[b]SECOND PART OF POST:[/b]
``No one may buy a gun at a Pennsylvania gun show without a background check,'' the ad said. ``But felons in 32 states can get guns at gun shows with no questions asked and resell them on the street.''
Bush supports requiring unlicensed gun dealers to conduct instant background checks at gun shows but opposes the extended check of up to three days allowed under the Brady handgun law.
Nineteen senators, guardedly hopeful of congressional passage but uncertain about whether Bush will sign it, introduced a bill last month to plug the so-called gun-show loophole. A similar version died in Congress last year.
The program Bush announced is based on Project Exile, which originated in Richmond, Virginia, in 1997 and has spread statewide as well as to Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas, Bush's home state, and to about a dozen local communities, including Philadelphia.
Under details of the plan announced by Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites), the program will include the hiring of 113 new federal prosecutors at a cost of $15.3 to work full time on gun cases.
Some $75 million will fund 600 new state and local gun prosecutors. That money is in the Justice Department (news - web sites) budget.
IMPROVE RECORD KEEPING
The new attorneys will form teams that will include federal and local officials to review and prepare gun cases for prosecution, Ashcroft said. They will also work to increase awareness of gun issues in local communities.
And $44 million would go to improve state criminal record keeping, and another $28.8 million would expand and integrate federal computerized ballistic testing. Another $19.1 million would expand a program by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms aimed at preventing youths from obtaining guns.
Project Exile is supported by the National Rifle Association, one of the most powerful lobbies in the United States and a major contributor to Republican candidates. The NRA opposes stricter gun control legislation saying it contravenes the constitutional right to bear arms.
Bush was introduced by Philadelphia's Democratic Mayor John Street. He and Bush have developed an unlikely friendship based on Street's support for faith-based programs and Street's backing of Bush's education plans.
``He has shown an unusual sensitivity and an unusual understanding of our challenges and he has made a commitment that is unusual in my memory in making sure that we feel good and are served by our government,'' Street said of Bush.
Before returning to Washington, Bush had a private meeting with the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.