control."
Fearing it may get trapped by its own success, the administration is girding for a showdown. Says Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder: "The notion of earmarking funds and putting us in a straitjacket and telling us we have to use one concept around the country is fundamentally wrong."
And that's just the opening volley. The NRA is aggressively pushing legislation--set to be introduced as early as this week by Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia--that would bar cities from suing gun manufacturers. The Justice Department is closely monitoring several lawsuits filed by cities against gun makers to decide whether to file one of its own.
This story appears in the March 1, 1999 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.