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

DATE: SUNDAY, September 4, 1994                   TAG: 9409060047
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSTONE                                LENGTH: Medium

ROBB CALLS GUN-CONTROL VOTE `NO-BRAINER'

U.S. Sen. Charles Robb's effort to tag Republican challenger Oliver North as an "extremist" on gun control was put to the test Saturday during Robb's swing through Southwest Virginia, where hunting is a rite of passage and gun ownership is considered a birthright.

Robb found himself on the defensive as people at country stores and shopping centers asked him to explain his support last month for a federal crime bill that included a ban on 18 types of military-style assault weapons.

"You'd better explain that," Charles Rickers, a Robb supporter, advised the incumbent during an interview here with a local newspaper. "There are a lot of misconceptions."

Robb was quick to describe the assault-weapon ban as a limited measure, not a first step toward infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

"I have told people repeatedly," the first-term Democrat said, "that I personally support the right to keep and bear arms for hunting, personal protection, target practice, collecting or whatever."

The issue, he said, is whether the nation should allow the legal sale of weapons that give drug dealers, gang members and crackpots more firepower than police officers. He noted that law enforcement groups - even those that have endorsed North - support the ban on assault weapons.

Robb drew a parallel with existing bans on machine guns, bazookas and hand grenades. "We don't issue any personal M-1 tanks," he said.

Robb was so preoccupied with defending his record that he missed a chance to drive home his "mainstream-versus-extreme" theme in which he has sought to paint North as the latter because of North's opposition to the ban on assault weapons.

North - Robb's top challenger in a field that includes independents Douglas Wilder and Marshall Coleman - has made gun rights a touchstone of his campaign. North has staged campaign appearances at gun shows and a skeet shooting exhibition.

Saturday, Robb appeared frustrated that his rational explanation may not be enough to dissolve the emotional distrust about gun control in rural Virginia. "It should be a no-brainer," he said.

Robb, a former Marine who described himself as an occasional hunter, would not rule out campaign events geared specifically to hunters or a television ad similar to one in his 1981 gubernatorial campaign that showed Robb shooting a pistol at a police firing range.

"If there's too much misunderstanding on the issue, maybe I will," Robb said.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB