THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200268
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRFAX COUNTY LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Like a man with a chip on his shoulder and a semi-automatic to prove it, Oliver L. North embraced the National Rifle Association's endorsement on Friday, blasting both his opponents for the U.S. Senate and President Clinton's crime bill.
``Friends, we've had enough of those politicians who need to take a poll before they take a position,'' the GOP nominee declared at the NRA's national headquarters.
Firearms were nowhere in plain view, but more than 200 supporters greeted North's guts-and-guns machismo with whoops, whistles and applause at the South Tower entrance of the NRA's two-story, glass-enclosed atrium.
North, gaining momentum in recent polls and endorsements, took aim at what he called ``the failed policies of the Clinton administration'' and the president's ``phony, pork-barreled gun control bill.''
The NRA has led the fight against the president's crime bill, which would ban 19 types of assault weapons.
North has had to cope with a ban of his own, imposed by a judge who recently denied his request for the renewal of his concealed weapon permit.
The candidate, however, had enough ammunition for his opponents: Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb and independents J. Marshall Coleman and L. Douglas Wilder. ``They're professional politicians,'' he said, then zeroed in on what he called the ``Robb-Wilder-Clinton Axis:''
``We've caught on, and they know, and they're scared,'' he said.
North has reason to be emboldened. The highly organized NRA, with 3.5 million members nationwide, could wield influence in Virginia's four-way contest, amassing support far beyond its $5,000 contribution to North's record-setting fund-raising pace. The NRA's endorsement also strengthens North's hold on Southwestern Virginia, a region considered pivotal to his success.
``I'm not ashamed of my stand for the protection of the Second Amendment,'' North said after the rally. ``I don't base my positions on popularity polls.''
Gun control has been a divisive issue in Virginia in recent years - and it could be a key factor in this year's campaign. Under former Gov. Wilder's administration, the state adopted a law restricting handgun purchases to one a month.
But North said the solution to crime is not clamping down on guns, but on those who use them unlawfully. ``Career criminals need a career change to make them career inmates,'' he said.
In a seven-point plan, North calls for stricter jail terms for violent offenders, enforcing the death penalty and ``lowering the boom on drug buyers, not just drug dealers.''
``I believe intensely in Col. North, and what he stands for,'' said John C. Frietsch, a 42-year-old insurance salesman who keeps a .357 Magnum at his Charlottesville home. ``The American people don't realize their freedoms are being taken away.''
Aroused by the strains of the Marine Corps Hymn, the enthusiastic crowd displayed stickers reading, ``Duty/Morality - Vote North'' and ``Ollie!'' and buttons saying ``Vets for North.'' North was given a black ``NRA life member'' cap, which he wore briefly. A pair of dark-suited security guards, hands folded in front of them and radio headphones in their ears, flanked the small stage where North spoke. Behind them were American and NRA flags.
``Here's my message,'' North said: ``Hold on, I'm on my way.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
North
KEYWORDS: ENDORSEMENT NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION SENATE RACE
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