The Roanoke Times
Sunday, September 09, 2001
Democrat denies accusation he supports gay marriage Republican says Democrat supports same-sex marriage
Candidates for lieutenant governor in spat over gays
Democrat Tim Kaine says Republican Jay Katzen's charges are based on "pure fiction."
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story117732.html
By JOEL TURNER
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   The candidates for lieutenant governor are sometimes the forgotten people in Virginia's statewide elections.
    The job is often derisively dismissed because cynics say it consists solely of presiding over the state Senate and checking in daily with the governor's doctor.
    This year, it is different.
    Two months before the election, the clash between Republican Jay Katzen and Democrat Tim Kaine over same-sex marriages, Boys Scouts and gay student alliances has overshadowed other issues in the campaigns for governor and attorney general.
    Political scientist Tom Morris said it's the first time gay rights has been a major issue in a statewide race, adding that the lieutenant governor's campaign could become extremely negative.
    "There are no policy issues unique to the lieutenant governor's office, and this could set the tone for the campaign," he said.
    Morris, the president of Emory & Henry College, said he thinks it is part of the Republican strategy to portray the entire Democratic ticket as "urban, liberal and eastern" and outside the political mainstream.
    Katzen, a retired foreign service officer and a member of the House of Delegates, has accused Kaine, a civil rights lawyer and Richmond mayor, of supporting gay marriages.
    Kaine said it's a lie. He has accused Katzen of running a campaign of bigotry and said he makes charges based on "pure fiction."
    Federal and state laws allow many benefits for married couples, such as inheritance rights, medical decision-making powers, the ability to file joint tax returns and domestic violence protections. But the legal benefits of marriage are not available to gay and lesbian Virginians because state law prohibits marriage between persons of the same sex.
    The Family Foundation, a conservative organization, contends that gay marriages are a legitimate issue in this year's statewide election because it affects public health and family values, a spokeswoman said.
    If candidates support gay civil unions and domestic partnerships that cause a breakdown of heterosexual families, voters need to know it, said Victoria Cobb, director of governmental relations for the Family Foundation. "Candidates need to be upfront with voters."
    Some gays believe that same-sex marriages should be an issue because they said they don't receive the same benefits as married heterosexual couples. But others don't think it should be an issue because they reject marriage as an artificial legal creation, said David Scoven, director of Virginians for Justice, a lobbying group for gays.
    Scoven said he has received many calls in the past week from people upset that gay rights has become a dominant issue in the race between Kaine and Katzen. Gays and lesbians have become the scapegoats in the campaign, he said. "It is despicable."
    Virginians for Justice has not lobbied the General Assembly for laws to permit same-sex marriages or gay civil unions, he said. In view of Virginia's political climate, the group believes that gay civil-union issues are best addressed through the courts instead of the legislature, Scoven added.
    The controversy in the lieutenant governor's race is an outgrowth of comments by Kaine in a debate before the Democratic primary in June. Kaine was quoted as saying he supported civil benefits for gays and lesbians in long-term relationships, such as the ability to hold property and pass it to heirs.
    Some newspapers reported that Kaine supported legalizing gay civil unions.
    Citing the news reports, Katzen accused Kaine of favoring same-sex marriages.
    But Kaine said he does not support changes in state law to create a new form of marriage or gay civil union. He said he opposes discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment and housing, but he is against allowing homosexuals to marry or join in a legally recognized civil union.
    Gay people should be allowed to hold property in common and to leave property to each other, but this can be done under existing contract law, Kaine said.
    He said he also thinks it's OK for private companies to provide health insurance benefits for gay partners, but he doesn't propose that state law be changed to require it or that the state provide it to its own employees.
