Panel OKs 19-Bullet Limit on Gun Magazines

Attempting to win Gov. Pete Wilson’s support and rescue their moribund effort to enact a new ban on assault weapons, gun control advocates on Tuesday proposed outlawing magazines with a capacity of more than 19 rounds. The state Senate’s Public Safety Committee immediately embraced the restriction on a bipartisan 5-1 vote, the first step toward expected approval by the full upper house. An earlier bill to replace the state’s existing ban on military-style assault weapons has been blocked in the Assembly for months by a handful of Republicans and Democrats whose votes are needed to send it to Wilson. With time running out for passing new restrictions in the current legislative session, Assemblyman Don Perata (D-Oakland) abandoned his original measure and decided to take up a new bill in hopes of winning Wilson’s backing and that of a small group of key Assembly Republicans. But Wilson has not signed off on the new Perata plan. “The bottom line is that there are still differences,” said Ron Low, spokesman for the governor.