ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070005
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
MANY VIOLENT offenders get their hands on guns despite laws prohibiting their possession. Regrettable, often disastrous - but no reason to rid the books of such laws.
Similarly, a new federal law that bars anyone convicted of domestic abuse from owning or carrying a firearm should not be abandoned because it can be difficult to trace records of offenses that sometimes are only misdemeanors - or because some police officers might be caught up in the net.
Some violators may well slip by undetected. But police agencies should do their best to deter them, given the escalating nature of domestic violence.
In cases of family violence, "only" misdemeanors - such as using or attempting to use physical force or making verbal threats - may be minor offenses of the law, but they are not trivial. They can be the start of an often deadly pattern.
Abusers' offenses typically start small - berating a family member, shoving someone about, gradually stripping the other person of confidence so as to establish control - then escalate, sometimes until the victim is seriously injured or killed.
A gun in such a home is far more dangerous to the home's occupants than are any potential intruders.
A simple assault conviction is enough to keep firearms out of someone's hands. Complains one gun-store manager: That could result from saying: "I'm going to knock your block off."
But the threat might also be a husband telling a fleeing wife: "I'm going to kill you, and there's not anything you can do to stop me." Not just an allegation but a conviction of assault is necessary. The courts should be able to sort these cases out with common sense.
And if the convicted aggressor is a police officer or someone else whose livelihood depends on being able to carry a gun? Maybe they should get a desk job, or find another line of work.
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