Chris Christie's Uneven Record on LGBT Rights

The New Jersey governor signs two trans-inclusive bills into law, which reverses course from his previous actions on trans rights.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

July 24 2017 3:56 PM EST

August 23 2023 3:48 AM EST

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Dismally unpopular New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie finally did something worth commending -- Friday he signed two pieces of trans-inclusive legislation, officially making them the law of the land in the Garden State.

Christie -- who's near the end of his troubled term as N.J. governor -- green-lit one bill that directs the state's education commissioner to develop guidelines to ensure the safety and welfare of transgender students as well as the use of facilities that correspond with their gender identity. The second piece of legislation centers on health care, mandating that state-licensed hospitals, insurers, Medicaid, and health providers not discriminate against transgender patients.

As a Republican leading a solidly blue state, the governor has a very inconsistent track record on LGBT rights. He has never endorsed marriage equality and vetoed a 2012 bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in the state. The next year he dropped an appeal to a state Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage and, in the same year, signed a bill banning "ex-gay" therapy for minors.

Christie, a Republican candidate for president last year, later endorsed President Trump and was long considered to be in the running for a Cabinet position (that didn't come to pass). The trans rights record of the latter politician is dismal, with Trump's administration weakening numerous protections for transgender youths and LGBT federal employees.