Reader urges passage of bomb threat legislation (open letter to Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., Chairman Peter J. Barnes Jr., Vice Chairman Gordon M. Johnson and Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee members:) It has come to my attention that Assembly Bill 3130 dealing with bomb threat legislation remains pending in the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. You may all recall that Middletown Township schools suffered through numerous bomb threats during the 2006 school year. I suggest that the fear of prosecution as proposed in Assembly Bill 3130 helped remediate this situation. Unfortunately, the fear dissipates with time as offenders realize the threat of prosecution will not become a reality. Evidence of this may be the bomb threats Jan. 5 at Mother Theresa Regional School, Atlantic Highlands, and Jan. 10 at Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch. Any bomb threat is disruptive to the educational process, expensive to the municipality in addressing the threat and its follow-up investigation, and dangerous to emergency personnel as they respond in earnest to the threat. As a concerned resident, I request your support in moving Assembly Bill 3130 forward to passage. My hope is that this bill, once made law, will discourage future offenders and punish those who fail to see the serious consequences of their malicious acts. If you believe you cannot support this bill, I would appreciate hearing from you why you have taken such a position. Thank you for your consideration. Robert Beccarelli Middletown