THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611030087
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 50 lines
Victims of school violence should be better protected, Virginia Attorney General James S. Gilmore III told state NAACP members Saturday.
Gilmore, expected to be a Republican candidate for governor in 1997, said that student victims of classroom crimes should have more alternatives, such as transferring to a different school.
``I propose that child victims should not be forced to return to the school where they were victimized,'' he said at the 61st annual Virginia NAACP State Conference. ``Give them meaningful options to continue education in another local school.''
The audience at the breakfast meeting in the Holiday Inn Executive Conference Center met Gilmore's remarks with enthusiastic applause.
Gilmore concentrated on teacher safety and school violence in his brief speech to the group.
``Kids are going to school and are getting shot down,'' he said.
He also emphasized the overall importance of education, saying that was important as Virginia moves into the 21st century.
Gilmore - who has proposed a mandatory penalty of 10 days in jail or in a detention center for any 18-year-old who assaults a Virginia teacher - said teachers need support in their classroom endeavors.
``We need to stand with our teachers and help them maintain discipline in our classrooms,'' he said. ``These are concerning problems.''
Violence at school, he said, hurts attendance rates and parents who have no alternatives but to return their kids to the classroom where they were battered.
Gilmore sat at the head table of the leadership breakfast, flanked by 3rd District U.S. Rep. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, who is up for re-election on Tuesday; state Sen. Yvonne B. Miller; and NAACP officials.
Scott, who joked that the occasion was not a political forum but reminded participants that he is on Tuesday's ballot, said the mission of the NAACP, known for its historical battles for equality for people of color, remains unchanged.
``We need a strong NAACP to bring the issues forward. Last year we were talking about crack cocaine, and this year it's the CIA and crack cocaine,'' Scott said, citing recent reports that the CIA looked the other way as drugs were sold in Los Angeles in the 1980s. ``They (the NAACP) make it possible for things to be heard.''
The convention began Friday and hosted a debate between U.S. Senate candidates Mark R. Warner and John W. Warner. Participants attended forums and workshops throughout the day Saturday.
The convention ends this afternoon. by CNB