NJ Democrats Seek Law Ensuring Children Access Obscene Material

Parents beware: The New Jersey ‘Freedom to Read Act’ is on the bill list for the full Senate for this coming Monday, October 28, 2024. If passed, it will make it legal for school employees to show explicit and obscene material to children. New Jersey parents and concerned citizens have been heartbroken and distraught as they watch the NJ Democrats work to legally permit obscene books, pictures, and media into NJ Public schools and vow to give immunity to all school staff if they break the law by doing such a thing.

On Monday, September 30, 2024, the New Jersey Democrats swapped out Senator Vin Gopal (D), the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, with radical far-left Democrat Senator Andrew Zwicker (D), one of the two primary sponsors of the so-called “Freedom to Read Act.” If passed, would codify civil and criminal immunity to NJ Department of Education employees, aides, and librarians who break the law by showing obscenity to minors.

The Democrats also exchanged the beloved Senator Shirley Turner, who has been a trusted leader in NJ Democrat politics since 1983 and serves as the Vice Chair of the Senate Education Committee, with Senate President Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D). This trade took place after all the members of the NJ Senate Education Committee received hundreds (if not thousands) of calls and emails from concerned parents, tax payers, and concerned citizens regarding the disturbing facts about what is actually in the so-called Freedom to Read Act, Bill S2421 Scs (SCS). 

If distributing obscene material is a crime, shouldn’t this bill be focused on protecting children, rather than keeping the librarians from being held responsible for their actions, intentionally or unintentionally? Many crimes could be argued as “good faith actions,” but a crime should be handled as a crime, especially if it is a misconduct that can hurt a child.

During the Senate Education Committee hearing, Michael Curry from Wake-Up NJ showed pictures of oral sex, sex between two boys, indecent pictures, “blow jobs,” anal play, and more, that appear in some of these books and meet the criteria set in NJ law as obscene. Senator Andrew Zwicker (D) argued that the pictures and the material were not obscene.

Up next to testify was Victoria Jakelsky, Director and Founder of NJ Parental Rights. Jakelsky read the legal definition of Obscenity for persons under 18 stating, “This bill is incorrectly named. The legislation is not advocating for any right, except the right of state employees to be exempt from the consequences of committing a crime. A crime that could have lifelong implications upon hundreds if not thousands of innocent children. A crime, more specifically, to give immunity to the state employees who commit this crime and protect them from criminal liability! Should employees of the NJ Department of Education not be held accountable if they commit this crime?”

PERMITTING OBSCENE MATERIAL TO BE VIEWED BY MINORS IS A CRIME.

Providing and showing inappropriate material to children against their parents’ wishes strips them of their God-given rights! This should not be legal here in NJ or in any state!

New Jersey Statutes 2C:34-3, Obscenity for persons under 18, defines “Obscene material” to mean any description, narrative account, display, consisting of, a picture or other representation or publication …

In the New Jersey Statutes, Title 2C, Chapter 34  § 2C:34-3

(4) “Specified sexual activity” means:

(a) Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal; …

(b) Any act of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse; or

(c) Fondling or other erotic touching of covered or uncovered human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breast.

The specific legal definition of obscene material is the exact thing that the parents, taxpayers, and concerned citizens do not want their children to see and are the very things they are objecting to because this is, in fact, not age appropriate for any minor. Period!

The NJ Statute states:

b. (1) “A person who knowingly sells, distributes, rents or exhibits to a person under 18 years of age obscene material is guilty of a crime of the third degree.”

Should it not be the duty of our elected officials, AND THE SCHOOL, to protect the children from obscene material? Though we agree that no one should be harassed for doing their job, we clearly say that NO STATE EMPLOYEE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

M. Toni Buckley, Ed.D., testified at the Senate Education Committee Hearing, “Can we make a law to break a law? Not only is this bill redundant, but worse, it fails to protect freedom. Instead, it nullifies the First Amendment right to redress a grievance, thus breaking a law by penalizing citizens in their persistent pursuit to remove obscene content from school libraries.” 

Additionally, the legislation ONLY lists school employees or a “parent of a child” in the school as stakeholders. Many argued that this is taxation without representation.

Many citizens of New Jersey that care deeply about this matter, have taken their children out of the public schools, no longer have children in the schools, OR do not have children, YET they pay the majority of taxes, so therefore they ARE stakeholders. If passed, this law would truly will be taxation without representation.

