Jersey Lawmakers Advance Domestic Violence Bills
With the Ray Rice case still dominating headlines, New Jersey legislators on Thursday unanimously passed five bills aimed at reducing domestic violence and its harms.
The Assembly Women and Children Committee unanimously advanced five bills, including one to require counseling for people convicted of domestic violence. Now, counseling is often a condition for those who strike plea bargains, but not for those convicted by a judge or jury.
“We’re saying to those who are offenders, to those in homes where there have been offenders that we’re taking this seriously,” said Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, a Democrat from Cherry Hill and the chairwoman of the committee. “It doesn’t end when somebody is incarcerated. It continues when they get out on parole.”
New Jersey State Police say there were 70,000 domestic violence cases — including 40 homicides — in the state in 2011.
