Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 1, 1993 TAG: 9309010180
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, said a Terry television commercial that began airing about a week ago "is based on intentional misrepresentation and a deliberate distortion."
Tom King, a Terry consultant, said the commercial is not misleading. The Allen campaign "is grasping at straws," he said.
In the commercial, an announcer touts Terry as "the only candidate for governor who supports the death penalty and a five-day waiting period" for handgun purchases.
Allen opposes the five-day waiting period. Both candidates favor capital punishment.
"There is no question that George is committed to the death penalty - as is, in fairness, Ms. Terry," Stolle said at a news conference at state Republican Party headquarters.
King said the voice in the commercial emphasizes the word "and," making it clear that Terry is the only candidate to support both the waiting period and capital punishment.
"I don't think it misleads anybody," he said. To suggest otherwise is to underestimate the intelligence of the voters, King said.
Stolle also criticized the commercial for showing a police officer flipping through mug shots and suggesting the waiting period would give police more time to investigate prospective handgun buyers. He said the ad implies flaws in Virginia's computerized criminal background check, implemented in November 1989.
"I hope that after seven years as attorney general, she knows that Virginia doesn't allow felons to buy firearms," Stolle said. A waiting period is not necessary "because the instant criminal check is so effective," he said.
King said the waiting period is an added precaution against guns falling into dangerous hands.
"Five days gives you a better chance so nothing falls through the cracks," he said.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB