| Garden State Equality has produced and has bought time for the first television commercial in American history on transgender rights. It is also New Jersey's first-ever television commercial on any issue affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.
The 30-second commercial urges legislators to pass the transgender equality bill, A3678/S2437, now before the New Jersey legislature. The commercial will air 21 times on News 12 New Jersey everywhere in the state. Simply titled "Carol," the commercial features Carol Barlow, a transgender resident of Clifton, New Jersey who received rejections from 1,000 potential employers in New Jersey because she is transgender.
The commercial will air on News 12's "Power and Politics" program on:
- Saturday, December 3rd on the shows beginning at 10:00 am, 10:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm.
- Sunday, December 4th on the shows beginning at 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm.
- Saturday, December 10th on the shows beginning at 10:00 am, 10:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm.
- Sunday, December 11th on the shows beginning at 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 3:30 pm.
The commercial will also air on News 12's weeknight prime-time lineup, between 5 pm and 11 pm, once each night from Monday, December 5 through Friday, December 9, 2005.
The ad buy reflects the demographic of News 12's "Power and Politics" -- the program's audience includes a high proportion of legislators and other decision-makers in Trenton.
The commercial comes as the New Jersey legislature considers A3678/S2437 to expand the state's law against discrimination to include the transgender community. The bill has more than two dozen sponsors of both parties. According to a summer 2005 Zogby-Garden State Equality Poll, 70 percent of New Jerseyans favor the bill, while only 19 percent oppose it.
"Over the past few years, New Jersey has seen a stunning boom in the population and political power of its LGBTI community," said Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality. "We've become a crucial political bloc. Besides advocating for a bill we care passionately about, this ad sends an unmistakable signal that we will match our growth with boldness. Not for a moment will Garden State Equality cede the public debate to anyone who opposes equality.
Added Barbra A. Casbar, vice chair of Garden State Equality and political director of the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey, the state's transgender rights organization: "GRAANJ congratulates Garden State Equality for its bold commitment to ending discrimination against transgender and gender-variant people in New Jersey. By producing and buying airtime for a television commercial to pass A3678/S2437, Garden State Equality is making civil rights history, and GRAANJ and transgender Americans across the country couldn't be prouder."
The script of the commercial "Carol" is as follows:
[Ad opens with screen of text:]
Meet Carol Barlow,
rejected by 1,000 employers.
One told her the truth.
[Carol on screen:] "I'd never find a job because I was transsexual
and I was not employable. Over a thousand job interviews, resumes."
[New screen of text:]
New Jersey supports the
transgender equality bill
70-19 percent.
[Carol on audio:] "It still brings back so much pain,
it's unbelievable."
[On same screen of text, additional sentence fades up:]
Pass it this session.
[Next screen:]
Garden State Equality logo.
Paid for Garden State Equality.
[End of commercial.]
With thousands of impassioned activists, Garden State Equality is America's fastest-growing statewide LGBTI rights organization -- designated a Winner of the Year by The Star-Ledger for "the most effective-grassroots campaign New Jersey has seen in years." In 2005, Garden State Equality raised 10 times more money than any other LGBTI rights organization in New Jersey has ever raised annually. And in both the June 2005 New Jersey primaries and the November 2005 general election, 90 percent of Garden State Equality's endorsed candidates won.
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