Tag Archives: State: New Jersey

NJ.com: State Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset) has introduced a measure to allow voters to decide whether New Jersey should allow gay couples to get married.
The measure (SCR-88) . . .

Fox News: The call from the governor was the latest fallout for New Jersey Education Association Executive Director Vincent Giordano, whose own salary tops $300,000.

WSJ.com (via Google): New Jersey Advocates Lose Important Fund-Raising Source, Search for New Donors as Battle Heads to Legislature for Vote

American Federation for Children: The leader of New Jersey’s largest teachers union dismissed the plight of low-income families across the state who are in desperate need of high-quality educational choices, saying in a recent local television interview that “life’s not always fair” while arguing against giving expanded educational options to students trapped in failing schools.

Bloomberg: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said his pick to be the first openly gay justice on the state Supreme Court won’t rule on issues involving same-sex marriage.

News from Missouri Family Policy Council: Jim Campbell, staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, deplored the judge’s attack on religious freedom. “The government should not be able to force a private Christian organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs. Religious groups have the right to use their private property in ways that are consistent with their religious convictions.”

Philadelphia Inquirer: Gay rights advocates in New Jersey have been pushing for a decade to get state courts or lawmakers to recognize same-sex marriage. But last week, they demurred when Gov. Christie called for a public vote to settle the topic.

NJ.com: The Legislature must “put its money where its mouth is” to keep the New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights intact, a state panel ruled today in a decision that said the new law poses an unfunded mandate for school districts.

NJ.com: When Christie introduced Harris and fellow nominee Phillip Kwon to the press on Monday, he made a point of noting that Harris is openly gay. He also introduced the domestic partner of the 61-year-old Chatham mayor, who is an attorney in private practice.

NJ.com: Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, said a public vote on the issue would not really reflect the will of the people.
“A referendum reflects which side can corrupt the political system with more money,” he said.

NYTimes.com: But asked on Thursday whether he was satisfied with the approach taken by Mr. Christie, a Republican, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, did not seem to want to get involved.

NJ.com: As a Senate committee advanced a bill that would allow same-sex marriage Tuesday, the effectiveness of the current civil union system was argued by both sides.

The Washington Post: A New Jersey Senate panel has approved a same-sex marriage bill the same day Gov. Chris Christie vowed to veto it.

In evaluating the adequacy of alternative channels of communication when deciding an as-applied constitutional challenge to the State’s statute limiting the places where sexually-oriented businesses may operate, trial courts are not precluded from considering the existence of sites that are located outside of New Jersey but that are found within the relevant market area as defined by the parties’ experts.

WSJ: New Jersey Democrats believe they are within spitting distance of securing enough support to override a veto of same-sex marriage legislation if Gov. Chris Christie chooses not support it.

News from The Associated Press: New Jersey Sen. Joseph Kyrillos will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to run against Sen. Bob Menendez in November.

Stephen Sweeney at NJ.com: Equality, fairness and justice are the most basic of American principles. The last century especially has seen numerous episodes of Americans fighting for, and eventually receiving, their civil rights. Yet there remain Americans for whom these principles are not fully realized.

News from The Associated Press: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed a bill into law legalizing sports betting in his state – but only after a federal ban on such gambling is overturned.

LifeSiteNews: “He said this isn’t a case of religious liberty, which is simply not true,” Jim Campbell, who represented the resort and serves as litigation staff counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), told LifeSiteNews.com. “What this case involves at its core is the rights of a religious group to use its property in a way that is consistent with its religious beliefs.” Campbell said most people will find Metzger’s belief that the state can force a religious facility to violate its conscience “a very scary concept. If that is a principle of the law, then essentially the government can cast aside religion if it deems something more important.” Campbell called Metzger’s ruling “an error of Constitutional law.”

Examiner.com: However the response was: “The government should not be able to force a private Christian organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs,” said Jim Campbell, a litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. “Religious groups have the right to use their private property in a way that is consistent with their beliefs. That right, protected by both the New Jersey and U.S. constitutions, obviously trumps any law enacted by the state’s legislature.”

