How should we protect against instances of school violence such as the Columbine incident?

After Columbine various proposals were made in Congress to reduce gun violence by requiring mandatory gunlocks on weapons or closing the gun-show loopholes (sales of weapons at gun shows do not require the same background checks of purchasers as those required for licensed gun dealers). Ashcroft, who has received contributions from the NRA, voted against most recent proposals to strengthen gun laws. He seems to believe that the answer to school violence is not stopping gun sales but censoring television and gangsta rap lyrics. He supported the Children's Protection from Violent Programming Act, stating that "exposure to violent programming does in fact play an influential role in children's behavior," reasoning that "the murder rate in the United States doubled within fifteen years after television was introduced in the United States." There is also a strong correlation between the rise in the murder rate and the introduction of Big Macs in the United States, but no one attempts to limit hamburger sales.

Would you vigorously enforce the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) law?

A federal law, 18 USC § 248, makes it a crime to harass or intimidate a person attempting to obtain or provide "reproductive health services." In view of Ashcroft's strong opposition to abortion, will he enforce these provisions?

Will you vigorously enforce federal criminal laws against local police who violate the constitutional or civil rights of citizens?

Federal law (18 USC § 242) makes it a crime for a person "acting under color of law" (that is, utilizing state power) to willfully violate the constitutional rights of any person. Under that provision, the New York police who tortured Abner Louima were prosecuted by the federal government, convicted and sentenced to long prison terms. In view of Ashcroft's law-and-order bent and his vocal support of local police, would he follow the active role of the Reno Justice Department in enforcing Section 242?

Would you apply and enforce the "pattern and practice" provisions of federal law against local police?

Another important weapon of the federal government against erring police departments that disregard the constitutional rights of citizens is the "pattern and practice" provision of federal law (42 USC § 14141). That allows the Justice Department to bring a civil action against local law-enforcement departments to enjoin any practice that "deprives persons of rights, privileges or immunities" secured by the Constitution. Such actions have been brought in recent years against the police departments of Pittsburgh; Steubenville and Columbus, Ohio; and Los Angeles. A long investigation has been in the works against police practices in New York City. Will the Justice Department continue to use this provision?

Will you enforce federal laws against discrimination?

The Justice Department is given power to enforce various federal civil rights laws directly, including Title VI (prohibiting discrimination by all federal fund grantees), Title VII (prohibiting discrimination in employment) and Title VIII (prohibiting discrimination in housing). Over the past eight years, many important civil suits have been brought by the federal government, including disparate-impact suits against local police and fire departments whose membership was still woefully short of women and minorities. The civil rights division also enforced the Federal Fair Housing Act by attacking discriminatory mortgage practices by banks, and it joined an imaginative lawsuit attacking discriminatory tax assessment policies in New York State's Nassau County that imposed proportionately heavier real estate taxes on poorer minority homeowners. The Justice Department also supported desegregation decrees in many locales. Would Ashcroft continue that type of enforcement? As Governor of Missouri, he tenaciously fought against the desegregation of the Kansas City and St. Louis school systems. The Supreme Court recently granted review of an important case dealing with the limits on punitive damages in employment discrimination cases. The issue: Does the $300,000 cap on damages in the 1991 Civil Rights Act apply to "front pay," that is, the pay that a worker would have earned in the future, absent the discrimination? What will the Justice Department say about that limit?

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