March 9, 2000
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Greta Van Susteren, co-host of CNN's Burden of Proof, joined the CNN.com chat room to discuss her exclusive interview with President Clinton on gun control legislation on Capitol Hill. Van Sustren participated in the chat immediately following "Burden of Proof" on March 9, 2000, and CNN.com provided a typist. The following is an edited transcript of the chat.

Chat Moderator: Welcome, Greta Van Susteren!

Greta Van Susteren: Thank you. I’m happy to be here.

Chat Moderator: Would you tell us a little bit about what you discussed with President Clinton?

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Greta Van Susteren: What we discussed, or what I discussed, was the White House position on gun control legislation on Capitol Hill, as well as the idea of holding the adults responsible when a child kills with a gun.

Question from OkieJim: Did you ask the President about future plans, and his defense of Law License?

Greta Van Susteren: I asked him whether or not he agreed with the Vice President, who is seeking photo gun licensing, and he said he agreed with that.

Question from ed: Greta, what is he [President Clinton] planning on doing about this problem?

Greta Van Susteren: At the moment, there are what I characterize as a number of small disputes between those who are for the legislation, and those who are against it. The President had proposed a 72-hour waiting period from those buying from gun shows. His opponents want just 24 hours, since if you have to wait 72 hours, you put gun shows out of business. The President is willing to compromise on that. However, for about 5 percent of the people, he wants to extend the time to something between 24 and 72 hours, because for about 5 percent of the people, it's hard to get information on them.

Question from OkieJim: Were you "wowed" by the President? Did he "charm" you? Could you feel his charisma?

Greta Van Susteren: No. I'm always awed by the office of the President of the United States, but not necessarily by the person. I respect the office, and therefore I respect President Clinton, as I respected President Bush, and on down the line.

Question from Sunny1: Greta, do you believe President Clinton actually has a chance to get any legislation passed this year?

Greta Van Susteren: That's tough to know. It seems that both sides are so close, that for a by-stander like myself, I think, "Why can't they work it out? They're so close." There is more of a drive by both sides to get legislation passed, with all these recent tragedies. The tragedies in Memphis and Michigan have urged them on. They're not that far apart.

Question from Sandee: Do you think the President feels that he can successfully get his gun agenda past Congress?

Greta Van Susteren: I think the President is convinced that he will get some legislation passed. I don't think he's ever felt defeated. I think he's expecting to get this passed. I believe he's determined.

Question from Candyce: Do you think this is going to be the President's issue as he continues to search for a "legacy?"

Greta Van Susteren: I oftentimes hear that presidents are looking for legacies. I hope that's not what drives them. There are so many important issues for presidents. I know this is important, but there is also much attention to be given to economic issues, and to other unforeseen issues that will arise in the next several months.

Question from Sandee: What reaction did the NRA have to your interview with the President?

Greta Van Susteren: It's much too early for me to have a reaction... I just walked off of Burden of Proof, where we played the interview. I just spoke to the NRA yesterday, and got some questions from them to pose to the President. One of the reasons I wanted to talk to the NRA is because my husband is involved in civil litigation against gun manufacturers, and I’m always extremely cautious to call the NRA, and to get their guidance.

One of the problems you have in a city like Washington DC, is that husbands and wives are both professionals, and sometimes are involved in matters that are related. The way to avoid these sort of classic conflicts of interest is to just lay it out, and tell all. So, I keep an open line to the NRA, and they know the work my husband is involved with. I welcome comments from them, so that I can be sure to be fair about this issue.

I also have some issues about the legislation myself. For instance, even if we have the legislation in the form the President wants, or even if we have legislation in the form the anti-gun control people want, it would not have saved Kayla's life in Michigan. She was shot and killed with a stolen gun, not a gun bought at a gun show. And that's another issue that the nation needs to discuss, and to figure out what is the smartest, best, fairest, way to avoid that type of tragedy in the future. That may take a conference between both sides of the issue, and a commitment to try to fix it by both.

Question from Sunny1: Just how influential is the NRA in Washington? Will they be able to stop any legislation?

Greta Van Susteren: I have no first-hand knowledge as to how influential the NRA is. What I read, and I underline read, is that they make a significant amount of campaign contributions. So, the question is, does that money talk? Are members of Congress voting as a result of those contributions? If so, the NRA wields a tremendous amount of influence.

But it goes back to the individual members of Congress to figure out if they're voting their conscience or their wallet, or a combination. A conscience and a wallet can be the same vote. One more thing, every time a dollar is given by one organization, there's often an opposing amount of money given to offset the other. In the case of the NRA, from what I read, the NRA gives far more money to Congress than its opponents.

Question from Sunny1: Do you think people are putting pressure on Congress to do something about the gun situation?

Greta Van Susteren: I don't know if people are doing that, but I do think that all of the violence we see on television, with news helicopters over scenes where people are being shot, or have been shot, has an impact.

Question from Candyce: How much support will the President have within his own party for this legislation?

Greta Van Susteren: So far, the President has a significant amount of support from his own party. It's curious, this is a president in his last term, and there are a lot of people up for reelection, so you always wonder how much support he'll get, since others are worried about their own re-election chances. But so far, members of his party are supporting him.

Question from Sunny1: How can we get people to put locking devices on the guns they already own?

Greta Van Susteren: There's one suggestion that might help. That's a trade-in policy. We've had buy-back programs, but why not a trade-in program? Let's say you have a gun with a market value, hypothetically, of $300. Suppose you could trade it in, and get an inflated value of $400, if you traded it in on a gun with a trigger lock. Obviously I'm making these numbers up, but we could create financial incentives so people could trade in their guns for safer guns.

Comment from Sunny1: Greta, what a great idea! Give people a financial incentive to trade in their guns!

Greta Van Susteren: Thank you very much!

Question from Sunny1: Greta, how would you improve the President's gun legislation if you could?

Greta Van Susteren: Good question. I think, probably, if I had my choice, I'd lock the President and the leading opponents in a room and tell them they can come out and get food and water when they've resolved it. They are actually quite close. Now I fear that politics may poison a quick and efficient resolution.

Question from Sunny1: Greta, what legislation would you propose if you were president for a day?

Greta Van Susteren: I'd require Burden of Proof to be a "must-see" for every citizen of the country. Second, blue jeans would be a national uniform. Those would be my two lead proposals. :-)

Chat Moderator: Ms. Van Susteren, do you have any final comments you'd like to leave us with?

Greta Van Susteren: I do. The problem with a topic like gun control is that it really divides Americans. It's too bad that it seems like we've all forgotten that we have the same goal, to make the country safer. Sometimes in that moment of lapse, we have an unwillingness to give and take a bit.

I'd like to see this resolved quickly. Both sides don't want to see children killed. Both sides don't want to see firemen killed. Both sides don't want to see a sheriff killed. That's why I'd like to lock them all in a room until they can resolve it. No legislation can prevent all violence. Some legislation can minimize some tragedy, however.

Chat Moderator: Thanks for joining us, Greta Van Susteren.

Greta Van Susteren: Great! Thank you, glad to be here. Hope you invite me back!