ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION

No. 27

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  JOHN DIMAIO

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Assemblyman  ERIK PETERSON

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Assemblyman  HAROLD "HAL" J. WIRTHS

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Space and DeAngelo

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Designates March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


A Joint Resolution designating March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey

 

Whereas, Throughout our State and Nation’s histories women have served in and alongside the United States Armed Forces to secure and preserve freedom and liberty for all Americans and our allies; and

Whereas, The long tradition of women serving honorably and with courage in our country’s military dates back to the American Revolution when they acted as nurses, cooks, and saboteurs; and

Whereas, The important contributions of women continued in the centuries that followed and included assignments as military nurses in fixed-facility hospitals in World Wars I and II, as medical staff in field combat hospitals during the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict, and as truck drivers and helicopter pilots in Iraq and Afghanistan; and

Whereas, In December 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced women were permitted to serve in combat roles such as infantry, artillery, and armor, which reversed a rule restricting women from combat roles; and

Whereas, Women veterans have demonstrated great skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles upon which our Nation was founded and continues to uphold; and

Whereas, Today, women constitute approximately 15 percent of the military personnel on active duty and 17 percent of active-duty officers in the military; and

Whereas, Women comprise nearly 19 percent of all active-duty personnel in the Air Force, 18 percent of the Navy, 14 percent of the Army, and eight percent of all Marines; and

Whereas, In New Jersey, women constitute roughly 18 percent of the membership of the New Jersey Army National Guard and make up 23 percent of the New Jersey Air National Guard; and

Whereas, The number of women veterans continues to grow in the United States and is expected to reach 20 percent of the military forces by 2020 increasing exponentially from 1.1 million in 1980 to a projected two million by 2020; and

Whereas, New Jersey is home to 25,678 women veterans who have proudly and valiantly served our State and Nation, and who have played an integral role in defending our homeland and preserving freedom around the word; and

Whereas, Former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, proclaimed March 2016 as “Women Veterans Month” during his tenure to pay respect to women veterans for their dutiful service to the State and Nation; and

Whereas, It is of the utmost importance for the residents of the Garden State to express our gratitude for the patriotic service of our women veterans who have risked their lives to defend our constitution and the sacred principles of liberty and freedom it represents; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The month of March of each year is designated as “Women Veterans Month” in honor and remembrance of all women veterans who have served honorably and with courage on behalf of this State and the United States of America since the Revolutionary War.

 

     2.    The Governor is respectfully requested to issue an annual proclamation recognizing March as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey and calling upon public officials and citizens of this State to observe the month with appropriate activities and programs.

 

     3.    This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     Women have served honorably and with courage in all of America’s wars and conflicts since the American Revolution. This joint resolution designates March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey in honor and remembrance of all women veterans who have proudly and valiantly served this State and Nation. Today, women constitute approximately 15 percent of the military personnel on active duty and demonstrate great skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles upon which our Nation was founded and continues to uphold.

     To pay respect to the State and Nation’s women veterans for their dutiful service to the Nation, the Governor is respectfully requested to issue an annual proclamation calling upon public officials and the citizens of this State to observe March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey.