His statement is not true. Measured against LBJ's demands for national registration of all guns and licensing of all gun owners, the administration's proposals and the "strong" bill that passed the Senate seem more like hitting an elephant with a fly swatter than taking on the NRA. Johnson pressed Congress to prohibit sale of guns to minors, purchase of guns by mail order and importation of cheap "Saturday night specials," then commonly used in street crimes. In 1966 he became the first president to send Congress a message devoted to crime and law enforcement. Until that time gun control had been considered a matter of state responsibility.