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

DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994                   TAG: 9405060015
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BRIEFLY PUT . . .

WHILE THE Founding Fathers assured states that the people would have the right to bear arms in order to maintain "a well-regulated militia," it's doubtful they had in mind militias of drug dealers, juvenile delinquents and the mentally deranged armed with semiautomatic assault weapons. Legitimate hunters certainly don't need them.

Should Congress take these unusually lethal weapons out of the hands of civilians who can 1) fire them for fun and relaxation or 2) fire them for mass murder? Yes.

The House Judiciary Committee took a step toward that end Thursday with a vote to ban 19 assault-type weapons. Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia's Fightin' 9th District broke ranks with a majority of fellow Democrats on the committee and voted against the ban. Shame on him.

by CNB