Clinton supports "Million Mom March" in radio speech

President Bill Clinton said Saturday the gun lobby is "no match" for the tens of thousands of American mothers who will march in support of stiffer gun control legislation Sunday on the National Mall and in 70 other sites nationwide.

In his weekly radio address, Clinton said the organizers of the "Million Mom March" are helping to lead a grass-roots campaign that has already put stronger laws in place in states such as California, Massachusetts and Maryland.

"They're letting the gun lobby know it is no match for America's moms," the president said. "But our nationwide fight won't be over tomorrow, no matter how many march. We have so much work still to do."

Clinton said the march is a call to Congress to act on gun legislation it has been wrangling over for 10 months. It would require child safety locks with all new handguns, close a loophole that permits firearms purchases at gun shows without background checks and ban the import of large-capacity ammunition clips.

The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Sisters Inc., a Dallas-based group that advocates gun safety, education and self-defense, both see the march as a way to further politicize the issue and appeal to people's emotions with stories from parents who have lost children in accidental shootings and gun-related crimes.

"There is no question that the death of a child is tragic. We're all for gun safety, but licensing and registration is not going to keep guns away from children," said Robin Ball, a spokeswoman for Second Amendment Sisters. The group is sponsoring counter rallies Sunday because its members believe their views won't be voices by the marchers.

Bill Powers, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said his association this week pledged dlrs 1 million to start gun safety education programs in elementary schools and challenged the "Million Mom March" organizers and the Clinton administration to pledge equal amounts. Powers said the NRA money has not been matched.

"They talk about a million moms. That's a dollar a mom," Powers said. "Clinton could have made a few calls and maybe we could have raised more money and all of a sudden we'd have had several million dollars to teach kids that guns aren't toys."