Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 20, 1993 TAG: 9308200111
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bill Dolan wants a metal detector in every schoolhouse door.
Jim Gilmore wants to abolish parole.
Virginia voters, be forewarned: This year's race for attorney general will be about the C-word.
Crime, and who's toughest on it.
That's always been part of what candidates for attorney general were expected to talk about.
But this year - the year of a statewide debate over handgun restrictions, the year of high-profile murders in the state's capital that have spurred even some conservative business leaders to endorse gun control on the grounds that crime is bad for business - appears to be different.
This year, crime may be the only thing the attorney general hopefuls talk about.
This week, both candidates passed through Roanoke to deliver their stern "send the criminals a message" talk to a receptive audience - the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, meeting at the Airport Marriott.
It also served as a chance to examine the differences between the two candidates.
Stylistically, Dolan and Gilmore couldn't be more dissimilar.
Dolan - the Democrat - is a soft-spoken, cerebral trial lawyer from Northern Virginia in the style of former Gov. Gerald Baliles. Dolan, in fact, is often introduced to Democratic gatherings as "Jerry Baliles with a sense of humor."
Gilmore - the Republican - is an intense, hard-driving prosecutor from suburban Richmond whom supporters have likened to Elliot Ness, the FBI crimestopper in the television show "The Untouchables."
But the more important differences are in the way they approach crime and punishment.
Guns. Dolan joins his gubernatorial running mate, Mary Sue Terry, in calling for a five-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns. Dolan also wants a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons.
Dolan calls guns "the lead issue" in the campaign. "You can't be serious about being tough on crime if you take a walk on guns," Dolan said. "Mary Sue Terry and [Lt. Gov.] Don Beyer and I are proposing a series of steps, and the Republican ticket simply rejects doing anything."
Indeed, Gilmore opposes the waiting period and questions Dolan's proposed ban on assault weapons.
Gilmore says he backs a ban on automatic weapons, but says some semiautomatics are legitimate sporting weapons. "A semiautomatic rifle or shotgun is something any citizen in Botetourt County would use to hunt ducks," Gilmore said. He wants to know more about which semiautomatics will be classified as assault weapons and which ones won't.
In general, Gilmore says an emphasis on guns is misguided, especially now that Virginia has a computerized instant-background check.
"I want to seize the most effective reforms, and not be A semiautomatic rifle or shotgun is something any citizen in Botetourt County would use to hunt ducks. Jim Gilmore Attorney general candidate diverted," he says. He'd rather talk about tougher sentences. "All of Dolan's proposals seem to be directed toward law-abiding Virginians," Gilmore said. "I want to put teeth in the penalties and make sure everybody knows the teeth are there."
Parole. One way Gilmore wants to put those "teeth" into sentences is to abolish parole. "Ten years should mean ten years," he's fond of saying.
Dolan, however, says parole still can be useful. He backs "modification" of the parole system. But he contends Gilmore's call for abolishing parole altogether "is not well-thought-out."
Some argue that abolishing parole would overburden an already-crowded prison system; Gilmore says he doubts some of those estimates.
Metal detectors in schools. Both candidates lament the growing number of gun-toting teen-agers, but they disagree on what to do about the problem.
"There's no excuse whatever for there to be guns in schools" because schools could simply install metal detectors, Dolan said.
Who'll pay for them?
"I will," he said. Dolan vowed that he'd use the bully pulpit of the attorney general's office to lead a fund-raising campaign in any community that wants to buy metal detectors. "I know groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis will help." A hand-held metal detector costs about $120, he said, an airport-style walk-through system about $1,000.
The biggest obstacle to installing metal detectors isn't cost, he said, it's image. But communities must get over their reluctance to acknowledge they have a problem with guns in schools. Metal detectors in schools shouldn't be a "negative sign," Dolan said. "It is a sign that you won't tolerate weapons in school."
Gilmore disagrees. "When we turn our schools into jails, we're surrendering," he said. "You're sending a message into the community that schools are not safe places. You've got to go to the heart of the issue. Why are young people turning toward violence?"
On that, both candidates agree: They back more boot camps for juvenile offenders and they want to strengthen the juvenile courts so they have more power to punish young criminals.
In fact, both candidates use virtually identical language to describe the problem: Now, juvenile courts have so little power that juvenile offenders don't take an appearance there seriously.
Dolan, however, offers an additional proposal: Virginia should seek out noncommissioned officers leaving the military and hire them as probation officers for the juvenile courts.
Many young offenders need "daily intervention" to keep them out of trouble, Dolan said. "And for some, several times a day - from someone used to dealing with young people, someone used to dealing with young males, someone used to hearing excuses, someone used to instilling pride."
Gilmore insists the solution is for parents to take more control of their kids. He tells of how, after a teen-age girl nearly died following an alcohol binge at a party, he lectured a Henrico County parent-teacher group: "If you don't begin to get a handle on your children, you'll lose some of them. It wasn't the politically correct thing to say, but it was necessary."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB