ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 14, 1993                   TAG: 9307140455
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ALLEN'S DOUBLESPEAK ON GUN CONTROL

THANKS TO Paul Dellinger for his July 9 news story ("Allen talks issues in Pulaski") about Republican gubernatorial candidate George Allen's visit to the Pulaski courthouse. Remarks he attributed to me reflected my motivation for being there and for asking Allen tough questions about his ambiguous position on gun control.

Because I was a delegate to the Republican state convention, I'm sure many party regulars are upset with me. I've heard talk about "party loyalty" being required of convention delegates and party members. When is party loyalty going to be required of politicians who benefit from our votes?

When a liberal or social dependent votes for a Democrat, he can count on that politician bringing home the bacon. Bill Clinton is really going after the gay agenda, tax increases and pork spending. But when taxpayers and gun owners put George Bush in office, they got the largest tax increase signed into law and a rifle-import ban imposed unilaterally by the president.

The National Rifle Association is whitewashing Allen in the eyes of gun owners. In 1990 and in 1991, Allen voted for unsuccessful attempts by Sarah Brady to pass "kiddie gun laws." These would have made it difficult or impossible to have a gun available for self-defense. Allen also voted against protection for shooting ranges from draconian local-noise ordinances.

Allen's finance chairman is Jimmy Wheat, co-chairman of the anti-gun "Virginians Against Gun Traffickers." Since anti-gun Republican Richard Cullen's endorsement of Allen before the convention, Allen has repeated many times that he will not seek repeal of the new one-gun-a-month law. He also plays fast and loose with the English language when he claims, in a campaign-position paper, that "keep[ing] track of purchases of all handguns . . . " is not registration.

Allen admits that the one-gun-a-month law will not reduce crime, yet he will not seek repeal. As a Republican, he should do everything he can to end the waste of taxpayers' money. I'm afraid he's promised Cullen an appointment enforcing the new law.

Members had better wake up and take control of the NRA. We are not being well served by it. I have a letter from Del. Thomas Baker that demonstrates that Chuck Cunningham of the NRA asked pro-gun delegates to vote to ban the Striker 12 (a gun never used in a crime in Virginia) as part of a compromise.

Legislators need to understand that the NRA is not a few cocktail-party lobbyists, but people like me who write letters, inform other gun owners, vote and want no gun control, not just a little more each year. WILLIAM D. STUMP II DUBLIN 


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