MassResistance Helps New Jersey Non-Profit "Garden State Families"

 

MassResistance successfully fights corporate “cancel culture”; defends pro-family Christian ministry.

With no warning, the Center for Garden State Families in New Jersey was suddenly without credit card donations – after company determined it was a “reputational risk.”

But after sharp pro-family activism, company offered to bring them back!

October 29, 2024

 The Center for Garden State Families is an unwavering Christian ministry.

Conservatives and pro-family organizations live in fear of being “cancelled” by leftist businesses that provide needed services. Whether it’s loss of credit card processing, advertising revenue, or web hosting, etc. — when it happens, our side usually succumbs. Just complaining doesn’t solve the problem.

Instead, MassResistance believes in confronting “cancel culture” head on. Doing so sends a strong message and brings results. Here’s a recent example.

Greg Quinlan and Garden State Families

Greg Quinlan is the president of Center for Garden State Families, a New Jersey Christian ministry serving families as a religious educational organization promoting the traditional Christian worldview in culture and public policy.

Greg Quinlan, president of the Center for Garden State Families

Greg is a former homosexual who shares his powerful testimony. He was once an aggressive lobbyist for the LGBT movement. Since then he has worked with groups like Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) which ministers to people who have left homosexuality.

A major part of Garden State Families’ financial support comes from donors who have set up recurring monthly credit card donations. For its credit card processing, the organization had been using Pro-Life Payments which describes itself as a Christian company and certainly appeared to be a trustworthy choice.

One day in late August, Greg suddenly noticed that no recurring donations – or any credit card donations at all – were being processed! The organization’s main source of income had simply been shut off. It was alarming. Greg immediately contacted Pro-Life Payments. They had no idea that this had happened, or why it was happening.

Later that day Pro-Life Payments called Greg back. They had been told that Greg’s organization has been flagged as a “reputational risk” to the bank that ultimately handles the credit card payments.

When Greg pressed them for something in writing, Pro-Life Payments forwarded the message they had received:

Here is the further info on the reputational risk. "Merchant account was flagged with an alert for hate/harm. Multiple negative reviews have been observed online. Additionally, this account owner appears to own PFOX (https://www.pfox.org) which promotes controversial viewpoints that present reputational risk."  We will not be opening this merchant account back up for these reasons.

An alert for “hate/harm”? Why is a Christian perspective on helping ex-gays considered a “reputational risk”? What was going on?

As Greg began to learn, Pro-Life Payments is just a re-seller of credit card services. The actual processing and payments are done by Avidia Bank in Hudson, Massachusetts, and its affiliated credit card division, PayCosmos.

It turns out that PayCosmos had engaged some “bots” to scrape the Internet for information on the bank’s credit card processing clients. The company did not even check to see if the reports were accurate. (For example, Greg never “owned” PFOX. He served on their Board.) They decided that a Christian perspective on helping ex-gays constituted “hate” or “harm.”

Without any warning, PayCosmos suddenly shut down Garden State Families’ credit card processing. Moreover, they did not notify Greg or Pro-Life Payments that they’d done that. That is the mindset of leftist corporate America regarding people with traditional values. A pro-LGBT group would never be treated that way.

Greg was able to speak with the head of PayCosmos by phone. He was smug and condescending, Greg told us. He told Greg that his contract allows PayCosmos to shut Greg’s account down at any time without notice and without any reason.

Contacting MassResistance!

Since MassResistance has worked with Greg on various projects over the years, he didn’t hesitate to call us for help.

We have hundreds of supporters and activists in Massachusetts, where Avidia Bank is located. And people have had enough of the corporate cancel culture against Christians! So when MassResistance contacted pro-family people across the state, they pounded Avidia Bank through phone calls, emails, and social media. They threatened to picket the bank’s branches over this.

Clearly, that was a reaction that the bank never expected!

The bank backs down! Offers to bring Greg back.

On October 2, the head of PayCosmos spoke with MassResistance’s Arthur Schaper. He told Arthur that the president of Avidia Bank had called him and said that they were willing to bring back Garden State Families and reinstate their account.

He refused to tell Arthur the specifics of the “information” that caused PayCosmos to shut down Greg’s account. But they were willing to bring him back, he said.

But Greg has moved on to another credit card company.

However, by that time Greg had arranged to move Garden State Families’ credit card processing to another company.

