PRESIDENT Clinton promised to tighten gun control measures as the Democratic convention heard graphic accounts from crime victims at its opening session.
The President, who was on thee second day of his train journey to the convention, beamed his proposals to the delegates at the United Centre by satellite.
He was buoyed by the latest opinion poll showing that his lead over the Republican presidential contender, Mr Bob Dale, has increased again to 12 points.
Following the widespread publicity for Mr Dole at the Republican convention two weeks ago, Mr Clinton's lead was cut back from 22 to seven points in the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll.
Now this poll shows his support at 50 per cent, compared with 38 per cent for Mr Dole and 7 per cent for Mr Ross Perot.
The President is expected to get further "bounce" in the polls by the end of the Democratic convention, with his acceptance speech on Thursday night.
The opening night audience heard from Ms Sarah Brady, who heads the Handgun Control organisation. She is the wife of Mr Jim Brady, the former press secretary to President Reagan who was paralysed during an assassination attempt on Mr Reagan in 1981.
The so called Brady law requires a five day waiting period and background check for gun buyers, but it was not passed until President Clinton was elected. Ms Brady used to be a Republican party activist but gladly accepted Mr Clinton's invitation to address. the Democratic convention on gun control, saying that he did more to get the measure passed into law than Presidents Reagan and Bush.
Mr Clinton's new proposal is to extend the ban on handguns to anyone convicted of domestic violence. At present, many wife batterers can get handguns because they have not been convicted of a felony. He also wants to ban so called "killer bullets".
The convention heard from a Chicago policeman, Mr Michael Robbins, who was shot 11 times while investigating a report of a gang disturbance. He now heads the Chicago branch of the HELP organisation, set up to deal with the effects on public health of gun violence, especially on children.
He told the convention that 5,000 juveniles and 33,000 adults die each year from gunshot wounds. He described shootings as "an epidemic" that paralyses more than polio did.
The convention was also addressed by the actor who played Superman, Christopher Reeve who has been paralysed from the neck downwards since a riding accident in May, 1995. He now lobbies and raises funds for spinal cord research.
The 4,300 delegates beard tributes to the former Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, who was killed in a plane crash in Croatia last April. Mr Brown had been in charge of promoting US investment in Northern Ireland and had accompanied President Clinton on his visit to Ireland last year.
A poll of the Democratic delegates said President Clinton should be doing more to help the poor and the middle class and over 25 per cent say he was wrong to sign the welfare reform bill last week. But 59 per cent support Mr Clinton without reservations and 39 per cent with only minor reservations.
The delegates are better educated and wealthier than voters generally. Some 8 per cent are millionaires, compared with 18 per cent of Republican delegates at their convention. Almost half the Democratic delegates earn over $75,000 annually, compared with 11 per cent of voters.
Only a quarter of voters are university graduates, compared with 70 per cent of Democratic delegates. Some 17 per cent of delegates are black, compared with 3 per cent of Republican delegates at the San Diego convention, which was addressed by Gen Colin Powell and several other black speakers, leading to charges that this gave a misleading picture of black representation.