News
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- Written by: Joe Siano
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
Gun control advocates of use the “well regulated” phrase in the Second Amendment as a pretext to assert that the government reserves the right to dictate what if any arms its citizens may own and under what conditions they are permitted to acquire, use and dispose of them
By employing textual criticism, this argument can be easily debunked.
Textual criticism involves understanding the words of antique documents in the sense that they were used in the era that the document was authored.
For instance if writer of century ago were to refer to the decade of the 1890s as the “gay ‘90s” or the capital of France as “gay Paris”, we understand that this has nothing to do with same sex relationships. Gay in this sense conveys the notion that this decade and this city were exuberant, happy and high spirited.
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- Written by: Mark Richards
- Category: Letters to Editor
Letter writer Gary Stewart of Riverdale is on target in saying the government is trying to turn our country into a bunch of timid, fearful people who will "rat out" anyone who might be a security risk based on their appearance: Sounds an awful lot like profiling to me!
The government and its media allies will seize on anything to get the American "sheeple" to give up their liberties. Mr. Stewart asks, "Am I the only who feels this?"
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Police Accountability Project
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- Written by: Mark Richards
- Category: Letters to Editor
Dear Editor:
As expected the media, the politicians, the simple-minded Hollywood celebrities, and countless others have all jumped on the anti-gun bandwagon in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.
When a school shooting happens, they no doubt see another golden opportunity to demand that the American people part company with their Second Amendment liberties! Suppose those school children had been on a bus going on a class field trip and the bus was involved in a horrific highway accident, would the media, President Obama, Mayor Bloomberg, Senators Lautenberg, Feinstein and Schumer all be carrying on as they have been for the past week? I think not! Those innocent children would still be dead and their families grieving, but to the anti-gun crowd their deaths wouldn't be that tragic since it was a highway accident and no guns were involved!
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Latest News
New Jersey Needs More School Choice!
In commemoration of National School Choice Week, please join education reform leaders and supporters from across New Jersey for a timely, important, and uplifting meeting about education reform and school choice in the Garden State. Speakers will include:
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- Written by: Joe Siano
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
The following are comments delivered by Joe Siano at the MLK Day Restoring Freedom's rally in Trenton on 1-21-13.
I have been asked to provide a libertarian perspective on this great man, Dr. King. I say “a” and not “the” because if you ask ten libertarians you will get ten different answers. Thus I am not empowered to speak on anyone’s behalf but my own.
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King stands alongside of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln as one of the few of American icons that the left, right and center lay claim to. As such, I am unashamed to also claim his legacy on behalf of those who hold liberty, personal responsibility and self governance to be the crown jewels of our American experiment.
Dr. King was first and foremost an advocate of nonviolence. Throughout h is struggles for civil rights and racial equality, he never believed that the end justified the means. He always insisted on a nonviolent path to the ends that he sought.
This approach harmonizes perfectly with the oath that we libertarians affirm upon joining the LP. That is:
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- Written by: Joe Siano
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
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Joe Siano is an NJLP Board Member. This article originally appeared at Today's News NJ. |
Critics of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies complain that they are fundamentally unfair. When the Fed creates new money, the first people to get their hands on it are the big fat cat bankers and their rich friends. Those fortunate few are then able to spend the new dollars first. However, by time this new money reaches Joe and Jane Six-pack, the flood of new currency will have inflated the money supply and raised prices. Thus Joe and Jane wind up paying more for the same stuff than the fat cats bought for cheap.
The obvious solution is to get the new greenbacks directly to the average guy and gal on the street. And the way to do that is with Currency.com an innovative new Treasury Department program modeled after the popular stamps.com which enables Postal customers to print stamps right at home, from their own computer, currency.com will allow average Americans to print legal tender in the comfort of their homes or offices.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
When the Newton School massacre occurred, the bodies of the 26 victims were not even cold when the mainstream press call for and advocated for more laws restricting firearms. To the press, the victims did not matter at all. Their lives did not matter. What mattered to the press was having a story to promote an agenda. I was not in the least bit surprised, considering that 78% of all mainstream journalists favor stricter gun control laws, according to a survey of journalists done by the Los Angeles Times. To the press, the story represented a vehicle to advocate a position.
What the mainstream press chooses to ignore is that the issue is not gun control per se; it is and forever will be about mental illness, and how we as a society deal with individuals who have these afflictions.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
I recently read a July 19, 2011 decision by United State District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Maria Broadnax's civil lawsuit against the Borough of South Plainfield and patrol officer Ryan Mote. At issue was the legality of Mote sticking his fingers in the pocket of Broadnax's jeans during a December 11, 2008 traffic stop for driving a car with tinted windows on Route 22. Broadnax had claimed that Mote violated her Fourth Amendment rights by momentarily sticking his fingers, up to his knuckles, in the pocket of her tight bluejeans before she withdrew from the officer causing his fingers to slip back out. In October 2011, a few months after North Plainfield lost its motion for summary judgment, it settled the case by paying Broadnax and her lawyer $5,000. The opinion and settlement are on-line here.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Latest News
In honor of the universal freedom message preached by Dr. King a "Restoring Freedoms Rally" is being held in his honor on January 21st at the Statehouse in Trenton.
