Official Prop. 8 Proponent Claims Freedom to Marry Can Harm Children

Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2010
An official proponent of Proposition 8 testified at a federal trial Thursday that he was involved in disseminating claims that marriage equality could cause children to become gay and spark legalization of sex with children, incest and polygamy. [Link]

Op-Ed: One Year After Prop 8: Why Asian Americans Should Support Marriage Equality

Asian Pacific Americans for Progress
November 3, 2009
Karin Wang: In last year's Prop 8 vote, California voters narrowed the gap by 14 points in eight years from the 2000 Prop 22 decision, the ballot measure that created a statutory ban on marriage equality – but Asian Americans narrowed the gap by 30 points in the same period of time. "I look at that data and I realize that not only is change possible, but that together we can make change. And most importantly -- we as Asian Americans can make change." [Link]

'Star Trek' Actor George Takei and Husband Brad Altman to Appear on 'Newlywed Game'

New York Daily News
September 16, 2009
Openly gay actor George Takei and his husband Brad Altman will appear in a special upcoming celebrity episode of The Newlywed Game. The couple was married last September in California and have been together for 22 years. [Link]

New Poll: LA Voters Overwhelmingly Support Freedomt to Marry

LA Times
June 19, 2009
A new poll showed a majority of voters in Los Angeles support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry, with 56% in favor and 37% opposed. But the poll also showed that within the city, views on the issue differed widely among racial and ethnic groups. [link]

California marriage equality fight goes to Chinatown

Reuters
June 18, 2009
Lost in the 2009 election wreckage for gays was the marriage campaign's relative success in Asian communities, which have swung toward support of the freedom to marry at a faster rate than the rest of California and have become a model for other groups.

Asian Americans have been building grass-roots support in Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Filipinotown for four years. Gays, lesbians and straight allies have talked about the often-taboo topic of homosexuality, set up booths at festivals, harangued non-English language media to change coverage and lobbied elected officials for support. (Link)

Calif. Lesbian Mother Given Deportation Reprieve

Associated Press
April 24, 2009
Shirley Tan, a Filipino immigrant facing deportation and separation from her partner and family, will likely be allowed to remain in the U.S. through next year after Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced an emergency immigration bill in Congress that would give Tan two years to apply for a new visa or for permanent U.S. residency. [Link]

API-PFLAG "Think, Write, Win: Choose Love" Essay Contest in support of Marriage Equality

AsAm Files
April 16, 2009
API-PFLAG is hosting an essay contest/scholarship for current graduating high school seniors and/or undergraduates, who are permanently residing in either Orange County or Los Angeles counties. Over $5,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to the best student essays on why marriage is a fundamental civil right. DEADLINE APRIL 24, 2009 [Link]

OP-ED: Iowa’s Family Values

New York Times

April 8, 2009

Steven W. Thrasher writes, "When the good state of Iowa conferred the dignity of civic recognition on my parents' relationship -- a relationship some members of their own families thought was deviant and immoral, that the civil authorities of Nebraska had tried to destroy, and that even some of my mom's college-educated friends believed would produce children striped like zebras -- our family began. And by the time my father died, their interracial marriage was seen just as a marriage, and an admirable 45-year one at that." [Link]

Japan Allows Its Gay and Lesbian Citizens Marriage Abroad

Agence France-Presse
March 27, 2009

Although Japan's government does not recognize marriage for gay couples, it has approved a policy to allow Japanese citizens to marry same-sex foreign partners abroad. [Link]

Minorities Fear Trend From California Marriage Ban

Reuters
November 24, 3008
African American, Latino and Asian American groups said in a brief filed in opposition to Prop. 8: "The entire purpose behind the constitutional principle of equal protection would be subverted if the constitutional protection of unpopular minorities were subject to simple majority rule. This case is not simply about gay and lesbian equality." [Link]

OP-ED: Gays and Asians, Not So Strange Bedfellows

San Francisco Chronicle
November 5, 2008
Jeff Yang writes about the anniversary of Harvey Milk's death and upcoming biopic on the LGBT equality advocate possibly helping the Bay Area's LGBT and Asian American communities find more common ground. [Link]

Battle Over Marriage Divides Small City

New America Media
October 27, 2008
Steve Bok, 21, a Chinese-American social worker with the National Association of Social Workers, considers opposition to same-sex marriage another form of discrimination. "Most of my family and friends are all against Prop 8 because they once experienced the Chinese Exclusion Act," he said. "Prop 8 is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 2008." [Link]
The freedom to marry matters to the APA community too.

Survey: Asian-Americans overwhelmingly support marriage equality

San Jose Mercury News
October 15, 2008
Asian-Americans in California overwhelmingly oppose a ballot measure that would ban gay couples' marriages in the state, according to a ground-breaking survey released today. The poll found that 57 percent of Asian-Americans likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election oppose Proposition 8. Only 32 percent planned to vote for the measure, with 11 percent undecided. [Link]
Read more about why marriage matters to Asian-Americans.

Op-ED: Japanese Americans Should Stand for Equality by Voting No on Prop 8

The Rafu Shimpo
October 4, 2008
"Just as the antimiscegenation law denied interracial couples the freedom to marry the partners they loved, and just as the Alien Land Law stripped Japanese Americans of the basic right to own and lease land, Proposition 8 would deny gay men and lesbians the right to marry, a right available to all other adults." [Link]
Read more about why marriage matters to Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Asian Pacific American Legal Center Calls for Passage of UAFA, Repeal of DOMA

Indybay
September 30, 2008
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC) called for an end to immigration discrimination against same-sex binational couples in a detailed report, “A Devastating Wait: Family Unity and the Immigration Backlogs.” [Link]

Chinese Media Changing Its Tune on Marriage Equality

New American Media
July 2, 2008
Chinese papers are shifting to cover the personal stories about marriage equality, reflecting a shift in their audience too. (Link)

APA Groups Applaud Calif. Supreme Court's Decision to Legalize Same-Sex Marriages

Pacific Citizen
May 20, 2008
Proponents say the historic 4-3 decision positively affects thousands of Asian Pacific American families and their children. (Link)

State Supreme Court to Rule on Marriage

Asian Journal Online
April 25, 2008
Asian Americans call for marriage equality in California and compare the pending case to past race discrimination in marriage in California. (Link)

Friends of the Court: Asian Groups Back Marriage Equality in CA

Bay Area Reporter
February 21, 2008
Amicus co-author and nationally recognized appellate lawyer, Kevin Fong, hopes that by reading the Asian Pacific American's amicus brief in support of the freedom to marry, the Court will "have a greater appreciation for what is at issue, by looking at the State's prior exclusionary marriage laws from the vantage point of a longer historical lens. Constitutional issues are much easier to see with 20/20 historical hindsight and perhaps the reaction we have today in examining how Asian Pacific Americans were previously restricted from the right to marry will allow the court to consider its role in protecting the fundamental Constitutional principles at stake as we again consider exclusionary marriage laws aimed at gays and lesbians today." [Link]

Asian American Lawyers Support the Freedom to Marry

Asian Journal
September 30, 2007
A team of Asian American attorneys and advocates in California announced Wednesday, September 26th that a coalition of over 60 Local, State and National Asian American organizations will be filing a legal brief in support of equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. [Link]