Concerned New Jersey parents applaud ‘powerful’ political cartoon taking aim at Gov. Murphy’s school agenda

A new political cartoon aimed at Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is receiving the support of some concerned parents across the state in light of some controversial school guidelines.

The cartoon, commissioned by the Sussex County Republican Committee, depicts Murphy tearing a child away from his parents, while demon-looking aides poke him with needles and are seemingly ready to force him into a dress. The cartoon is tagged with the warning, “No Family is Safe from Phil Murphy’s Sex Ed Mandates!” The artwork is set to be featured in public advertisements across more than 50 locations in northwest New Jersey, according to Shore News Network. The group is also planning a social media push and displaying the image on billboards along major highways.

Murphy ruffled parents’ feathers earlier this year after state guidelines revealed schools would not have to notify parents if students decide to change their gender identity. 

Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey, speaks during the 2023 State of the State Address at the New Jersey State House in Trenton, New Jersey, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (Aristide Economopoulos/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“There is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression,” the rules read.

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“I think it’s harmful,” one mother in the New Jersey school system told FOX News Digital of the guidelines. “I think this is separating parents from their children in favor of the state.”

She called the new political cartoon “powerful.”

“I mean, that cartoon is powerful,” she said. “It shows this kid, being taken by these alien doctors. And that’s how I feel, like I don’t want to give up my role as a parent to the school. I want to be the one teaching them right from wrong. And every day I say, ‘Be very discerning with what you hear. Sometimes if something doesn’t sit well, know right from wrong. That’s what we teach you in our house. But you’re responsible for how you behave towards others… But just understand that the school isn’t always going to tell you the truth.'”

The parent said she’d had to opt out her son from certain controversial health class lessons in their school district that she found more provocative than educational.

“Every day I wake up with a little bit of a pit in my stomach, like what are they being taught?” she said. “[What] does it look like?”

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“We don’t believe that any state or bureaucracy has the right to take a child from parents and not let parents have the ability to sway or influence or raise their own child,” Sussex County Republican Chairman Joe Labarbera said during an appearance on “FOX & Friends.” “And the overreach by the state of New Jersey in this aspect I think is against the Constitution and is against the values of every civilization known to man.”

Protesters gathered outside the Orange Unified school district board meeting discussing a parental notification policy for transgender students on September 7, 2023. ((Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images))

“Parental rights is a historically intuitive social norm as well having been adjudicated in codified U.S. law under the 14th Amendment, notably in Meyer Vs Nebraska and Wisconsin Vs Yoder. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a man of extreme wealth and privilege, notoriously commented that the Constitution was ‘above my pay grade’ and has conducted his governorship with punitive and tone-deaf responses to working class families wishes and to the detriment of local communities,” Labarbera told FOX News Digital. 

“Murphy seems to believe children are an expendable commodity and that the Family is simply a market to exploit,” he later added. “We in the Sussex Republican Party do not fear his retaliation and will not compromise the safety and sacred nature of human families for Murphy’s reckless and destructively malignant agenda.” 

Labarbera said artistry is the best way to “drive it home” to people who may not be aware of the state’s agenda. As for his own family, he said they’ve had to “bite the bullet” and pay for private school.

“We shelter them,” he said of his kids on “FOX & Friends.” “We have to shelter them. The public arena is becoming more and more difficult for parents to be able to trust their kids in the hands of the schools.”

More parents and teachers are speaking out against the controversial state guidelines. Three school districts – Middletown, Marlboro and Manalapan-Englishtown – defied the governor, presenting policies that would require the schools to notify parents if their children formally wanted to change their gender identity, pronouns or name, or use different bathrooms. Murphy’s administration sued the districts, alleging they were in violation of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination and put transgender students at risk.

“‘Outing’ these students against their will poses serious mental health risks; threatens physical harm to students, including risking increased suicides; decreases the likelihood students will seek support; and shirks the District’s obligation to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all,” the Marlboro lawsuit read. “Indeed, LGBTQ+ students in New Jersey and elsewhere have died by suicide after being outed.”

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Brian Mason, the dad of seven kids who still has four children in Middletown schools, applauded the cartoon campaign.

“I believe the Sussex County GOP is doing the right thing with this campaign against the governor’s education mandates,” he told FOX News Digital.

“Gov. Murphy is desperate to cater to the extreme left wing of what he sees as his constituency, when in fact, he’s actually pushing moderate Democrats away from his own party,” Mason added. “He has stepped over the line by suing Townships over their refusal to allow parents from being kept in the dark about their children. Many of these children are elementary and middle schoolers, and should not be pushed to make a major decision alone, especially when it comes to something that will have long-lasting consequences on their health and teachers shouldn’t be put in between parents and their children over such an ideological subject.”

“These kids are being socially transitioned, and pushed by people driven by an ideology, that’s going to prove detrimental to these kids both physically and mentally,” he continued.

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Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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