New Jersey
State Senate passes bill intended to halt book bans, protect librarians • New Jersey Monitor
A bill aimed at limiting book bans in public schools and libraries and protecting librarians from lawsuits is now on the governor’s desk.
Titled the “Freedom to Read Act,” the legislation would require the state’s education commissioner to develop policies on how library materials are selected and how challenges to books on library shelves should be evaluated. Local school boards and library boards would then adopt their own policies using this model.
“You and all New Jerseyans have the freedom to choose what you want to read, and parents have and will continue to have the freedom to choose what their children will read. But no one gets to decide that for you — not now, and not ever,” said bill sponsor Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex).
The Senate advanced the controversial bill with a vote of 24-15, with heavy opposition from Republicans. GOP lawmakers said they feared the law would allow children to access obscene materials and protect librarians who share obscene books with children.
“Putting our children at risk and potentially exposing them to material that they are not prepared for flies in the face of our protective duty,” said Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris). “Couching such material under the guise of the First Amendment is a very distortion of who we are and what we strive to be as Americans.”
The bill comes as the American Library Association says the number of books targeted for censorship has skyrocketed, many of them because they include LGBTQ or sexually explicit content. The number of unique titles targeted for removal from library shelves surged 65% from 2022 to 2023, the organization says. Parents in towns like Glen Ridge, Roxbury, and Bernards have lobbied to have certain books removed from libraries.
Meanwhile, librarians say they have faced harassment from parents demanding certain books be removed.
States across the country are weighing similar legislation. The governors of California and Maryland recently signed similar bills into law, while lawmakers in New York and Rhode Island are still voting on those measures.
Under the New Jersey bill, school and library boards would be barred from removing books because of the “origin, background, or views” of the material or those contributing to its creation.
The bill would also provide librarians and library staff with immunity from civil and criminal liability for “good faith actions.”
Sen. Mike Testa (R-Cumberland) said he interprets the immunity the bill would provide to librarians as an “intentional blanket exemption from New Jersey’s obscenity law or, for that matter, any other law intended to protect our children.”
Testa claimed there is already “obscene material” available in New Jersey schools, and he questioned why Democrats are pushing for an exemption if there isn’t sexually explicit content in schools.
“How exactly does a person distribute obscene materials to a child in good faith? I also think it’s incredibly telling that if some of these very same sexually explicit materials were shown to a child by a neighbor, that individual would be charged with a Megan’s Law offense, and rightfully so,” he said.
Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union), co-sponsor of the measure, said the bill would create new standards for libraries that don’t currently exist.
“Right now, in the wild, wild west, no board of education is setting the standard, and now we are saying it is time,” he said.
Bramnick also defended librarians, stressing that none of them intend to provide sexually explicit material. But if a questionable book does end up on library shelves, there must be consistent guidelines and policies to ensure “we have a standard in this society,” he added.
The bill passed the Assembly in June by a 52-20 vote.
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Rain will continue through tonight across New Jersey before a cold front passes through Sunday morning, followed by wind gusts up to 35 mph and the chance of isolated snow showers.
The heaviest rain tonight is expected along the southern portions of the state where 1 and 1.5 inches rainfall totals are possible, according to the National Weather Service.
Most other areas of New Jersey should receive around 1 inch of rain, with the northwest portions of the state picking up 0.5 to 0.75 inches.
Once the rain ends between 6 and 9 a.m. Sunday, conditions should remain cloudy and foggy until a cold front passes through late Sunday morning into early Sunday afternoon.
Temperatures will drop into the upper 30s to low 40s Sunday morning as cold air moves in behind the first cold front.
A secondary cold front will cross New Jersey late Sunday afternoon accompanied by a period of rain and snow showers.
The isolated snow showers are possible mainly from 7 to 11 p.m., the weather service said. Snow accumulations are not expected in New Jersey.
Winds of 15 to 20 mph on Sunday afternoon are expected to increase to 25 to 35 mph by sunset.
Monday’s forecast calls for mainly clear skies with temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s and winds gradually diminishing.
Tuesday will be milder with above-normal temperatures and mainly clear to partly cloudy skies, with a slight chance of some rain showers possible.
Wednesday’s temperatures will remain above normal with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain showers as a cold front approaches from the west.
A potential coastal storm could impact New Jersey with snow on Thursday and Friday, though significant uncertainty remains regarding the exact track and timing of the system, the weather service said.
Some forecast models suggest a significant winter storm while others indicate the system will remain offshore.
A colder air mass is forecast to move into New Jersey by late next week and into the following weekend.
Current weather radar
Officers in Gloucester County, New Jersey, got a big surprise on Friday morning.
A representative from Dunkin’ gave them free tickets to this weekend’s Eagles playoff game as a huge thank you for their courageous actions last weekend.
It was a tense scene in Woolwich Township when officers used ropes and went into a frozen body of water to save a child who had fallen through the ice.
“As soon as he started screaming that he couldn’t feel his hands, I just went out there and tried to go get him,” Sgt. Joseph Rieger said. “Immediately thought of my own son and what I would have done with my own son- just go out and get him as soon as I could.”
The boy was screaming and was not able to grab onto the rope that the officers had thrown to him.
“I try to get him the rescue rope but he can’t hold it because his hands aren’t working. So I go to grab him out of the awter and we both go into the water. So I was able to stand up and throw him on top of the ice and start breaking my way back,” Rieger explained.
The team was able to get the 13-year-old out of the frozen water with no one getting hurt.
Then, Dunkin’ showed up to the police department for Law Enforcement Appreciation Day and praised their actions by giving them tickets to Sunday’s Eagles playoff game against the 49ers.
“This is my job. It was what I signed up to do so getting this kind of attention, I’m not used to it. I’m very appreciative and very excited,” Rieger said.
The officers said that if there’s anything to take away from this story, it’s to stay off of the ice.
Thankfully, the boy they saved is doing just fine and stopped by the police department earlier this week to thank them.
“It was awesome. It was nice to see that he was safe. He learned his lesson. He was very appreciative,” Rieger said.
EWING TWP., N.J. (WPVI) — Police are searching for a suspect who fatally stabbed a man in Mercer County, New Jersey.
It happened around 5:20 p.m. Thursday on the unit block of New Hillcrest Avenue in Ewing Township.
When police arrived, they found a 40-year-old man lying in the street with several stab wounds to the torso.
He was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he later died.
The victim has been identified as Jimmy Chase from Philadelphia.
So far, no arrests have been made.
Anyone who has any information on this case is asked to call Mercer County detectives at 609-989-6406.
You can also submit an anonymous tip online at MercerCountyProsecutor.com.
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