 The Declaration of Independence, our Nation’s founding creed, continues to challenge all of us involved in the administration of public affairs. For it plainly states that the purpose of any government is to secure basic human rights for all. It explicitly lists, among those rights, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Four score and eight years later, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery throughout the land. Still, the struggle continues, as all true patriots dare to dream, “…that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…”
Significantly, on one battlefield for basic human rights, New Jersey has taken the lead. New Jersey legislators at both the state and federal level have advanced measures to address the large and growing brutality of human trafficking. And our Attorney General’s Office has made this a major priority. In this edition of your magazine, you can read about these efforts.
Also in this issue New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith writes about the recently enacted “Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005,” which he sponsored. Fellow New Jersey Congressmen Donald Payne and Frank Pallone and then-Congressman, now Senator, Bob Menendez were co-sponsors of this important measure.
But success in abolishing this shadowy form of slavery will require the vigilance of us all. Local leaders will need to recognize the problem as it exists in their communities and commit themselves to doing something about it.
I encourage you to learn what you need to know, and what you have to do, to fight the blight called human trafficking. Preserving freedom is the role of all Americans, but particularly important for those in positions of leadership.
NJLM - March 2006 Executive Director's Message
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE |
FROM
407 WEST
STATE STREET
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Securing Life and Liberty for All
The Declaration of Independence, our Nation’s founding creed, continues to challenge all of us involved in the administration of public affairs. For it plainly states that the purpose of any government is to secure basic human rights for all. It explicitly lists, among those rights, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Four score and eight years later, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery throughout the land. Still, the struggle continues, as all true patriots dare to dream, “…that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…”
Significantly, on one battlefield for basic human rights, New Jersey has taken the lead. New Jersey legislators at both the state and federal level have advanced measures to address the large and growing brutality of human trafficking. And our Attorney General’s Office has made this a major priority. In this edition of your magazine, you can read about these efforts.
Also in this issue New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith writes about the recently enacted “Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005,” which he sponsored. Fellow New Jersey Congressmen Donald Payne and Frank Pallone and then-Congressman, now Senator, Bob Menendez were co-sponsors of this important measure.
But success in abolishing this shadowy form of slavery will require the vigilance of us all. Local leaders will need to recognize the problem as it exists in their communities and commit themselves to doing something about it.
I encourage you to learn what you need to know, and what you have to do, to fight the blight called human trafficking. Preserving freedom is the role of all Americans, but particularly important for those in positions of leadership.
Editorial from New Jersey
Municipalities, Volume 83, Number 3, March 2006 |
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