By John Celock
A New Jersey legislative committee has advanced legislation for the creation of a registry of the state’s memorials dedicated to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Assembly State and Local Government Committee voted unanimously Monday to approve legislation that would create the memorial registry. The proposal was advanced by members of a South Jersey Sept. 11 memorial committee who felt that residents needed a way to easily find the memorials.
“The ability for others to appreciate memorials would come with finding the memorials,” James J. Smith, who worked on a South Jersey memorial, said to the legislative panel.
Smith and Ed Minten told the State and Local Government Committee that as they worked on a local memorial they were approached by others who were curious as to their work and the location of other memorials around the state. They said that they could not share the location of other memorials around the state since they did not know the locations themselves.
Many towns and counties around New Jersey created memorials after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in order to memorialize local victims.
New Jersey would be the first state in the country to create a directory of the Sept. 11 memorials in the state. Advocates for the memorial told the committee that it would serve as a teaching tool.
“As an educational tool these memorial sites would serve as an excellent history lesson for children and young adults.”