    He said he supports amending the state's anti-discrimination laws to include gays. The laws do not cover gays in employment, public accommodations or housing.
    Kaine said he has reservations about the state's hate-crimes law, but he thinks crimes against gays should be added to the list of hate crimes as long as the statute is on the book.
    State law allows for civil or criminal penalties to be levied against those convicted of crimes committed because of their victim's race, religion or ethnicity. In recent years, the General Assembly has refused to add sexual orientation and gender to the hate-crimes law.
    Katzen said he opposes broadening the anti-discrimination and hate-crimes laws to include gays and lesbians, but he does not want to keep talking about the gay rights issue.
    "I know some people want to keep the debate going on these things, but during the next 60 days, I'm going to move on and focus my campaign on education, transportation and jobs."
    In response to the fatal shooting at the Backstreet Cafe in Roanoke last year and the assault of two gay men as they left a prayer meeting at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge this summer, gay activists in the Roanoke Valley have called for the hate-crime law to be broadened to include sexual orientation and gender.
    The Rev. Catherine Houchins, the minister of the church, which consists primarily of gay and lesbian people, said she thinks the issue of gay marriages is being used by Katzen and the GOP to "stir up fear" and generate more donations.
    "I wasn't aware that this was a big topic in Virginia," she said. "It's not something that is on the agenda, not something that is being pushed in Virginia, as far as I know." Houchins said she's not opposed to gay marriages and civil unions, but she doubts that they will be approved anytime soon in Virginia because of the political environment.
    The Family Foundation contends that gay marriages are relevant in the campaign because homosexual groups have tried to persuade the General Assembly to reduce the penalties or repeal the law against sodomy, Cobb said. Although same-sex marriages have not come up in the legislature, she said, lobbyists for gays have tried to get the sodomy law changed.
    "We see this as the beginning step toward gay unions and gay marriages," Cobb said.
    Katzen said Kaine should have clarified his position earlier if he did not support same-sex marriages.
    Katzen has also charged that Kaine opposes Boy Scout meetings at public schools while welcoming gay groups in Richmond schools, but Kaine has denied the accusation. Kaine said he is a former Scout and that his two sons are in the Scouts. "I think it's clear that I support the Boy Scouts."
    Richmond school officials said gay student groups do not have meetings in city schools.
    Katzen has also said that Kaine wants to take the United States flag and the Pledge of Allegiance out of schools, a charge that the Democratic candidate has denied. "It is unfortunate that my opponent is making baseless claims and passing them off as truth," Kaine said.
    Scoven said that neither candidate has contacted Virginians for Justice to discuss gay issues. "Before they begin spouting off, they need to know what the issues are," he said. "The lieutenant governor's race seems to be revolving around issues that neither candidate knows that much about."
    Scoven said he did not interpret Kaine's comments before the Democratic primary to mean that he supported gay marriages or civil unions and he does not think Kaine has changed his position.
    To help counter the gay rights issue, Morris said he expects Kaine to attack Katzen for his positions on issues and try to portray him as far to the political right. Kaine doesn't want to have to talk about gay marriages, so he will likely try to cast Katzen as "extreme and out of touch," Morris said.
    Katzen's attack on Kaine seems to be part of a GOP strategy to undercut Mark Warner, the Democratic candidate for governor, he said. The GOP has been running radio ads in rural areas and sending out direct mailings attacking the Democratic ticket as liberals and accusing Kaine of supporting gay marriages without mentioning his name.
    "Kaine has kind of got lost in all of this because they're trying to discredit the Democratic ticket from the top to the bottom," Morris said. Warner's decision to respond to the attacks with his own ads shows that the Democrats are concerned, he said.

