Residents can sign the petition online at the 9th District Delegation’s legislative website: http://district9.senatenj.com/jessicas-law/

The petition centers on the Jessica Lunsford Act, also known as Jessica’s Law, which would increase penalties for those who commit sex crimes against minors and for those who harbor or conceal a sex offender. Connors, Rumpf and Gove are cosponsors of pending legislation that would enact the Jessica Lunsford Act in New Jersey.

Additional legislation addressed in the petition would prohibit convicted sexual offenders from living near schools, playgrounds and child care centers, as well as to properly “tier” sex offenders prior to their release from prison. Each of these measures were introduced and have been sponsored by the 9th District Delegation for several legislative sessions and, presently, are also awaiting committee action.

The 9th District Delegation offered the following remarks regarding the petition drive:

Residents are frustrated with what they see as a lack of action and direction by the Legislature on comprehensive initiatives to more effectively protect our children from potential acts of violence committed by sexual predators. We understand and share this frustration as, for years, our Delegation has worked closely with residents, local officials and law enforcement in a united effort to build upon the protections presently offered under Megan’s Law including community notification.

As an example, several years ago law enforcement officials advised our Delegation about the difficulty in tracking convicted sex offenders, given their transient nature, once they are released from incarceration. A contributing factor to this problem is that, under current law, sex offenders are tiered only after they have been released from prison. A sex offender’s residency situation factors into what tiering they receive. As a practical solution, our Delegation introduced legislation that would require sexual offenders to be tiered while still incarcerated.

A State Supreme Court decision handed down in 2009 that invalidated several local sexual offender residency ordinances seems to have brought any further action on major policy initiatives concerning sexual offenders to a standstill in the Legislature. Prior to this, several bipartisan bills were passed by the Legislature and enacted into law that included enhancing penalties for sex offenders who provided false addresses when registering as well as satellite monitoring for certain sex offenders.“Starting an online petition drive is an effective grass roots means of demonstrating the level of public support or opposition for a specific policy initiative. Moreover, it will allow residents to play a more active role in the legislative process on an issue that is important to so many parents.

Vice-Chairwoman Maureen Gallagher-Bugdon will be honored as the 2012 Seashell Award recipient and we will be nominating candidates for United States Senate, House of Representatives, and County Freeholder.

You can get driving directions to the Scullville Vol. Fire House by clicking on the map below and entering your address.

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The Smithville Inn did a great job hosting the event and we had a wonderful turnout.  It was great to see Assemblyman Brian Rumpf back on his feet!

Thank you to all who attended and especially to Senators Connors and Kyrillos, the guest speakers.

This year’s guest speakers are State Senators Joe Kyrillos and Chris Connors.  Senator Connors represents Galloway in the legislature after our move to District 9, and Senator Kyrillos recently announced that he will seek the GOP nomination to challenge Bob Mendendez.

In a presidential election year there is going to be a lot of attention paid to the November Election. It’s the perfect time to invite your Republican friends to join the GTRL and get involved  to help the GOP take back control of the White House & Senate!

In addition to the contribution approved by the membership, the club is asking GTRL members and supporters to ‘match’ the club’s donation.  A goal of another $250 was set.

To contribute to this gift from the club please send a check with “Hope Chest” in the memo line to:

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP REPUBLICAN LEAGUE
 ATTN:  HOPE CHEST
 PO BOX 296
 OCEANVILLE, NJ    08231

Click this link to learn more about Beacon Church’s “Hope Chest”.