Standing before a throng of reporters in room 450 of the Old Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, President Bill Clinton on Wednesday spoke about guns, youths involved in gun violence, and the need for more people to feel they have a responsibility and a stake in assuring that incidents like those that occurred in Springfield, Oregon and Jonesboro, Arkansas won't soon be repeated.

"We can't just shrug our shoulders and say, well, accidents will happen, or some kids are just beyond hope," the President said. "that is a cop-out.

"Instead, every one of us must step up to our responsibility, that certainly includes gun owners, gun purchasers, and gun dealers.

"Today we say to them, protecting children is our responsibility too, and there are penalties for the failure to fulfill it," he continued.

As he spoke, the president was flanked by Attorney General Janet Reno; Suzanne Wilson, whose daughter was killed by a teenaged gunman in Arkansas; and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who recently co-sponsored legislation aimed at making parents more responsible for the actions of their children - specifically when it comes to their children and firearms.

During his remarks, the president lauded such efforts, making particular note of a Maryland law under which parents have a legal responsibility to keep guns, in his words, "locked and out of reach of young hands."

Fourteen other states have similar legislation on the books.

The president also announced that henceforth, gun dealers will be required to post a sign in their shops announcing that it is illegal to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to a minor.

"From now on, no customer or employee can avoid personal responsibility by pleading ignorance of the law," President Clinton said.

He continued, "Responsibility at gun shops, of course, must be matched by responsibility at home. Guns are kept in the home for many purposes from hunting to self-defense. That's every family's right and... that is not a question.

"The real question is every parent's responsibility, every adult's responsibility, to make sure that unsupervised children cannot get a hold of guns.

"When guns are stored carelessly, children can find them, pick them up, court danger. Most of them will put them back where they found them. Others, as we know now from hard experience, will touch the trigger by accident; a troubled few will take guns to school with violence in mind."

As the president spoke in Washington, Michael Britt, who has owned and operated Michael Britt Firearms in Mineola for decades, pondered a reporter's question.

"That parents will be made liable for the actions of their children is a very wise and long overdue decision," Britt said.

"You know, we have a very wonderful community here on Long Island, and firearms have always played a part in it, whether through the activities of recreational marksmen, or sportsmen and women.

"In order to help preserve the lifestyle we enjoy here, we've always emphasized safety with our customers. And we've done so for years and years and years.

"You know, when it comes right down to it, a firearm is really a very simple mechanical device. If you imbue in people the sense that a gun should never be pointed at a human being, an automobile, a house or a road, you'll never have a problem."

Established in 1955, Michael Britt Firearms is one of the oldest firearms dealers on the Island. According to its owner, the vast majority of guns purchased here are bought for one of four purposes - marksmanship, personal protection, and for hunting big or small game.

"We have quite a few very fine [shooting] ranges here on Long Island," said Britt, an Olympic firearms coach. "Precision shooting has for a long time been very popular in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

"And then, of course, we also have excellent hunting here, particularly when it comes to pheasants, ducks and rabbits."

Given the attention firearms legislation has received over the past decade, ranging from the Federal Assault Weapons ban of 1994 to new legislation proposed by Representative Carolyn McCarthy two weeks ago, Britt was asked about their impact on his business.

"The Federal Assault Weapons ban had very little effect on my business because there is actually very little market for that kind of weapon here on Long Island," he said. "On the other hand, some businesses did indeed collapse as a result of that legislation."

"To my mind, that's something more closely associated with California, Texas, Arizona... beyond that, though, I must tell you that I think the number of assault weapons that have been allowed into this country from other countries is ridiculous.

"Until Until about the 1980's, military type weapons, especially from countries such as China and the former Soviet Union, could not be imported into the U.S. Then, that sort of trade was deregulated and the country quickly became flooded with foreign military weapons, mostly of low quality.

"Let me tell you, first of all, these guns have absolutely no sport value whatsoever. You can't hunt with them. They are designed specifically for military application. No real marksman or hunter sees any value in them.

"Again, these weapons, by and large, are inferior in quality. So we have a glut of foreign weapons on the market which are generally unfit for any legitimate use, to the detriment of quality, American-based brands such as Winchester, Colt and Smith & Wesson.

