After seeing governor at protest, lawmaker proposes Murphy’s Law

A day after calling for Gov. Phil Murphy to pardon New Jersey residents cited for violating pandemic executive orders, a North Jersey lawmaker has proposed what he calls "Murphy's Law."

Assemblyman Jay Webber, R-Morris, introduced a bill Thursday that would nullify a executive order as soon as the governor who issued it was found to have "broken the rule," as Webber explained it on Facebook.

Webber drafted the measure after Murphy attended two Black Lives Matter marches in Union County on Sunday. At that time, the limit on outdoor gatherings remained at a maximum of 25 people.

On Monday, Webber wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter to State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan, stating that "Philip Dunton Murphy of Middletown openly and brazenly defied Executive Order 148 by purposely, repeatedly, and wantonly associating with others in groups of greater than 25 individuals, and aiding and abetting such behavior."

A day later, Murphy increased the outdoor limit on gatherings to 100 with an exemption for outdoor religious or political gatherings of any kind, including protests.

Callahan said Wednesday that 319 citations for violations of Murphy's Executive Orders have risen to a felony level. Callahan also said 3,371 citations that amount to a written warning have been issued for noncompliance.

Well beyond the newly introduced measure, "Murphy's Law" also is a decades-old adage that "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."