Manasquan.patch.com: When asked if they would appeal the decision, the association’s attorney, Jim Campbell, of the Alliance Defense Fund based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said his client was discussing “all options.” Campbell added that he still believed that the association was on the right side of the law. “The government should not be able to force a private religious organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own beliefs,” Campbell said by telephone on Friday. “That’s why Ocean Grove is asserting its constitutional rights and that’s why Ocean Grove ultimately believes that the law is on its side.”

One News Now: Jim Campbell, an attorney representing the church, said the decision may be appealed. He said, “The government should not be able to force a private Christian organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs.”

NJ.com: U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez agreed yesterday to meet again with U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz, a welcome sign that he may back down from his confrontation with the Obama administration over her nomination.

NECN: Attorneys representing the church said they were reviewing the decision for possible next steps. “The government should not be able to force a private Christian organization to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs,” Jim Campbell, an attorney representing the church, said in a statement Thursday. | Via Religion Clause Blog

NOM Blog: The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today pledged an all-out effort to prevent same-sex marriage from becoming law in New Jersey, and said it would spend upward of $500,000 to support legislators who stood to preserve traditional marriage and hold those accountable who impose same-sex marriage in the state.

Judge says declining to open private, beachside place of worship for same-sex ceremonies violates state law

SouthBrunswick.patch.com: Although the last attempt to legalize gay marriage in the state ended losing in the Senate by a 14-20 vote, this time Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), said he has at least the 21 votes needed to pass the bill in the upper house.

Kathleen Hunker at Townhall.com: The New Jersey controversy prompted a series of questions regarding the rights of individuals who oppose abortion, and whether they retain the right to abstain from facilitating what they view as the termination of a human life in the course of their professional and/or business activities.. . . Kathleen Hunker has an LL.M. in Public Law and Human Rights from the University College London. She is a third-year student at the Columbia University School of Law and an Alliance Defense Fund Blackstone Fellow.

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 13:13 mins

NYTimes.com: Democratic leaders in New Jersey are planning to make a bill allowing same-sex marriage the centerpiece of their agenda for 2012, reflecting a key change from two years ago, when a leading Senate Democrat abstained from a vote on the issue.

: The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) agreed not to require nurses to aid in abortions, according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which represented 12 nurses in a lawsuit against the hospital. A federal judge had issued a temporary restraining order in the case against the hospital in November, protecting two of the nurses who were scheduled to assist in abortions the next day.

NJ.com: The move, which has effectively derailed the nomination of U.S. Magistrate Patty Shwartz to the Third Circuit, marks the first time a judicial appointee of President Obama has been held up by a senator from his own party.

Christian Institute: ADF’s Matt Bowman, who represented the nurses, said: “No pro-life medical personnel should be forced to assist or train in services related to abortions. The hospital has finally done the right thing in agreeing to obey the law and not force our clients to do any work on abortion cases in violation of their beliefs”. He added: “The hospital agreed not to penalize our clients in any way because they choose not to participate in abortion according to their legal rights.”

News from The Associated Press: A New Jersey doctor charged with 10 counts of murder for providing late-term abortions in Maryland has agreed to return to that state to face charges.

News from Missouri Family Policy Council: The Alliance Defense Fund had filed suit on behalf of the pro-life nurses in defense of their conscience rights under federal law.

NC Register (12/28): According to the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented the 12 nurses, the terms of the settlement require that if a woman suffers a true emergency from an abortion, the nursse will help protect her until other staff, such as the emergency team, arrives moments later. “Because the abortions are all elective, outpatient surgeries, and the court is requiring the hospital to fully staff all abortion cases with non-objecting medical personnel, the pro-life nurses should never actually be needed in any such case,” the ADF statement said. [more Matt Bowman quoted]

Christian Examiner: “No pro-life medical personnel should be forced to assist or train in services related to abortions. The hospital has finally done the right thing in agreeing to obey the law and not force our clients to do any work on abortion cases in violation of their beliefs,” said ADF legal counsel Matt Bowman. “The hospital agreed not to penalize our clients in any way because they choose not to participate in abortion, according to their legal rights.”

