The state Assembly voted Monday to pass six bills to make New Jersey's already strict gun laws even tougher amid the national outcry for more gun control in the wake of the deadly high school shooting in Florida.

Lawmakers did so even as hundreds of people descended upon the state's capital to protest Monday.

The statewide proposals -- all sponsored by Democrats -- include reducing the number of rounds allowed in a magazine from 15 to 10, banning armor-piercing bullets, strictly defining that residents must show a "justifiable need" to obtain a permit to carry a handgun, expanding background checks for private gun sales, and making it easier to seize weapons from people deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.

The votes come two days after thousands of people took part in March for Our Lives rallies across the world -- including many in New Jersey -- calling for more gun laws after last month's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Democrats, who control the Assembly, voted overwhelmingly for each bill at the Statehouse in Trenton, and many Republicans also voted for some. Republicans largely opposed the magazine and permit measures.

The state Senate -- also controlled by Democrats -- now must pass the bills before they head to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Monday the Senate will likely pass the bills, too.

"We'll get them done," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester. "I'm saying right now: I'll be voting for all of the bills. And if I'm voting for them, they're gonna pass."

Murphy, a Democrat who campaigned last year for tighter gun laws, has vowed to sign all the bills.

The governor said in a statement that "the energy" of the tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who marched Saturday continued Monday. He applauded the Assembly for passing "common-sense measures to protect our communities and families."

"The people of New Jersey have demanded we act, and we must," Murphy added.

New Jersey already has some of the toughest gun-control laws in the nation.

Many of Monday's bills were introduced years ago, some after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

But Democrats were long stymied by former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, who often vetoed gun legislation -- including the magazine bill twice.

Murphy's election, however, emboldened Democrats to begin pushing the bills again earlier this year. The measures received even more attention after the Parkland shooting and other recent massacres.

"There is an entire generation of students who grew up with the ever-present fear of violence in our communities, and now these students are speaking up," Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, said Monday.

"For all the victims and their friends who have been affected by gun violence, enough is enough," Greenwald added.

One of the stronger measures would allow law enforcement or family members to ask police or a judge for a restraining order to seize guns from someone in the state who poses a threat to themselves or others.

Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, said "lives could have been saved" had a law like this been in place in Florida before the Parkland shooting.

Another bill would allow law enforcement to seize a person's guns if a mental health professional -- including those who practice medicine, nursing, psychology, psychiatry, social work, or marriage and family therapy -- determines they're a threat.

Dozens of gun-control advocates were on hand to support the bills.

Meanwhile, gun-rights activists gathered for a protest rally at the War Memorial in Trenton co-organized by the National Rifle Association.

The State Police estimated about 2,000 people attended.

The protestors argued the bills would do nothing to protect residents, would hurt law-abiding gun owners, and would violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

"There are a lot of tragedies and a lot of dangers, but our most important job is to protect the Constitution," Assemblyman Harold Wirths, R-Sussex, said, calling the measures "feel-good bills."

Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris, warned "we are trying to do things quickly rather than doing them well."

Republicans said they voted for some bills in a bipartisan show of solidarity even though they would simply duplicate laws are already on the books.

But Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, R-Morris, was one of a few who opposed the measure solidifying the state's standard to obtain a handgun -- that people must show a "justifiable need" for one because of a specific threat against them.

Schepisi said it's "almost impossible" for Jersyans to get a carry permit.

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union, called the measure a "mistake."

"Sometimes in Trenton, we go too far," Bramnick said.

Christie tried to loosen the standard in 2016, but Murphy reversed that move. This bill codifies the standard.

The measures that passed are:

* A1217: Creates restraining orders in the state allowing family members and others to ask a judge to have a person's guns seized and ban them from buying weapons for up to a year. It passed 59-13, with 4 abstentions.

* A1181: Mandates law enforcement in the state take a person's guns if a mental health professional determines they are a threat to themselves or others. It passed 62-7, with 7 abstentions.

* A2758: Strictly defines that state residents need to show a "justifiable need" to obtain a permit to carry a handgun. It passed 48-26, with 2 abstentions.

* A2757: Requires all private gun sales in the state to go through a licensed dealer who can perform an additional background check at the point of sale. It passed 61-9, with 5 abstentions.

* A2759: Creates an outright ban in the state on possessing armor-piercing bullets, which are already federally outlawed. It passed 75-0, with 1 abstention.

Sponsors say the measure is needed to line up with federal law.

* A2761: Ban magazines in the state that hold more than 10 rounds, with some exceptions. It passed 48-25, with 3 abstentions.

People who currently own magazines with more than 10 rounds could keep their firearms, though they would have to register them and pay a $50 fee.

NJ gun owner rally at the War Memorial in Trenton 13 Gallery: NJ gun owner rally at the War Memorial in Trenton

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.