NJ Attorney General Apologizes For LGBTQ+ Bar Targeting

ASBURY PARK, NJ –New Jersey's attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, was in Asbury Park Tuesday to formally apologize for the systematic targeting of LGBTQ+ bars of the state's Alcohol Beverage Commission (ABC) from 1933 to 1967.

This is the first time an Attorney General has ever issued an apology like this in New Jersey's history.

In addition, Grewal has issued a directive ordering the vacating of 126 ABC enforcement actions that suspended or revoked the licenses of liquor establishments during that era because they served LGBTQ patrons.

“The Attorney General’s Office is charged with furthering justice in New Jersey, and yet for more than three decades, our office fell far short,” Grewal said in a press release.

“The time has come to acknowledge this failing, to apologize for what happened, and to make sure it never occurs again. We are committed to righting this historical wrong and strengthening our relationship with New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ community.”

To mark the decision, Attorney General Grewal and representatives of the ABC will gather with Garden State Equality and other community leaders in Asbury Park to install a memorial at the former site of the Paddock Bar, the subject of three different enforcement actions by the ABC between 1957 and 1960.

“We are immensely grateful to the Attorney General for his historic acts of restorative justice today,” Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director of Garden State Equality, said in a press release.

“As the Garden State's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Grewal is uniquely positioned to not only acknowledge past government persecution of LGBTQ establishments and community members but also to correct that past wrongdoing and be a significant part of the decades-long efforts to bring equity and legal protections to New Jersey's LGBTQ community.”