Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 16, 1993 TAG: 9308160138
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun and The Associated Press
DATELINE: TULSA, OKLA. LENGTH: Medium
The pact, signed by the governors during a break in this year's annual National Governors' Association summer conference, will require police agencies in each state to pool gun licensing information and jointly investigate the movement of illegal firearms within or among their states.
The measure calls for development of a computerized data base that will allow the participating states to cross reference their searches to better identify people or groups trading in illegal guns. It also calls for regular coordination with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"This is a rather common-sense observation, but this is something that can be dealt with more efficiently with regional cooperation," said New Jersey Gov. James J. Florio.
The four Democratic governors said multistate cooperation was their only alternative absent more effective national gun-control laws.
"This agreement solidifies our position that no state can operate in a vacuum, that effective gun control must be cooperative . . . and that interstate enforcement is the only way to crack down on the illegal gun trade," Wilder said.
The other signers included Maryland Gov. William Schaefer and Delaware Gov. Thomas R. Carper.
The governors said they were prompted to act in an effort to curb violent crime in their states.
"It's absolutely essential that [the agreement] be widened" to include other states, Wilder said. "It's something everyone has to take a look at in the absence of a national approach." Wilder overcame opposition from the National Rifle Association last winter to push through legislation that limits gun purchases in Virginia to one per buyer per month.
Page W. Boinest, Schaefer's press secretary, said no one yet knows how difficult or expensive it could be to link police agencies in the four states by computer.
by CNB