Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 9, 1993 TAG: 9301090058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
VIRGINIANS SUPPORT GUN LIMITS
Three of every four Virginia gun owners favor limiting the number of handguns a person can buy in one month, according to a poll conducted for the state's Criminal Justice Research Center and released Friday.The survey of 815 Virginians found even greater support for limits among those who don't own firearms. And it indicated that backing for the idea is strong all over the state - including rural areas long considered hotbeds of opposition to gun control.
The survey, conducted by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, is certain to be widely touted by gun control advocates in the General Assembly that convenes Wednesday. A plan to limit handgun sales to one per month per individual, backed by Gov. Douglas Wilder, is expected to be among the session's most hotly debated topics.
Overall, 83 percent of those surveyed favored limiting gun purchases. Almost nine out of 10 of those thought the limit should be one gun per month.
Enthusiasm was greatest in central Virginia, where escalating violence has been a recent theme. It was weakest in the largely rural Shenandoah Valley. However, even there, 72 percent favored limiting purchases. In Hampton Roads, Southside and the Roanoke area, 84 percent favored limits; as did 76 percent in far Southwest Virginia.
The survey was hailed by gun control advocates, who labeled it proof of broad public enthusiasm for key legislative recommendations of Wilder's task force on violent crime.
"The message of the poll is the people have finally said . . . in a way that cannot be disputed, they are tired of putting up with the violence occurring their communities," said O. Randolph Rollins, Wilder's secretary of public safety.
"For those legislators who are on the fence, this is going to be their security blanket," said U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen. Rollins, a Democrat, and Cullen, a Republican, are helping spearhead efforts for gun-a-month legislation. Both showed up for a news conference on the poll results.
The National Rifle Association, with 80,000 Virginia members and a long history of influence in the legislature, did not respond to a request for comment on the poll.
Alluding to the NRA's clout, Cullen said he hopes gun control advocates will match the passion of NRA members during the legislative debate. "We have to get moderate people to become somewhat more passionate," he said.
In other findings:
Fifty-two percent said they would be "more likely" to vote for a legislator who favored a one-gun-per-month limit; 13 percent said they would be less likely to do so, and 35 percent said the vote would make no difference.
Ninety-five percent favored barring juveniles from possessing handguns - another legislative proposal.
Eighty-two percent favored giving criminal justice officials access to the juvenile court records of adult offenders.
The survey cost $7,500 and was conducted between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4. Overall results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points, while the margin of error in regional results is about 8 points.
A spokesman for the Criminal Justice Research Center said the group contracted with VCU for the poll to boost confidence that it was conducted impartially.