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  • Michael Costa
    • Nov 7, 2023
    • 6 min read

Radar Watchlist: Senator Andrew Zwicker



New Jersey State Senator Andrew Zwicker is on record saying that parental rights messaging is a “distraction” from issues like taxes and the environment. “As a parent, I want what any parent wants – to make sure that our children are safe and healthy,” Zwicker told InsiderNJ. “As a legislator, I am responsible for speaking out and protecting everyone I represent … I felt an obligation to defend their freedom in the face of attacks and to let them know I support them.” Andrew Zwicker claims to value children's safety but supports policies which allow girls to be referred to as boys at school without parental knowledge or consent. Mothers and fathers of New Jersey are left in the dark about the fact that their daughters use male bathrooms and locker room facilities, regularly undressing in a room full of boys. This is not safe. He has sponsored a series of bills which are responsible for keeping pornographic books in school libraries, secretly hosting drag queen entertainment during school hours, and practically turning school health services into a one-way conveyor belt at a butcher shop. Here's what New Jersey should expect to see more of if Zwicker accumulates enough votes.


Andrew Zwicker sponsored Bill S3019 which requires State blanks, forms, documents, and applications to incorporate new standards for collection of information about sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. It legislates that information about an individual’s sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation be collected in all situations where other demographic data is collected, such as data concerning race and ethnicity. The bill requires that any questions relating to sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation be posed in a manner that "allows for non-binary designations." According to the bill text, "it is the sponsor's [Andrew Zwicker] belief that, by requiring all State forms and other documents to reflect a more modernized methodology for the collection of information on sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, the State will better serve New Jersey's sexual and gender minorities by gathering information critical to targeting government programs and public policy to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community." No, children should not be asked for their "gender identity" every time they fill out a form. The categories male and female are inclusive enough because they include everyone. Sex is binary. Gay men are male. Lesbians are female. The word "bisexual" implies two sexes. Sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with "gender identity." Andrew Zwicker has a habit of conflating the two, and gay people do not benefit from this negligence.


There are roughly nine million people in the state of New Jersey. Each of them has their own unique way of expressing themselves and may come with an array of different labels. Regardless of what boxes someone likes to check off while filling out a form, their identity labels do not change the fact that human beings come in two sexes: male and female. No definitions of homosexual, gay, or lesbian are even provided in the bill. This has overarching effects that go beyond politics and identity alone. Vague legal distinctions for sex and gender can skew health statistics. It also creates issues when tracking gay hate crime statistics if we do not have coherent definitions of sex and sexual orientation across legal documents.



Zwicker sponsored Bill S3907, the anti-book-banning bill. It prohibits public libraries and public schools from "banning" or restricting access to certain books. It permits withholding of state aid and federal funds for not complying. The Right to Read Resolution considers the removal of pornographic content from school libraries to be a violation of free speech. "You cannot ban a book without a consequence. And the consequence is the withholding of all or part of the state funding,” said Sen. Andrew Zwicker. A local "LGBTQIA+ safe space for trans and queer youth" honored the state senator with a Banned Books Brunch.



What the bill leaves out is the fact that a lot of these "banned" books were removed schools because they contained explicit material, foul language, nudity, and paraphilic behavior that was too inappropriate for a school library. Recently, Roxbury mothers got sued for challenging books in the school library that contained profanity "so vulgar they would make adults cringe." Thanks to Zwicker's bill, an elementary school that restricts second graders from accessing a book like Gender Queer: A Memoir (which includes explicit, pornographic drawings) would be at risk of losing state funding. We find it incredibly insulting that he characterizes these "book bans'' as "anti-LGBTQ" when LGB parents have been some of the loudest voices pushing back on having this garbage being readily available to children.


Our New Jersey chapter leader, Victoria flipping through Gender Queer: A Memoir


School board testimonies in Flemington, New Jersey revealed that a secret drag show was held during school hours. It was an invitation-only event during the middle of the school day. It was not open to all staff. And it "provided a safe space for students to be themselves," according to the organizers.



The students missed 30 minutes of instructional time because they were let out of class early to attend the event. They had a local drag activist attend the performance, as well. No parents were allowed. This is what a Zwicker-controlled district gets you. Math and reading scores are falling, but those in charge of public schools believe we need to take kids out of class to teach them how to put on makeup and model dresses. There are hundreds of other activities that can foster an accepting environment which do not involve missing class time for crossdressing and putting on shows. This is unacceptable.



Andrew Zwicker sponsored and introduced New Jersey Bill S3592. The bill makes it so New Jersey can become a "sanctuary state" for minors to receive "gender-affirming care." The new law enables New Jersey to assert jurisdiction over child custody determinations in cases involving children who are present in the state to receive gender-affirming healthcare. This effectively empowers the state to address situations where a child has been brought to New Jersey for such medical care. The legal provisions in the law are overstepping boundaries and infringe on parental rights. If a mother wants to have her daughter sterilized with puberty blockers and testosterone, but the father disagrees, then she can take the girl to New Jersey to have the procedures done. Zwicker's bill makes it so the girl's father and home state have no ability to stop the mother from causing irreversible harm to the child, who will be granted transgender protections under the state of New Jersey. Zwicker and advocates of this bill argue that it aims to provide support and protection for "LGBTQ+ youth." However, that is not the case. Existing research studies and medical guidelines abroad make note that children who would otherwise grow up to be gay adults are told they are "trapped in the wrong body" and become medicalized for life. Hormones and surgeries are not the proper way to go about improving mental health functioning in confused teenagers struggling with who they are. We need to let them grow into themselves, not rush them down a lifelong medical path which leads to more complications. Andrew Zwicker makes himself out to be an ally to "LGBTQ" people but he is actively erasing us, speaking on our behalf, betraying LGB parents, and mandating this new form of gay conversion therapy. New Jersey has been a hot-spot for groomer schools and child mutilation clinics, and if elected, the ringleader of the radical gender circus will have some questions to answer.



REFERENCES


BillTrack50. (2023). NJ S3907 – BillTrack50. https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1631669


FastDemocracy. (2023). Bill tracking in New Jersey – S 3907 (2022-2023 legislative session). https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/nj/2022-2023/bills/NJB00052267/


LegiScan. (2022). NJ S3019 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session. https://legiscan.com/NJ/text/S3019/2022


MyCentralJersey.com. (2023). ‘This reckless nastiness just needs to stop’: Hunterdon Central LGBTQ issues remain in the new year. https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2023/01/22/this-reckless-nastiness-just-needs-to-stop-hunterdon-central-lgbtq-issues-remain-in-the-new-year/69814702007/


New Jersey Monitor. (2023, October 3). With New Jersey Legislature on ballot, candidates debate parents’ rights. https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/10/03/with-new-jersey-legislature-on-ballot-candidates-debate-parents-rights/


NJ.com. (2023, May 23). Porn and loathing in N.J. https://www.nj.com/education/2023/05/porn-and-loathing-in-nj.html



NJ Legislature. (2022). Bill S3907. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/S3907



NJ Spotlight News. (2023). Move to cut state funding for schools that ban books. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/video/move-to-cut-state-funding-for-schools-that-ban-books/


Patch.com. (2022, October 20). COVID set back NJ’s math, reading scores, nation’s report card shows. https://patch.com/new-jersey/across-nj/covid-set-back-njs-math-reading-scores-nations-report-card-shows


The Post Millennial. (2022). Students perform in drag for teachers during secret event at New Jersey high school. https://thepostmillennial.com/students-perform-in-drag-for-teachers-during-secret-event-at-new-jersey-high-school


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