Senator Parker Space and Assembly Members Dawn Fantasia and Michael Inganamort, Republican lawmakers from New Jersey’s 24th Legislative District, have voiced their disapproval of recent legislation signed by Governor Murphy. The law in question permits the inclusion of sexually explicit books and materials in school libraries.
The delegation released a statement criticizing the decision: “The legislation that Governor Murphy signed today eliminates longstanding protections that have successfully kept sexually explicit and obscene materials out of the hands of minors for generations,” they said. They emphasized their belief that school libraries should be places focused on learning rather than containing “lewd or inappropriate materials” which could detract from educational objectives.
During a Senate Education hearing earlier this year, even some Democrats acknowledged that certain materials were “certainly sexually explicit.” The lawmakers further described the act of allowing such content as “reprehensible,” adding that avoiding accountability for its distribution is both “heinous and inexcusable.”
