Garden State Equality

Garden State Equality is celebrating a major victory: an Oscar.  "Freeheld:  The Laurel Hester Story," the film chronicling a dying police officer’s fight for life and Garden State Equality’s fight in the political arena to win death benefits for her partner, won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Short Documentary on Sunday night.  GSE has released a video Hester recorded days before she died, now on the organization’s homepage of , where she speaks of what GSE describes as a “hard-fought victory over the homophobic Ocean County freeholders, who finally caved in and granted the benefits to Lt. Hester’s partner.”

Since the New Jersey civil union law took effect on February 19, 2007, 211 couples have reported to Garden State Equality that their employers refuse to recognize their civil unions.   The New Jersey civil union law is failing at an astonishing 1 in 7 rate.

This Sunday, June 17, 2007, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination will expand to outlaw discrimination based on “gender identity or expression,” thereby providing protection to transgender people.  Since Garden State Equality’s founding in 2004, New Jersey has enacted 153 laws at the state, county and municipal levels advancing the civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.

In contested primaries for state legislature in Essex, Hudson and Bergen Counties, Garden State Equality endorsed 15 candidates and 13 won.  A big night for New Jersey's LGBTI community. 

Expect a huge crowd tomorrow night at the Woodbridge Community Center, where former Governor James E. McGreevey will sign his new book, The Confession, at an event sponsored by Garden State Equality. Advance tickets are not required, and the event is open to print reporters without prior registration.

The political clout of Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein continues to grow -- as does the influence of his organization among political insiders. After members of the gay community were angered by controversial comments made last week by Democratic State Committee Executive Director Diane Legreide, Goldstein was able to quickly negotiate a peace accord that enhanced the power of his members while ensuring that the party would step up its efforts to expand the representation of the gay community at state and county committtee levels.

NEWS: GARDEN STATE EQUALITY ENDORSES CANDIDATES IN FOUR KEY ELECTIONS IN NEW JERSEY IN 2006:

-- U.S. Senator Robert Menendez for election in November
-- Assemblywoman Linda Stender for the U.S. House in New Jersey's 7th Congressional district
-- Cory Booker for Mayor of Newark
-- Ron Rice Jr. for Newark City Council

Garden State Equality also delivers withering criticism of Extremist Twins Tom Kean Jr. (Junior) and Mike Ferguson, Perfect Together

GARDEN STATE EQUALITY HAILS CORZINE'S EXPECTED APPOINTMENT OF BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ) TO THE U.S. SENATE AS "A MAGNIFICENT CHOICE"
Garden State Equality, New Jersey's political action organization for LGBTI rights, today called Gov.-elect Jon Corzine's expected appointment of U.S. Representative Bob Menendez to the U.S. Senate "a magnificent choice." Menendez, said Steven Goldstein, Garden State Equality chair, "has been among this generation's leading civil rights champions, a public servant who understands the challenges faced by LGBTI Americans. This selection by Gov.-elect Corzine is filled with wisdom and is a strong signal of the kind of exceptional Governor that Jon Corzine will be."

250 NEW JERSEY CLERGY DECLARE SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE
ON THE DAY AN ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE RALLY AT THE STATE HOUSE FLOPS