"To me, for President Clinton and Congress to have banned the entry of these guns into the country is a beautiful thing. It's good for American society, it's good for the American arms business -- where everything produced for sale to civilians has a legitimate civilian purpose -- and therefore, it's also good for employment."

Asked specifically about aspects of Carolyn McCarthy's newly proposed law, Britt said he endorses the idea that guns be required to have trigger locks, but adds, "of course, this is nothing new."

"Trigger locks are something that have been around for at least the past quarter century, and we actually include a trigger lock with each and every purchase.

"They are very inexpensive, make a firearm very safe, and also, it's peace of mind."

That said, Britt added that the whole topic of gun legislation in America has become "a very confusing situation."

"We have an enormous number of gun laws in America. Quite a few, such as ours in New York, are basically good. But, in the country as a whole, there seems to be something missing; something maybe that laws alone can't do. I generally don't see much improvement in the problems some of our country's various gun laws are intended to fix. In fact, some of the recent shooting incidents, especially involving kids, suggest that in some ways things are getting worse instead of better."

During his remarks in Washington, President Clinton talked at length about the "struggle for answers" in the aftermath of recent shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas and elsewhere.

"We say, well, does the popular culture have anything to do with this? Does good parenting have anything to do with this? And we know that probably everything we consider has something to do with this. But no matter how you analyze this, it is clear that the combination of children and firearms is deadly. As parents, public officials, [and] citizens, we simply cannot allow easy access to weapons that kill."

When asked for his theories regarding the recent school yard shootings, Britt said he felt he probably wasn't qualified to answer that question.

"We have experts in every field. This is a social problem, a religious problem, a community problem. It's probably far too complex a problem to sit back and provide you with a pat answer."

Britt did say, however, that it has always been illegal to sell a firearm to a minor, and that he has even made it a policy to not sell air rifles -- which are legal to sell to someone under 18 -- to young people.

"I think what makes the situation so complex is that for many, many years, our local high schools all had their rifle teams, and in all that time -- I'm talking about a span of 20 to 30 to 40 years --I don't recall any accidents or any violence.

"I mean, Long Island was literally full of guns, and I can't remember a single horrific incident or accident occurring. So what does that tell you? It tells you, as has been said many times, that guns don't kill people. It takes someone to pull the trigger, and the reasons behind that action are really what we should be addressing."

As far as guns closer to home are concerned, Britt gave high marks to County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta, the Nassau County Police Department, and particularly the police department's firearm licensing bureau for their efforts in regard to gun safety.

"It is my opinion that the Nassau County Police Department's pistol license section consists of very fair, very professional and knowledgeable people who check out pistol permit applicants thoroughly, and, should they find reason not to issue a permit, they don't issue one.

"And they really emphasize the need to safeguard guns. Applicants are actually required to state in writing that they understand their duty to keep handguns away from children. It's not just a suggestion by the Police Department; they make very clear that failing to keep guns away from children can have serious legal consequences for the gun owner. And that's been the rule in Nassau County for many years; I believe, as long as I've been in the business.

"In addition, I can tell you that they keep a close eye on our range and others, to ensure that the business of the firing range is conducted safely.

"The county is very safety-minded and I can only support that. It's good for us, good for the industry, and good for our community as a whole."

While much attention has been given to the issue of firearms legislation, the old saw about how 'if guns were outlawed only outlaws would have guns' is still very much on law enforcement officials' minds.

According to Ed Grilli, spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon, the DA's office conducts continuous stings aimed at getting illegal firearms off local streets.

"I have to say we do have some success with them, but the problem is, you never know how successful you are because it's hard to have a handle on the scope of the problem.

"I will tell you though, as has been said many times, that the overall crime rate in Nassau has dropped to a 25 year low, while at the same time the violent crime rate has stabilized," Grilli continued.

"In addition to our stings aimed specifically at keeping illegal guns off the streets, we also have some overlap from our other stings.

"Many times we'll do an undercover drug sting and capture a cache of illegal weapons at the same time," he said.