Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 1, 1993 TAG: 9310150364
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The religious left has captured almost all of our society's institutions. It controls a big majority of the government, education, and entertainment and news media. And it's striving hard to capture the church and the family.
The religious left is attacking the religious right with increasing fury and hate. At the same time, the religious left, with great sanctimony (and hypocrisy), claims it has a monopoly on tolerance.
How tolerant is the religious left? Ask editorial cartoonists and columnists who express Judeo-Christian values how much tolerance the media afford them. Ask schoolchildren who cannot speak prayers but are coerced to learn how to put condoms on bananas. Ask the preborn child whose mother is in an abortion mill. Ask those Christians who try to get involved in politics and promote Judeo-Christian values.
Perhaps it's time we pay attention to the religious left and the harm it's causing. The religious right was in control in 1960, but the religious left is in control now. Compare the differences in education, families, drug abuse and crime between 1960 and now.
The hysterical outcry against the religious right is coming from the religious left. The motivation is obvious. The religious left is afraid it may lose control, and we will benefit greatly if it does.
FRANK ROGERS
CHRISTIANSBURG
Allen will be tough on crime
IT'S NO surprise to see Mary Sue Terry calling for a five-day waiting period for legally qualified citizens to purchase a gun for sport or protection. After all, this is the same Ms. Terry who, as attorney general, has given us a seven- year waiting period - waiting for her to do something about crime.
And as is normal for a liberal Democrat, instead of attacking the criminal, she wants to penalize law-abiding sportsmen and citizens who might want to purchase a gun to protect their home and family. Are homeowners to tell the burglar, thug or rapist to come back in five days?
I'm glad to see at least one candidate for governor get serious about crime in Virginia, especially the problem of our overly lenient parole laws. George Allen has proposed reforms to tighten up our policy on parole - to keep violent repeat criminals behind bars where they belong. We need a governor who will get tough on crime (not taxpayers). For a change in the right direction for Virginia, I'm going to vote for Allen.
BOBBY MAY
HURLEY
Two who support officers of the law
I'M PLEASED to see that the Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed George Allen for governor and Jim Gilmore for attorney general. Allen and Gilmore will support our law-enforcement officers in their fight against crime and change Virginia's lenient parole policy to keep criminals behind bars and off the streets. State FOP President Garth Wheeler said that "taking criminals off the streets, particularly repeat offenders, and keeping them off, will curtail crime." This is the Allen/Gilmore plan. On the other hand, all Mary Sue Terry wants to do is make more laws to punish law-abiding hunters and sportsmen.
The FOP's endorsement of Allen and Gilmore is particularly telling when we remember that Ms. Terry was endorsed by this same FOP for attorney general. Apparently, they quickly saw that she had nothing to offer in the way of fighting crime.
Let's support the men and women on the front lines of the war against violent criminals by electing Allen and Gilmore.
ROBERT M. HALL
HURLEY
by CNB