TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday vetoed a pair of gun control bills and called on the Democratic-controlled state Legislature to make it easier for New Jersey residents to carry concealed firearms.

"The right to own a gun is a fundamental one enumerated in the Constitution," Christie said in a statement. "I continue to oppose the relentless campaign by the Democratic legislature to make New Jersey as inhospitable as possible to lawful gun ownership and sales."

Christie said he wants to make New Jersey a "shall-issue" state for concealed carry firearms, where authorities who issue gun licenses grant them in most cases.

One of the bills Christie conditionally vetoed (S2165/A3689) was a companion piece to a resolution lawmakers passed in June to stop regulations the governor's administration introduced to make it easier for New Jersey residents to get concealed carry permits in the state

The bill sought to more strictly define the "justifiable need" residents must show to obtain a permit to carry a handgun in New Jersey.

Under the nixed bill, those applying for a permit would have to demonstrate "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."

Also, Christie sent back a bill to the Legislature that its sponsors said would have spurred development of personalized handguns in New Jersey.

The bill (A1426) would have loosened an existing state law that is said to have stifled the exact thing it was designed to encourage: so-called smart guns. Existing law requires that only personalized handguns be offered for sale three years after they are properly vetted and on the market. The aim of the law was to stem accidental shootings and "child proof" the weapons.

Bill sponsors hoped the revised mandate requiring only that retailers offer at least one model for sale would clear the way for development of smart guns.

Christie vetoed similar legislation in January.

Christie's conditional veto proposed eliminating the "nearly-insurmountable 'justifiable need' standard and requiring the issuance of a carry permit to anyone who is not legally disqualified from possessing a firearm and who can demonstrate an understanding of the safe handling of a handgun," according to his office.

But his proposal has little chance of gaining traction from enough Democratic lawmakers.

"The governor's veto statement is alarmingly replete with right-wing political talking points and grandstanding," state Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), one of the bill's sponsors, said in a statement.

"This bill was a start toward making our streets safer, particularly in our urban areas, but sadly, Govenor Christie has once again put his political ambitions above the public safety of New Jersey residents," he said. "That's shameful."

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), another sponsor for one of the bills, echoed similar remarks.

"The governor's action on these bills is a pathetic attempt to pander to pro-gun groups outside of New Jersey at a time when he is focused on national politics," Weinberg said in a statement.

"His recommendation on carry permits is so far outside of the statutory standard that has been developed, upheld and supported by our residents over decades," she said. "Having more residents carry concealed weapons in our neighborhoods, in movie theaters, in bars, at sporting events, in town halls and schools, will not make our state more safe."

But the governor's veto drew praise from the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs.

"Governor Christie has made a bold and defiant statement to the Legislature in support of the Second Amendment," Scott Bach, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

"Not only has he rejected their medieval schemes to block self-defense, but he has fired back in a way that forces them to choose squarely between citizen empowerment or victimization in the post-Orlando era of terror attacks on U.S. soil," he said.

Christie's positions on gun laws since he was took office in 2009 has been a moving target.

During his first four years as governor, Christie didn't take any steps to loosen the state's strict gun laws. Rather, a Christie spokesman, Michael Drewniak, told reporters in January 2014 that Christie "supports New Jersey's already tough gun laws."

Last year in the run up to his presidential campaign, Christie shifted his position, telling people at a town hall in New Jersey: "If you really want to change those laws in New Jersey, send me a Republican legislature and with a Republican legislature you'll have a governor who will respect appropriately the rights of law-abiding citizens to be able to protect themselves."

And there were other times Christie changed his stance on guns.

In the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, Christie proposed banning sales of the powerful .50 caliber rifle. Then a gun rights group in New Hampshire warned him that it was watching and that his presidential hopes could be at stake. When the Legislature sent Christie a bill that would ban future sales of the rifle, he vetoed it, saying lawmakers had gone further than the "narrowly crafted, prospective limitation."

Despite having proposed the .50 caliber ban before he reversed on the issue, Christie continually boasts vetoing the Legislature's .50 caliber ban proposal after the Newtown school shooting while on the campaign trail.

NJ Advance Media staff writers Brent Johnson, and Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.