Honoring a Legacy of Protecting our Children
Posted April 3, 2009

The New Jersey Family Policy Council extends our deepest sympathies to the family of Assemblyman Eric Munoz, who passed away suddenly this past Monday, March 30, at the age of 61.

A trauma surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Assemblyman Munoz was appointed in 2001 to fill a vacancy in the State Assembly. He was subsequently elected to the seat four times. While representing New Jersey's 21^st Legislative District, he championed issues ranging from supporting our men and women in uniform and our disabled veterans to limiting state spending and lessening tax burdens.

We applaud Assemblyman Munoz's stance on these issues. And while doing so, we would also like to recognize him for his tireless work on an issue that was particularly close to his heart - and one that is also particularly close to ours: protecting our children against sexual predators. This legislative session alone, Assemblyman Munoz sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at keeping our children safe. These include A2634, the "One Strike, You're Ours" bill, which "adds [the] use of [the] Internet as [an] aggravating factor in child sex crimes and requires lifetime electronic monitoring of [the] offender;" A1731, which bans sex offenders from serving in either a paid or unpaid capacity in a youth serving organization, and A624, which permits municipalities to pass ordinances "prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, child care centers or playgrounds."

In addition to these, Assemblyman Munoz was at the forefront of the fight in the Assembly to pass the Jessica Lunsford Act, a bill named for the 9-year old Florida girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a convicted sex offender. The Act sets a minimum 25-year prison sentence for convicted child predators and imposes mandatory prison terms for anyone found guilty of harboring or concealing certain sex offenders. Assemblyman Munoz introduced the Act in 2005, again in the 2006-2007 legislative session, and again in the 2008-2009 session. He continued to persevere despite the inertia of legislative leadership. We regret that Assembly leadership failed to bring the measure to a vote during his lifetime, and we will continue to stand with Assemblywoman Joan M. Voss, also a primary sponsor of the bill, to end the legislature's inaction.

Today, family, friends, colleagues, and constituents will gather to honor and remember Assemblyman Eric Munoz. We recognize him for standing up for some of the most innocent and defenseless among us: our children. Now, it is up to us to continue the effort he so dedicatedly led.

We thank Assemblyman Munoz for his service and offer our heartfelt thoughts and prayers on behalf of his family. He will be missed.

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