A COP'S BEST FRIEND

President Clinton chose a violence-prone Chicago neighborhood to propose a new ban on armor-piercing "cop killer" bullets. The proposal comes in the form of the "Saving Law Enforcement Officers' Lives Act of 1995." Flanked by police leaders at the 15th District Police Headquarters, the President said: "If a bullet can rip through a bulletproof vest like a knife through hot butter, it ought to be history. We should ban it." Tom Wyld, a National Rifle Association spokesman, countered that Clinton was trying "to ban guns by attempting to ban ammunition." Observes TIME's Michael Duffy: "There aren't many issues on which Bill Clinton is in sync with the American public, but when it comes to assault weapons-- and, he hopes, 'cop-killer' bullets -- he's not far off." Less clear, even to some in the White House, is the wisdom of the President's decision to launch supporting TV ads now. "If you're going to spend $2.4 million to remind the American public that you agree with them on assault weapons ," Duffy says, "why not do it next year, when the Republicans have chosen a nominee?"