CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY PASSES BILL TO LIMIT HANDGUN BUYS.

Byline: Dorothy Korber Sacramento Bureau

With the terror and grief of the Colorado school massacre as an emotional backdrop, the state Assembly passed a bill Thursday to limit Californians to one handgun purchase a month.

The measure, AB 202 by Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, aims to curtail black-market resale of guns to criminals and underage buyers who cannot legally purchase firearms.

After 90 minutes of passionate debate, the bill passed on a partisan vote of 41-27.

Democrats, joined by Oakland's new Assemblywoman Audie Bock of the Green Party, contended that gun control is the best weapon against escalating violence.

Republicans questioned the constitutionality of limiting weapons, arguing instead for stronger family values and harsher criminal sentences.

Knox told the Assembly that his bill will stem the flow of guns from ``straw'' purchasers to gang members and young criminals. Last year in California, he said, 40,000 handguns were sold as part of multiple purchases.

``The startling truth is that any qualified person can walk into a gun shop anywhere in California and purchase an unlimited number of handguns, legally,'' Knox said.

Much of the debate focused on the tragedy Tuesday at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where two teen-agers used guns and homemade explosives to kill a dozen of their classmates and a teacher.

Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, called the young gunmen ``laughing, carefree, sociopathetic killers.''

The most dramatic comment Thursday came from an unlikely source, Assemblyman Richard Floyd, D-Carson. During his two decades in the Legislature, Floyd has studiously avoided taking a stand - or casting a vote - on a gun control bill.

But he said that the Columbine tragedy reawakened personal memories of combat in Korea, even of the smell of the blood-soaked ground. He said he could remain silent no longer.

``I determined at that point I'm no longer going to be a nonparticipant,'' Floyd said. ``I'll co-author and vote for every gun control bill that comes along. When the smell wakes you up after close to 50 years, you remember.''

Migden was more strident.

``How can we stand with our heads bowed, ashamed of what happened in Colorado this week, then seriously - without hypocrisy - make a case for allowing more guns to be distributed?'' Migden demanded. ``My God! What is a good reason to buy more than two handguns a month?''

Assemblyman Rico Oller, R-Roseville, told Migden he once bought four guns to add to his collection of antique weapons.

``It's a fact little noted on this floor that criminals do not abide by the law,'' Oller said.

``My heart does go out to those folks in Colorado,'' said Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Camarillo, who at age 29 is the Assembly's youngest member. ``However, it is important to remember that those killers in Colorado used pipe bombs and grenades - which I'm sure are illegal in the state of Colorado.

``I was in high school just a decade ago. This was inconceivable then. I have to say I'm saddened right now at the breakdown of the family.''

Others spoke of the breakdown of morality.

``We as a nation have lost the cultural war,'' said Assemblyman Tom McClintock, R-Granada Hills. ``We've lost all the salutary effect as religious faith has been aggressively attacked and eradicated by government at all levels. The traditions of individual responsibility that are a pillar of self-government have been derided by the practitioners of the welfare state.

``A radical ideology has arisen in this nation that we as individuals are not answerable to standards of conduct, but rather we are all victims of the actions of others.''

An unusual audience witnessed this ardent exchange. The Assembly chamber was full of well-behaved little girls Thursday, participants in the annual Take Your Daughter to Work Day observance.

AB 202, which will now go to the state Senate, prohibits individuals from applying for more than one handgun purchase in a 30-day period. It exempts peace officers, manufacturers, gun dealers, antique collectors, entertainment companies and occasional transfers between family members.

In February, Los Angeles became the first city in California to restrict multiple gun purchases. Los Angeles police say about a quarter of the handguns used in crimes in the city are obtained from straw purchasers who bought them legally.