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The Times Dispatch
Sep 04, 2001

Run for governor heats up

http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/elections/MGBBR5H37RC.html
ARTICLE BY TYLER WHITLEY AND PAMELA STALLSMITH PHOTOS BY BOB BROWN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS TIMES-DISPATCH SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The Earley campaign plastered the city with 10,000 signs, and the Warner contingent appeared to have placed even more.
(BOB BROWN)

BUENA VISTA - Republican Mark L. Earley began the official campaign season yesterday by launching an attack on his gubernatorial rival, Democrat Mark R. Warner.

Warner can't be trusted on welfare reform, parole abolition, cutting taxes and parental notification, said Earley, addressing a small gathering at the end of the annual Labor Day parade in this tiny, mountain-rimmed city.

Warner, who followed Earley to the podium, called Earley's criticism "garbage" and said the Republican is "desperate" because his campaign is trailing. He said Earley had distorted and misrepresented Warner's stands on a number of issues.

Later in the day, Warner picked up the backing of Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd.

Scott had resigned as chairman of Warner's coordinated campaign in April in a dispute over management. Scott said the campaign was ignoring his advice and effectively relegating his role to an honorary chairman.

Yesterday, Scott formally endorsed Warner at the 25th annual picnic he has held at his mother's Newport News home overlooking Hampton Roads. The two held their hands aloft to rousing cheers from several hundred people.

A beaming Warner said, "If there was any disagreement, it was my campaign's fault."

Scott, a leader in the black community whose votes are vital to Democratic successes, said he plans to take an active role in the Warner campaign.

The heated rhetoric in Buena Vista followed a sign war that engulfed the city in political messages that far outnumbered the spectators drawn to the annual event, the 31st.

The Earley campaign plastered the city with 10,000 signs, said campaign manager Quintin Kendall. The Warner campaign appeared to have even more. The candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general added to the colorful mix, which prompted Eagle Rock resident John Hamilton to fashion a homemade sign: "Take Your Signs Home, Please."

Campaign volunteers had risen at dawn Sunday to plaster every available utility pole, field, public bathroom and abandoned building and had worked through the night until yesterday morning, often competing for the best position.

Earley's message, delivered in a picnic shelter over the din of a crowd awaiting a baby contest, appeared aimed at television cameras and reporters and signaled a tough new phase for his uphill campaign.

Not known as a rough-and-tough campaigner, Earley defended the attacks on Warner. "These issues are very important to Virginia. It's important to draw these distinctions," said the former attorney general.

If Warner, as a Democratic Party official, fought the policies of Govs. George Allen and Jim Gilmore "every step of the way," can he be trusted to maintain them if elected governor? Earley asked.

"Let's set the record straight," said Warner, a multimillionaire venture capitalist from Alexandria. "I support welfare reform; I support the abolition of parole; I support the death penalty; I'm against gay marriages; I support 2nd Amendment rights," the right to own and bear arms.

Warner and Earley walked the 2-mile parade route, running from one side of the street to the other to shake hands with onlookers, many of them more interested in the candy being thrown their way than in the candidates.

The crowd appeared to be leaning toward Warner, although several indicated they had yet to focus on the race and hadn't made up their minds.

Normagene Coffey of Buena Vista said she backs Warner "because I like some of the things he stands for."

But Tom Wright of Rockbridge County said he favors Earley because "he's not a socialist."

The two gubernatorial candidates were trailed by their running mates. Jay Katzen of Fauquier County, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, was accompanied by his wife, Patricia. Katzen drew a big roar of approval from the crowd when he promised to fight for a rail system that would take trucks off of nearby Interstate 81.

His Democratic opponent, Richmond Mayor Timothy M. Kaine, was accompanied by his three young children, who alternately tossed candy and ate it.

The contingent of Jerry W. Kilgore, the Republican candidate for attorney general, wore bright orange T-shirts - "the Orange Crush brigade," said Kilgore. His Democratic opponent, Henrico County lawyer A. Donald McEachin, alternately walked and rode in a convertible along the parade route.

The two tickets continued their campaigning at a Labor Day parade in Covington, before the Democrats flew to the Scott picnic.

Mary M. Hudson, a retired Newport News nurse at the picnic, said "I love Mark [Warner]. He cares about people like the janitors, not just the college professors."

Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, D-Norfolk, said he thought there would be a backlash on Nov. 6 against Gilmore and the budget impasse.

Earlier, in response to a Warner attack on Gilmore's handling of the budget impasse, Earley said, "There is no candidate named Jim Gilmore."

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The Times Dispatch
Aug 31, 2001

Kaine: Katzen wages campaign of 'bigotry'

http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/elections/MGBF3JMA1RC.html
BY TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday his Republican opponent, Jay Katzen, is making up mud to sling at him.

"It's fictional, it's ludicrous," Kaine said of a charge by Katzen that he would deny Boy Scouts the right to meet in public schools.

Kaine said Katzen is waging a campaign of "bigotry and division."

Kaine held a news conference to display a videotape of Katzen speaking at a recent rally in Colonial Heights.

