REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
                       BY VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE
                       FIGHTING CRIME FOR AMERICA'S
                       FAMILIES 

                       It is wonderful to be here in Boston this morning - a city that
                       is winning an extraordinary victory against violence and fear. I
                       know that is due in large part to the remarkable leadership of
                       Mayor Menino, together with Boston's outstanding police. 

                       Your success here is an inspiration: for eighteen months here
                       in Boston, not a single precious child was killed. Youth
                       homicide is down by 75 percent. So far, in all of 1999, not a
                       single parent has lost a child to handgun violence. This
                       summer could be the safest in Boston's recent history. And I
                       applaud you. 

                       I want to build an America in the 21st Century where that kind
                       of progress is not astonishing, but expected. Where even one
                       act of violence or cruelty on the evening news is a shock to the
                       American spirit. 

                       In the past several weeks, I have spoken a great deal about
                       the crisis facing families in America today - about the growing
                       forces that make it harder, not easier, to raise a strong family.
                       From the erosion of discipline in our schools, to a culture that
                       glorifies mayhem and cruelty, to the time deficit too many
                       working parents face - our families face challenges that
                       economic abundance alone cannot overcome. 

                       And nothing does more to tear families apart than guns,
                       gangs, drugs, and the fear that walks alongside those terrors.
                       Our children cannot reach for their dreams if they are ducking
                       for cover. We cannot restore a sense of community and
                       decency if people are afraid to walk in any neighborhood - if
                       they feel they have lost the public spaces that are rightfully
                       theirs. A parent struggles to pass on the right values in a
                       culture that practically screams out that chaos and cruelty are
                       cool. And a good parent is undermined in trying to teach the
                       great, simple lessons of right and wrong, of the rule of law and
                       responsibility, when a burdened justice system lets criminals
                       off too easy. 

                       In the past six and a half years, we have made dramatic
                       progress in the war against crime. Remember the chronic fear
                       that used to be part of the way things just were in America's
                       cities? That fear has lifted. In many communities, we have
                       reversed a decades-long rise in crime. And we, together with
                       men and women in local law enforcement, did it by breaking
                       out of the rigid and rusted debates that had stalled action for
                       too long. 

                       When I served the people of Tennessee in the Senate, fighting
                       for the Brady Bill and for stronger anti-drug laws, we were still
                       caught between those who thought the sole answer was to be
                       tougher on criminals, and those who thought the sole answer
                       was to be tougher on the causes of crime. President Clinton
                       and I believed we needed a new way, and we found it.
                       Together with the law enforcement community, we created a
                       new crime-fighting strategy that not only took on the gun
                       lobby, it fought crime on every single front: we targeted
                       smarter prevention to save decent kids; we put more police on
                       the streets; and we made certain that truly savage criminals
                       knew they would face tougher punishments - punishments that
                       could include the death penalty - if they dared to terrorize the
                       innocent any longer. 

                       We lived up to every promise to you and your loved ones:
                       we're funding 100,000 new community police, and fighting for
                       up to 50,000 more - and I believe that should be just the
                       beginning. We funded 100,000 new prison cells, and expanded
                       the death penalty. Criminals don't laugh at the legal system
                       any more. And we stood up to the powerful gun lobby, and did
                       the right thing for our kids, by passing the Brady Bill and
                       banning deadly assault weapons at last. 

                       Now crime is at its lowest level in 25 years. Murder is at a
                       30-year low. We're breaking up violent teen gangs and turning
                       the good kids' lives around. 

                       The statistics are significant - and they are gratifying. But we
                       must be honest: too many families, and too many
                       communities, still live in fear. And that is because parents
                       share a growing sense that the line between right and wrong is
                       being blurred - a sense that too many children don't even know
                       when they have crossed it. 

                       To truly win the war against crime and drugs, we must redraw
                       the fundamental line between right and wrong in our own
                       minds and hearts. And then we must write it in ink in our
                       lawbooks and etch it in stone in our criminal justice system
                       and in our institutions. 

