This file photo shows weapons turned in at a gun buyback event in Monmouth County. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

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

New Jersey already had among the toughest gun laws in the United States when Gov. Phil Murphy took office, but the new Democratic governor didn't waste any time to crack down even further amid a contentious national debate over gun control.

Murphy is expected on Wednesday to sign a package of bills further tightening the regulation of firearms in the Garden State.

The actions are once again putting New Jersey on the front lines when it comes to gun control, a debate that has taken on a even higher profile following school shootings in Florida and Texas.

Here’s a look at New Jersey's regulations on the books, as well as the ones on the horizon.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

JERSEY ON THE FRONT LINES

In 1990, Garden State lawmakers passed what was then described as the country's toughest ban on assault weapons — a law that became the model for the federal ban that expired in 2004.

Ever since, New Jersey has ranked among the strictest states in the U.S. with regard to gun laws, held up as a national model by gun control advocates and derided by Second Amendment supporters.

Tight restrictions on transporting firearms on New Jersey's roads -_ including its major highways, which serve as major arteries between states — have long been a target of gun rights advocates. As have the state's restrictive rules for obtaining a handgun carry permit.

During his time in office, Republican Gov. Chris Christie repeatedly issued pardons for out-of-staters convicted of violating New Jersey law by carrying or transporting their legally owned firearms into New Jersey.

Don't Edit

Murphy appears alongside former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly in this file photo. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

WHAT MURPHY HAS ALREADY DONE

Murphy on Wednesday will act on the first set of gun control bills sent to him by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.

But the new governor has taken a number of executive actions aimed at tightening access to firearms or curbing gun violence since he took office in January.

One of his first as governor was to reverse an effort by Christie to loosen "justifiable need" requirements to obtain a concealed carry handgun permit.

By April, Murphy had issued an executive order creating a monthly report of gun crime data, dubbed NJGUNStat, and joined governors in neighboring states to create a consortium to study gun violence.

In May, he named Bill Castner, a health-care executive and state government veteran, as a special adviser to the governor on firearms.

The National Rifle Association has said it will be "a long and challenging four years for New Jersey gun owners" and called out Murphy and other legislative leaders for tightening access to firearms while receiving "around-the-clock, armed security courtesy of Garden State taxpayers."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

SO WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?

On Wednesday, the governor is expected to sign a package of bills approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature -- a few of which received wide support from Republicans.

The following bills are sitting on Murphy's desk:

* A1217, which will create 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.

* A1181, which will mandate law enforcement in the state to seize a person's guns if a mental health professional determines they pose a threat to themselves.

* A2758, which will strictly define that state residents need to show a "justifiable need" to obtain a permit to carry a handgun -- meaning they must show they face a specific threat to their own safety.

* A2757, which will require 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.

* A2759, which will create an outright ban in the state on possessing armor-piercing bullets.

* A2761, which will ban magazines in the state that hold more than 10 rounds, with some exceptions.

A seventh gun control bill would ban "ghost guns" that are assembled with untraceable components. That measure (S2465) was passed 37-0 in the Senate but has not yet gotten a vote in the Assembly.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

WHAT GUN RIGHTS SUPPORTERS SAY

Second amendment supporters argue New Jersey's laws already put onerous restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. In April, about 2,000 of them rallied in Trenton to decry the push to restrict access to firearms, calling it a "feeding frenzy."

They point to long delays in processing times at local police departments which vet handgun permits, a long history of out-of-state gun owners with relatively clean records criminally charged for running afoul of the state's strict transport laws and the fact that most of guns recovered by police in criminal investigations come from across state lines.

They also say some of the proposals -- including bans on certain types of ammunition -- are feel-good measures that duplicate existing federal laws.

"Law-abiding firearms owners are not the problem, and limiting their rights accomplishes nothing to advance safety," said Scott Bach, director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs.

Don't Edit

The head of the N.J. Second Amendment Society and state lawmakers hold a news event at the @NJGOP to speak out against the gun-control bills up in the N.J. Assembly today. pic.twitter.com/oo3HqmIB5X — Brent Johnson (@johnsb01) March 26, 2018

Don't Edit

WHAT GUN CONTROL ADVOCATES SAY

Advocates for increased gun control argue that while New Jersey has among the strictest laws in the nation, the U.S. remains an outlier among western countries both in its availability of guns and the prevalence of mass shootings.

During marathon hearings in the Statehouse in recent months, activists who support tougher gun laws showed up in force to urge lawmakers to do whatever they good to tighten access to things like armor-piercing bullets and high-capacity magazines.

"People should not be able to have these weapons of war," Rev. Robert Moore, the executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, said at February hearing. "They are designed for the battlefield but they are being used over and over to kill innocents."

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Elections matter. @MomsDemand endorsed New Jersey @GovMurphy, invested in his campaign, and knocked doors for him. And now that he’s in office, he’s keeping his gun safety promises. #NJPolitics https://t.co/GTeQ42VAkT — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 8, 2018

Don't Edit

WHAT'S NEXT?

The bills Murphy signs this week aren't likely the end of it.

There are currently dozens of proposed firearms bills pending in the state Legislature, and Murphy’s administration has signaled a willingness to apply executive pressure and take on court fights to pursue gun control measures.

Murphy's state attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, just this week sent cease-and-desist letters to sellers of so-called "ghost guns," claiming their sale to New Jersey residents violated state law and threatening legal action.

Don't Edit

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