NEW YORK– The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today announced  that U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey will be the featured speaker at the 2015 Greater New York Gala on Saturday, January 31, 2015, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

“We are thrilled that Senator Booker will be joining us again to speak at the HRC Greater NY Gala,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “As the former mayor of Newark, and now as a U.S. Senator for the great state of New Jersey, Senator Booker is a proven leader with a stellar record in the fight for full LGBT equality.”

Senator Booker is a champion of LGBT equality and a rising star in the Democratic Party.  Earning a perfect 100% score on the HRC Scorecard for the 113th Congress, Booker has also appeared in HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality video campaign.  A long-time friend and supporter of HRC, he gave a passionate speech to a crowd of over 3,000 at the HRC 2012 National Dinner in Washington, DC. He was also the featured speaker at the 2013 HRC Greater NY Gala.

As previously announced, the cast and filmmakers of “The Imitation Game” will be honored at the gala dinner. The Weinstein Company film, which stars actor Benedict Cumberbatch, tells the story of the late British cryptographer and computer scientist Alan Turing, who developed a method of cracking previously-unbreakable Nazi codes. Turing was also gay, and was arrested and prosecuted after he was caught in a same-sex relationship.  He was chemically castrated by his government and later committed suicide.

The event will also feature a performance from singer, songwriter, poet, and HRC supporter Mary Lambert - known for her duet with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis on their marriage-equality anthem “Same Love.”

For more information on the HRC Greater NY Gala, visit http://hrcgreaterny.org/

All media planning to attend MUST pre-register by Tuesday, January 27.  To request media credentials, please contact Stephen Peters at stephen.peters@hrc.org. Only members of the media who have been credentialed for this event will be allowed entrance. Further press logistics and coverage details will be forthcoming to credentialed media.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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