Greg chose Anedot, which is a Christian-based company that has its own bank and credit card processing facility – to provide immunity from the corporate cancellation that happened with Pro-Life Payments.

Unfortunately, the secure process of moving all the monthly credit card accounts to Anedot took several weeks, which we suspect was due to PayCosmos not cooperating properly. But now it’s all done! Greg’s group is getting its funding, and most of the monthly donors have even agreed to make up the difference for the time the system was down!

Final Thoughts

The fact that these companies would consider random Internet searches to be legitimate sources of information says a lot about their actual motives. Everyone knows that a bot could scrape absurd diatribes about most conservative groups from the SPLC, Wikipedia, and the rantings on various LGBT sites that have virtually no basis in truth or reality. Leftist companies, like the mainstream media, simply look for reasons to “cancel” organizations with traditional values.

It’s shockingly difficult to get the conservative and pro-family movement to get over its fears and aggressively stand up to the left’s “cancel culture.” But it must be done.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

Patrick Amoresano: "Why Nominating Gov. Ron DeSantis Makes Sense" (Open Letter to Open-Minded MAGA)

I had a civil exchange with a courteous and open-minded MAGA yesterday, which for me was a welcome change from seeing so many nasty gifs and comments come our way every day. This man took a rational position, but I wasn’t prepared to do a deep dive, and didn’t want to rush a reply.

Today there’s more time, so I thought it might be best to post this open letter and send it to him by DM, but that's not an option for him, so I'll just post this, send it as a reply, and hope for the best. Please do add your own thoughtful and respectful comments to flesh out, enhance, and amend the macro points in this letter. Here goes: Why Nominating

@RonDeSantis

Makes Sense Point 1: Donald Trump is unlikely to win the general election (a) Trump is unlikely to beat Biden should he be the nominee. Yes, liberal pollsters are busy pushing the narrative that Trump is beating Biden in the battleground states. But even if this were true for the moment, consider the shitstorms that those same liberal pollsters, the liberal media outlets, the DNC, and last but not least, the Deep State DOJ, are going to unleash should Trump actually secure the nomination. Child’s play, IMHO, compared to what they did to him from 2016 through 2020; (b) What the liberal pollsters aren’t advertising, but what you can see from their internal data, is that Trump gets beaten badly by the generic Democrat, that is, anyone not named Biden. Given this data, and daily watching dead-man-walking Biden on TV, does anyone really think he’s going to be the nominee? Point 2: Donald Trump is unlikely to get much done (a) Even if Trump wins, there’s every reason to believe there will be no “honeymoon” awaiting him in Congress. In fact, the 2020 and 2022 election data strongly suggests that Trump no longer has true coattails, and is likely to face a Congress which is no less divided than it is right now, if not measurably worse; (b) Faced with such a daunting challenge, is it a good idea to have someone in the White House who is clearly showing cognitive signs that his age is starting to catch up with him. No, not as bad as Biden, but won’t the situation demand a much better standard than that? (c) Faced with such a daunting challenge, how will it serve America’s immediate needs to have someone in the White House whose most fervently expressed desire has been to exact revenge rather than actually complete the things he promised to do in 2016; (d) Faced with such a daunting challenge, and even with a focus on achieving things instead of exacting revenge, how will he be able to attract the kind of talented and experienced people needed to thread the needles. Every worthwhile new cabinet member already knows that 40 of Trump’s 44 former cabinet members have refused to endorse him for 2024, and many have explained how insufferable it was to work with him and accomplish things. If it were just a few formers, the claim that they were just disloyal traitors would have merit. But when it's 40 out of 44, something has to be off with the man at the top. Have new cabinet prospects any reason to believe it will be better this time around, with Trump having 91 felony charges weighing him down? Point 3: DeSantis has already proven he can win the general election Prior to 2022, Florida had been a deeply divided battleground state for decades. But after Ron DeSantis had been Governor there for just 4 years, he won in an historic 20-point landslide by assembling a coalition of voters that included winning the womens vote by 10 points, independents by 18 points, and traditionally democrat Hispanics by a whopping 24-point margin. What reason is there to believe that he can’t do the same thing in the remaining battleground states by telling the same demographic groups all that he promised and delivered upon in Florida? (If your answer is abortion, bear in mind DeSantis has repeatedly advocated that the voters in each State should be the ones who decide how their State should handle that issue ). Most importantly, DeSantis has very smart and well-educated lawyers, like himself, already hard at work examining voter laws in every State and strategizing the best way to either prevent ballot-harvesting in 2024, or beat the Dems at their own game wherever ballot-harvesting remains in play. Point 4: DeSantis has already proven his has long Coattails A key reason why DeSantis won big in 2022 and has gotten so many things done in Florida over the past 12 months is the fact that on his watch, Florida voters have switched their registrations from D to R in droves – from +D 257,175 in 2018 to +R 680,030 as of Nov. 2023, for an astounding total R gain of 937,205 voters. This is compelling evidence of the fact that DeSantis at the top of the R ticket next November is likely to strengthen the R majority in the House and give Rs a working majority in the Senate, and to increase those majorities during his tenure, especially if he serves 2 terms. Point 5: DeSantis has already proven he’s an exceptional Chief Executive The accomplishments of