David Bohon The New American: ADF Attorney Matt Bowman, who represented the nurses in the case, recalled that the change in hospital policy had come “out of the blue,” noting that UMDNJ “had been performing abortions for decades without forcing nurses to violate their religious beliefs.” In September hospital officials announced to nurses at the Same Day Surgery Unit that they would now be required to assist with the procedures. The hospital instituted the policy change the following month “and repeatedly threatened that they must assist abortions or be terminated,” Bowman explained. “When one nurse objected to assisting abortions on the grounds of her religious beliefs, a supervisor responded that UMDNJ has ‘no regard for religious beliefs’ of nurses who object to participating in abortions.”

Catholic Culture (12/28): “It is a victory because the hospital finally agreed to obey the law and not force our clients to do any work on abortion cases in violation of their beliefs,” said the nurses’ attorney, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund. “The hospital agreed not to penalize our clients in any way because they choose to not help abortions, according to their legal rights. The hospital is required to fully staff all abortion cases so that our clients would never be needed for those cases, and the hospital cannot use pro-abortion staff to replace our clients or reduce their hours.”

National Right to Life News (12/28): Last week I asked the nurses’ lawyer, Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund, how he would describe the settlement: a “victory” he told National Right to Life News Today. “It is a victory because the hospital finally agreed to obey the law and not force our clients to do any work on abortion cases in violation of their beliefs. The hospital agreed not to penalize our clients in any way because they choose to not help abortions, according to their legal rights. The hospital is required to fully staff all abortion cases so that our clients would never be needed for those cases, and the hospital cannot use pro-abortion staff to replace our clients or reduce their hours. The judge warned the hospital that our clients could return to his court if they were assigned to work abortion cases or if the hospital claims that routine abortions are emergencies. We hope that other hospitals will realize that they should agree to obey conscience laws that protect pro-life medical personnel.”

LifeNews: This was indeed a great victory, and the credit goes to twelve brave and principled nurses who stood their ground, and attorney Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund for his skillful and equally courageous defense of the nurses. There is a fundamental principle at stake here, one that is testing all of our established human anthropology, metaphysics, ethics, and jurisprudence . . . Blessedly, we have principled leaders and warriors today in people like Matt Bowman of the Alliance Defense Fund, Nikolas Nikas and Dorinda Bordleee of the Bioethics Defense Fund, who speak frequently at medical and law schools about conscience rights, and brave medical professionals who are dedicated to upholding the highest estimation of humanity under the law.

The Washington Post: The state Division of Gaming Enforcement ruled Friday that it would be OK to have a strip club inside the Taj Mahal Casino Resort. It would be Atlantic City’s first so-called “gentlemen’s club” inside a casino in the 33-year history of legalized gambling here.

A family court judge had no business ordering a man to grant his ex-wife a ritual Jewish divorce, known as a “get,” which he never agreed to, a state appeals court held Wednesday.

LifeSiteNews: We are glad that the hospital finally agreed to obey the law and not force our clients to do any work on abortion cases in violation of their beliefs,” Matt Bowman, the attorney who handled the case for the Alliance Defense Fund, stated in an e-mail statement sent to LifeSiteNews.com. “The hospital agreed not to penalize our clients in any way because they choose to not help abortions according to their legal rights.”

Samantha Henry Salon (AP): “I’m still scared about the part of them having four nurses brought in and we might become the surpluses,” Racpan Vinoya said, referring to the hospital hiring four nurses who do not object to assisting with the procedure. Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers and organizations that represented the nurses, said they were satisfied with the agreement.

NJ Star Ledger: “The hospital has agreed that pro-life nurses do not have to assist abortion cases,” said Matt Bowman, an attorney with Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian nonprofit group.

