ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: SATURDAY, February 27, 1993                   TAG: 9303010222
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


WITH PUBLIC'S HELP, GUN BILL IS A GO

ABOVE ALL else, the passage of legislation to limit purchases of handguns in Virginia is a victory for the state's law-abiding citizens.

Had they not voiced their contempt for mounting gun mayhem and their strong support for reasonable controls - in opinion polls, in countless calls and letters to state lawmakers and newspaper editors - the General Assembly almost certainly would have knuckled under, as usual, to the gun lobby.

So chalk one up for the people. On the issues of importance, average citizens are often way ahead of their elected leaders. This is clearly an instance where citizens saw a problem, and firmly instructed their elected leaders to do something about it.

The incredible thing, considering the broad public sentiment in favor, is that it still took a fierce, two-month-long effort on the part of gun-control advocates before a gun-limit bill was finally passed.

For making that effort, bipartisan credit is surely due Gov. Wilder (a Democrat), U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen (a Republican), numerous law-enforcement agencies, and citizens' groups. They relentlessly pressed the legislature not to allow itself to be bullied again into inaction by the National Rifle Association and others who want no restrictions whatsoever on guns.

The governor deserves special praise for giving the issue high visibility and for rallying support to the cause. Moreover, Wilder - seldom known as a team player - showed an uncommon willingness to work with legislators, particularly on the GOP side of the aisle, to ensure passage of a reasonable gun-control measure.

That's in the public interest, and perhaps also in Wilder's political interest. He is, at any rate, already citing his success in pushing handgun limits as a reason to possibly challenge fellow Democrat Charles S. Robb next year for Robb's Senate seat.

It's worth remembering that the handgun-limit measure now awaiting Wilder's signature is not an omnibus anti-crime bill, nor a sweeping anti-gun bill, nor a solution to all the problems of gun-related violent crime. It is not even as tough as Wilder's original proposal, though a gigantic loophole to exempt private sales from the controls happily was closed before final passage.

Still, law-enforcement officials believe the assembly has passed a measure that will significantly reduce illegal gunrunning in Virginia. The effort to limit handgun purchases to one a month was triggered by the state's notoriety as a leading supplier of guns for violent criminals up and down the East Coast.

The handgun-limit bill, plus other recent measures involving background checks of would-be firearms purchasers, should help make it at least a bit more difficult for criminals to acquire firepower. According to a spokesman for Handgun Control Inc., Virginia now moves into the "second tier" of states with tough handgun laws - behind only California, New York and New Jersey.

So simple a bill with a crime-fighting purpose shouldn't have to be such a big deal. It shouldn't have had to take so many years and so much effort for the state's political leaders to stand up to the gun lobby. But with the people of Virginia propping them up, they went for common sense over special interest. A one-gun-a-month salute is in order.



by Archana Subramaniam by CNB