@GovRonDesantis

are almost too numerous to mention - fighting for freedom from Covid tyranny; ridding Florida of China's influence; reducing Florida’s debt by 25% while creating a multi-billion-dollar surplus, all without an income tax; firing liberal prosecutors, preventing riots, and bringing Florida’s crime rate to a 50-year low; protecting parental rights and insuring that their kids are well educated in the subjects needed to help them succeed, not indocrinated by harmful woke propaganda; etc., etc., etc. In addition, DeSantis is already at work assembling lists of potential cabinet members and others to help him accomplish crucial objectives such as really building the entire wall, really paying for it with Mexican remittances to Mexico, really dismantling the Deep State by going 3 and 4 and 5 levels deep; and really kneecapping the unelected administrative state by severely cutting its workforce and transferring many other unelected Libs to boondocks far away from DC. Point 6: DeSantis would make an exceptional Commander-in Chief Who better than a highly educated decorated veteran trained in mission-focus to make the right moves to restore and rebuild American military might and deploy it to all the right places, most notably to the Indo-Pacific theatre, where China must be held in check from advancing on Taiwan or elsewhere. Point 7: DeSantis would serve 8 years in the prime of his life. If you’ve been paying any attention to what DeSantis has been doing since May 24th, you cannot help but marvel at his extraordinary energy and unwavering determination in the face of relentless opposition from every direction. Have to think one of the things the military taught him was maximum efficiency on maybe 4+ hours of sleep? Imagine having a guy like that in the Oval every single day for two thousand nine hundred and twenty (2,920) consecutive days. THAT is a formula for “getting shit done.” Once again, it would be great to get thoughtful and respectful comments from anyone who feels they have something to contribute which would add more detail, context, and/or points to this letter. Thanks to all in advance.

Caldwell, New Jersey Bigot Calls Me Boomer, Thinks Defiling Cop Cars is OK

When I tried to join a Facebook group in Caldwell, NJ and , this was the hateful message that I received:

This was really funny! I am not a Boomer (so BOOM!), and if I were homophobic,  I would not be working for MassResistance, which confronts this LGBT agenda without fear. It just goes to show that the El Segundo Parents Network has turned into a political swamp dedicated to pushing their radical liberalism at the expense of truth, justice, and the El Segundo way,

This Perry Kerekes person is really sick, by the way:

Peeing in a cop car: that's the best advice that Kerekes has to offer people in the name of "Civil Disobedience". This is the crap that I was getting from people in Caldwell, NJ. So much for love and tolerance, am I right?

Wall Street Journal: Reject Mendacious Menendez, Vote for Bob Hugin for US Senate

After narrowly dodging a corruption conviction, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez faces a re-election dogfight against former Celgene CEO Bob Hugin. The Senator is now lying to voters about his opponent’s business record the way he dissembled about his political corruption.

Democrats always treat a Republican candidate from business as if commerce is by definition criminal, and Mr. Hugin is no exception. The GOP Senate candidate joined the New Jersey-based biotech firm Celgene in 1999 in its infancy and rose to CEO in 2010. He helped grow Celgene into one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

Celgene’s biggest blockbusters have been Thalomid and Revlimid, which treat the rare blood cancer multiple myeloma and are based on the compound thalidomide. While thalidomide was found to cause birth defects in the 1950s, research in the 1990s suggested it could treat conditions including AIDS.