In that video, Katzen says: "He [Kaine] doesn't think the Boy Scouts ought to be able to meet in our public schools. If he takes the Boy Scouts out, . . . he takes the flag out because he doesn't want us to pledge to it; then takes school prayer out . . . "

Kaine said in response, "He knows these claims are not true." The Richmond mayor said he is a former Boy Scout himself who "had an unblemished merit badge record except for knot-tying." His two sons are in the Scouts, he said.

The Katzen campaign faxed a news release in which the retired U.S. Foreign Service officer acknowledged that he had assumed Kaine would oppose the Scouts because of that body's opposition to allowing gay members. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the organization did not have to accept gays.

In a debate before the Democratic primary in June, Kaine was quoted as saying that he supported civil liberties for gays and lesbians.

Asked whether the Scouts should ban gays, Kaine said, "I don't have an opinion on that. I haven't followed the issue closely. I've been too busy with my life."

Katzen has been charging that Kaine supports gay marriages and gay civil unions.

As a civil rights lawyer who has spent his career fighting for equality, Kaine said, "I don't think people should be kicked out of jobs or discriminated against because of who they are, so I believe state laws should protect people against discrimination in those key areas."

Gay people should be able to hold property in common and to leave property to each other in wills, he said. This can be done now under contract law, he added.

Kaine said he never supported changing the state law to "create a new form of marriage or civil union."

"I believe in the institution of marriage," he said. "I've been married for 17 years."

Asked whether he supports health benefits for gay partners, Kaine said it's fine for private companies to provide that option but, "I don't propose that the state law require it or that the state provide it to its own employees."

While he has reservations about hate crime laws, Kaine said as long as they are on the books, crimes against gays should be added to the list of hate crimes. Gays have been the victims of persecution in Virginia, he said.

Kaine, who will step down next week as mayor, said he hopes Katzen will return to a discussion of issues, including Kaine's proposal for the state to fund 55 percent of public education, as the appropriations act required. Currently, the state is about $1 billion short of full funding, he said.

Kaine admitted this is "a promise to be made that can't happen overnight." By trimming expenditures elsewhere, the state may be able to come up with the money, he said.

Katzen retorted that if Kaine wants to talk about education, he should talk about Richmond's polluted and rat-infested schools.

Katzen apparently was referring to Whitcomb Court and A.V. Norrell elementary schools in Richmond.

A Richmond activist group, Parents for Life, believes that methane gas from old landfills near the schools is harming the staffs and students. However, an environmental study ordered by the School Board found that methane gas had not caused any health problems at the schools.

This week, Whitcomb Court school in Richmond's East End was found in violation of the city's "extermination of rats" code. Two inspections by the Health Department found rodent droppings and dead mice and cockroaches at the school. The Richmond district has until Sept. 10 to correct the violations, but spokesman James Bynum said yesterday that they already have been addressed.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com
Times-Dispatch staff writer Lea Setegn contributed to this report.
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The Times Dispatch

Aug 29, 2001

Kaine, Katzen clash on issues

Both oppose legalized pot

http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/elections/MGBJKG8LYQC.html

BY PETER SAVODNIK
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The two major-party candidates vying for lieutenant governor clashed on the airwaves last night, with Republican Jay Katzen trying to tar his Democratic opponent, Timothy M. Kaine, as a liberal, and Kaine accusing Katzen of needless "labeling" and "mud-slinging."

"I'm unapologetic about being a conservative," Katzen, a Fauquier County member of the House of Delegates, declared in his hour-long debate with Kaine on Roanoke-based public radio station WVTF's "Evening Edition," with Daily Progress political writer Bob Gibson as host.

"I'm very proud of the progress we've made," Katzen continued, citing new public-school standards and parole reform. He added that government should "get the taxes back to the people" and "make sure that our streets are safe for the people of Virginia."

Kaine, the mayor of Richmond, shunned any liberal-conservative distinctions and instead sought to portray himself as a results-oriented, can-do centrist who has forged alliances between gun-rights and gun-control activists, among others.

"I've been a crime-cutter, a tax-rate cutter, a school-builder . . . and I think we'd be better off just skipping labels," Kaine said.

Katzen also contended that Kaine supports homosexual marriage and would rather make room for homosexual groups to use public-school facilities in Richmond than the Boy Scouts.

Kaine replied that he was once a Boy Scout and his children are Scouts and that he has never countenanced homosexual marriage.

"I've only advocated that people not get kicked out of their apartments or lose their jobs because of who they are," he said.

Kaine further voiced support for spending more money on public schools and universities.

Asked if he would support greater school choice - a hallmark of Katzen's campaign, which supports tuition tax credits - Kaine said he would agree to "multiple choices . . . within the public framework."

While the candidates disagreed on a slew of polarizing issues - from car tax relief to abortion rights to handgun restrictions - they both voiced unequivocal opposition to legalizing marijuana, Libertarian candidate Gary A. Reams' issue of choice.

At one point in the radio show, Reams called in to promote his campaign and voice his support for a referendum on marijuana legalization.

"It amazes me that these experienced politicians could turn their backs to this constituency," said Reams, a Fairfax County consultant, observing that other states have supported using marijuana for medical purposes.

Reams' call prompted a handful of other callers to weigh in on the legalization debate.

One caller, a self-described conservative veteran who said he'd used marijuana for medical purposes, slammed Katzen for turning his back on legalization and said he'd be voting for Reams this fall.

Kaine and Katzen more or less agreed the state should share some of its income-tax revenue with localities.

And both candidates said after the radio show that their politics - and the values that underlie those politics - stemmed, in part, from their experiences abroad. Kaine cited his year on a Jesuit mission in Honduras and Katzen his career in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Peter Savodnik is a staff writer at The Daily Progress in Charlottesville.

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The Times Dispatch

Aug 28, 2001

Democrats denounce GOP flier

They cite tone of desperation from Earley

http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/archive/MGB7AEUYWQC.html

BY PAMELA STALLSMITH AND TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Democrats are denouncing as distorted and desperate a GOP mailing that depicts their statewide candidates as pushing an "extreme liberal agenda" that includes higher taxes, gay marriage and an end to the death penalty.

As the campaigns prepare for the traditional Labor Day kickoff this weekend, observers say the Republican flier portends what is expected to be a bitter and bruising contest through the Nov. 6 election.

"This is the type of flier you'd expect to see the second half of October," said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political analyst at Mary Washington College. "If this is how nasty it is in August, we have quite a fall ahead of us."

The gubernatorial race between Republican Mark L. Earley, the former attorney general, and Democrat Mark R. Warner, a high-tech investor from Alexandria, is on track to be the most expensive in the state's history.

Ed Matricardi, state Republican Party executive director, said the mailing is the largest in state GOP history. But he refused to say how many fliers were sent out or how much it cost. More will be coming, both positive and negative, he said.

"It is an ongoing project," he said. "We want to let folks know who Mark Earley is. . . . At the same time, we have an obligation to expose the real Mark Warner."

Matricardi said Warner has spent vast sums trying to erase a past record as a liberal Democrat.

The Republican flier calls the Democratic slate "the most liberal ticket in Virginia history." In addition to Warner, the ticket includes lieutenant governor candidate Timothy M. Kaine, who is Richmond's mayor, and attorney general candidate A. Donald McEachin, a state delegate from Henrico County.

The Democrats decried the charges as false.

"We have been saying for months that Mark Earley and the Republicans were going to have to go negative and sling a lot of mud to try to cover up their lack of a message and their inability to lead, and this proves we were right," said Mary Broz, state Democratic Party spokeswoman.

A spokesman for Earley stood by the flier's statements.

"This is the most liberal ticket in Virginia history and the facts bear that out," said Earley spokesman David Botkins. "They are out of the mainstream of most Virginia voters."

Earley is joined on the GOP ticket by lieutenant governor candidate Jay Katzen, a state delegate from Fauquier County; and attorney general candidate Jerry W. Kilgore, a former state secretary of public safety originally from Southwest Virginia.

Speaking to the Kiwanis Club of Richmond at the Virginia Historical Society yesterday, Warner expressed disappointment at what he called distorted Republican attacks.

"This should be a campaign about competing visions, not about negative personal attacks," he said.

Warner told reporters later that he will not let the attacks go unanswered.

"We will set the record straight," he said.

He told Kiwanis members about his proposals for a mutual fund program for teachers, higher teacher pay, making highway rights-of-way available for fiber-optic cables and preserving open spaces. He said he would put transportation experts, not politicians, in charge of the Virginia Department of Transportation. He said he would oppose requiring deposits to encourage consumers to return bottles to retailers.

