By: Joe Nicholson Former President Gerald R. Ford last week told the annual convention of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) that he supported the use of ground troops in Kosovo.
"I think we ought to put ground forces in, work with the air [war], and try to get the problem solved as quickly as possible," said Ford in response to a question. He called ground troops the best of several bad options.
Ford's comment came while he was answering questions Wednesday after he delivered a speech about foreign and domestic policy over the last half century.
In answer to a question about the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, Ford urged parents to maintain a close relationship with their children and called for new gun control legislation.
"There is one thing that I would recommend. I'm prefacing my comment by saying, 'I'm not a hunter. I'm not a fisherman. We never had a gun in our home, Betty and myself,'" said Ford. "I think we have to take responsible action in the area of gun control," he added.
"I know it offends very wonderful citizens who believe they have a constitutional right to gun ownership et cetera. But in circumstances that have appeared in the last year ? not just the one at Columbine, but several others ? it may not be the total answer, and I don't think it is, but I think there should be additional gun control passed by the Congress some time during this current session."
In an interview with E&P, Ford listed six newspapers he reads daily: The Los Angeles Times, The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
"I enjoy newspapers. I think they're a great source of information for people in politics and good citizens," says Ford.
?(Scott Linnet) [Caption]
?(President Gerald Ford) [Photo]
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?(copyright: Editor & Publisher May 1, 1999) [Caption]
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