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

DATE: TUESDAY, August 24, 1993                   TAG: 9308240433
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GOP FIRED UP OVER TERRY'S DEATH PENALTY, GUN AD

A new Mary Sue Terry television commercial, asserting that the Democrat is "the only candidate . . . to support the death penalty and a five-day waiting period" for gun purchases, had Republicans incensed Monday.

"She's falsely suggesting that George Allen doesn't support the death penalty," fumed Jay Timmons, Allen's press secretary.

"Listen to it and watch the ad and it's very clean," retorted Tom King, Terry's campaign consultant. The ad doesn't accuse Allen of opposing capital punishment, King said, "the suggestion is that there's more than the death penalty to fighting crime."

"Everybody knows" Allen favors the death penalty, King said.

The 30-second commercial focuses on the waiting period, which for at least a month has been the centerpiece of Terry's campaign. It shows a series of confiscated guns and a policeman reviewing records, presumably of gun purchases or purchasers.

"One gun a month fought the gun runners," an announcer asserts, "now a five-day waiting period on the purchase of a handgun so police can do a complete criminal record check."

Allen opposes a waiting period, arguing that it would be ineffective, but he has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment throughout his political career.

The new Terry commercial began airing across the state over the weekend and is getting particularly heavy play in Hampton Roads and the Richmond and Washington, D.C., markets, King said.

Allen, meanwhile, remains off the air. His cash-strapped campaign did not extend a series of ad contracts that expired last week, though Timmons said new ads will be appearing soon.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB