James Nash and Nicholas Pugliese | Trenton Bureau

Michael V. Pettigano and Paul Wood Jr, NorthJersey.com

Responding to the slaughter of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend, Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday endorsed new restrictions on gun and ammunition sales in New Jersey and a renewed push for "smart guns" that can be fired only by their registered owners.

Murphy, who already signed laws reducing the legal magazine capacity and allowing mental-health professionals to determine whether to rescind someone's right to own a firearm, urged lawmakers to introduce new bills to fight gun trafficking, require photo identification to buy ammunition and force retailers to carry "smart guns."

"We must ensure that those intent on acting on hate through violence do not have access to guns," Murphy said at a news conference in Trenton. "No matter how strong our laws are, we must act to close loopholes."

Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, backed Murphy's call, saying he hoped lawmakers would act on a package of bills — some new, others previously vetoed — by early next year.

Even before Murphy took office early this year, Guns and Ammo magazine rated New Jersey the third-worst state in America for gun owners. The magazine credited Murphy's Republican predecessor, Chris Christie, with broadening access to concealed-carry permits. New York ranked worst by the magazine, with Massachusetts just behind New Jersey.

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After taking office, Murphy signed gun-control measures that Christie had vetoed, including one that reduced the maximum size of ammunition magazines from 15 rounds to 10 in the state. Murphy also wants to require gun stores to sell at least one "smart gun" model once the technology is commercially available.

Speaking to an audience of women in red T-shirts labeled "Moms Demand Action," the Democratic governor decried the Saturday attack on Jewish worshipers by a man who reportedly voiced virulently anti-Semitic views. Robert Bowers, 46, faces 29 federal criminal charges in what has been called the largest targeted attack on Jews in U.S. history.

Murphy said he and lawmakers had been contemplating new gun laws before the slaughter in Pittsburgh, but the attack gave renewed urgency to their efforts.

"For all of these big, awful events — like the slaughter on Saturday — there's a daily drumbeat of gun violence," the governor said Monday.

State officials said New Jersey has about 300 gun-related killings per year, most of them in Newark, Camden, Paterson, Trenton and Jersey City.

Courtesy of the South Hackensack Police Department

Gun-rights advocates accused Murphy of politicizing mass murder.

"As a person of the Jewish faith I am horrified by the tragedy in Pittsburgh, but I am also horrified by fast work of New Jersey lawmakers dancing on the graves of victims to advance their preconceived gun control agenda," Scott Bach, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, said in an email message.

Murphy urged new laws to ban anyone who is disqualified from owning a gun to purchase or sell a firearm to someone else, to require photo identification to purchase ammunition, to require ammunition retailers to report sales to the state police, and to ban the purchase of ammunition by individuals convicted of serious crimes. The governor also proposed grants to help cities offer violence-prevention programs to people deemed at risk.

Greenwald said the proposed new measures would "protect the Second Amendment" and "do not intrude into that right."