This bill NEEDS TO BE AMENDED OR PULLED!

During the hearing, Jakelsky called out Senator Zwicker and warning that he would be accountable if this bill goes through, Zwicker responded, “Thank you, I am counting on it”. Listen to this testimony here at 1:44.

The original 26-page bill was introduced on January 29, 2024. It was placed on the bill list for the Senate Education Committee less than three weeks after introduction. It was pulled from the bill list due to countless calls and emails with concern for the safety of the children. The original bill  stated that school staff members would be entitled to attorney’s fees and costs and any injunctive relief of suit incurred the court

may deem necessary to avoid the defendant’s continued violation. The “violation” is refereeing to anyone who complained or showed concern about the content of any book.

Although the bill’s name is the “Freedom to Read” the original bill was clear that the goal of the legislation was to permit school libraries and public libraries to acquire and maintain material with no external limitations and to protect school staff from “unnecessary and unwarranted harassment” that would give the employee a civil cause of action for emotional distress, defamation, libel, slander, and more.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. (D), current Democrat Candidate for U.S. Congress in Congressional District 3 is one of the Primary Sponsors of the Assembly Bill No. A3446. The Assembly Bill was introduced on February 1, 2024. The pending legislation was on the bill list to be heard by the Assembly Education Committee on June 6, two days after our June 4^th Primary Election. The bill’s amended version was given to the members of the Assembly Education Committee late on Wednesday night the night before the 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning hearing. The link to the amended language was not made public.

The Democrats implied that the bill was amended to satisfy the many complaints and concerns of their constituents; however, it was clear that none of the legislators actually could articulate what was taken out and what was still in. The reaction to the bill was animated to say the least. After hours of deep discussion, testimony, the bill was release out of committee as the Chair stated that the public would have many more times to testify about their concerns. As many of those who testified expected, that was far from the truth as the bill was placed on the full floor of the Assembly on June 28, the day before the summer recess. The composition of the NJ Assembly is 52 Democrats and 28 Republicans. The bill passed on the full floor. This means that the last step before Governor Murphy signs this bill into law will be a vote on the floor of the NJ Senate. As of now the vote is scheduled for Monday, October 28.

Please pray but then do more than pray. Take action and call and email the following NJ State Senators:

[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];  [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

• The state cannot make a law to break a law.

• No one is above the law and no school employee should be exempt from being held accountable if they break a law

• ALL taxpayers need to be considered stakeholders

For more information or to help with this movement, please email [email protected]

Senate Education

Monday, September 30, 2024 – 9:30 AM

Testimony against the Obscenity Bill

:20 Senator Gopal was swapped out with Senator Zwicker, the Prime Sponsor of the bill

:30 Senator Turner was out and they said that Senator Scutari would be taking her place; however, he did not even show up for even one second of the hearing.  They called out how he left his vote (AND exactly why could not they have done the same for Gopal and Turner?)

1:09 Bill discussion begins

1:29 Listen to Shawn Hyland say he and his organization NJFPC is neutral on the bill!

1:33:50 Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – Strong opposition

1:39 Moms for Liberty – strong opposition

1:40 Ms. Lee – Text Book Publisher – Strongly opposed

1:44 Michael C. – Reading from the books – Very powerful

1:47:47 – 1:47:51 Victoria – Please listen this! – Citing where NJ statues define obscenity. – Strongly opposed!

2:51: Eve

2:59 Toni – Can we make a law to break a law?! Please listen! (One of our leaders) – Strongly opposed!

3:15:50 – Luci – The Commissioner should not have the authority to draft the model policy.

3:18 – Debbie – Stakeholders should be all taxpayers – and professionals should be held accountable for their actions!

3:21:30 The so called “pastor” Serena Rice (of a church of LGBT supporters) a mother of a trans child AND one of the newest members of the NJ STATE SCHOOL BOARD – testifying strongly in favor of this evil bill! This is one of the state school board nominees that we worked so hard to block. No surprise that Senator Andrew Zwicker nominated her! – She and her son testified in favor of this evil bill.

https://njleg.state.nj.us/archived-media/2024/SED-meeting-list/media-player?committee=SED&agendaDate=2024-09-30-09:30:00&agendaType=M&av=A