Legislative Sponsors of LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Law Blast Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli on Homophobic Remarks

TRENTON – In a joint statement today, the leading legislative sponsors of New Jersey’s landmark LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum law, Senators Weinberg and Ruiz and Assemblywomen Vainieri Huttle, Jasey, and Downey as well as former Assemblyman Eustace and now Mayor of Trenton Gusciora, denounced Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s homophobic comments:

“As the sponsors of New Jersey’s historic LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum law, we are outraged by Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s hateful and divisive comments. We proudly led the passage of this landmark law to uplift the voices and contributions of New Jersey’s LGBTQ community and promote a culture of equity and inclusion. Jack Ciattarelli’s homophobic comments are exactly why we sponsored this law in the first place. More work is needed to ensure all New Jerseyans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are safe and welcome in our state.

“Studies show what the LGBTQ community already knows and lives: LGBTQ youth are disproportionately impacted by bullying and harassment and are more likely than their peers to attempt suicide. No one should be playing politics with the health and well-being of our children. This law is a necessary tool to guarantee that contributions from every member of our diverse New Jersey family are shared and valued. Jack’s negligent promise to overturn this law proves that he does not care about our children, especially our LGBTQ youth — and would actively do them harm for political purposes.

“New Jersey can’t afford to go back to the hostility of the Christie and Trump administrations, who treated the rights of our LGBTQ community as an afterthought or worse, a means to score political points. Jack Ciattarelli has made it clear that he is a politician in the mold of Chris Christie and Donald Trump and that he will work just as hard to roll back our progress. New Jersey must move forward on equality, never backward.”