In 1998 FDA approved Celgene’s application of thalidomide to treat leprosy, which affects about 100 Americans each year. The following year the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that found thalidomide “had substantial antitumor activity in patients with advanced myeloma,” which is incurable with conventional chemotherapy.

The Senator also intervened for the doctor with the Department of Health and Human Services in a Medicare billing dispute that involved reused vials of a macular degeneration drug that put patients at risk of infection.

Mr. Menendez escaped conviction thanks to the Supreme Court’s McDonnell ruling that made it harder for prosecutors to prove quid-pro-quo corruption.

Is There Hope for New Jersey? NJGOP Opposes Guv Murphy's Socialism

How bad does it have to get in a blue state for it to go red?

Is it possible for any elected jurisdiction to switch over and go red, as it should? We may see some opportunities for states to get onto some better, firmer footing going forward.

The Chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party wrote this editorial to condemn Governor Phil Murphy's plans for socialism on steroids in the state legislature. The pension crises are bankrupting the state. The tax burdens have not ended. The job creation will never help the state get out of the debt that it faces.

Teachers unions have run the state into the ground. In spite of a well-timed Project Veritas video exposing the perverse enabling of teachers unions to protect the worst teachers

N.J. GOP chair: Murphy's socialist agenda won't work. Time for a revolution | Opinion

New Jersey State Flag

Einstein said, "You can't change a system using the thinking that created it." You can't change a culture that way, either. Sometimes, you need a revolution.

Chris Christie failed to deliver on a revolution, or in reality a restoration of American constitutional values to save New Jersey. The state has gone too far into public sector unionism failures.

New Jersey is teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff. In large part, we are pushed there by Gov. Phil Murphy's extreme, liberal agenda, and middle-class families are holding on with their fingertips.



The property taxes were raised inexorable. Taxes in general went up 110 times under the Corzine regime. Christie stopped the blood-letting, but it didn't last long. He failed to change the culture. He spent more time running for President or holding onto the Governor's mansion.

For anyone who doubts the gravity of New Jersey's affordability crisis, a group of career Democrats now admits that we are at a breaking point.

A handful of Democrats have already endorsed Republic Bob Hugin, who is running against the corrupt Robert Mendacious Menendez.

Imperiled by Murphy's socialist platform, Democrat legislators are at a crossroads. Their future, and ours, depends largely on what they do next.

On the one hand, the governor's buy now, pay later, government free-for-all portends for the state's 9 million residents the same fate that befell his beleaguered soccer team. Neither Sky Blue nor New Jersey can afford to be a rich man's social experiment. 

Families, lives and jobs are at stake.

So many people are fleeing the state, it's hard to imagine that it will last much longer.

On the other hand, the Republican-laid path of common sense and fiscal accountability is the bedrock of an Aug. 9 bipartisan report that confirmed our need for systemic change. Led by Republican state Sens. Dawn Marie Addiego, Anthony Bucco and Steven Oroho, and Democrats Steve Sweeney and Paul Sarlo, the report concluded that, absent real reform on items such as pension, health care and school funding, we will fail.

Will any bipartisan work in the Garden State? It has accomplished some good in New York State and even Washington State for a period of time. Legislators from both major parties have willingly broken off and formed a different majority caucus with different goals. This kind of political balance may occur after the 2018 midterm elections.

State Sen. Steven Oroho: It's crystal clear that if we do nothing to lower the cost of government significantly, we'll be forced to accept higher taxes or reductions to important programs.

New Jersey voters, the ones who can stand to live in their home state, are not going to pay for anymore. It's just too much.

So, New Jersey's Democrats have a choice. On which side of history will they fall?

It was only two months ago that these same Democrats stood side by side and grew New Jersey government by $2 billion and raised taxes by $1.7 billion more.  No one was spared the onslaught of new taxes, which contemplated the highest corporate tax in the country to accompany our already highest in the nation property taxes.

I have friends who were born and raised in New Jersey. The property taxes are insane, and car insurance is at least double what most people pay in California. Some of the cities in the urban core are so corrupt, so gang-ridden.

Republican legislators have been singing the common-sense and fiscal-responsibility song for decades, but Democrats refused to listen. Now, in the era of single-party rule, some Democrats are waking up to the Republican platform, not because they want to, but because they have to. They know that Murphy's manifesto is unsustainable; they're just unsure how to stop it.

