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A proposed law that would make it illegal to buy more than one handgun within a calendar month was passed yesterday by the state Senate. The Assembly passed it earlier this month, so the bill will now go to Gov. Corzine for final approval. The same bill was stalled in the state Senate back in February, when it proved unable to get enough votes to overcome Republican opposition.

If the bill is signed into law by Corzine, New Jersey will become the fourth state in the nation to limit handgun purchases in this way. State Senator Sandra Cunningham of the 31st District sponsored the bill; she said in a statement that she hopes “other states will follow our lead and craft similar legislation to help protect residents from gun violence.”

Joan Quigley, Assemblywoman from the 32nd District, was a primary sponsor of the Assembly version of the bill. “It defies logic to think anyone would need to purchase two, five, or 20 handguns in a short period of time,” Quigley said in a statement this morning. “Restricting handgun purchases to one a month will help control the spread [of] guns that wind up on the street and in the hands of criminals.”

UPDATE: Mayor Healy, who has made gun control a central issue of his administration, said he was “extremely pleased” that the bill passed the Senate. Jersey City enacted a municipal ordinance in 2006 that limited handgun purchases to one per month, but it was struck down by the state Supreme Court last September on the grounds that it preempted state authority. This decision is currently being appealed.