Dressed in a form-fitted black tuxedo, holding a bridal bouquet of white roses specked with yellow and red orchids, Annie Nguyen beamed, surrounded by men in colorful traditional Vietnamese wedding attire.

For the 50-year-old factory supervisor and mother of five, the short march in downtown San Jose’s 12th annual Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade marked a personal milestone.

Two years ago, after decades of being in the closet, the San Jose woman came out to her husband and children. On Sunday, standing behind a sign in Vietnamese and English that said, “Love and support ALL of your children,” Nguyen made a public declaration and appeal:

“You could lead two lives: one out, one hidden. But you’ll not be part of your family. Parents should accept their children.”

Nguyen was one of 40 Vietnamese gays and lesbians from the Bay Area and other parts of California who marched during the traditional annual celebration of Tet, the lunar new year. It was only the second time in the parade’s history that gays and lesbians marched openly — and the first time that families joined them. For Vietnamese gay and lesbian groups, the event signaled a new kind of visibility and openness in a culture that traditionally views homosexuality as shameful — and something to hide.

 See We are family, too: Vietnamese gays and lesbians join San Jose’s …
San Jose Mercury News,  USA

Dressed in a form-fitted black tuxedo, holding a bridal bouquet of white roses specked with yellow and red orchids, Annie Nguyen beamed, surrounded by men in colorful traditional Vietnamese wedding attire.

For the 50-year-old factory supervisor and mother of five, the short march in downtown San Jose’s 12th annual Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade marked a personal milestone.

Two years ago, after decades of being in the closet, the San Jose woman came out to her husband and children. On Sunday, standing behind a sign in Vietnamese and English that said, “Love and support ALL of your children,” Nguyen made a public declaration and appeal:

“You could lead two lives: one out, one hidden. But you’ll not be part of your family. Parents should accept their children.”

Nguyen was one of 40 Vietnamese gays and lesbians from the Bay Area and other parts of California who marched during the traditional annual celebration of Tet, the lunar new year. It was only the second time in the parade’s history that gays and lesbians marched openly — and the first time that families joined them. For Vietnamese gay and lesbian groups, the event signaled a new kind of visibility and openness in a culture that traditionally views homosexuality as shameful — and something to hide.

 See We are family, too: Vietnamese gays and lesbians join San Jose’s …
San Jose Mercury News,  USA

”That was me observing ‘Day Without a Gay.’ I don’t want to leave you hanging, but I said, ”I’ll just give you a little taste of what it would be like if I didn’t show up.”’

Comedian Wanda Sykes who came out as gay last month at a public rally against Proposition 8 in Las Vegas. On the ‘Tonight Show’ she delayed her entrance by several seconds, and then joked about the ‘Day Without a Gay’ event, but also spoke about her passionate response to the passage of Proposition 8.

 See Wanda Sykes promotes gay visibility on Jay Leno’s ‘Tonight Show’
Metro Weekly

San Francisco members of the Lesbian and Gay Band Association and a Saratoga middle school marching band are the only two groups in California tapped to march down Pennsylvania Avenue in what is set to be an historic inauguration parade.

Twenty-six members of the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Freedom Band and Cheer San Franciscowere selected from the Lesbian and Gay Band Association’s thousands of members nationwide to participate in the Jan. 20 event.

“I think it is great that the event is continuing the inclusion of the GLBT community in the important activities of our nation,” said Paul Boneberg, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. “I say congratulations to Obama for enhancing the visibility of our community by having them march.”

Doug Litwin, a clarinet player in the San Francisco band, said this is the first time an openly gay band has marched, although his band played on the sidelines during both Clinton inauguration parades.

“It was an amazing experience to be openly gay and participate, but this time we get to actually march in the parade,” Litwin said. “It is a bigger deal symbolically to be moving with the contingent.”

More than 1,400 marching bands applied to be in the parade that will follow Barack Obama’s swearing in at the Capitol on Jan. 20. To date, 70 have been selected.

 See San Francisco band to make history at inaugural
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA