Greetings all,

The Pride Center of New Jersey is issuing the following statement in support of gender-inclusive public and business bathroom policies that promote the safety and well-being of trans, non-binary, gender expansive, and other T+ people. Peer-reviewed studies show that the passage of regressive bathroom laws and policies is not correlated with the number or frequency of criminal incidents in bathrooms. Peer-reviewed studies also show that denial of access to appropriate bathrooms is associated with mental health challenges for transgender and gender nonconforming youth and adults. We at PCNJ have heard time and time again from members of the LGBTQIA2S+ and allied community that offering gender-inclusive bathroom alternatives greatly reduces stress, anxiety, and gender dysphoria in their daily lives.

In May of 2022, a Middlesex County restaurant’s management staff targeted Erin Kinahan, a trans woman, for using what they claimed was the inappropriate bathroom. The staff used transphobic, transmisic behavior and language against Kinahan, who was eating dinner with other community members from the Pride Center of New Jersey directly after attending an in-person support group at the Center in Highland Park. Kinahan and her supporters are planning their second protest in front of the establishment on Sunday, October 15th, 2023 at 12:30PM, as a trial-by-jury is pending to address the incident.

We at the Pride Center of New Jersey are concerned about the safety of our LGBTQIA2S+ community members, and given that these transmisic, transphobic actions occurred in Edison in Middlesex County, in our own backyard, it’s clear to us that our work is not yet over. Our all-volunteer staff and grassroots work is dedicated to making people feel as welcomed in their neighborhoods as they do when they attend PCNJ support groups, participate in events, or when they just stop by to hang out at the Center.

Please plug into some of the Pride Center of New Jersey’s support and social offerings, both virtual and in person, and join us in building communities where discrimination against us as LGBTQIA2S+ people is not tolerated, and is met with accountability for its perpetrators and care for its survivors.

• PCNJ Website: https://www.pridecenter.org/
• Social Groups: https://www.pridecenter.org/social-groups
• Support Groups: https://www.pridecenter.org/support-groups
• Youth Programs: https://www.pridecenter.org/youth-program
• Calendar: https://www.pridecenter.org/calendar

If you are in need of additional support for an acute challenge, please contact a crisis line such as Trans Lifeline (https://translifeline.org/resources/) at 877-565-8860.