The mayor of Barnegat Township is urging residents to oppose a state law that requires middle and high schools to instruct students on the contributions of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.
Republican Mayor Alfonso Cirulli on Tuesday called the LGBT political movement "an affront to almighty God."
The
Asbury Park Press reports the 60-year-old former assistant principal opened the township committee by urging residents to pressure Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature to reverse the law that was signed on Jan. 31.
Cirulli said the government "has no right to teach our kids morality." He also said "we've crossed over the line into absurdity."
The mayor is not the only state official to criticize the new law. Hackensack School Board member Frances Cogelja faced calls for her resignation when she spoke out against the law in February.
She told the then-school superintendent, “This alternative lifestyle narrative is being shoved down our children’s throats,” and that she feared where the nation was heading.
The law applies to the 2020-21 school year.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.