Progress on the Funeral Protest Issue

I was happy to see today that Congress passed a bill to prevent demonstrators from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries. It’s unfortunate that legislation is necessary to accomplish something that has always been considered common courtesy, but it’s clear from the protests that a despicable group has been holding around the country that we can no longer rely on that.

While this legislation on the federal level is a good step, it is imperative that we protect mourning New Jersey families at all cemeteries, not just at our two national cemeteries. The demonstrators in question have already said they will specifically target New Jersey families; we must take action immediately.

My colleagues in the Assembly and I are sponsoring a measure, A-2870, which would prohibit protests within 500 feet of a funeral. I hope the community will join with us in asking that it be posted for a vote and approved as soon as possible.