At the same time, Warner was critical of Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore and the budget impasse that led to the General Assembly adjourning without adopting an amended budget. As a businessman, he never would have allowed that to happen, he said.

"He sounded like a Republican," said Bob Wynne of Richmond, a guest at the luncheon.

Also yesterday, Virginians for Warner, a group of independent and sometime Republican business and professional people, took out a full-page ad in the Richmond Times-Dispatch asking Gilmore to explain a $500 million discrepancy between the budget figures he released last week and the estimates by the Senate Finance Committee.

A copy of a letter that appeared in the ad was delivered to Gilmore's office yesterday morning.

Warner said he planned to continue to question the Gilmore budget numbers, including whether his spending plan transfers money from one fiscal year to another.

"The governor and the money committees ought to at least agree on the same budget assumptions," he said.

Gilmore did not reply directly to the ad, but he released a statement issued last week in response to similar criticism. A spokesman said final revenue estimates will not be available until December.

Contact Pamela Stallsmith at 649-6746 or pstallsmith@timesdispatch.com

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The Times Dispatch

Aug 23, 2001

GOP ticket bashes Democratic rivals

http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/archive/MGBXJOITPQC.html

BY REX BOWMAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

ROANOKE - The three Republican candidates for statewide office gathered in the Star City yesterday to bash their Democratic rivals as "too liberal" for Virginia - but maybe just right for Connecticut or Vermont.

"They're probably the most liberal ticket that has ever been fielded in Virginia for statewide office," said former Attorney General Mark L. Earley, who is running for governor. "This campaign is about Virginia values, not Vermont values. It's about the commonwealth, not Connecticut."

"I resent that," responded Earley's Democratic opponent, Mark R. Warner, who spent part of his youth in Connecticut. "I resent anyone who would question my Virginia values. I raised my family here."

Earley's name-calling won hearty amens from a crowd of about 60 supporters and fellow candidates Jay Katzen and Jerry Kilgore. Katzen, a delegate from Fauquier County, is running for lieutenant governor. Kilgore, former state secretary of public safety for Gov. George Allen, is running for attorney general.

The GOP nominees generally have been campaigning on their own, but they united in Roanoke yesterday to publicly press their case. In speeches at GOP headquarters downtown, Earley, Katzen and Kilgore attacked their Democratic counterparts on the death penalty, gun control, taxes and same-sex marriages, saying their rivals' positions on each of those issues are far to the left of most Virginians. And they constantly mentioned Vermont and Connecticut.

"Virginia is not Vermont," Katzen said to applause.

He attacked his opponent, Richmond Mayor Timothy M. Kaine, as favoring same-sex marriages, which were legalized in Vermont last year. Kaine and his staff repeatedly have said he does not favor such unions, but Katzen said yesterday he will keep up the attacks.

Earley, Katzen and Kilgore are running, respectively, against Alexandria high-tech entrepreneur Warner, lawyer Kaine and Del. A. Donald McEachin of Henrico County, also a lawyer.

Warner, who spoke to Roanoke's Kiwanis Club later yesterday, derided his opponents' attacks. He said he supports the death penalty, does not want new gun-control laws, opposes same-sex unions and wants to eliminate the car tax next year if financially possible.

"Instead of laying out any kind of agenda of what they want to do for Virginia, they're coming out with the same old litany of attacks every day," Warner said. "They can keep up their attacks - we're going to keep offering people reasons to hire us."

The Republicans began portraying the Democratic candidates as too liberal as soon as McEachin and Kaine were voted onto the ticket in the party's June primary. McEachin has proposed mandatory child safety locks on guns, a proposal Republicans say is an attempt at gun control.

McEachin also has called for a moratorium on executions in Virginia until the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission completes its study of the death penalty. Republicans said McEachin, and by extension the entire Democratic ticket, is soft on crime.

"A moratorium is just a back-door attempt to end the death penalty," Kilgore said. "I support the death penalty, always have, always will."

Also yesterday, Earley received the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. of Rocky Mount, I-5th, a former Democrat who organizes with the Republicans in Congress.

Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or rbowman@timesdispatch.com

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