Will New Jersey Lawmakers Climb Back Into Your Bed?

Do New Jersey lawmakers really have nothing better to do? At least one member of the New Jersey Assembly apparently has nothing better to do than to try to get the public resources of the State of New Jersey to march into the private bedrooms of consenting adults and haul them off to court and then to prison. That sounds like a great use of taxpayer money, right?


Louis C. Hochman reports at NJ.com...

State Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick says he expects the only reason incest is apparently legal in New Jersey is "it's so absurd and so offensive that no one would expect to have it" here.

Right. So what about most of the other states, then? And to be clear, we're talking about CONSENTING ADULTS, not assaulting minors or abuse of any kind.

"This concept is totally offensive," he said. "I'm sure there's going to be some discussion in the legislature. We can't tolerate those kinds of marriages."

Uh, New Jersey doesn't marry first-degree relatives. They should, but they don't. This is only about being able to have consensual sex in privacy without some uninvited, scowling political grandstander trying to get in the middle... so to speak.

"I'm convinced there's going to be some discussion," Bramnick said. "Any time you learn a father and daughter plan to get married, that has to be unacceptable. It would appear to be against anything that's acceptable in New Jersey."

He's clearly uninformed about the nuances of the laws of his own state and with current news. That's rather sad for someone who is supposed to be a legislative leader. And as the article noted, the woman in the interview wasn't seeking a paper from the state; she just wants to be left alone to have her relationship.

Bramnick said there are certain things "just so obviously wrong that legislators might never have thought of them."

Notice he doesn't explain exactly what is wrong with consenting adults having sex in private without having to fear criminal prosecution. That's OK. Nobody else seems to be able to, either.

Sexual relationships among adult relatives weren't always legal in New Jersey. Incest was outlawed in New Jersey until 1979, when the state enacted a new criminal code that left a section planned for incest blank, according to Peter Gilbreth, a Morristown-based attorney who handles both criminal and family cases.

Under the old statute, incest was a crime that carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison, Gilbreth said.

Interesting. Can you imagine sending someone to prison for fifteen years for having sex with another adult? Again, please note that assault, child molestation, etc., which is an entirely different matter than what we're talking about, has always been illegal, as it should remain.


I noticed some of the comments left at the website when I read the article.

lola4432 is worried...

If they don't ban incest all the incest love couples will flock here. Now that this story is being publicized they will learn NJ is a safe place to come.

I guarantee you they are already there, honey. Has the state fallen apart in all of these years? Well, maybe, but not as result of people loving each other.

Letsgetitright...

Assemblyman Bramnick. Instead of worrying about this one 18 y/o and whether she wants to live in an incestuous realtionship with her father why don't you turn your attention to what is going on in the family courts where tens of thousands of good loving parents are being denied their right to a relationship with their children. Stop focusing on BS and start focusing what is happening in our family courts. 

No, he wants to BREAK UP families.

Anybody in New Jersey who is worried that there might be consanguinamorous relationships in the state without a new, wasteful law: THEY ARE ALREADY THERE. Can you point to any problems in the state that are a direct result of letting consenting adults love each other how they wish? No, you can't. There are great citizens, great neighbors, great workers, who are living in New Jersey right now who appear to be loving spouses in a great marriage, raising healthy, bright children, but what most people around them might not know is that they are closely related, and thus their marriage isn't recognized by the state. Why would anyone want to waste taxpayer resources turning them into criminals and tearing apart their home? What a cruel, vicious thought. It's sad that there needs to be advice like this.

Instead, New Jersey lawmakers should take the lead and institute full marriage equality. Save taxpayer resources for preventing and prosecuting abuse, not love.