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

DATE: THURSDAY, May 26, 1994                   TAG: 9405260083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ASSAULT RIFLE DEFINITION A TOUGH ONE

Q: The term "assault rifle" appears in the news frequently, and I wonder if it's being used to scare the public. Two recent stories in your paper about a robbery suspect killed in Botetourt and a shooting spree in Lynchburg said the suspects were armed with assault weapons but did not say which models. One of the stories did go on to list specifics about other types of weapons, including the brand and caliber of three pistols. What does the news media define as an assault rifle? It's a wide-open field.|

|F.G., Covington A: The weapons in both the Lynchburg and Botetourt shootings were SKS 5.56 mm rifles, made in China and sold in the United States in a 10-round semi-automatic version that fires 10 rounds as fast as the shooter can pull the trigger.

Police agencies in Lynchburg and Botetourt called the SKS an assault rifle, probably because it comes equipped with a bayonet and has been used in battle by Chinese, North Vietnamese and North Korean troops.

The term "assault rifle" does not have a textbook definition. Congress struggled to define it and listed 19 specific weapons and their copycat models in the gun ban passed three weeks ago.

The SKS was not on the list, because the standard U.S.-approved version fires only 10 rounds. James Silvey, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms resident agent in Roanoke, said the SKS is easily converted to a 30-round version and can be modified to be fully automatic.

I'm not speaking for any other news person here, but if a police official were to call a weapon an assault rifle, I'd tend to believe him and report accordingly.

There's no conspiracy that I'm aware of to categorize a bunch of weapons as assault rifles for the purpose of scaring the public.

The fact is, some folk just like to own guns like these and use them only on target ranges. Other folk use them to sweep streets without regard for who's in the line of fire.

Being at the scene of a street shooting gives you a perspective that a lot of legitimate gun fanciers never see.|

Your $16 worth|

Q: Meadow Gold and another dairy recently settled a lawsuit with the state over price fixing. The money is supposed to be returned to the schools, including Roanoke County's. Shouldn't the money be returned to the people who bought the milk, i.e., the parents?|

|B.H., Salem A: Let's do a little math here. Roanoke County's share from the lawsuit comes to $139,483, covering about three years in the mid-'80s. About 4.6 million lunches were served in those three years.

The milk settlement comes to about 3 cents per lunch. That's a three-year total of $16 for a pupil.

That student is in high school now. The milk data is history. Writing refund checks to parents probably would cost close to $16, which would add up to a waste.

by CNB