Students protest NJ politician for anti-LGBTQ comments

A group of Penn students may take down New Jersey’s most vocally anti-gay congressman.

Five Penn students recently formed Not New Jersey, an initiative to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ comments made by Republican Sen. Scott Garrett from the 5th district of New Jersey. Garrett’s district includes much of the northwestern part of the state, including part of Bergen County near New York City.

Garrett made headlines in July when he refused to pay dues to the National Republican Congressional Committee because it had recruited and supported LGBTQ candidates in past elections. Garrett previously proposed legislation to allow business owners to discriminate against same-sex couples on religious grounds.

Not New Jersey formed after a Penn Democrats general body meeting where members discussed homophobia. One of the founders, College senior Zahra Mion, who lives in Garrett’s district, mentioned his anti-LGBTQ history during the meeting. From there, she and four other students assembled and began campaigning against Garrett ahead of his reelection bid next year. The group hopes to derail his campaign by convincing donors to stop giving him money.

“Money isn’t everything, but it does matter, especially if they’re an incumbent,” College junior and Not New Jersey Director of Communications Barry Johnson said.

Already, they’ve reached out to many of Garrett’s longtime donors, including large businesses such as Genworth Financial, Liberty Mutual Group and Capital One Financial Corporation. They are also circulating a Change.org petition asking local organizations and political action committees not to donate, or at least stop donating, to Garrett in the next election cycle.

“We already know who’s contributing to his campaign, how much and when. As we continue to grow, we want everyone to know. We’ll continue to call them and demand that they stop funding his campaign,” Johnson said.

Sometimes, Johnson added, all they have to do to get donors’ attention is mention Garrett’s comments about the LGBTQ community.

“They have that surprised voice and start taking down your name and your number and asking for more info,” Johnson said.

In addition, the group communicated with a number of New Jersey colleges, including The College of New Jersey and William Paterson University, where Garrett’s remarks have earned him considerable unpopularity among students. They have also reached out to community organizations like the Sussex County Democratic Committee and the New Jersey LGBT Democratic Caucus.

“A lot of people have been saying that this is great, that we have to get this growing and keep it moving,” Johnson said.

Of the five co-founders, four are from New Jersey, although the campaign is open to anyone who would like to get involved. Johnson believes that many Penn students from across the country would be offended by Garrett’s comments, regardless of political or ideological affiliation.

“I haven’t met an independent or Republican who likes or supports him,” Johnson said.

For now, the group’s co-founders meet weekly to plan future events and coordinate further outreach. They plan to ext ensively use social media to spread their message and make Garrett’s anti-LGBTQ comments more widely known.

“We want to ensure that people who run for office in the future represent the values of New Jersey and aren’t saying anything homophobic or disgusting or bigoted,” Johnson said.

Garrett’s communications director was out of the office and could not be reached for comment by press time.

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