ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993                   TAG: 9312020173
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                 LENGTH: Short

VA. `INSTANT CHECK' LAW HALTED 6,000 GUN BUYS

State police say nearly 6,000 people have been barred from buying firearms since Virginia's instant criminal record check went into effect four years ago.

The number of rejected purchases was about 1 percent of the some 569,000 firearms transactions that have taken place since the instant checks began.

Because of the checks, Virginia likely will be exempt from the Brady bill, signed into law Tuesday by President Clinton. The Virginia law was one of the models for the Brady bill.

The bill, the most sweeping piece of gun-control legislation in two decades, calls for a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases so authorities can check prospective buyers for criminal backgrounds. It is aimed at states that have few or no controls on handgun purchases. - Associated Press 


 by CNB