Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993 TAG: 9301140267
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
WILDER PUSHES GUN CONTROL BID
Gov. Douglas Wilder exhorted legislators Wednesday night to support his gun control and government ethics reform proposals.In his State of the Commonwealth speech on the first day of the 1993 General Assembly, Wilder said the gun control measures advocated by his violent-crime task force are needed to reduce gun trafficking and protect Virginia's children from violent crime.
Among the proposals are bills to limit handgun purchasers to one gun a month and to prohibit juveniles from carrying handguns.
"The evidence is clear," Wilder said. "Our commonwealth has gained the dubious distinction of being a haven for gunrunners. From New York, Washington and all along the Atlantic seaboard, Virginia has become the firearms supermarket of choice.
"We can no longer allow criminals and gangsters to purchase trunk loads of guns in our state and resell them at will," he said. "And the best way to end these straw sales is for us to place a one-gun-per-month limit on firearm purchases in Virginia."
A "straw purchase" is the practice of an out-of-state person's hiring a Virginia resident to make a gun purchase. Law prohibits non-residents from buying firearms in Virginia.
Wilder introduced the family of Isham Draughn III, a Richmond security guard who was shot to death at a fast-food restaurant in the city last weekend.
"They have asked for us to remember Isham when we consider these measures . . . and to show our respects by doing everything in our power to stop the killing now," Wilder said.
He also touted a bill to prohibit juveniles from possessing handguns.
"We can no longer allow our youngsters to believe that carrying a weapon is a rite of passage," he said. "We must act to keep guns out of their hands, and teach them to respect human life."
Firearm-rights groups are opposing the gun control measures. Wilder cautioned legislators that "certain organizations have an interest in misleading the voters and members of the General Assembly and will rely on spreading fears, using slogans and making threats."
"Maybe these special interests can offer you something, something you may believe you cannot do without. As an alternative, I offer you nothing - nothing but a clear conscience."
Wilder also urged lawmakers to support a package of ethics reform bills. The bills are the product of another commission formed by Wilder.
Among the commission's proposals are expansion of state political party disclosure laws to local and district parties, random audits of campaigns, limits on campaign contributions and year-round reporting by lobbyists.
"These reforms are not sweeping, they are in line with a national mood of change," Wilder said.
On other matters, Wilder said:
He is proposing consolidation of federal, state and local welfare funds into a job assistance trust fund that would train unemployed people for private-sector jobs.
He wants the General Assembly to enact an investment tax credit for industries that would create jobs.
He supports a school-violence reform package that would, among other things, strengthen penalties for furnishing guns to minors.
Wilder spoke at the end of the first day of a 46-day assembly session, which was dominated by routine procedural and ceremonial matters, including approval of the session's rules and schedule and the introductions of one new senator and three new delegates.
Working within the compressed schedule of the odd-year "short session," committees began taking up some of the 410 bills and resolutions carried over from last year.
House of Delegates members will consider gun control and other potentially hot issues with an eye on next November, when all 100 seats will be up for election.
"I don't know that this is going to be any different or any more contentious than any other election-year legislative session," said House Speaker Thomas Moss of Norfolk. "You expect a little more political posturing in an election year."
Because the session falls in the middle of a two-year budget cycle, there will be no major new spending initiatives and relatively little haggling over money matters.
One exception is likely to be teacher pay. Teachers want the same 2 percent raise Wilder is proposing for state employees, college faculty and some local officials. Wilder said he left teachers out because localities have given them raises while state employees' salaries have been frozen in recent years.