NJ Senators To Introduce Anti-Violence Bill Tomorrow

Rapidly responding to the tragic school shooting in Connecticut, tomorrow, New Jersey State Senators Ray Lesniak and Shirley Turner will formally introduce a bill to crack down on violence. Today, at a State House press conference they unveiled their plans.

The measure would declare violence a public health crisis in New Jersey, opening up the possibility of using funds from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to mitigate the crisis. The legislation would recommend the expansion of the use of involuntary out-treatment commitments and mental health courts to treat mental health issues before they erupt into violence and divert mentally ill offenders to court-mandated treatment.

“As President Obama so eloquently stated at the Sandy Hook Prayer Vigil, ‘No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society,” explains Lesniak. “But that can't be an excuse for inaction.”

The legislation also recommends the federal adoption of gun control measures and would establish a Study Commission on Violence to make policy recommendations to reduce violence in the Garden State.