Asian Pacific Islander Equality Closely Watches Oral Arguments on Marriage Equality

Posted on March 7, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized

Los Angeles – On March 5, 2009, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Proposition 8, a measure revoking marriage rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. API Equality – LA, an organization that has worked diligently for Marriage Equality rights since 2005, hopes the Supreme Court will invalidate the proposition, one that affects the lives of thousands of Asian and Pacific Islanders.

“The real threat of Prop. 8 is not just against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Californians, it is against all Californians,” said Karin Wang, Vice President of Asian Pacific American Legal Center and API Equality – LA steering committee member. “A core purpose of the California Constitution is to ensure that the law treats all people equally, including minority groups. If upheld, Prop. 8 will set a dangerous precedent, where a simple majority vote is able to strip away the fundamental rights of a protected minority group.”

According to the Williams Institute, a LGBT think tank based at UCLA, there are approximately 66,000 LGBT Asian and Pacific Islanders living in California—the largest in the nation. If Prop 8 is allowed to stand , the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry will be stripped from them.

API Equaltiy – LA is a coalition of organizations and individuals working to build support for equal marriage rights and fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the greater Los Angeles Asian and Pacific Islander community. For more information, call 323-860-7348 or visit, http://apiequalityla.org/

Please view the “Our Stories” section of the website to read stories about API’s and how Prop 8 affected their lives: http://www.apiequalityla.org/ourstories.php

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