U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh on Wednesday called for other states to join Maryland in requiring licenses to purchase handguns, saying the rule works best to stem gun violence when it applies across jurisdictions.

During a news conference with other gun-control advocates at a Baltimore County courthouse, the officials said that firearms tend to flow from states that lack permit-to-purchase laws to those that have them, with guns often landing in the hands of criminals.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have licensing requirements for handguns, but the Maryland border states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia do not.

Van Hollen (D-Md.), a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Senate, has introduced legislation that would provide financial incentives for states to adopt purchasing laws similar to the one that Maryland enacted in 2013, which requires fingerprinting and licensing

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo renewed his call for national gun control legislation on Saturday as he delivered a eulogy for the top state attorney who was fatally wounded by a stray bullet in Brooklyn earlier this month.

State officials and family members gathered at Brooklyn's Emmanuel Baptist Church in a private service for Carey Gabay, 43, who was struck in the head at a pre-dawn outdoor celebration on Sept. 7 before the annual West Indian Day parade, an event plagued by violence in recent years.

Gabay is believed to have been an unintended target, police said.

"His death was one of the most tragic, pointless examples of the rampant violence that is spreading like a cancer through our society, especially in our poorer communities and especially in our communities of color," Cuomo said.