New Brunswick, NJ – The New Jersey LGBTQ Elected Officials Alliance yesterday released the following statement in response to greedy drug company CEO Bob Hugin’s active role in trying to rollback anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ members while he was student at Princeton University, including saying that any gay member of his exclusive all-male eating club “wouldn’t last long.” As the alumni president of the Tiger Inn, Hugin also led a federal court challenge to deny women access to the same club.
“We are horrified by recent news reports that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Hugin when he was a student at Princeton University and a member of one of their elite, all-male eating clubs, was openly hostile, and threatening, to any gay members. Mr. Hugin is quoted at the time, saying that if a member of his organization, the Tiger Inn, was found to be gay, ‘he wouldn’t last long.’ To those of us in the LGBTQ community, this is nothing short of a veiled threat meant to intimidate and instill fear. This kind of bullying is exactly what kept so many LGBTQ Americans in the closet, filled us with shame and fear, and even convinced far too many to take their own life. Mr. Hugin’s own words provide for us a frightening glimpse into the true character of a candidate who professes to care about LGBTQ rights.
“But Mr. Hugin didn’t just stop at his ominous warning. He played an integral role in attempting to subvert the basic rights of LGBTQ students at Princeton. Following attacks on members of the Gay Alliance of Princeton student organization, Hugin led a petition drive meant to reverse the university’s protections for gays and lesbians in its campus anti-discrimination policy, just when they needed it most. Mr. Hugin believed that the student government should instead hold a referendum for ‘something as controversial as this.’ Treating LGBTQ students with respect and offering them basic protections from harassment and abuse is not ‘controversial’ — it is common human decency.
“We refuse to fall for another candidate’s false claims of sympathy, understanding, and tolerance towards our community. Donald Trump was openly critical of North Carolina’s controversial bathroom bill while on the campaign trail, expressed condolences and support towards the LGBTQ community after the Pulse nightclub shooting, and even met with Caitlyn Jenner. But as president, Donald Trump has consistently stripped rights away from LGBTQ members, banning transgender troops from the military, and has relied heavily on his notoriously anti-LGBTQ Vice President Mike Pence for counsel on policy affecting our community. Likewise, we have serious doubts about Mr. Hugin’s claims of ‘evolving’ on LGBTQ issues. His past actions speak louder than words and reveal to us something far more sinister: like Donald Trump, Bob Hugin is a candidate willing to say anything to get elected. A man with such hostile and threatening views towards our community should not be seeking to represent us in the U.S. Senate.”
Signed,
Bruce James – Passaic County
Rebecca Williams – Union County
Pat Menna – Red Bank
Reed Gusciora – Trenton
Amy Quinn – Asbury Park
Wartyna Davis – Bloomfield
Rich Rockwell – Bloomfield
Bobby Tullock – Boonton
Betsy Driver – Flemington
Chris Hillmann – Hasbrouck Heights
Mike DeFusco – Hoboken
Beth Asaro – Lambertville
Dean Dafis – Maplewood
Pamela Renee – Neptune City
Reginald Bledsoe – Newark
Bob Bresenhan, Jr. – Rahway
Ed Zipprich – Red Bank
Mike Warren – Rochelle Park
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