A Blow to The N.R.A.

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In response to the Brady bill, LaPierre has spearheaded a blitzkrieg of mailings, phone calls and advertisements designed to inflame N.R.A. members and intimidate foes. On the day of the House vote, the organization poured its money into full-page ads in the Washington Post, while the airwaves were flooded with anti-Brady spots. "The N.R.A. really overplayed their hand with the massive advertising campaign," said Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican. It "became a vote on whether you support the N.R.A. or not." It remains to be seen whether the gun lobby will make good on its threat to defeat opponents in future election campaigns, as it has effectively done in the past.

The Brady bill, which does not require identity checks and will not remove guns that are already in the hands of criminals, is a very limited piece of legislation. Said House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, a Washington State Democrat who did not vote on the gun-control issue last week: "I think all handgun- violence controls overpromise their results, without exception." But Brady's approval by the House represents a significant symbolic victory for the gun-control forces and shows that legislators are responding to the public's concerns about crime. Says Houston homicide division Captain Bill Edison, one of the many top police officials around the country who favor Brady: "I can't sit out here amongst the carnage I see on the streets and not support a waiting bill. A waiting period will save x number of lives. How many, we could argue about forever."

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CREDIT: TIME Chart

[TMFONT 1 d #666666 d {Source: FBI Crime in the United States}]CAPTION: U.S. murders by handguns