TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie slammed the National Rifle Association today over the group’s controversial advertisement that makes reference to President Barack Obama’s two daughters.

The governor called the ad “reprehensible.” He made the statement during a Thursday news conference in which he announced a task force charged with curbing gun violence in the state.

“I’m a father who’s a public figure, who has four children, and my children had no choice, realistically, in what I decided to do with my career and what affects that’s had in their lives in making them somewhat public figures and making them subject to protection from the executive protection unit,” Christie said.

“My kids don’t have a choice about that, and to talk about the president’s children or any public officers’ children who have – not by their own choice, but by requirement – to have protection and to use that somehow to try and make a political point I think is reprehensible,” he said.