HARRISBURG -- Proposals to limit handgun purchases to one per month may finally see some legislative debate in the state House of Representatives.

Whether support for the idea will gather any momentum is another question, considering that hunters and other gun owners have a vast number of allies in the Legislature.

The House will attempt to gauge support for a variety of crime-fighting measures -- including new handgun regulations -- by meeting as a "committee of the whole" on Sept. 26 and taking informal votes. Those votes will determine which bills merit further consideration in regular session.

House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, announced on June 30 he would convene the forum after Democrats earlier that week threatened to force votes on gun bills that have been bottled up in committee. Those include a statewide one-gun-a-month bill and another measure that would apply only to Philadelphia.

The state's largest city has been plagued this year by an alarming surge in gun violence, so much so that The Philadelphia Inquirer has begun publishing a daily tally of homicides.

But Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, says his colleagues should understand that cities such as Allentown, Williamsport and Reading are wrestling with the same problem.

"It's an epidemic and a crisis in the state of Pennsylvania, and I don't care how much people want to deny it," Mr. Evans said.

State law places no limits on the number of handguns someone may buy, which critics say fosters an active market for illegal weapons supplied by middlemen who purchase them legally.

Many lawmakers from other areas of the state -- both Democratic and Republican -- say limiting the quantity and frequency of legal gun purchases isn't the answer.

"I don't think it's going to solve anything, because the bad guys and bad gals are going to be able to obtain the guns no matter what restricting laws we have in place," said Rep. Katie True, R-Lancaster.

Rep. Gary Haluska, D-Cambria, says constituents in his rural district northwest of Altoona hold dear their right to purchase handguns legally.

"The sentiment from a rural perspective is, 'Don't penalize all of us,' " Mr. Haluska said.

Gov. Ed Rendell advocated the one-gun-a-month proposal in his 2002 campaign and still endorses the idea, said his spokeswoman, Kate Philips.

"That being said, he knows the political reality of the Legislature," Ms. Philips said.

CeaseFire PA, a gun-control advocacy group that supports the restriction, is feeling more optimistic about the proposal's chances of gaining traction, executive director Diane Edbril said. She noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee has been gathering testimony on that bill and other anti-crime measures during a series of public hearings this summer on urban violence.

"I think people really are seeing a more rapid rate of gun violence," Ms. Edbril said. "It's a direct symptom of the out-of-control gun market in this state."

But no matter what bills surface as the most promising in the House's deliberations, the prospect of any legislation reaching Mr. Rendell's desk is uncertain as the two-year session winds down in November.

The last time lawmakers focused so intently on crime legislation was during a 1995 special session called by then-Gov. Tom Ridge, which lasted 10 months and yielded three dozen new laws.

"Some good ideas might get carried into the next session, but it's still good and it's worthwhile," said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for Mr. Smith.