GUN BUYERS RUSH TO STORES.

Byline: Greg Gittrich Staff Writer

With tough new gun laws taking effect Jan. 1, the run on buying semiautomatic rifles hit full swing Monday as gun enthusiasts lined up alongside those afraid of what the new millennium will bring.

Local gun dealers and law enforcement officials said there was a rush to buy and register soon-to-be-blacklisted weapons. Come Jan. 1, California's gun laws will be among the toughest in the nation, when new legislation goes into effect and broadens the definition of assault rifles.

``I sell every one of the semiautomatic rifles I can get,'' said Bob Kahn, chief executive officer of B&B Sales, one of the San Fernando Valley's largest gun merchants.

Kahn maintains the new state legislation is unconstitutional and similar to restrictions imposed upon residents in Nazi Germany.

``It's a panic. I can't get enough of them (the semiautomatic rifles),'' he said. ``Everyone who can afford one is buying one. People are scared this will be their last chance.''

By midafternoon on Monday, Kahn had only one rifle in stock that will fall under the parameters of the new state gun laws.

The rifles targeted by the new legislation typically sell for between $400 and $5,000, and Kahn said momentum has been building for several months to buy them and ammunition magazines that hold at least 10 rounds. The magazines also will be banned.

``These rifles are not assault rifles,'' Kahn argued. ``State politicians and the attorney general have redefined semiautomatic, look-alike assault rifles as real assault rifles to make people hate and fear the guns.''

Senate Bill 23, which was co-sponsored by Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles, adds a ``generic'' definition to the Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, broadening the scope of the gun control measure.

``Passage of this law marks a historic milestone in California,'' Villaraigosa said. ``It's time we put an end to watching our loved ones die at the hands of killers who use assault weapons.

``Assault weapons were made to kill people. They have no place on our streets, in our communities, or in our schoolyards.''

The state Attorney General's Office is offering to buy back any rifles covered by the Jan. 1 ban, publicizing the money-for-guns campaign in radio ads.

Customers buying the weapons scoffed at the offer.

At B&B, John Daily of Pasadena said he has no intention of turning over his guns to the government.

``These new laws are illegal, and the people who passed them are lawbreakers,'' Daily said. ``The Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. If they want to change that, change the Constitution.''

With time running out to legally purchase and register the weapons, some gun shops are using the approaching deadline to advertise the weapons and ammunition with the tagline: ``Banned Jan. 1, 2000.''

Adding to the buying rush, other gun sellers and national manufactures are drumming up business on all firearms sales by playing on fears that the Year 2000 computer bug will lead to widespread chaos and violence.

For example, gun maker Wilson Combat advertises the Millennium Protector .45 Auto as a good weapon to have handy for self-defense ``should the worst-case Y2K scenarios happen.''

Kahn downplayed the Y2K fears, saying his customers ``aren't stupid'' and know ``that's all exaggerated.''

Nevertheless, his shop was bustling with customers on Monday, while other potential purchasers waited patiently outside for a parking spot to open up.

Federal investigators, judging by the number of background checks requested

by licensed dealers, said gun sales have increased across the country.

``We've run about a million background checks in total this year,'' said Paul Bresson, a spokesman for the FBI. ``That's up 14.7 percent from last year's total. It's a significant increase.'

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Photo: Bob Kahn, CEO of B&B Sales, holds a semiautomatic rifle that will be illegal to sell in California as of Jan. 1, 2000.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer