Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993 TAG: 9308190337
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Democrat Howard Packett, an advertising executive from Salem, backs a proposed five-day waiting period before buying a handgun.
Morgan Griffith, a Republican lawyer from Salem, opposes it.
Their positions are clear enough.
What's not clear is how their ongoing gun debate will play out in a district that encompasses two constituencies increasingly found on opposite sides of the issue - rural residents who tend to resist any regulation of gun ownership, and suburbanites who, polls show, want to restrict guns.
So far, each campaign in the 8th District thinks it's coming out on top.
The gun debate erupted last week when Griffith released his "anti-crime" plan.
The plan called for denying parole to violent offenders and drug dealers, automatic life sentences for people convicted of their third felony involving violence, a willingness to turn prison management over to private firms.
Packett, however, immediately shot back at Griffith for failing "to put forth any proposals to protect our families from the dangers of guns."
Packett then trumpeted his support for a five-day waiting period - a proposal that is the centerpiece of Democrat Mary Sue Terry's gubernatorial campaign.
He accused Griffith of taking a "hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil" approach to guns.
Griffith was delighted to learn Packett's position on guns. Packett, Griffith said, is showing "his true colors."
"He says he's not a liberal, but with his response to my crime package, his true colors have become clear," Griffith said in a statement. "Howard Packett wants to take away Western Virginians' right to own a gun."
That's not quite true; Packett is advocating a waiting period, not a ban.
Nevertheless, guns are an emotional issue with deep cultural significance for many Virginians.
"For hundreds of years, rifles, shotguns and small weapons have been a part of Western Virginia's heritage," Griffith's statement said. "Many firearms have been used for hunting, collecting and the protection of our families."
Packett and Griffith may aim more fire at each other about gun ownership:
In questionnaires to the National Rifle Association, Packett said he wanted to restrict the sale and ownership of semiautomatic and automatic weapons, such as the Streetsweeper.
"I was in the Marine Corps and I dealt with these for three years," Packett said. "I'm trained in these kinds of weapons. I know what they can do. I obviously don't want any of them out on the street."
Griffith said he opposed such restrictions as a matter of principle. "I know weapons like the Streetsweeper are pretty obnoxious and even sportsmen don't defend that," he said. However, "I don't think we should encroach on the Constitution lightly."
The two candidates also are sniping at each other about the one-gun-a-month law, which took effect in July. Packett warns that Griffith might vote to repeal the law.
Griffith says he won't: "I want to see how well it works." But he charged that Packett was too eager to pass more restrictions on gun ownership without waiting to see what the current ones do.
"This [one-gun-a-month law] has only been on the books a month and a half and he says there have got to be more restrictions," Griffith said. He warned of a "slippery slope" ahead. "If they want a five-day waiting period in 1994, what will they want in 1995 or 1996?"
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB