Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 8, 1993 TAG: 9302080114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
GUN-LIMIT ACCORD REACHED WILDER, GOP COMPROMISE
Gov. Douglas Wilder and key Republicans have reached agreement on a handgun-control bill that will allow multiple purchases only under strict guidelines to be developed in part by the state police.Barring a last-minute breakdown of the fragile coalition, the compromise, which is being billed by the negotiators as essentially limiting handgun sales to one per person per month, is to be unveiled at a 10 a.m. news conference today.
"The integrity of the one-gun-a-month purchase limit is intact," said Glenn Davidson, Wilder's press secretary, who confirmed that an agreement had been reached but declined to provide specifics. "At issue has always been gunrunning and gun trafficking and we will have effectively dealt with that issue in this bill."
But there were indications of possible trouble with the Democratic House majority. At a closed Democratic caucus in the early evening, legislators were briefed on the compromise. According to a source close to the Democratic leadership, there were strong indications of support for Wilder's original gun-limit bill.
Virginia, which puts few restrictions on gun purchases, has been identified by federal authorities as a major source of illegal guns in New York; Washington, D.C.; and other Northeastern cities. Wilder has called that an embarrassment and has made the gun-purchase bill the centerpiece of his legislative program for his final year in office.
Davidson and supporters of the compromise predicted that the combination of pro-gun-control Democrats and Republicans would comprise a majority in both houses. They said the gun-a-month limit's chances of passage would have been risky had Wilder not agreed to portions of an alternative plan sought by a bloc of Republicans.
"It would have been a struggle. It would have been almost too close to call," said Davidson, referring to Wilder's original bill. That plan would prohibit most multiple-gun sales, although it included several exemptions - among them guns sold in estate sales, as part of collections and as replacements when guns are lost or stolen.
One key Democratic leader - House Speaker Thomas Moss - said he had not yet given his approval to an agreement, and believes the original Wilder bill could pass the House. "My position always was from the beginning and is now to hang tough for one gun a month," he said.
Another top Democrat, House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, has opposed Wilder's bill and was not privy to the negotiations, he said.
The GOP alternative, supported by all 18 Senate Republicans and an unknown number in the House, would have allowed multiple purchases upon presentation to police of one form of personal identification and two items listing a Virginia address.
Republicans argue that criminals would not be willing to face police "eyeball-to-eyeball" if they are buying guns for illegal purposes.
According to sources, the compromise will substantially tighten the GOP guidelines for multiple purchases. Two sources said anyone wanting to purchase more than one gun would be required to say why - a disclosure not required in the original Republican plan. Police also would be given time to do an enhanced background check and the state police superintendent would draw up regulations governing multiple purchases.
One source said an important unanswered question about the deal is whether it would give police the authority to turn down buyers if they disapproved of their reasons.
Informed of the agreement Sunday afternoon, Cranwell said he was surprised. "This is all going to happen a little sooner than I thought," he said, adding that he expected proponents of Wilder's plan to test it in a House floor vote before compromising. The House is to debate and perhaps vote on the plan today.
Cranwell said he would have to see the specifics of the compromise before deciding whether to fight it. But he said he is particularly likely to oppose it if it is closer to the GOP bill than Wilder's. His fear is that "it's another step toward gun registration," Cranwell said.
Though it is not scheduled to be announced until today, some Democrats and Republicans were taking opposite tacks Sunday on who deserves the most credit for the compromise.
"It's the Republican bill, with the first sentence being the governor's," said Sen. Joseph Benedetti, R-Richmond, the Senate minority leader. The "first sentence" refers to the one-a-month cap.
But a Democrat closely linked to the negotiations countered: "It's much, much tougher than the Republican plan. Our compromise is so tough it isn't a compromise."
Davidson declined to wade into the fray. "It doesn't matter who gets the credit as long as the bill passes," he said.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee had been slated to vote on the Wilder bill and the GOP alternative at a meeting Sunday. The chairman of the committee announced, however, that the bills would not be considered until today.
"We're engaged, as we have been all along, in conversation. We're not quite ready to come forward with that," Secretary of Public Safety Randolph Rollins said when asked to explain the delay.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1993