BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE

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

DATE: MONDAY, March 1, 1993                   TAG: 9303010205
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE
AFTER READING the Feb. 19 commentary, "If you want to cut crime, punish it," by Wythe County Sheriff G. Wayne Pike concerning Gov. Wilder's gun control, I am in complete agreement with him. I realize retaliation and/or repercussions from his superiors for his honesty and concern are possible.
There is one opinion I thought should have been included. That is that drunken drivers kill and will kill more citizens in one year than guns will kill in 10 years. But Virginia and our government will sell anyone over and sometimes under 21 years of age all the alcoholic beverages that they can carry out of "their" stores. Straight to the cars we go and away we drive, which is certainly worst than a loaded gun by your side.
There are laws to prevent this every-day occurrence, but they do not and will not stop it. Neither will gun laws.
Law-abiding, hard-working citizens of this free and wonderful country have no defense against a person who runs themdown with his vehicle while intoxicated. But we do have a defense against letting a no-good criminal blow your head off for pocket change. Be prepared to blow his off first. Gun restriction will not stop a criminal from getting guns, because he just steals most of them anyway. But these gun laws do restrict the citizens' right to defend themselves and their families. LUTHER L. HARDIN WYTHEVILLE

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB