ARCHIE BUNKER ACTOR BRINGS A SERIOUS MESSAGE TO RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The actor who made people laugh as Archie Bunker
brought a serious, personal message to Rhode Island.

Carroll O'Connor and his wife, Nancy, were in Providence on Sunday to
promote state legislation that would allow families of drug abuse victims
to sue drug dealers for monetary damages.

The bill is named after the O'Connors' son, Hugh, who committed suicide in
1995 after a long bout with drug addiction.

The bill could be voted on in the House as soon as Wednesday, said state
Rep. Peter Kilmartin (D-Pawtucket).

Kilmartin, a sponsor of the bill, said he was calling for a hearing on the
legislation as soon as possible.

Nine or 10 other states, including California, Ohio and Michigan, have some
form of the Hugh O'Connor Law on the books, said O'Connor, who was in Rhode
Island for a book tour and extended the trip after meeting U.S. Rep.
Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., in Washington last week.

Kennedy, who was with O'Connor at the Sunday press conference, said he
supported the legislation.

``There's nothing more poisonous than these drugs,'' O'Connor said.
``They're killing people. Are we as a country going to let these people rip
the fabric of American society apart?''

The proposed law would give families and loved ones the opportunity to seek
civil action after a criminal trial or to pursue a civil suit, O'Connor said.

He said many families know who local drug dealers are, but without the law,
they are powerless.

The law proved successful in Detroit recently when a family won $2 million
against two drug pushers from their neighborhood, O'Connor said.

Support for the bill in Rhode Island has come from Woonsocket Police
Detective Mark Baillargeon, who is the city's Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (DARE) and crime prevention officer and the statewide coordinator
for DARE.

Baillargeon told the Woonsocket Call newspaper that the state program would
support every effort of the O'Connors' crusade.

Within 15 minutes of receiving the news of their son's death from local
police, Carroll O'Connor publicly announced the name of Hugh's drug dealer
and called the man a partner to murder, he said.

He said it was ``''sheer anger'' that led him to begin a crusade to
persuade all 50 states to enact some form of the Hugh O'Connor Law.