Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 8, 1992 TAG: 9202080324
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
SHOOTINGS GALVANIZE GUN FOES
Gun-control advocates in the General Assembly are hoping that some good will come from the shooting Friday of two teen-agers at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk."This points out the need for some legislation," said House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, who has tried and failed this winter to galvanize support for major gun-control proposals.
"Anything we can do to get guns out of the hands of killers is in the public interest."
The Capitol was abuzz all afternoon with talk of the shootings. One teen was killed and the other is in critical condition.
Gun-control supporters expressed flickering hopes that outrage over the violence might save a few of their proposals this year. If not, they wondered how much more killing it would take to force tough action.
But opponents of gun restrictions, after shaking their heads over the news from Norfolk, were unyielding.
"I just haven't seen any legislation anywhere that would have prevented this kind of thing from happening," said Charles Cunningham, state lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.
"You can't just have a knee-jerk reaction that because there was a terrible shooting, the solution is gun control. The problem goes much deeper than that."
People on both sides of the gun issue agree that no legislation, however sweeping, would dramatically stem violent crime in inner cities.
"These kids, because of a sense of hopelessness in their lives, don't give a damn about their lives or anyone else's," said Del. William Robinson, D-Norfolk, chief sponsor of legislation that would limit Virginians to one handgun purchase per month. "You can't write a bill that will make someone who has given up on life start loving life."
What the sides disagree on is how to begin solving that deep-rooted problem.
Gun-control advocates say the first step is restricting firearm sales. "You cannot convince me that there is not a connection between the flow of guns and gun violence," said Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk. "Doing something is better than doing nothing."
But opponents argue that there is no proof that gun control lessens violence. They point to Washington, D.C., which despite tightened gun restrictions in recent years has seen its murder rate soar. The solution, they said, is stiffer prison sentences.
"We support every effort to stiffen penalties for the criminal misuse of a firearm," said Cunningham. "The laws already on the books are good. The problem is that they're not enforced."
Gun-control provisions, Cunningham said, unfairly restrict the rights of hunters and collectors. "We don't think penalizing law-abiding citizens for the crimes of a few is the way to go."