Garden State Equality Action Fund:
History made as first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to New Jersey Legislature
Garden State Equality Action Fund invests most resources since 2017 to help elect LGBTQ+ and allied candidates in Legislative District 11 race.
ASBURY PARK, NJ — Tonight, the Garden State Equality Action Fund is celebrating an historic election in the movement for equality in New Jersey. With her win in Legislative District 11, Assemblywoman-elect Luanne Peterpaul becomes the first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to the New Jersey Legislature.
“We congratulate Assemblywoman-elect Peterpaul on her historic win, and we are proud of the voters in Legislative District 11 for sending her and her running mates, Senator Vin Gopal and Assemblywoman-elect Dr. Margie Donlon, to the statehouse,” said Garden State Equality Action Fund Executive Director Christian Fuscarino. “We cannot wait to start working with Assemblywomen-elect Peterpaul and Donlon and continue working with Senator Gopal in January.”
To help secure the Assemblywoman-elect’s win, the Garden State Equality Action Fund invested more resources in the Legislative District 11 election than it has since 2017. That year, with the help of the Action, Senator Vin Gopal unseated then-incumbent Senator Jennifer Beck.
Currently, Assemblywoman-elect Peterpaul is the managing partner of Peterpaul Law in Asbury Park. Prior to her election, she served as a county prosecutor, a municipal judge for the cities of Asbury Park and Long Branch, and Chair of the Board for Garden State Equality. As board chair, she played a crucial role in creating and passing the bipartisan Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. Assemblywoman-elect Peterpaul also defended New Jersey’s ban on conversion therapy and was pivotal in bringing marriage equality to the Garden State.
“New Jerseyans around the state reaffirmed during Tuesday’s election what we’ve always known: equality wins,” said Garden State Equality Action Fund Chair Jeanine Frisby LaRue. “From Assemblywoman-elect Peterpaul making history to committed advocates for lived and legal equality winning seats at all levels of government, we will continue to make great strides in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the Garden State.”
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Garden State Equality, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in New Jersey, lifts up the diverse voices of LGBTQ+ communities through education and advocacy to advance the movement for equality in New Jersey and nationally.