bowne Michael Eitel

At left, Carol Bowne, 39, who was fatally stabbed outside her Berlin home late Wednesday. Right, Michael Eitel, 45, an ex-boyfriend of Bowne's, apparently hanged himself after the incident.

( )

They have every right to protest New Jersey's weapons laws, but it's disconcerting when gun-rights advocates show up at the state Senate president's house to say essentially that he's responsible for the murder of a Berlin Township woman only four days earlier.

Marchers at Sen. Stephen Sweeney's West Deptford home Sunday hoisted signs with photographs of domestic violence victim Carol Bowne and such slogans as "Carol's life mattered. Sweeney's laws killed."

Bowne, 39, was stabbed to death June 3 at her home, allegedly by a former boyfriend against whom she had obtained a restraining order. The probable killer, Michael Eitel, 45, was found hanged to death Saturday in the Berlin home of another ex-girlfriend.

Bowne had applied April 21 for a gun permit through the Berlin Township police and had not received it by the time she was killed. There's disagreement over whether or not this was an unusual delay, and it's unclear whether or not she would have been approved for the permit.

The law, according to various gun groups, requires a permit response within 30 days, but Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check notes that once an application is filed, the rest of the process -- fingerprint and other background checks -- are out of the local department's hands. A two-to-three month wait is more likely the norm for a first-time gun buyer, he said.

Republican lawmakers say they'll back state legislation to require that gun permit requests from domestic violence victims be expedited. If combined with a Democratic bill making it easier to deny gun permits to those who have been convicted of domestic violence, the dual approach could help victims, especially women, to avoid further horrors.

But the protest at Sweeney's house by members of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society was both out of bounds and disrespectful to Bowne's memory. For one thing, though he steadfastly opposes some of the gun-law weakening bills that the enthusiast lobby wants, such as increasing magazine capacities, Sweeney, D-3, has not come out against any legislation that would give permit priority to domestic violence victims.

Secondly, projecting that Bowne absolutely would have fended off her attacker simply if she had owned a gun is pure conjecture. Yes, she might have been able to scare away or shoot her attacker. Yet, a number of other scenarios are possible. Eitel could have been strong enough to wrestle the gun away from the victim and use it on her. And, inexperienced with a brand-new weapon, she might have missed Eitel and wound up shooting someone else.

Various aspects of how New Jersey's gun-permit laws work in real time are a legitimate topic for discussion. But the Senate president bears no responsibility for the death of Carol Bowne, and to say otherwise shamefully exploits a tragedy.