States Control: New Jersey

Christian kids’ show kicked from public square

After its attorney warned that "government officials do not have the right to single out Christian groups for discrimination," a New Jersey community has reversed its previous denial and now granted a Christian ministry the right to perform in the town’s public square.
Source: WorldNetDaily, March 17, 2007

Gay Couples Get Licenses in N.J.

Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples Monday as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions.
Source: Breitbart, February 19, 2007

N.J. Gov. to Make Gay Unions Official

New Jersey’s gay couples are gaining all the rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law as New Jersey moves to become the third in the nation to institute civil unions and the fifth to offer some version of marriage.
Source: My Way, December 21, 2006

Internet Backlash Stalls Jersey Civility Bill

Assemblyman Peter Biondi and his staff said they were trying to curb malicious exchanges on some local discussion boards when they introduced a bill requiring people to provide their real names and addresses before posting on public
Web sites. The bill also stated that hosts could be sued for failing to disclose the identities of people disseminating false or defamatory information.
Source: Information Week, March 14, 2006

Iris Scanning For New Jersey Grade School

When a parent arrives to pick up their child at one of three grade schools in the Freehold Borough School District, they’ll need to look into a camera that will take a digital image of their iris. That photo will establish positive identification to gain entrance into the school.
Source: Yahoo! News, January 23, 2006

Patriot Act defense in homeless transit case gets boost from feds

When officials in Summit invoked the USA Patriot Act to justify kicking homeless people out of its train station, the move was ridiculed in many quarters; even the U.S. Justice Department said the city had no business applying the anti-terrorism law to justify its treatment of the homeless.
But now that the federal government has issued a warning in the aftermath of the London bombings that terrorists may pose as homeless people to watch buildings and mass transit stations while plotting future attacks, no one is laughing anymore.
Source: Newsday, August 30, 2005

No butts: Bill to stop drivers from lighting up behind the wheel

Ashtrays have been disappearing in cars like fins on Cadillacs, and so could smoking while driving in New Jersey, under a measure introduced in the Legislature.
July 24, 2005

Bill: Seize homes that contain ‘illegal’ guns

A New Jersey state assemblyman has introduced a bill that would allow the government to seize the home or car of anyone whose property contains an illegal firearm.
Source: WorldNetDaily, May 10, 2005

Casino Used Cameras to Ogle Women

Women, beware: Those "eye in the sky" surveillance cameras used by casinos don’t just look for card cheats and crooked dealers. Sometimes, they look for low-cut blouses.
Source: FoxNews (online), December 15, 2004

Parents attack bathroom policy

Some middle school students here are learning to shun soft drinks, water and other liquids during school hours for fear their consumption will lead to an urgent need to answer nature’s call. Under a new policy at the Lawrence Middle School, the seventh- and eighth-graders are allowed to leave class for the bathroom a maximum of 15 times a month.

Source: Everything Jersey, February 16, 2004