                       And so I make you this pledge today: if the people of this
                       country entrust me with the Presidency, I will fight to protect
                       America's families by launching the most effective and
                       comprehensive anti-crime strategy our nation has seen. 

                       I will change a political culture in Washington that puts the
                       interests of the gun lobby ahead of the needs of American
                       families, too many of whom now feel they have to draw the
                       curtains at midday because they fear their children's becoming
                       living targets. 

                       I will reform a justice system that spills half a million
                       prisoners back onto our streets each year - many of them
                       addicted to drugs and alcohol, unrehabilitated and
                       unrepentant, walking timebombs of violence. 

                       I will revolutionize a court system that is overloaded and
                       understaffed, and that often seems less like Law and Order
                       and more like Let's Make a Deal. It's time to put the rights of
                       victims and families first again. 

                       I will work with our communities to restore the sense of order
                       that says to children as well as to criminals: don't even think
                       about committing a crime here. 

                       And I will take on those who deliberately peddle degradation
                       and violence to our children and work for self-restraint in TV
                       and on the Internet, along with the V-Chip and related tools,
                       to guarantee that parents finally get real choices - and real
                       control. 

                       Good values are the best anti-crime insurance to begin with. 

                       And what I am proposing today puts that idea into action: a
                       criminal justice system with real consequences for those who
                       choose crime - and new respect for the rights of victims;
                       communities and schools that make it easier to raise a strong
                       family; gun laws that are written for families, not for gun
                       lobbyists and their apologists; and a shared commitment by
                       each one of us - to teach our children right from wrong, so we
                       can stop crime and drug abuse before they even start - that's
                       how we etch that line in stone once more. 

                       Let us build a criminal justice system that reflects our values
                       -- through fundamental changes in the way we administer
                       justice and enforce our laws. 

                       We cannot keep our families safe if our criminal justice system
                       is too often a revolving door, where even violent criminals get
                       a slap on the wrist. Though the Bible says that justice without
                       mercy is cold-hearted, it also reminds us that mercy at the
                       expense of justice is a desecration of our humanity. Crime
                       must have serious consequences - and the rights of victims
                       should be at the center of all justice. How can we expect
                       children to choose the good if our very system of justice too
                       often fails to side with the good guys? 

                       I am not satisfied. I am not satisfied with a criminal justice
                       system in which the average time between arrest and
                       sentencing is nearly seven months. I will lead a major overhaul
                       of our court system to make it faster and better. I want to hire
                       more prosecutors and public defenders, and use new
                       management techniques to make it more efficient. It's time to
                       apply the reforms that are working in the private sector, and at
                       many levels of government, to revolutionize our justice
                       system. 

                       I am not satisfied with empty benches. I agree with Chief
                       Justice Rehnquist: "[federal court] vacancies cannot remain at
                       such high levels indefinitely without eroding the quality of
                       justice." There are now 72 empty seats on the federal bench.
                       Yet instead of confirming highly qualified nominees, the
                       Republican Senate continues to hold our justice system
                       hostage. So I say to the Senate: if you are really serious about
                       protecting America's families, then stop playing politics with
                       our federal courts. 

                       I am not satisfied with outdated laws: our newest threats
                       must be met with the most trusted weapon we have: swift and
                       certain punishment. 

                       I am not satisfied as long as even one child remains at the
                       mercy of predators. We need tougher penalties against sex
                       offenders; we need to make it a federal crime if anyone dares
                       to stalk our children on the Internet. 

                       I am not satisfied as long as even one criminal traumatizes a
                       child through violence: if you commit any violent crime in front
                       of a child, you should pay an even higher price for it: more
                       time in jail. 

                       And it astonishes me that, just two weeks after the terrible
                       crimes of hate in Illinois and Indiana, some still deny that
                       hate crimes merit stiffer punishment. When a killer on the
                       rampage picks Jews, Blacks, and Asian Americans as his
                       victims, I don't understand how some can still argue that hate
                       crimes are no different than all other crimes. Hate crimes are
                       often among the most vicious, and the most violent of crimes.
                       But more serious still is the fact that their very purpose is to
                       dehumanize and to stigmatize -- not only to wound the victim,
                       but also to distort the American conscience. We will not have
                       it. It's time for Congress to stop stalling, and pass the Hate
                       Crimes Prevention Act. Let's punish crimes of hate with the full
                       force of our laws. 

