The House and Senate conference committee on juvenile justice legislation (HR 1501) did not report a final bill. The Senate version of the bill contains gun safety reforms supported by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, while the House version contains no such provisions.

"Failure to pass reasonable federal gun control legislation during the recent congressional session was a major disappointment and one of several contrasts between the beltway crowd and the average American," Conference of Mayors President Mayor Wellington E. Webb of Denver said in response to the lack of action.

Mayor Webb and Gun Violence Task Force Co-Chairs Joseph P. Ganim of Bridgeport and Clarence Harmon of St. Louis led a delegation of over 50 mayors, 30 police chiefs and leaders from the interfaith community to Washington, DC on September 9, 1999 to demand immediate action on gun safety legislation. This call to action on "Gun Safety Day," as well as other bi-partisan support for gun safety provisions, appears to have fallen on deaf ears as Congress left town for a two month vacation without sending President Clinton gun safety legislation.

Debate between the House and Senate centers on the issue of background checks at gun show. Under current law, non-licensed private sellers of guns are not required to conduct Brady background checks on purchasers of weapons at gun shows and other such venues. The Senate provision would require that all sellers of weapons at gun shows be required to conduct a background check, and would provide up to three business days to conduct the check if needed.

While 75 percent of all background checks are completed within 30 seconds and 95 percent within 2 hours, when a check cannot be completed within 24 hours, the individual being checked is nearly 20 times more likely to be a felon or other prohibited buyer than the average purchaser according to federal statistics.

The House negotiators are arguing for a gun show provision which would allow as little as 24 hours for background checks, and apply this limitation to both non-licensed and licensed dealers, which would be a major weakening of current law.

Also at issue in the conference committee is the minimum size of a gun show to be covered and procedures for maintaining records of those checks.

Mayor Webb commented on the importance of this issue stating, "If the proposal for expanding background checks is to achieve its objective, it has to apply to all sales...".

In addition to closing the gun show loophole, the Senate bill includes:

• a ban on the importation of large capacity (more than ten rounds) ammunition clips;

• strict penalties for juveniles who buy firearms to commit a felony and for adults who knowingly supply firearms to juveniles to commit crimes;

• a ban on juvenile possession (under 18) of semi-automatic assault weapons;

• a requirement that child safety locks be sold with every handgun sold in the United States;

• establishment of a lifetime ban from owning a gun for anyone convicted of a violent crime while a juvenile, but only after extensive and complicated changes in state and local practices; and

• a call for the Federal Trade Commission to study whether the firearms industry tries to market guns to children.

Congressional supports of gun safety legislation are considering pushing a discharge petition when Congress returns in January to force action on these provisions. President Clinton has also identified gun safety legislation as a top priority for action when Congress returns from vacation.