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Gov. Chris Christie, shown in this file photo, will soon receive a bill that would limit the permitted capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 rounds to 10 rounds.

(Andrew Mills/The Star Ledger)

TRENTON — After refusing for months to say what he'll do about a bill that would make New Jersey's already strict gun control laws even tougher, Gov. Chris Christie will have to show his cards soon.

The politically charged legislation (A2006), which would reduce the permitted capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 to 10 rounds, passed the state Senate Monday by a vote of 22-17.

Supporters and opponents of the bill said they believe the Assembly will vote a week from Thursday, finally sending it to Christie. The bill’s fate is no mystery in the lower house, where it passed in March, 46-31. The bill will get a second vote only because the Senate made technical changes.

"If and when a final version of legislation reaches his desk, it will be carefully reviewed in the 45-day period he has prior to taking any action," said a spokesman for the governor.

Parents of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings have come to Trenton twice to push for the legislation, and may show up again for the expected final Assembly vote, said Bryan Miller, executive director of the faith-based anti-violence organization Heeding God’s Call.

But Christie is facing intense pressure from gun rights advocates, who have packed legislative hearings and suggest his potential 2016 presidential bid will end early if he signs it.

"Christie will either veto magazine restriction bill, or kiss his presidential aspirations goodbye," read a headline on the gun rights website Bearingarms.com.

"New Jersey’s absurd citizen control fetish doesn’t play well in New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arizona, or Michigan," wrote the article’s author, Bob Owens, noting key primary states. "Any candidate that doesn’t do well in these early primaries can kiss their presidential aspirations goodbye, and one of the fastest ways to sink a Republican nomination in the current political environment is to be seen as a champion of gun control."

This is not the first time Christie has seen guns rights groups attempt to link his presidential aspirations to a New Jersey gun bill. Last year, Christie proposed banning sales of the .50-caliber rifle — one of the most powerful firearms civilians can buy. A group called Pro-Gun New Hampshire sent Christie a letter warning him that it was watching his actions on four gun control bills, including the .50-caliber ban. Two weeks later, Christie vetoed two of the bills, including the .50-caliber ban.

But Miller said he hopes Christie will put the voters of his own state — where polls have shown support for stricter gun control measures — ahead of those presidential primary states.

"I’m hopeful, let’s put it that way. I’m hopeful because it’s such an easily understood and popular measure," Miller said. "I’m hoping that he’ll realize that vetoing such a bill is going to cost him dearly in his home state."

Supporters on Monday said that, in the case of mass shooters, the few seconds it takes to change a magazine could provide bystanders a chance to stop the shooter. Opponents said the bill would do nothing except punish law-abiding gun owners and make them more vulnerable to criminals who would not follow the law.

Scott Bach, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs, wouldn’t speculate about how the legislation will affect Christie’s political aspirations.

"As far as we’re concerned, we are still mounting a grass-roots campaign, making sure the governor is aware that gun owners are opposed to these bills because they don’t do anything to stop crime or prevent a tragedy," Bach said. "They only affect law-abiding citizens."

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