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Editor, Asbury Sun,

Late last night, we learned of the passing of transgender activist and icon Barbra ‘Babs’ Siperstein.

Babs was a towering figure in the LGBTQ community who worked tirelessly to advance the rights of transgender and all LGBTQ people. She was an architect of our movement, pioneering critical civil rights legislation here in New Jersey and, as the first openly transgender member of the Democratic National Committee, throughout our nation. This is a tremendous loss for our community, and she will be sorely missed.

With Babs, we had an LGBTQ icon—among the likes of Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera, and Bayard Rustin—born and raised right here in the Garden State.

In the decade I knew Babs, I deeply admired her advocacy in the community while sitting elbow-to-elbow in the statehouse fighting for pro-equality legislation.

Babs— like no other—was instrumental in passing many of the 220 LGBTQ civil rights laws that Garden State Equality has secured in its fifteen year history, including marriage equality and transgender inclusive nondiscrimination protections. Since the nascent days of Garden State Equality where she was an original board member, Babs pushed us all to embrace an uncompromising pro-equality campaign that left no member of our community behind. Babs was truly unmatched and taught us all to never back down.

As you may know, Babs wrote to you and our members on Friday sharing the news that New Jersey’s historic transgender birth certificate law, bearing her name, went into effect. With the Babs Siperstein Law, every transgender New Jerseyan who updates their birth certificate will be reminded of Babs and her courage.

Babs’ work has touched countless lives and will continue to do so, and we will ensure her legacy is remembered for generations to come.

On behalf of our board, staff, and membership, Garden State Equality extends our deepest sympathies to Babs’ family, and we are eternally grateful for her contributions to our organization, the state of New Jersey, and LGBTQ people across our nation.

If you would like to send your condolences to Babs’ family, you can email a letter tocontact@GardenStateEquality.org or send one to our Asbury Park headquarters 1408 Main Street, Asbury Park, 07712, and we will deliver your message.

Rest in power, Babs. We’ll miss you.

Christian Fuscarino
Executive Director
Garden State Equality

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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