NAACP of Bergen County Meets with Rep. Rothman

Thanks him for his support of the Voting Rights Act, Raises Concerns about Gang Violence

Pictured (L-R): NAACP Bergen County President Nate Briggs, NAACP Bergen County Executive Committee Paul Cuff, Glynnis Reid-Merarsel, an advocate from Old Bridge, NJ, Rep. Rothman, Ruth Springer, an advocate from Garfield, NJ, and NAACP Bergen County Executive Member Edgar Freeman.

(Washington, DC)— On Wednesday, July 19, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) of Bergen County met with Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) to discuss voting rights and gang violence.

They began the meeting by thanking Rothman for his strong support of reauthorizing the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), which protects millions of minority voters against discriminatory measures such as racially biased redistricting plans and language barriers designed to limit minority access to the ballot. The VRA is considered the single most effective civil rights legislation ever passed, but the renewal of key provisions was threatened this year by a handful of Republican Members of Congress.

Bergen County NAACP’s President Nate Briggs and members also raised their concerns about increased gang violence in the suburbs and ways to address it. Rep. Rothman, a former mayor of Englewood, offered to help secure federal funds to support local programs that the NAACP might recommend and described how the organization could work with Bergen County officials to prevent crime at the local level. Finally, the Congressman explained his federal legislation to help stop illegal gun sales to criminals. That bill, introduced with Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), would make Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms data about guns used in crime and illegal gun sales public and available to law enforcement.

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