
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 16, 1991                   TAG: 9102180320
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A/11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BRIEFLY PUT . . .

MAYBE CRIMINALS aren't as shrewd as some give them credit for. Instead of trying for stolen merchandise, many of them still go to gun shops. In the first year of Virginia's background-check system, police caught 86 prospective gun-buyers who were fugitives from justice. One was wanted for murder. Gun-control laws are no panacea, but they can accomplish a lot.

DORMANT for 15 years, the Great Debate over naming a Virginia state insect has re-emerged in this year's General Assembly. In 1976, backers of the tiger swallowtail butterfly deadlocked with proponents of the praying mantis. The latter, though useful on occasion, is greedy, graceless and known to kill its own kind. If the commonwealth must have a state insect, let it not be one so much like humans.

WHEN COAL miners work underground, the threat of death lurks not far away. The latest reminder is the deaths of four men from a cave-in at a remote Lee County mine this week. The industry, along with government, has made giant strides in safety during this century. But miners still risk their lives in helping to fill society's energy needs. Few things in this world are free, but some are more costly than others.

by CNB