                       The revolving door or recidivism pivots on drug abuse - and
                       access to drugs even in prison. I believe there is a way to shut
                       the revolving door of drug-related crime - with mandatory drug
                       testing, drug treatment, and more prison time for those who
                       don't break the habit. Let's make prisoners a simple deal:
                       before you get out of jail, you have to get clean. And if you
                       want to stay out, then you'd better stay clean. 

                       We must crack down on drugs in every corner of our society.
                       Drugs cause 16,000 deaths each year in America -- and more
                       than a million crimes that lead to arrest. One recent study
                       showed that nearly one-fifth of all state prisoners committed
                       their crimes just to feed their drug habits. 

                       As President, I will send a strong message to every American
                       child: drugs are wrong, and drugs can kill you. 

                       I will lead a national crusade to dry up drug demand, hold up
                       drugs at the border, and break up the drug rings that are
                       spreading poison on our streets. 

                       I'll expand drug treatment for at-risk youth. I'll fund more drug
                       courts, to speed justice for drug-related crime. I will double
                       the number of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas - drug
                       hot-spots where we aggressively target our enforcement
                       efforts. I will place a special emphasis on the fast-growing
                       problem of methamphetimines. And I will make sure that our
                       anti-drug strategy does not neglect the problem of alcohol
                       abuse, an underlying cause of far too many crimes. 

                       And I will never be satisfied so long as one victim is forgotten.
                       Too often, we bend over backward to protect the right of
                       criminals, but pay no attention to those who are hurt the
                       most. Victims should have a voice in trial and other
                       proceedings. Their safety should be a factor in the sentencing
                       and release of their attackers. They should be notified when an
                       offender is released back into their community. And they
                       should have a right to compensation from their attacker. That
                       is why I will lead the fight to pass a Victims' Rights
                       Amendment to the United States Constitution - so our justice
                       system puts victims and their families first again. 

                       And in our vigilance to crack down on criminals, we must do
                       more to make sure we never unfairly target those who are
                       innocent. No one believes more strongly in tough, vigorous law
                       enforcement than I do. But we need to end the hateful practice
                       of racial profiling in America - and I will ensure that we do. If I
                       am elected President, that will be the first civil rights action of
                       the new century. 

                       For law enforcement to fully understand and protect a
                       community, they must better reflect the community. That is
                       why I will support scholarships for communities that have been
                       historically underrepresented in our criminal justice system, in
                       a manner that is consistent with recent Supreme Court
                       decisions. I want to see the day when America's police,
                       prosecutors, and public defenders reflect the full diversity of
                       our nation. 

                       And we need to increase assistance for professional
                       development and re-training through our nation's police
                       academies. That is the best way to ensure that police catch
                       every criminal - and also respect every law-abiding citizen. 

                       We need a criminal justice system that reflects our values. But
                       we also need to build communities that are safer and stronger,
                       and make it easier for parents to instill the right values. 

                       We cannot have strong families without strong, safe, livable
                       communities. And as President, I will work to give communities
                       unprecedented new tools to instill order and safety. 

                       We can begin by making it easier for local law enforcement to
                       track the latest crime trends - block by block, crime by crime. I
                       will work to give police new computerized crime mapping
                       software -- so they know which hotspots to target, and which
                       places still need to be made safe. Earlier today, I announced
                       with Attorney-General Janet Reno that our Justice Department
                       and our National Partnership for Reinventing Government are
                       releasing a new plan to make crime mapping technology
                       available to every community in America. 

                       Once communities are fully able to track and analyze crime,
                       they need more help stopping it. I will fight for a federal law
                       that helps communities establish "gang-free zones" - with
                       curfews on specific gang members, a ban on gang-related
                       clothing, and the specific legal authority to break up gangs
                       once and for all. When this approach was pioneered in parts of
                       Los Angeles, it dramatically cut juvenile crime. Let's take our
                       streets back from the gangs, once and for all. 

