Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 29, 1993 TAG: 9301290316
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
GUN COMPROMISE SOUGHT
Gov. Douglas Wilder's coalition to limit handgun purchases showed its first crack Thursday, as U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen signaled his willingness to accept a plan that would permit individuals to buy up to three a month, sources said.Cullen, the key Republican in Wilder's bid to secure a tougher, one-a-month limit, declined comment on his apparent shift. He acknowledged only that major players in the legislative debate are seeking a compromise to end the largely unregulated trafficking of handguns from Virginia.
This week, all 18 Senate Republicans and some GOP delegates presented an alterative to the Wilder-Cullen plan; they would allow unlimited handgun purchases if the buyer's identity and residency were certified by police. Buyers who did not want to get the certificate would be limited to one gun a month.
The compromise apparently floated by Cullen on Thursday includes the certification process for multiple purchases but caps them at three guns a month.
Because some rural Democrats are certain to vote against the Wilder bill, the GOP alternative means Wilder may have to compromise if he wants to get any gun limits through the assembly.
In an appearance before House and Senate Courts of Justice committees Thursday, Cullen praised the GOP's attempts to offer alternatives, but said he considered some cap on purchases to be essential.
"I think the one-gun-a-month bill is the answer," he said, adding that "if we're not going to get it" he is willing to talk about alternatives. His absolute rule, however, is that "I would want to see a cap on the permitting process," Cullen said.
"Cash is a commodity that dealers have plenty of," and those who are paying Virginia residents $50 or so to buy a stash of guns will simply up the price to $500 or $1,000 if their buyers have to face a law enforcement official en route to the gun store, Cullen said.
Pressed by one senator to name an acceptable cap, Cullen declined. He did not want to disclose his bargaining position, he said.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1993