---

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

DATE: MONDAY, February 1, 1993                   TAG: 9302010266
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

---

JUDICIAL SYSTEM FAILS LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS

THE MUMBO JUMBO of gun-control advocates is out of whack. The answers to many gun-crime problems are simple.

Target those who break the law.

Enforce laws already in place.

Establish proof of Virginia residency requirements before a Virginia driver's license can be obtained and then used to purchase firearms.

Keep criminals in jail for their full term. Stop releasing them early because of overcrowding, or because they say "I'm sorry" or passed a basket-weaving course on the road to rehab.

Concentrate efforts on the heart of the matter. Our judicial system is failing us. It should not reduce the freedoms of those who respect and live by the laws.

Stop punishing the law-abiding citizen and punish the criminal. Pay more attention to the victim's rights and less to the criminal's.

Take off your blinders to see the real problems, and go after them.

APRILE GIZZI\ CHRISTIANSBURG

---