                       As we forge new coalitions in an all-out effort to prevent
                       crime, let us also raise up our nation's faith-based
                       organizations. I have seen the difference that Reverend
                       Eugene Rivers and other faith leaders have made here in
                       Boston. They have found that overcoming problems such as
                       youth violence and drug addiction often requires something
                       more than new cops and tough laws - it requires discipline and
                       courage, deep within the individual. Faith is often the missing
                       ingredient, the leaven that rises the bread. That is why I want
                       to build a New Partnership with our nation's churches,
                       mosques, and synagogues. Through carefully-tailored efforts,
                       we can unleash the power of faith to stop crime at the
                       grassroots. 

                       And I want the heart of our crime prevention efforts to be safe,
                       strong, disciplined schools - places where children can learn in
                       safety, and where parents know their children are secure. I will
                       insist on a policy of zero tolerance toward guns and drugs in
                       our schools. Parents have a right to know if a child has brought
                       a gun to their children's school - and schools should be
                       required to tell them. I call for the creation of second-chance
                       schools - where kids headed for trouble, and those caught with
                       guns, can receive the strict discipline and intensive services
                       they need. As President, I will quadruple America's
                       commitment to after school programs, to keep children out of
                       harm's way in the afternoon hours when most juvenile crime
                       takes place. 

                       We need more discipline and character education, to reinforce
                       the values parents teach at home. And we need more parental
                       involvement in our schools. I recently visited Arlington
                       Technical High School in Indianapolis, where fathers actually
                       walk the halls to make their children's schools safer. They call
                       themselves "security dads." I want to support similar efforts
                       all across the nation. 

                       A safe community is a place where all women are safe from
                       domestic violence. I will make sure all battered women have
                       the legal protection and support they need to be safe in their
                       communities, and keep their attackers away. 

                       A safe community is a place where seniors are safe from fraud,
                       abuse, and every kind of elder-crime. I believe we should raise
                       the penalties for those who commit crimes against the elderly.
                       We should give federal prosecutors new tools to fight fraud
                       and abuse. And we should take dramatic new steps to shut
                       down fraudulent telemarketers who prey on the elderly. 

                       For all the challenges we face in the fight against crime, there
                       is one that looms over the rest: it is too easy for a child or a
                       criminal to get a gun in America. And there are too many
                       political leaders who take their marching orders from the gun
                       lobby. I call upon you to join with me, to create a family lobby
                       that is greater and more powerful than the gun lobby - so we
                       can get the guns away from children and criminals, once and
                       for all. 

                       We're working now to raise the age for handgun possession
                       from 18 to 21. To pass strict background checks for those who
                       buy guns at gun shows. To enact stiff, new penalties for adults
                       who sell guns to minors. And to require child-safety locks on
                       guns. I recently saw a billboard here in Boston posted by the
                       Newton, Massachusetts group Stop Handgun Violence. It said:
                       "It's a lot easier to child-proof a gun than it is to bullet-proof a
                       child." I agree. 

                       We need to pass all these measures right away. But we need
                       to do much, much more. I respect the rights of qualified gun
                       owners. But we have lost too many children to have our safety
                       held hostage by the gun lobby. 

                       As President, I will do whatever it takes to get the guns away
                       from children and criminals, and close every loophole in our
                       lawbooks. And here is how I want to start. I will fight for a
                       national requirement that every state issue photo licenses for
                       anyone who wants to buy a handgun. States would have broad
                       discretion in how to administer and implement this program.
                       But one thing would be clear: unless you obtain a license, pass
                       a background check, and pass a gun safety test, you could not
                       buy a handgun. Not in a gun shop, not at a gun show, not on a
                       street corner, not anywhere in America. 

                       We know background checks work. Since we passed the Brady
                       Law, gun crimes have dropped by 38 percent. The Brady Law
                       has stopped nearly a quarter of a million felons and fugitives
                       from buying guns, and saved countless lives. But today's
                       patchwork of background checks just isn't good enough. 

