VICTIM, MAYOR RAP BILL TO CURB TRACING OF GUNS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

When a gunman went on a shooting rampage last Memorial Day in Thousand Oaks and killed Tim Heyne's wife and best friend, Heyne went to police to find out where the gun came from.

``They couldn't tell me,'' Heyne said. ``It's ludicrous. If I get a bad carton of milk, they can trace it back to the cow it came from. But with a gun, they can't tell you anything.''

That's why Heyne spoke out Monday, along with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and gun control advocates, about a pending measure in Congress called HR 5005 by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, that would repeal provisions allowing law enforcement access to trace gun ownership.

``How many times have you heard on the evening news about a shooting and wonder, Where did that gun come from?'' Villaraigosa asked. ``The answer is a crucial element to solving a crime. Yet, this legislation would take away the power of law enforcement to find out who owns a gun.''

Villaraigosa said he will ask the City Council to go on record opposing the measure as part of a nationwide campaign to get big-city officials to join forces to try to reduce gun violence.

Officials with the National Rifle Association said the law is needed because of what the group said is improper use of the information by trial lawyers and anti-gun groups.

Councilman Jack Weiss said he will introduce a measure today that would enact a city ordinance requiring people who lose or have a weapon stolen to report it to police within 48 hours.

``I think it's time we made gun owners responsible for their actions,'' Weiss said. ``Reporting a lost weapon will help police in trying to solve crimes.''

Weiss said under his proposal, gun owners would be held responsible if the weapon is later used in a crime.

The number of weapons seized by the LAPD continues to rise each year despite efforts to control the sales of guns, Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. In 2004, there were 8,000 weapons seized, and 10,000 were seized last year.

Heyne, a band manager, and his wife were returning a borrowed boat from a friend, Steve Mazin, when a man carrying a backpack approached, pulled out a 9 mm handgun and began shooting.

The gunman was later identified as Toby Whelchel, a career criminal who had a dispute with Mazin over how the attorney had handled a case. Whelchel would later pistol-whip to death a Santa Rosa Valley woman and commit suicide after he was trapped in a Simi Valley Wal-Mart.

``My wife and I, we never believed in guns,'' said Heyne, who has recovered physically from the three gunshot wounds he suffered. ``We never bought our kids toy guns and made a point of talking to them about the danger. I never thought I would be someone who would go through this.''

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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