LifeNews.com: “I’m still scared about the part of them having four nurses brought in and we might become the surpluses,” Racpan Vinoya said. Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, said he was pleased with the agreement. “Pro-life nurses shouldn’t be forced to assist or train in services related to abortions. Federal and state law both prohibit this,” said Bowman. “These 12 nurses have encountered threats to their jobs at this hospital ever since a policy change required them to participate in the abortion cases regardless of their religious and moral objections. It is disturbing that the hospital is fighting to continue violating laws that clearly protect conscience rights.”

As a result of a federal court hearing Thursday, a New Jersey hospital has agreed that it will not force nurses to assist with abortion cases.

Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Matt Bowman will be available for media interviews following a court hearing Thursday in the case of 12 nurses being forced to assist with abortions at a New Jersey hospital.

NJ.com: On one side of the parental tug-of-war over the 5-year-old twin girls at the center of the long-fought court battle were Donald Robinson Hollingsworth and Sean Hollingsworth — a gay couple who married in California and live in Jersey City. On the other was Angelia Robinson, Donald Hollingsworth’s sister, who agreed to serve as a surrogate, ultimately giving birth to the girls through a donor embryo fertilized by Sean Hollingsworth.

Business Management Daily: Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian nonprofit organization, represent the nurses and requested the injunction. More hearings on the case are scheduled for this month.

CBS Philly (includes video): Some residents of a South Jersey town are calling a Knights of Columbus banner that hangs over Broadway in Pitman, a sign of the season.

NY Daily News: Harry Pangemanan, 41, has been told to report to immigration officials, with plane tickets in hand, three days before Christmas. He’s hoping for a reprieve. Indonesian Christians urged the feds to get into the holiday spirit and spare them from deportation — by singing “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World” in front of Manhattan’s federal building.

NJ.com: To stimulate the state’s economy, leading Democratic lawmakers want to make it easier for tourists and gamblers visiting Jersey to get married on the spot — Vegas-style.

National Right to Life News: “’The hospital filed a brief last week [December 3] asking the court’s permission to continue bullying nurses into participating in elective abortion cases,” [Alliance Defense Fund] lawyer Matt Bowman said in an e-mail. “Only by guaranteeing the court and the nurses that it has reversed its position would it prove that UMDNJ might finally be interested in following the law. Until then, ADF will continue to fight the illegal discrimination against these pro-life nurses.”

Cathy Ruse at Human Events: They are represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, which obtained a temporary restraining order against the hospital in November. The hospital temporarily consented to the order, but will fight it at a hearing set for Dec. 22. The hospital received $60 million in federal taxpayer funds this year, maybe more

Asbury Park Press: Attorneys for the nurses contend that “UMDNJ admits that it is breaking the law. It simply asks this Court to let it do so.” Meanwhile, UMDNJ has called the lawsuit “nothing more than a vehicle to promote the anti-abortion political agenda of the Alliance Defense Fund,” referring to the legal organization representing the nurses.

David Andrusko at National Right to Life News: This hospital statement “indicates a policy shift from the university’s initial stance,” according to David Giambusso. True? Interestingly, when his story appeared elsewhere, a paragraph was conveniently omitted challenging that optimistic conclusion. “’The hospital filed a brief last week asking the court’s permission to continue bullying nurses into participating in elective abortion cases,” [ADF] lawyer Matt Bowman said in an e-mail. “Only by guaranteeing the court and the nurses that it has reversed its position would it prove that UMDNJ might finally be interested in following the law. Until then, ADF will continue to fight the illegal discrimination against these pro-life nurses.” I’ve been unable to get a hold of Mr. Bowman to find out exactly what was in the hospital’s brief. Stay tuned.

David Giambusso at Huffington Post (Religion News Service): A hearing in federal district court was scheduled for Monday (Dec. 5). The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the nurses, said only a court-approved agreement would mean the school “might finally be interested in following the law.”

Federation for Children: “We vote you in!” “We’ll vote you out!” The chant was at first a bit difficult to hear, but after a few refrains—and a steady increase in volume—the message to the men and women working in the building in front of the crowd couldn’t be denied.