                       We require a license to drive a car in this nation, to keep
                       unsafe drivers off the road. Now we should require a license to
                       own a handgun - so people who shouldn't have them can't get
                       them. 

                       It's time. The gun lobby is sure to have a fit. But to me, it is
                       worth it, and I am sure the decent people of America will
                       agree: because too many illegal guns are flooding our
                       communities - and too many precious lives are being lost. 

                       And it is time to get tougher on dealers and sellers who
                       violate our gun laws. We need to crack down on open air gun
                       markets - where criminals are known to gather and buy guns -
                       and all places where guns are sold illegally to kids and
                       criminals. 

                       We should say to every rogue gun dealer in America: the first
                       time you willfully break our gun laws by selling guns to a felon
                       or a child, we'll suspend your license. And if you do it again,
                       we'll take away your license for good. No excuses. 

                       We also have to improve a spotty system of record-keeping, to
                       make it easier for law enforcement to catch gun-toting
                       criminals. I believe all gun manufacturers and federally
                       licensed dealers should have to report handgun sales to a
                       state authority, so we can trace the guns used in violent
                       crimes. 

                       We need to ban so-called "junk guns" - cheap, easily
                       concealed handguns that are causing havoc in too many
                       communities. 

                       I believe we need tougher penalties for gun trafficking, and all
                       crimes committed with guns. And I will work with states that
                       want to end the practice of plea bargaining for crimes
                       committed with guns. Innocent defendants shouldn't feel
                       pressured to plead guilty to get a lighter sentence. And those
                       who are truly guilty shouldn't be able to bargain their way out
                       of the full sentence they deserve. 

                       Let me tell you what we must not do: we must not loosen the
                       restrictions on concealed weapons. I will lead the fight against
                       legislation that makes it easier to hide a handgun in America. 

                       After all the gun tragedies in this nation - after Columbine,
                       and Jonesboro, and Conyers, Georgia, and all the future
                       massacres it is up to us to prevent - it is time for a new,
                       bipartisan consensus on this issue. Some want to enact new
                       protections for gun manufacturers. I want to pass new
                       protections for families. Some want more concealed weapons -
                       but they can't conceal the fact that they're just doing the
                       NRA's bidding. Some want to overturn local gun control laws. I
                       want to overturn the influence of the gun lobby. And I need
                       your help to do it. 

                       You know, we can do all this - put new cops on the street, fix
                       the system, crack down on the guns -- and yet the real
                       solution will still elude us if we don't look deeper, all the way
                       to how we teach the spirit of our children in this country. 

                       Do we give our kids something to believe in? Then the lure of
                       cheap sensation will not hold sway over them. Do we model
                       decency and honor to them? Then they will remain untempted
                       by theft and deceit. 

                       Parents can become more involved in the lives of their children
                       - they can spend time with them and talk with them. We can
                       teach our children even greater responsibility - why drugs are
                       deadly and wrong, and why crime and violence hurt us all - but
                       even deeper than that, why their own purity of conscience is
                       their most precious possession in a world of bright lights and
                       brazen icons. 

                       Together, one act of goodness following another, we must
                       replace a culture of meanness with one of meaning. 

                       Some of you may be familiar with the theory of crime
                       prevention called "broken windows." It says that if there is a
                       community with broken windows, and litter on the street, and
                       graffiti on the walls, that sends a powerful unspoken message:
                       if you want to commit a crime, then you've come to the right
                       place. We tolerate disorder here. 

                       As a nation, we need to send the opposite message: that we
                       have more than just the right policies - we also have the right
                       values. We need a culture that does not assault the innocent,
                       a legal system that never rewards the guilty, and a shared
                       moral universe of basic right and wrong. One act of goodness
                       following another, we build that nation of order and support for
                       the rule of law. 

                       That is the nation I will work to build in the 21st Century.
                       Then, one day, all cities can celebrate the kind of progress you
                       have brought to the great City of Boston. And all Americans
                       can come out from behind their locked doors; we can reclaim
                       our lost communities; and we can raise the families we love -
                       with safety, security, and the fullest faith in a peaceful future
                       together. Thank you and God bless your work.


