HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has told Vice President Joe Biden that the federal government should reinstate a ban on assault weapons and outlaw high-capacity ammunition magazines in the wake of the Newtown school killings.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Malloy wrote to Biden on Friday that Congress also should require background checks for all firearm purchases, federal firearm licenses and gun show transactions.

Malloy told Biden, a fellow Democrat, that Connecticut has some of the strongest gun control laws in the country, and a new state commission will be making recommendations regarding school safety, mental health services and gun violence prevention.

Biden leads a federal task force on curbing gun violence and is expected to give the panel's recommendations to President Barack Obama on Tuesday.