Murphy marches in Asbury's LGBTQ pride parade

ASBURY PARK - The music pumped down Grand Avenue as hundreds of marchers, many with rainbow flags, made their way through the city for the 27th annual Jersey Pride parade.

Gov. Phil Murphy marched alongside the participants, showing his support for gay, lesbian and transgender people as he stopped for photos and handshakes. Watch scenes from the festival and parade in the video above.

"It's nice to have somebody in the governor's office who is so excited about this event and reaching into the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community," said Laura Pople, president of Jersey Pride.

Each year, the event attracts thousands of attendees and hundreds of parade participants.

"We've come a long way," Murphy said from a stage outside of Convention Hall that served as the center of the day's events.

"But let's not let anyone tell us that we don't have a ways still to travel," he said. "Particularly with this president (Donald Trump), we have headwinds coming at us out of Washington."

Fighting for LGBTQ equality and rights was one of Murphy's key issues during his campaign for governor. He is expected to sign a bill passed by both the state Senate and Assembly that would allow birth certificates to be amended to reflect a person's gender identity, even if that person has not undergone gender reassignment surgery. Current law allows a birth certificate to be amended for gender in connection to surgery.

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Murphy's support and participation in the pride event "speaks to an overall change in climate that's happening with this new governor," said Pople. "Pride allows for that dialog to happen between elected officials and members of the LGBTQ community on issues that affect us."

In addition to Murphy, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker also spoke at Jersey Pride, as did Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.

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Asbury Park has "been at the forefront of gay rights," Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn told the audience from the stage.

Quinn, who is gay, was among the first-same couples to legally wed in New Jersey back in 2013.

"In 2004, we (Asbury Park officials) gave out marriage licenses when nobody else was, at the risk of being put in jail by, ironically enough now, Gov. (Jim) McGreevey."

McGreevey famously announced in 2004 that he was gay and subsequently resigned as governor.

Nearly a decade later, Gov. Chris Christie would veto a bill from the Legislature that would have recognized same-sex marriages. It was not until a Superior Court ruling in 2013 that same-sex marriages were recognized in New Jersey.

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"Elected officials really can have a considerable... affect on our individual lives," said Pople. "We want people to recognize the issues that are affecting them in broader society... and then recognize they have power to vote."

Pople said the governor's participation and the fact that the Jersey Pride festival and parade are growing each year signal positive changes for the LGBTQ community.

Jess Valdenarro, 29, of Honolulu, Hawaii, flew to New Jersey to volunteer at Jersey Pride.

"I've done it (volunteered) for nine years," said Valdenarro, who is originally from Dumont, Bergen County. "This (event) is a big part of my life."

Valdenarro said there were few supports for gay teens when she came out to her family and friends in high school. Later, her brother and mother also came out to the family as gay, she said.

Now, nine members of her family spend their weekend volunteering for Jersey Pride, she said.

The festival has "a sense of love and acceptance here," said Valdenarro. "There's a lot of people who don't have that at home."

At the event, Murphy promised to continue to fight for LGBTQ rights and said he would would push back against the Trump administration's policy that prevents transgender individuals from serving in the military.

"We will not relent," Murphy told the crowd. "I promise you at every step, every second... we have your back."

Amanda Oglesby: @OglesbyAPP; 732-557-5701; aoglesby@app.com