Around the same time students who survived the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida began a 400-mile journey to the state's capital to push for gun reform Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy promised additional action in New Jersey.

"I think parents watching should feel that we are doing everything we can," Murphy said at a Trenton news conference, flanked by the state's top legislative leaders and law enforcement officials.

"We're reviewing the current protocols," the Democrat added. "Secondly, we're talking real-time about legislation."

Earlier in the day, three buses carrying 100 students set out from Coral Springs, Florida, for Tallahassee to urge lawmakers to prevent a repeat of the massacre that killed 17 students and faculty last week.

The students plan to hold a rally Wednesday to put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to consider a package of gun-control laws.

But here in the Garden State, Murphy has a willing partner with the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature, which has already begun passing legislation that would tighten the state's gun rules.

The bills would:

* Reduce the permitted size of ammunition magazines from 15 rounds to 10.

* Require background checks for private gun sales.

* Ban armor-piercing ammunition.

* Make making people seeking a handgun permit under "justifiable need" demonstrate the urgent necessity for the firearm rather than a more generalized fear or concern.

* Ban .50-caliber assault rifles

* Require gun shops to sell personalized handguns, or so-called smart guns, if the technology is available on the market.

"We need to do better," state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said. "We can do better."

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney assured Murphy and Coughlin that the Senate is ready to enact stricter reforms.

"I look forward to working with you and the speaker on comprehensive gun reforms that will make a difference," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said.

The promise to review the state's school shooting protocols came a week after Murphy sat in on a roundtable discussion about gun control measures that stalled under former Gov. Chris Christie's administration. Murphy vows to support them.

The Florida school shooting happened the following day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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