As the parental rights movement gears up and gains adherents in NJ, a number of candidates, including those for State Assembly, State Senate, County Commissioner, School Boards, and US Senate gathered to address attendees and participate in a Bergen County roadside rally.
Photo by Roy Townsend
Approximately 100 people gathered on September 9th, 2023 on the roadside of Route 17 in Paramus, NJ to protest against what they feel is the infringement of parental rights by NJ State and Local officials. Protesters heard from supportive political candidates before taking to the side of the road with placards.
Traffic slowed as many passersby read the signs, blew their horns, or waved to the protesters. There was no notable negative reaction, and no counter protesters were at the rally.
A catalyst for many of the protesters, and the political candidates that addressed and reiterated their concerns, are lawsuits filed by the NJ Attorney General against local school boards in Central NJ. These suits targeted policies voted into practice by local school boards.
Those school board policies, described by rally attendees as a reaction to State overreach, are intended to more easily allow school personnel to inform parents in these districts of their own children’s behavior in school. In particular, the boards seek to allow parents more information related to issues of gender identity expressed by their children during school hours.
Three lawsuits seeking to prevent targeted school board policies from taking effect were filed by NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin against Englishtown-Manalapan, Marlboro, and Middletown School Districts in June of 2023. A fourth has been filed against Hanover. These lawsuits are interpreted by many to be aimed at blocking parents’ right to know what their children are experiencing and expressing while in public schools.
Candidates for various elected offices addressed the protesters, often directly addressing and amplifying the concerns of the group.
State, local, and Federal Candidates attend.
Chris Auriemma, of Veterans for Change, and a candidate for NJ State Senate for NJ District 36, expressed confidence that the parental rights issue would be a central issue in the upcoming NJ Statehouse elections. He also felt the “parental rights” issue cuts across political, religious, and demographic lines and would draw people to candidates who look to allow parents more knowledge of their children’s time in school.
Mr. Auriemma stated that his conversations with voters in Passaic, a largely Latino city in Mr. Auriemma’s district, have borne out his conclusion about parental rights being a unifying issue.
Gail Horton, a special education teacher and candidate for NJ State Assembly District 38, stated that teachers feel hemmed in by the controversy surrounding gender issues and that newly enacted NJ State policies harm both children and educators. Ms. Horton felt many teachers are frightened to express their feelings on the issues surrounding gender identity because of the divisiveness the issue brings. Like Mr. Auriemma she feels parents are entitled to know more about their children’s actions in school and such knowledge is in the best interests of all children.
Greg Mele, an attorney and candidate for the seat of current US Senator, Robert Menendez, spoke to the crowd of approximately one hundred, describing himself as an anti-corruption candidate and expressing support of the parental rights protest and the broader parental rights movement. He asked those in attendance to concentrate on the upcoming fall elections for statehouse as the first step in a “clean sweep” for Republicans that would bring the change the protesters seek.
Photo by Roy Townsend
Robert Auth, current NJ State Assemblyman for District 39, also made an appearance early on at the rally.
Organizers informed that a second such rally is scheduled for Saturday, September 23, 2023 at the same Paramus location of the former K-Mart, and this article may be amended to include further information from that second rally.
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