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Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a November cabinet meeting.

(Star-Ledger file photo)

It is the job of our state’s attorney general to defend the laws of New Jersey, not the political ambitions of the governor.

And yet in a highly unusual move, Gov. Chris Christie’s top law enforcement official, acting Attorney General John Hoffman, recently refused to stand up for two of our state’s toughest gun control laws in court.

Make no mistake: This has everything to do with the 2016 Republican presidential primary — gun restrictions are unpopular in red states — and nothing whatsoever to do with the validity of the case.

After all, an appellate judge still ruled against the two retired arson investigators who brought this dubious challenge.

It is clearly not unconstitutional to deny them permits to carry concealed handguns. States have broad powers to set gun policy, and in New Jersey, a former job with the fire department does not guarantee you the right to pack heat.

These men are no special case. Dozens of other people have lost similar challenges over the years. Far more unprecedented was the administration’s refusal to defend the state’s laws in court.

This is nothing like the issue of gay marriage, in which Christie withdrew an appeal after the state Supreme Court signaled it was unlikely to overturn a lower court’s ruling. Here, the state refused to involve itself in a case where the law obviously favored the constitutionality of the statute.

A strong majority of New Jerseyans support strict gun laws. And Christie’s personal ambitions are no excuse not to defend them.

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