July 14, 2010: Star Ledger writes Editorial against perimeter bill:
Bill would allow bowhunting too
close to homes for comfort
Star-Ledger Editorial Board,
07/14/2010 5:41 AM
P-f-f-t. Thwang!
Know what that is? It's the sound of a razor-sharp, made-to-kill arrow
as it zips across your lawn, maybe past your kid's head as he plays with
the dog, and sticks into your back door.
Something to think about if you live next to legal hunting grounds in
New Jersey, because the Legislature has approved a bill that shrinks the
buffer between bowhunters and homes from 450 feet to 150 feet.
Even if William Tell and Robin Hood are the hunters, it's a needless
gamble with public safety. A good bowhunter can kill from 50 yards, so
an errant shot could go past the buffer.
"The idea that somebody could be 150 feet from a house, shooting an
arrow into a deer, is pretty disturbing to people in my district," state
Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) said. Even more disturbing: The hunter
could miss.
Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Sussex), the sponsor of the bill, says the
state needs to keep deer "in check." The buffer must be shrunk
drastically because deer are smart enough to flee from hunters and move
close to homes and buildings where the law now protects them.
Makes you wonder which are smarter, deer or legislators.
At least there's some sanity to the bill: The safety zone around schools
and playgrounds - and for hunters using shotguns - will remain 450 feet.
Anthony Mauro, chairman of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, believes
anyone with concerns is an alarmist.
"Am I concerned?" Mauro said. "No. What you're depending on is people to
use their common sense and judgment."
We're hoping Gov. Chris Christie uses his judgment and shoots down this
bill.
Legislative History
Perimeter Bill passes the Assembly very early on June 29. See vote tally below (61 Yes, 10 No, 7 Not Voting, 1 abstention).
Please check our legislative district page to the right to find your local Assembly members and hold them accountable for their votes! If they voted NO, thank them. If they voted YES, ask them why.
Addiego, Dawn Marie -
Yes
Albano, Nelson T. - Yes
Amodeo, John F. - Yes
Angelini, Mary Pat - Yes
Barnes, Peter J., III - Yes
Biondi, Peter J. - Yes
Bramnick, Jon M. - Yes
Bucco, Anthony M. - Yes
Burzichelli, John J. - Yes
Caputo, Ralph R. -
Not Voting
Carroll, Michael
Patrick - Yes
Casagrande,
Caroline - No
Chiusano, Gary R. -
Yes
Chivukula, Upendra J. - Yes
Conaway, Herb, Jr. - Yes
Conners, Jack - Yes
Coughlin, Craig J. - Yes
Coutinho, Albert - Yes
Coyle, Denise M. - Yes
Cryan, Joseph - Not
Voting
Dancer, Ronald S. -
Yes
DeAngelo, Wayne P. - Yes
DeCroce, Alex - Yes
DiCicco, Domenick, Jr. - Yes
Diegnan, Patrick J., Jr. - Yes
DiMaio, John - Yes
Egan, Joseph V. - Yes
Evans, Elease - Yes
Fuentes, Angel - Yes
Giblin, Thomas P. - Yes
Gove, DiAnne C. - Yes
Green, Jerry - Yes
Greenstein, Linda R. - Yes
Greenwald, Louis D. - Yes
Gusciora, Reed - No
Handlin, Amy H. - Yes
Holzapfel, James W. - Yes
Jasey, Mila M. -
Not Voting
Johnson, Gordon M. - Not Voting
Lampitt, Pamela R. - Yes
Mainor, Charles - Yes
Malone, Joseph R., III - Yes
McHose, Alison Littell - Yes
McKeon, John F. - Yes
Milam, Matthew W. - Yes
Moriarty, Paul D. - Yes
Munoz, Nancy F. - Yes
Oliver, Sheila Y. - Yes
O'Scanlon, Declan
J., Jr. - No
Peterson, Erik - Yes
Polistina, Vincent
J. - Not Voting
Pou, Nellie - Not
Voting
Prieto, Vincent - Yes
Quigley, Joan M. - Yes
Quijano, Annette - Yes
Ramos, Ruben J.,
Jr. - No
Rible, David P. -
Yes
Riley, Celeste M. - Yes
Rodriguez, Caridad
- No
Rudder, Scott - Yes
Rumana, Scott T. - Yes
Rumpf, Brian E. - Yes
Russo, David C. - Yes
Scalera, Frederick - Yes
Schaer, Gary S. -
Abstain
Schroeder, Robert - No
Spencer, L. Grace -
Yes
Stender, Linda - Yes
Thompson, Samuel D. - Yes
Tucker, Cleopatra
G. - Not Voting
Vainieri Huttle, Valerie - No
Vandervalk,
Charlotte - Yes
Voss, Joan M. - No
Wagner, Connie - No
Watson Coleman, Bonnie - No
Webber, Jay - Yes
Wilson, Gilbert L. - Yes
Wisniewski, John S. - Yes
Wolfe, David W. - Yes
Perimeter Bill Passes Senate on June 21. See vote tally below (25-7).
Please check our legislative district page to the right to find your local Senator and hold them accountable for their votes! If they voted NO, thank them. If they voted YES, ask them why.
Allen, Diane B. - Yes
Bateman, Christopher - No
Beach, James - Yes
Beck, Jennifer - No* Senator Beck voted YES in the committee and didn't
follow through on amending the bill.
Bucco, Anthony R. - Not Voting
Buono, Barbara - Not Voting
Cardinale, Gerald -
Yes
Ciesla, Andrew R. - Yes
Codey, Richard J. - No
Connors,
Christopher J. - Yes
Cunningham, Sandra B. - Not Voting* Senator Cunningham promised a NO
vote.
Doherty, Michael J.
- Yes
Gill, Nia H. - Not Voting
Girgenti, John A. - Not Voting
Goodwin, Thomas -
Yes
Gordon, Robert M. - Yes
Haines, Philip E. - Yes
Kean, Sean T. - Yes
Kean, Thomas H., Jr. - Yes
Kyrillos, Joseph M., Jr. - Yes
Lesniak, Raymond J. - No
Madden, Fred H.,
Jr. - Yes
Norcross, Donald - Yes
Oroho, Steven V. - Yes
O'Toole, Kevin J. - Yes
Pennacchio, Joseph - Yes
Rice, Ronald L. - Yes
Ruiz, M. Teresa - Not Voting
Sacco, Nicholas J. - Not Voting
Sarlo, Paul A. - No
Scutari, Nicholas
P. - Yes
Singer, Robert W. - Yes
Smith, Bob - Yes
Stack, Brian P. - Yes
Sweeney, Stephen M. - Yes
Turner, Shirley K. - No
Van Drew, Jeff -
Yes
Vitale, Joseph F. - No
Weinberg, Loretta - Not Voting
Whelan, Jim - Yes