5 Animal Welfare Films: Change the Way You Think About Animals
by Samantha Hogan Animal welfare is one of the Lesniak Institute’s top priority causes. From banning the shark fin trade to stopping the cruel use of animals in circus performances, our advocacy efforts in NJ continue to make a…
Animal Protection Hopes for 2022 | Op-ed
2021 was not a good year for advances in animal protection legislation in New Jersey, hopefully 2022 will be different. When I was in the State Senate, I was optimistic New Jersey would be “The Humane State.” While we’ve…
Cost of Care Legislation: An Opportunity to Right a Wrong and Save the Animals
By: Maggie Garbarino For too long, we have allowed animal shelters and taxpayer dollars to cover the costs of caring for court seized animals without charging their abusers a dime. This outdated practice depletes animal care facilities’ resources and…
Indigenous People’s Day: 5 Advocates You Should Know About
Happy Indigenous People’s Day! Here in New Jersey, the topic of renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day is highly contested. As of writing this blog, only Newark and Princeton currently recognize this day as Indigenous People’s Day. The…
Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating Three Inspiring Change Makers
The Hispanic population in the United States has faced a long road on their march towards equity and fairness. Treading that path of discrimination and violence is all too familiar to other minority groups in the United States. Their…
Mental Health Courts: the Need to Reevaluate it in Our Criminal Justice System
By: Brennan B. Sumner A pressing issue facing our society today is the role our justice system plays in its effect on vulnerable communities, like the criminalization of mental Illness. Those diagnosed with mental health issues are too often…
State Senator or Congressional Senator… What is the difference and why should you care?
By: Abel Morais Senator Lesniak, Senator Booker, Senator Menedez, and Senator Weinberg, what do they all have in common? They all hold the title of Senator and are all from New Jersey. Sure, they are all Democrats, but that…
The Freedom Summer Proves Knowledge is Our Greatest Weapon
By: Paige Fleming The pen is mightier than the sword. An old adage, this saying has been heard time and time again to mean that knowledge is our greatest weapon. No more does this ring true than during…
One Year Later: A Reflection on George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and the Future
By: Keyonna Murray It’s one year. One year since the murder of a man from Minneapolis, Minnesota changed the course of America forever. At the beginning of 2020, the sudden arrival of COVID-19 forced millions of…
NJ Needs Zero Emission Trucks
The following contains Senator Raymond J. Lesniak’s testimony at the DEP hearing on May 20, 2021 for Advanced Clean Trucks Program and Fleet Reporting Requirements. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Governor Murphy and…