Politics & Government

Sexist Language Removed From NJ Laws

Governor signs bill championed by State Senators Loretta Weinberg and Jennifer Beck.

Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Friday removing anti-women, demeaning language from some New Jersey state laws.

The effort to repeal the outdated language was led by state Senators Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth and Mercer).

"If a person is arrested upon a criminal charge, involving an accusation of bastardy, rape, fornication or of having had carnal knowledge of an unmarried female, and the accused person consents to marry such female, any licensing officer is authorized to immediately issue a marriage license...," one law states.

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Other laws, under the "Married Women’s Property Acts," date back to the 1800s and were designed to give married women property and legal rights. While the law appears to have been well-intentioned at the time, the law has become outdated, NJ.com reports.

The statutes were called “a demeaning relic,” in a 2007 report by the New Jersey Law Revision Commission.

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