THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, May 19, 1995                   TAG: 9505190005
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   44 lines

TERRORISM, NOT GUNS, IS THE ISSUE

It is time to speak plainly about the rhetorical firestorm surrounding the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. This debate is not about terrorism or hate groups or hate speech. It is about guns.

Left-wingers decry ``hate speech'' and ``fearmongering'' from the right, then lob unfounded charges of complicity against those who believe in the right to keep and bear arms - the recently discovered ``extremist'' militia groups, ``right-wing'' talk radio, the NRA and pro-gun Republicans.

Commentators who know nothing of the militia movement, except for what their anti-gun cronies are saying, purport to give us comprehensive insight into militia members, their beliefs and their motivations.

A former U.S. president resigns from the NRA because of ``offensive'' fund-raising rhetoric, and gun-hating pundits rush to embrace him, putting aside their political disagreements with the man, barely noting his lackluster support for gun owners and ignoring evidence that would justify the offending comment.

The continuing battle over gun control is the common threat that ties all the facets of this discourse together. The November election of a pro-gun majority to Congress brought an end to the drive for more and more restrictions on law-abiding gun owners.

Facing a very real threat of a congressional rollback of their recent victories, gun-control advocates groped frantically for a handhold in their hard-won ground. In the Oklahoma City massacre, they found a vehicle from which to launch a fusillade against those who defend our freedom to keep and bear arms.

The Oklahoma City bombing is tragic enough in and of itself. It will be sadder still if the lessons that could be learned from this disaster are lost as politicians, commentators and editors shift the focus from terrorism to firearms.

GEORGE A. FOSTER JR.

Chesapeake, May 12, 1995 by CNB