After fattening his campaign war chest, President Clinton on Friday tried to polish his credentials as a tough-crime fighter, proposing a ban on all so-called "cop-killer" bullets.

"If a bullet can rip through a bullet-proof vest like a knife through hot butter," Clinton said, "then it ought to be history. We should ban it.""I have never seen a deer, a duck or a wild turkey wearing a Kevlar vest in my life," the president said. "You do not need these bullets."

Clinton offered his proposal during a visit to a district police headquarters in a tough Chicago neighborhood. Leaders of police and sheriffs' organizations praised Clinton for his efforts to ban assault weapons and put 100,000 more cops on the streets.

Clinton's argued that Americans must be willing to make minor sacrifices, such as accepting a waiting period on handgun purchases, in order for the country to be safer.

The president, who raised $1 million in campaign funds Thursday night, went Friday with his wife, Hillary to the 15th district police headquarters in the Austin district of Chicago. Across the street from the station, officer Daniel Doffyn was killed by a TEC-9 assault weapon several months ago before the weapons ban went into effect.

Clinton unveiled a plan that would tighten existing laws barring the sale of armor-piercing ammunition for handguns. Current law bans armor-piercing ammunition based on the material it is made from. "Clever people have figured out to design ammunition made from common materials that do just as much damage," Clinton said. "This legislation will change that."

On Thursday night, Clinton brought the crowd at a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser to its feet with tough talk against the National Rifle Association for opposing the assault-weapons ban and a waiting period on handgun purchases.

He argued that the "minor inconvenience" such restrictions might pose to law-abiding citizens was worth it to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals.

"This is like all of our other problems - if we will all take some responsibility for it, we can make progress," Clinton said. "It is a minor sacrifice for a major good."

Clinton cited the administration's anti-crime initiatives as an example of the proper role for government in combating the nation's problems.

The president's latest anti-crime initiative is proposed legislation that would tighten a 1986 law banning "cop-killer" bullets.

Treasury Undersecretary Ron Noble described the legislation as forward-looking, saying "there is no ammunition on the market currently that would be covered by this ban."

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He said the legislation was aimed at banning any type of armor-piercing bullet so that they don't have to take care of the problem "after the fact."

Under the proposed law, the secretary of Treasury would decide which ammunition was deemed to be capable of piercing armor, but the decisions would be subject to oversight from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Crime is sure to be a hard-fought issue in the 1996 campaign. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination, is already promising a vote this year on repealing the assault-weapons ban.

The president continues to maintain in public that it is too early to shift into campaign gear, but his words and activities are clearly pointed in that direction.

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