New Jersey’s leading gun control zealot is Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen). She was made infamous for being a part of a scrum of anti-gun Democrats caught on a hot microphone saying that they wanted to “confiscate, confiscate, confiscate,” an apparent reference to the guns of law-abiding citizens.

Clearly Weinberg’s hatred of armed self-defense is still rampant, as she has now attacked an effort by Governor Chris Christie to help streamline a broken handgun permitting process that left Carol Bowne dead.

Democratic state lawmakers on Monday moved to block Gov. Chris Christie’s effort to expand access to handgun carry permits in New Jersey, claiming they have the constitutional authority to throw out his proposed changes to the permitting process.

The state Senate passed a resolution (SCR101) declaring the new rules —€” which would allow anyone who can demonstrate they face “serious threats” to their lives to get a permit to carry a gun —€” violate the “legislative intent” of the laws regulating such permits.

The senators voted 22 to 17 in favor of the resolution, which effectively sends Christie’s administration back to the drawing board, according to state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), one of the resolution’s main sponsors.

New Jersey’s acting attorney general, Robert Lougy, announced last month that the State Police would relax requirements for handgun carry permit-seekers, acting on the recommendation of a commission convened by the governor last fall.

The commission’s findings gave weight to complaints by New Jersey gun rights advocates, who said the permitting process was inefficient and overly restrictive. The proposed changes were prompted by the death of Carol Bowne, a Berlin Township woman who was allegedly killed by an ex-boyfriend while awaiting approval for a permit to own a gun.

It takes a special kind of viciousness to put scoring points in partisan politics ahead of the safety of your constituents.

New Jersey voters, are you paying attention?