Leon H. Wolf at Red State Blog: (As a side note, they are being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, which is one of the most worthy conservative charities of your donations on the face of the earth. If you have ever bemoaned the lack of a conservative answer to the ACLU, know that ADF is attempting to bridge that gap but they face an enormous funding disparity. Thus ends this plug.)

LifeSiteNews.com: This quote in The Washington Post by one of the nurses stopped me in my tracks when I read it: One of the nurses, Fe Esperanza R. Vinoya, said a manager told her: “‘You just have to catch the baby’s head. Don’t worry, it’s already dead.’ ”

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Laura Ingraham Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:20 mins

»The Catholic Review Online: “The hospital is threatening to impose discriminatory transfers or changes in the employment conditions for these nurses because of their religious and moral objections to abortion,” he said. “Such discrimination against pro-life nurses violates state and federal law, the court’s order in this case and even the hospital’s own public statements saying that no nurse must assist in procedures to which they object.”

Trenton Monitor: But the term “assisting in an abortion” covers a wide range of moral, ethical and religious ground said Demetrios Stratis, a Fair Lawn attorney who is the local counsel. Any action that facilitates the abortion – from filling out forms, to being present at the procedure to holding a patient’s hand during the procedure – could be considered assisting, Stratis told the press. Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a coalition of Christian lawyers and organizations that is representing the nurses, said that previously the hospital hired per-diem nurses or those who volunteered to assist with abortions to help perform them. [more quotes]

The Washington Post: Bowman argued that requiring the nurses to get involved before and after an abortion violated their right to refuse based on their conscientious objections. “Federal and state law explicitly prohibits requiring nurses to assist in abortion against their moral and religious convictions,” Bowman said. “All these nurses are asking is that they not have to assist in any part of an abortion case.” . . . “The more regulations that exist to enforce federal law protecting conscience rights, the better,” Bowman said

NJ.com: The number of New Jersey residents receiving food stamps has doubled in the past four years and is at its highest level in more than a decade as the nation’s still sputtering economy continues to take its toll on the poorest residents of the Garden State, state and federal data show.

Greeley Gazette: The only thing stopping them right now is the court order. They are arguing they should be allowed to force the nurses to assist in the abortions,” Bowman said. “The hospital filed a brief Tuesday, arguing why it should be allowed to break the law and violate the nurse’s conscience rights.” “Abortion institutions around the country think that they can violate clear federal and state laws that prohibit forcing a person to participate in an abortion. This is a very clear violation of religious freedom.”

The New American: Frustrated by what he perceived to be a violation of his rights, Racaniello took his case to the Alliance Defense Fund, which informed officials that they would take the case to court if the township did not permit Racaniello to post his cross anywhere he would like on his own property. The ADF’s assertions forced the New Jersey city officials to relent.

Hospital accused of bullying nurses who oppose abortion: But according to a report from the Alliance Defense Fund, the hospital – after the judge’s order – told nurses who objected to being ordered to participate in abortions that among the “accommodations” that could be arranged would be “changes in duties, changes in scheduling, and/or transfer to another nursing position that does not involve duties that are objectionable.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing 12 pro-life nurses filed a motion for an emergency court order Friday against the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In violation of an existing court order, UMDNJ is attempting to force the nurses into meetings that would impose discriminatory job “transfer” and other “changes” to their employment solely because of their objections to helping with abortions.

LifeNews.com: These pro-life nurses shouldn’t be bullied into employment discrimination that is forbidden both by federal law and a court order,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The hospital is threatening to impose discriminatory transfers or changes in the employment conditions for these nurses because of their religious and moral objections to abortion. Such discrimination against pro-life nurses violates state and federal law, the court’s order in this case, and even the hospital’s own public statements saying that no nurse must assist in procedures to which they object.”

Baptist Press – Life Digest: The order protected two nurses, Lorna Mendoze and Julita Ching, who were scheduled to help with abortions the next day, according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which represents the nurses in the case.

The FDU Library has posted information on the event to be hosted by David Redlawsk,
Director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Drew Mariani Show to discuss the erosion of conscience rights in America and the NJ Nurses case. | MP3 audio 8:50 mins