Let's not forget that Christie did next to nothing to get more of his fellow Republicans elected to the state legislature. Very few news agencies exposed Christie's lack of esprit de corps to save his state.

The question that should be on every voter's mind is: Why now? What changed? The short answer is, nothing.

New Jersey's culture of living beyond its means will continue so long as the people and special interests that benefit from it remain in power. If New Jersey voters want meaningful change, then they need new thinkers, not empty talk about new thinking. If they want real economic reform in the state Legislature, then they need representatives who will adopt and enforce them. History mitigates against the status quo.

There is nothing revolutionary about another economic report.

Yes, it identifies many of the state's most immediate concerns. Yes, it calls for great first steps. But, Republican legislators such Addiego, Bucco and Oroho have called for them for decades, and no one listened.

Trenton's halls are littered with well-reasoned reports that never left the caucus floor. For too long, Democratic politicians have paid lip service to common-sense reforms but lacked the courage to implement them under the weight of New Jersey's well-heeled special interests.

What has changed didn't happen within the halls of Trenton, New Jersey. The changes occurred before the United States Supreme Court, which has determined that members of the public workforce can no longer be forced to join a union or to pay agency fees. Public sector unions

Leadership is as much about having the courage to do what's right as it is about resisting the temptation to do what's easy. New Jersey residents can ill afford the easy way out. Change is needed, and your vote is the change agent.

The NJGOP will continue to work to elect Republican leaders -- and thinkers -- to bring common sense and fiscal accountability to New Jersey government.

Doug Steinhardt is chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP).

Final Reflection

Ouch. The voters of New Jersey went with their basic partisan leanings and went with Phil Murphy. Kim Guadagno wanted to make New Jersey Great Again, but they voters wanted more stuff from the government. Now the government can't pay its bills. The taxes are going up, and the Republicans couldn't make strong arguments to stay in power since Christie had pretty much kicked them in the teeth.

Republicans need to rebrand and reboot, too. Socialism sucks, but true free-market capitalism requires a commitment to do what is right, not just what is politically expedient.

Election 2018: US Senate Races to Consider

Election 2018 presents a formidable map for Democrats but plenty of opportunities for Republicans.

Ten of the US Senate seats up for re-election are in states which either Romney and Trump won in 2012, or states which Trump won in 2016.

I think that Republican chances of flipping seats in the Rust Belt are somewhat possible, even if those incumbents have been in office for two or more terms.

The map should have gone Republican's way somewhat in 2012, but Barack Obama was at the top of the ticket, and Romney was not the draw which Republican voters were looking for.

Here are two US Senate Seats which I think that the National Republican Senatorial Committee have written off, but which may come into play, even if the Democrat hangs onto the seat ultimately in November. Seats can be competitive even if the incumbent still wins because the National Democratic Senatorial Committee will have to thrown in more money than anticipated to keep the seat.

1. New Jersey.

Mendacious Robert Menendez survived a corruption trial from last year, but his popularity numbers are really low. New Jersey Democrats voted for his no-name primary challenger by 38%, and she had no money or name recognition to be challenge Menendez with any real power or influence.

New Jersey voters have faced a similar problem before. In 2002, incumbent Democratic US Senator Robert Torricelli was neck-deep in corruption and ethics scandals. The Democrats removed Torricelli and placed another candidate on the ballot, retired US Senator Frank Lautenberg. The New Jersey Republicans challenged this move in federal court, but the Supremes denied certiorari for whatever reason. The New Jersey Republicans really had a chance against Torricelli, who was losing by double-digits to his Republican challenger that year. It was stunning that the Supreme Court refused to do anything!

Will this be the time and chance for New Jersey GOP to get the seat which had eluded them in 2002?

One other thing: the Republican nominee Bob Hugin has a huge personal warchest for a statewide campaign, and he will be spending big money against Menendez to unseat him. The last poll for the race had Menendez at a weak 4% margin ahead of his Republican challenger.

2. Maryland.

Chelsea Manning is running a newsy primary challenge against incumbent Establishment Democrat Ben Cardin. One Maryland Republican leader told me that there is no way that Manning could sweep the primary against Cardin.

