CAMPAIGN ’88 : Bush Hit on Gun Stand

Representatives of major law enforcement groups sharply criticized Bush Thursday for opposing legislation establishing a national seven-day waiting period on handgun sales to allow for background checks on purchasers.

Bush, the unofficial Republican presidential nominee, and Dukakis also disagree on this subject.

Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation, said: “It would appear that the governor (Dukakis) is with the law enforcement community on this issue and that Vice President Bush is not.”

Bush said in response to a questionnaire by the Law Enforcement Steering Committee: “I am opposed to federal waiting-period legislation. As I have stated in the past, this is a matter for the states to decide.”

Jerald Vaughn, executive director of the 15,000-member International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, said Bush apparently does not understand the issue or has “a lack of courage to stand up to a gun lobby,” a reference to the National Rifle Assn., which opposes the proposed waiting period.

Bush campaign spokesman Mark Goodin called the criticism “unfortunate,” saying Bush has been as ardent an ally of law enforcement as Dukakis has been of the American Civil Liberties Union.