BY THE FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS OF GARDEN STATE EQUALITY

The Board of Garden State Equality must fire Christian Fuscarino as Executive Director.

The appalling news of his alleged conduct — which news reports say has been caught on video — is not something that Garden State Equality, or the LGBTQ+ community of New Jersey, should be forced to take on as its burden.

Christian Fuscarino should not be given the dignity that comes with resignation.  He had over a month to spare Garden State Equality and the LGBTQ+ community of New Jersey the embarrassment of this news coming to light.

Thousands of us worked tirelessly to establish Garden State Equality as the organization representing a community dedicated to justice for LGBTQ+ people, united across every identity, to win lasting change.

That’s how Garden State Equality won marriage equality and statewide laws to combat school bullying and to protect LGBTQ+ people from all forms of discrimination.  We also won New Jersey Policy 5756 to protect transgender students, as well as coverage of gender affirming care for Jersey City employees.

Make no mistake:  More than 200 state and local laws advancing LGBTQ+ equality, enacted after Garden State Equality’s founding but before Christian Fuscarino became Executive Director, solidified New Jersey as a national leader for LGBTQ+ equality.

The credit goes to the 150,000 members of Garden State Equality who have been the organization’s heart and soul under all executive directors.

Garden State Equality cannot be defined by any one person, and must not be defined any longer by Christian Fuscarino.

He may be afforded due process by the criminal justice system, but he has no right to be Executive Director.

To keep an alleged child abuser as the organization’s leader poses a moment-by-moment existential threat to the organization’s effectiveness for good.

He is, at best, a distraction, and by all indications, a disgrace. He must be fired — immediately.

It also isn’t lost on us that this incident took place over a month ago, and Christian Fuscarino was arrested on November 21.  If the Board held information about this and did not force Christian Fuscarino out, they must also resign now.

Undersigned, the former leaders of Garden State Equality:

Steven Goldstein, Founder and Executive Director, 2004-2013

Troy Stevenson, Executive Director 2013-2014

Andy Bowen, Executive Director, 2014-2015