But what if he does? The guy who betrayed the United States, who faced court martial and prison time, who "transitioned" from male to female, who received an unjustified pardon from President Obama, the same candidate is firing up the progressive wing in Maryland Democratic Party politics.

Even if Cardin carries the primary by double-digits, a popular Republican incumbent is running for Governor: Larry Hogan. It's possible that he will not only bring up the ticket for all Republicans, but that disaffected working Democrats and independents will look at the insane Dem primary a second time and decide to vote Republican or not even vote at all!

Imagine a US Senate race competitive in the Old Line State!

It's possible, and Democrats will have to spend some kind of money for Cardin regardless of how well or how poorly Chelsea Manning does.

New Jersey GOP Slams Goldman Sachs Governor Phil Murphy

Friend, . Goldman Sachs Millionaire Phil Murphy is on a spending spree - WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS - offering free college to satisfy his liberal base.   But we know better. Help us educate Governor Murphy on the facts: There’s no such thing as free!    Make a pledge to tell Murphy that $200 million in additional taxes ISN'T FREE for New Jersey's taxpayers!   Phil Murphy's promise of free college tuition is the classic political bait and switch:   Gov. Murphy + 2 years of free tuition = 1 lifetime of tax increases   Yet another bad deal that New Jerseyans can’t afford.   Help us educate Spend-More-Murphy on basic math, send a donation to our Watchdog Fund today!   Hurry! We’re running out of time to block these reckless measures.   Sincerely,   NJGOP Staff

Some Concerns Following Virginia and New Jersey Results

Those two losses were stunning and sad, especially Virginia, where it looked as though Ed Gillespie really had a shot. He was finally stressing the cultural issues that would resonated with the Republican base, the pro-Trump voters.

Guadagno had a winning issue,  I thought, on stopping New Jersey from turning into a sanctuary state. Sadly, the pro-illegal and pro-Democratic currents in the state were just too strong to overcome. Governor Christie called it when he said that voters were getting tired of hearing "No" from Trenton. They would elected Democratic leadersr to give them more money, and thus they could expect the property taxes to go up.

There are too many people taking and not enough people making in New Jersey.

Virginia, on the other hand, was a more stunning upset. A bad mix of factors pushed Democrats into high gear while Republicans were just not as motivated. Whether we like it or not, stronger organization and angrier voters will all but determine whether a candidate wins or loses. Democrats are unified in their hatred of Trump.

But Trump is not a bad President. The hatred of the Democrats is deranged and unfounded--no one should challenge it. But the anger is still there. Republicans need to get angry with Democrats and hate the idea of them regaining or gaining power of any kind. Trump has accomplished a lot, but he can't get more done with Democrats' styming Congressional action on key issues.

Republicans have been enemies in the face of Trump, too.

But going back to New Jersey and Virginia ... it really saddens me that strong stances against illegal immigration, including sanctuary cities, did not put the Republicans over the top, even in New Jersey (even though that fight was a long-shot). Do voters in these states understand that sanctuary cities bring crime, mayhem, and general societal disorder?

What were they thinking? I guess I have to retreat back to a basic tenet of politics. Men and women voting are often not thinking beyond their partisan affiliation. The media still has unprecedented power and scope over informing voters. Trump's mastery of the media was legendary, though, and helped him compensate for the crappy lies and smears that they printed.

Republicans need to get back to work, it's as simple as that. They need to shape the culture, not just win one presidential election. The fight against the main pillars of our culture is ongoing, and we cannot expect the #MeToo controversies to clear out everything. We need to see Americans working again, happy again, profiting in a country where their needs and concerns are respected.

We need to get voters to vote. It's just that simple.

Republicans, you need to get angry even in the midst of so much winning, so much prosperity. A sense of fear, of alarm needs to wake up inside of the electorate, that everything we have been fighting for is at risk if we don't continue fighting like mad for this great country.

My Tweet Featured on National Reciprocity Article

Yesterday, I learned that Shaneen Allen, a black single mother from Philadelphia, had high hopes that the Republican Congress would pass national reciprocity by next year (2018).

This mother became a featured story in the fight over the Second Amendment because New Jersey police pulled over in New Jersey for a traffic stop. When she told the police officer that she possessed a concealed carry permit and had a gun with her, she ended up under arrest and in jail for an unprecedented, excessive 48 days in jail!

