the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Assemblyman Robert Auth commented on a bill he supports that would allow places of worship to establish a security program, perhaps preventing a Monsey style attack:
“I support A1695, a bi-partisan bill introduced by Asm. Dancer (R)-12 and Shaer (D)-36 which has languished in the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee since introduced 1/9/2018 in response to the11/5/2017 mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas during which 26 people were killed and 20 others were injured. In light of the string of anti-Semitic incidents in recent weeks, this bill deserves to be released by Chairman Taliaferro (D)-3 to be listed by Speaker Coughlin (D)-19 for a vote in our legislature. This bill allows the governing body of a place of worship to establish a security program by selecting one person to carry a handgun for the purpose of protecting religious service attendees.”