This rally will include a diverse set of speakers, including several libertarians. Libertarians speaking will include NJLP Treasure Joe Siano, former Libertarian Candidate for Governor Murray Sabrin, former NJLP Chair Lou Jasikoff, and 2012 Libertarian Candidate for U.S. Congress Patrick McKnight. Many other speakers are scheduled from various ends of the political spectrum. See http://restoringfreedomsnj.blogspot.com for a full list of speakers.
The Restoring Freedom's Committee is seeking donations to help pay for the event. If you like the idea of bringing together groups of various political ideologies to discuss topics of freedom - consider donating to the event. Planning and staging an event like this is expensive.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Police Accountability Project
In separate incidents the Sussex and the Warren County Sheriff departments were caught using county owned emergency generators in their personal homes.
In Sussex County, Undersheriff George DeOld resigned after getting caught appropriating two generators for his own use in November. Prior to his resignation DeOld was receiving a $97,000 salary and a $66,537 pension from a former police job in Patterson. It is unknown if his resignation was accepted in exchange for dropping the investigation. It may well turn out that he will add an additional amount to his pension from his Sheriff job.
The NJ Libertarian Party is resurrecting an old show we used to run on Cable Access channels. The format is different in that the shows will be much shorter and aimed for YouTube viewing.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Student Rights
A 16 year old boy in Galloway Township was arrested for doodling what looked like it might have been a gun. Reason magazine covered it here.
A real threat? Or a overly paranoid school willing to persecute a young man for doodling and possessing undisclosed chemicals in his home?
Police Chief, Pat Moran, stated "“There was no indication he was making a bomb, or using a bomb or detonating a bomb" yet they charged him with possession of an explosive device.
Something smells fishy here.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
During my research on pre-empted loitering ordinances I found that Somers Point repealed their invalid ordinance in 1991 - yet the police and courts are still enforcing this ordinance. Here is my letter to the Atlantic County Municipal Division Manager.
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December 28, 2012
Tina Lalena, Municipal Division Manager
Atlantic County Superior Court
4997 Unami Blvd
Mays Landing, NJ 08330 (via e-mail only to
Dear Ms. Lalena:
From researching records of the Somers Point Municipal Court, I have discovered that the court, on April 17, 2012, accepted a guilty plea to a violation of a municipal code provision that the City repealed in 1991.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
By statute (N.J.S.A. 2B:25-4 and 2B:24-3), every New Jersey municipal court must have at least one municipal prosecutor and at least one municipal public defender. Since these positions are common to almost every municipality in the state, one would think that question of whether the holders of these offices are "local government officers" who are required by the New Jersey Local Government Ethics Law (LGEL) to file an annual "Financial Disclosure Statement" has long ago been settled. Unfortunately, there is still confusion regarding the prosecutors' and public defenders' filing requirements, which is distressing since the LGEL became effective on May 21, 1991--over twenty years ago. Simply put, I don't think that it's unreasonable to expect most towns to be on the same page as to what the law requires after that law has been in existence for over twenty years.
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Police Accountability Project
In March of 2012, after crossing through a park in Hanover Township, a police officer in plain clothes ordered 15 year old Austin DeCaro and his friends to sit down on the curb. Not knowing whether or not the man was really a police officer, Austin started to record the interaction. Upon seeing the camera, officer Joseph Quinn ordered that he camera be turned off or "its going to be mine forever." Bravely, Austin asked the officer "Why?" Quinn responded by tackling Austin, handcuffing him, and arresting him. He was originally charged with Obstruction, Vandalism, and being in the park after dark.
When the video was viewed by the police chief, Stephen Gallagher, all charges were dropped except for the being in the park past a curfew. DeCaro and his family have filed suit against Officer Quinn and Hanover Township with assistance from the ACLU.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Policy News
There are several interesting bills pending before the State Legislature. I urge you to contact your State Legislstors and the Committee members for each of these bills.
S1977 Marijuana Decriminalization
S1977 decriminalizes possession of up to 50 grams of marijuana. It treats marijuana possession as a civil offense and sets a fine of $50 for possession that gets paid entirely to the municipality where the offense was committed. Currently possession of up to 50 grams is a disorderly persons offense that can result in a up to 6 month prison sentence and a fine of up to $1,000.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
By way of a December 5, 2012 letter, Lieutenant Michael J. Emmons of the Neptune Township Police Department dismissed an internal affairs complaint against Neptune Police Officer Leslie Borges. The complaint, which was filed on October 16, 2012 by the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Police Accountability Project, was based on an October 16, 2012 written decision issued Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.
In that case, the court suppressed evidence that Borges and other officers seized when they arrested a local man, James M. Height, for third-degree possession of Xanax. Regarding Borges' warrantless search of Height's apartment, the court held that “there was no objectively reasonable basis for [him] to enter the apartment under the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement.”