Background
After receiving the Democratic nomination for president, Clinton campaigned against George H. W. Bush, in the fall of 1992. In the six previous elections, Republicans had garnered enormous success by labeling their opponents as "soft on crime". Democrats had not used gun control in the past as an election issue. Clinton reversed the tide by using gun control as an issue and calling Bush soft on crime for not pushing for passage of the Brady Bill or an assault weapons ban. Clinton also strongly endorsed the death penalty. Bush called for " Going after the criminal not the gun owner". However, on March 15, 1989, less than two months after taking office, Bush temporarily banned, by executive order, the importation of various semi-automatic assault weapons. That ban was extended a few weeks later to include additional firearms, and was made permanent by Bush in July, 1989. Clinton won the 1992 election with 43% of the vote.
Read more about this topic: Gun Control Policy Of The Clinton Administration
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