By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey state lawmakers on Wednesday took the first step in a reinvigorated effort to tighten gun laws in the wake of high-profile mass shootings around the country.

During a packed five-hour hearing in Trenton, the state Assembly Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would restrict magazine size, require background checks during private sales, and allow family members to get restraining orders to take weapons from loved ones who might hurt themselves or others, among other measures.

The committee heard from gun control advocates who implored them to take action and gun rights supporters who accused lawmakers of infringing their rights and urged them to instead focus on improving school safety.

Lawmakers said many of the bills being considered were introduced long before the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, but the loss of 17 lives underscored the need for new laws.

"It is but for the grace of God that it has not happened here yet," said Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, a primary sponsor of four bills advanced Wednesday.

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Tough talk from a packed house

Wednesday's hearing drew such a large turnout that legislative staff had to set up an overflow room where proceedings were streamed live.

Gun groups including the NRA and the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs sent representatives to oppose the bills and dozens of private gun owners made impassioned and occasionally angry pleas not to further restrict their rights.

Darren Goens, a lobbyist for the NRA, said lawmakers were focusing on the wrong problems.

"There's not one single bill here about school safety," he said. "This is purely about attacking gun-abiding gun owners."

Also out in force were members of the clergy and gun control advocates from groups including Ceasefire NJ and Moms Demand Action. Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, asked lawmakers to do whatever they good to restrict access to armor-piercing bullets and high-capacity magazines.

"People should not be able to have these weapons of war," he said. "They are designed for the battlefield but they are being used over and over to kill innocents."

The hearing at times grew heated.

Anthony Colandro, who owns the Gun for Hire shooting range in Woodland Park, criticized lawmakers for proposing "feel-good legislation." He said a proposed magazine restriction would turn what gun advocates estimate to be one million New Jersey gun owners into "instant felons." He said the ban would be difficult to enforce.

"What are you going to do, warehouse a million people in internment camps?" Colandro asked the panel. "How are you going to take our tax dollars, then?"

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The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee holds a special Wednesday meeting to consider a 7-bill gun safety package. Bill sponsor Assemblyman John F. McKeon, right, testifies. Louis Greenwald, Assembly Majority Leader, is at left. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media)

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On the path to Murphy's desk

Six gun control bills were approved by the committee and another was held for another hearing.

The bills' passage is just the first step in a long process — they will have to be approved by the full Assembly and receive hearings in the Senate before being sent to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk.

Unlike Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who signed a few gun control bills during his two terms but vetoed many more, Murphy, a Democrat has signaled he is eager to take on gun control during his first term.

Making a surprise visit with Statehouse reporters on Wednesday, Murphy said he doesn’t usually comment on legislation until "we’ve got it in detail" and that he wants to “make sure I’ve read the fine print on all of these.”

“But conceptually, these are all in the direction we want to go," Murphy said of the bills.

“I really do believe we have an opportunity — when people throw their hands up again after Parkland and say, ‘There’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing that can be done’ — that we can say with specificity, actually there is. We just did it. It’s in New Jersey,” the governor added.

Here's a look at the proposed laws that moved forward Wednesday.

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"Justifiable need"

New Jersey has long put tight restrictions on who can obtain a permit to carry a handgun, although Christie toward the end of his tenure loosened the standard used to consider a permit application, commonly known as "justifiable need."

But Murphy immediately took steps to reverse regulatory changes started under Christie, and the state faces a lawsuit from gun owners challenging the constitutionality of the restrictions.

One bill advanced Wednesday, A2758, defines "justifiable need" as "the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant's life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a permit to carry."

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10-round restriction

Current New Jersey law bans magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds, but Democrats in the Legislature have sought for years to bring that number down to 10 rounds.

Greenwald called the measure "the signature request from the parents of Sandy Hook," referring to the families of children murdered in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shooting, who came to New Jersey to lobby for a previous version that was vetoed by Christie.

Advocates said restricting the size of magazines would limit the effectiveness of mass shooters and urged the passage of the new bill, A2761.

The measure drew among the most vocal response from gun owners who said it amounted to a "de facto gun ban" because the 10-round limit would effectively make many common gun models illegal.

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Gun violence restraining orders

Another bill, A1217, would create a specially designated gun violence restraining order in New Jersey that allows family members or others to present a case to a judge to have a person's weapons seized and prohibit them from buying weapons for up to a year if they present a threat to themselves or others.

Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, sponsored the legislation and said it was inspired by the near-fatal 2011 shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Citing the warning signs exhibited by the shooter in the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida, McKeon said the measure would in such cases create a "pathway to have those weapons removed."

Gun owners who testified at the hearing said they were concerned it would allow a law-abiding gun owner to lose his or her weapons based on an accusation alone.

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We must move forward to ensure that we start to stem the tide of the horrible numbers from gun violence says @AswJones on her gun safety bill pic.twitter.com/G3VrKL2akS — NJAssemblyDemocrats (@njassemblydems) February 28, 2018

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Mental health intervention

A1181 would require police in New Jersey to seize weapons from a person determined by a mental health professional to pose a threat of serious harm to the patient or someone else.

It was the only bill to draw significant pushback from gun control advocates who were worried about the lack of due process for those seeking mental health treatment. Gun rights advocates were also opposed. Lawmakers approved it with some amendments, the details of which were not immediately available.

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The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee holds a special Wednesday meeting to consider a 7-bill gun safety package. Panel members testify. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media)

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Restricting private sales

Supporters of A2757 say it would close a "loophole" that allows private gun sales in New Jersey without a background check. Currently, anyone with a firearms purchaser ID or pistol permit can buy a gun in a private sale without the seller performing a background check.

But gun rights advocates call the measure unnecessary and redundant because the firearms ID and pistol permitting processes already require a background check. The proposed legislation would add another background check at the point of sale, which would have to be performed by a licensed gun dealer.

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Armor-piercing ammo

Lawmakers also advanced A2759, which targets "a new generation of handgun ammunition which poses a special threat to the law enforcement community because it has the capacity to breach or penetrate body armor."

Advocates for the bill said such ammo serves no purpose other than to kill police or security guards. But Scott Bach, the president of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, said the law seeks to ban ammunition already banned under federal law.

"Everybody's going to make a headline and say we're all safer but it changes nothing," Bach said.

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The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee holds a special Wednesday meeting to consider a 7-bill gun safety package. Scott Bach, left, President of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club, is interviewed before the hearing begins. (Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media)

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Smart guns

The only bill that didn't advance Wednesday was A1016, which would establish a commission in New Jersey to determine standards for the sale of "smart guns," also known as child-proof or personalized guns. The measure was scheduled to be considered but held by the committee and will likely get its own hearing.

A version of this legislation was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Christie in 2016.

The commission would create performance standards for personalized handguns and maintain a roster of the types of weapons available for sale in New Jersey. The bill would also require most New Jersey gun retailers to carry smart guns in their stores, among other firearms.

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NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.