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

DATE: SUNDAY, April 7, 1991                   TAG: 9104090485
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CHECK EFFECTIVENESS OF EXISTING GUN LAWS

DAVID B. Kopel ("Waiting period won't work," Commentary Page, March 29) is correct: Sarah Brady is a liar, and a malicious one. In fact, a civil suit was brought against her some time ago to stop her lying in public.

My concern is that we may have federal legislation based largely upon the rhetoric of this woman. I hope our elected officials will rely on reason, logic and facts, not emotion.

For years, Sarah Brady and Handgun Control Inc. have told us that stricter laws were the answer to the rising crime rate. It is time to see if they are correct.

With the multitude of gun laws enacted in the past decade, there has to be a mountain of evidence on their effectiveness. The FBI Uniform Crime Report breaks crime down as to type and location throughout the nation. If, for example, one state enacted a waiting-period law in 1987 and homicide decreased 10 percent in 1988, this is hard evidence that the law is effective.

If such evidence is forthcoming, I and many others will support the Brady Bill. This would be the strongest possible argument for a gun law, yet proponents are strangely silent concerning the effectiveness of those already enacted.

Either way, we need to be finished with this controversy. The public is fed up with it, and it is certainly detrimental to the legislative process. The energy and assets of our government should be directed toward what is constructive for the nation, not to serving the agenda of special-interest groups. KENNETH D. MOTHENA WOODLAWN

by CNB