Then-governor Chris Christie issued a pardon for her, but the legal problem remains. The Second Amendment is not a crime, but an affirmation of every person's God-given right to protect himself. One state's concealed carry permit should be honored in other states. No one should face arrest or loss of liberty for exercising one's rights.

Shaneen Allen with her kids

One article on Newsone.com featured this incredible account, and how Shaneen Allen has turned into the face of the National Reciprocity Movement. She also shared that she wants to be right next to the President when Trump signs the final bill into law.

The article even featured my tweet from my State of the Union Account!

Single mother pardoned by Chris Christie wants to be by Trump’s side when he signs gun reciprocity law https://t.co/GnX0SEMBPH

Shaneen Allen deserves justice. #NationalReciprocityNow! #2a@WillesLee @NRSC @potus @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/tqRNEYHG1D

— The State of the Union With Arthur Schaper (@SOTUSACS) December 28, 2017

New Jersey GOP to Sanctuary State Phil Murphy: Get to Work!

Dear Friend, While Phil Murphy is busy pointing fingers, Republican leaders in New Jersey are looking for real solutions!   Sign up and tell Phil Murphy to put down the megaphone, quit protesting the President and get to work making New Jersey more affordable! In reaction to Governor-elect Phil Murphy's additional public comments regarding the federal Tax Reform bill, NJGOP Chairman Steinhardt made the following comment: “While Phil Murphy is busy pointing fingers at Washington or in any other direction the political winds blow, Republican leaders in New Jersey are looking for real solutions to the State’s tax concerns.  Senator Joe Pennacchio’s plan to eliminate the $10,000 state property tax deduction cap is a solution to a problem. While Governor-Elect Murphy already looks to shift the blame away from why his policies will make New Jersey unaffordable, the NJGOP will continue to offer solutions that strive to make our state affordable. We will work with anyone who puts the needs of our residents above all else, because political platitudes will never create a job, pay a mortgage or feed a family.” . Click HERE to sign-up and join us as we look for real solutions to make New Jersey more affordable and tell Phil Murphy to GET TO WORK!

New Jersey Congressman Did Vote for Tax Reforms

Home Contact Services Media

Arthur- This week, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It’s been 31 years since the last overhaul of America’s tax code, and American families are finally catching a break. I supported this legislation after studying how it would impact my constituents and negotiating to make it better. Despite all the partisan misinformation and fear-mongering, this bill will absolutely help the overburdened taxpayers in New Jersey’s Third Congressional District.  When I was back in New Jersey last week, I visited with a small business in Burlington County to talk tax reform and to learn about their business. Centryco is a multi-generational, woman-owned manufacturing business with 36 employees. Small businesses like this are the heart of our economy, and their employees will help our economy grow with the real tax relief they will see from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.       Here are some specifics about what this historic tax reform bill mean for South Jersey:  · More than half of my constituents in south jersey take the standard deduction, which is now being doubled from $12,000 to $24,000 for a family.  · All taxpayers in New Jersey’s Third Congressional District will benefit from my successful fight to include a deduction for property and state income taxes.  · Over 48,000 families in New Jersey’s Third Congressional District currently claim the child tax credit, which will double to $2,000 per child. Plus, many more middle class families will be able to take full advantage of this credit, instead of it phasing out at a lower income as it does today.  · South Jersey families caring for an elderly parent or a child enrolled in college, will get an extra $500 with the creation of the non-child dependent tax credit.  · Seniors and residents with high medical bills will see an expanded medical expense deduction, which I successfully advocated for.  · This bill includes the educator expense deduction that I urged House Leadership to include, giving South Jersey teachers much-deserved tax relief.  · Small businesses will enjoy the lowest tax rate since World War II, which will help Main Street businesses from Toms River to Willingboro.  · Lower tax rates will enable you to keep more of your hard-earned money.  I came to Washington to fight for my constituents and solve the tough problems that impact their lives. During this process, I urged the White House and House Leadership to preserve the deductibility of property and state income taxes, restore the medical expense deduction for seniors and those with high medical costs and protect the educator expense deduction for our dedicated teachers. I didn’t back down from this fight and I’m grateful my colleagues listened and preserved these critical provisions.  The bottom line - this legislation will provide almost everyone with a much needed tax cut and allow you to keep more of your hard-earned money.  Sincerely,    Tom MacArthur