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(Star-Ledger File Photo )

TRENTON — Barbara Buono, the Democratic front-runner for governor, will unveil her gun control package today that includes stricter requirements on high-powered magazines and ammunition purchases, The Star-Ledger has learned.

Buono is hoping to draw stark contrasts between how she would tackle gun violence and the approach laid out by Gov. Chris Christie last month, according to a two-page outline of her proposal.

Christie wants to strengthen background checks, stiffen penalties for those caught selling guns to criminals, make it easier to commit the mentally ill and more difficult for kids to buy violent video games.

Buono wants to limit the number of bullets in ammo magazines from 15 to 10, arguing that such limits would have saved lives in the recent spree of mass killings. Christie opposes the reduction, arguing that the current limit of 15 has proven effective and is considered the national standard by leading Democrats, including President Obama.

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Background checks should be mandatory in all cases, including private sales, according to Buono’s plan. She would exempt transfers between family members, law enforcement and licensed collectors.

Buono says New Jersey, which requires all gun sales be face-to-face, should expand this to the purchase of ammunition. Christie’s plan is silent on this issue, Buono said.

"When it comes to protecting our children, New Jersey can and must do better. Governor Christie has offered empty solutions that do little to solve the problem of gun violence. As governor, I will take decisive action to prevent the kinds of tragedies that are all too common today," Buono, a state senator from Middlesex County, said in the document.

David Turner, spokesman for the Buono campaign, declined comment yesterday.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak declined to respond to Buono’s plan, saying the governor has spoken at length on the issue.

The interest to toughen gun laws in New Jersey — already considered among the toughest in the nation — comes on the heels of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., that left 26 people dead, mostly school children.

Facing calls for change from Democrats, Christie formed a commission to look into the issue before announcing his own plan last month.

A push to limit the size of ammo clips has divided Democrats in the Senate and the Assembly as they try to find consensus on a gun control package.

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) has drawn a clear line in the sand, saying any gun control package that doesn’t include the ammo limitation is not meaningful and he won’t let it through the Assembly.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) argues that the current limit is sufficient and has focused his attention on background checks.

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