Breaking Events & News
- API Equality-LA Wins City of Los Angeles Pride Award
- Los Angeles Honors "Faces Of New LGBT Movement"
- Words and Images from Decision Day
- Leading Asian American Coalitions Express Severe Disappointment over Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Proposition 8
- The Day of Decision is Tuesday, May 26th!
- Asian Pacific Islander Equality – Los Angeles Closely Watches Oral Arguments on Marriage Equality, March 5
- Assemblymember Ted Lieu, Co-author of HR 5
- API Equality-LA Supports NAACP Leaders Under Pressure for Opposing Prop 8
- Beyond Prop 8 – The Fight Continues
- 200 Supporters of Gay & Lesbian Community March in 2009 Los Angeles Chinatown New Year's Parade
- Data Released Showing That Asian American Voting on Proposition 8 Significantly Influenced by Age, English Proficiency and Religiosity”
- API Equality-LA Releases Public Service Announcements on Prop 8
- Hacienda-La Puente School Board Member Jay Chen speaks out against Proposition 8
- More news...
The Reverend Mark Nakagawa, Centenary United Methodist Church
Welcome!
API Equality-LA is a coalition of organizations and individuals working in the local Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community to build support for the right of same-sex couples to marry. From its founding in 2005, API Equality-LA has uniquely bridged the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community with the civil rights and other social justice communities, united by a common understanding of the parallels between past anti-miscegenation and current marriage equality struggles.
API Equality-LA is a partner with many other statewide and local coalitions, including API Equality and API Equality-San Francisco.
To learn more about API Equality-LA, click here.
API Equality-LA Wins City of Los Angeles Pride Award
Photo, L-R: API Equality-LA members Tim Ky, Mike Bonin from Councilmember Rosendahl’s office, Deanna Kitamura, Doreena Wong, Ellen Kameya, and Harold Kameya.
Los Angeles – Each year, at the end of the month of June, Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl holds a special Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) pride celebration during a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council. As part of that celebration, the councilmember issues a handful of LGBT Pride Month awards, celebrating leaders and role models in the community. The theme of the awards this year is Faces of the New LGBT Movement.
People who have emerged as fresh faces of leadership in the LGBT community in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 are being honored. API Equality-LA is being recognized for its organizing work in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities. In particular, API Equality-LA was nominated to recognize its work with API Christian and other faith communities, its efforts to ensure that API ethnic media provides balanced coverage on the marriage equality issue, and its work to build a strong coalition between APIs and other communities of color. This is the second award that API Equality-LA has recently received, following on the May 2009 award for its work that was bestowed by the Pride and Heritage Committee in Washington, D.C.
“We are thrilled that Councilmember Rosendahl should honor us in this way,” said API-Equality Co-Chair Doreena Wong. “We truly appreciate the recognition of our past efforts and the encouragement this provides for our continuing work to win back marriage equality.”
API Equality-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.
Click here for a link to "API Equality-LA Wins City of Los Angeles Pride Award".
Los Angeles Honors "Faces Of New LGBT Movement"
What: The Los Angeles City Council will hold its 3rd Annual LGBT Pride Celebration Friday, June 27 at Los Angeles City Hall. Recent developments have energized the LGBT community. This year's theme, "Faces of the New LGBT Movement," will honor new leaders and the growing diversity of the LGBT civil rights movement.
When: Friday, June 26, 2009 | 9:00am
Where: City Hall | 200 N. Spring Street, 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA, 90012 [View on Google Maps]
RSVP/Info: John Gregory, (213) 473-7011, john.gregory@lacity.org
Click here for a link to "Los Angeles Honors Faces of New LGBT Movement".
Queerying The Bible Training
Whether you are a Christian or not, and whatever your level of understanding of the Bible, come explore the history of the "Good Book" and how it's been used as a weapon by some fundamentalist Christians to denounce same-gender relationships. Discover the Bible through the lens of progressive theology and have fun interacting with it. Workshop led by Professor Julius Nam and Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong (California Faith for Equality), Co-sponsored by API Equality-LA Faith Committee and California Faith for Equality. Lunch provided, so PLEASE RSVP!
When: Saturday, June 20th | 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Where: First Congregational Church of Los Angeles | 540 S Commonwealth Ave, LA, CA 90020 [View on Google Maps]
Questions/Comments: contact@apiequalityla.org
Click here for a link to "Queerying The Bible Training".
Words and Images from Decision Day
The California Supreme Court announced that they will uphold Proposition 8. Events were held throughout the day in various parts of Los Angeles to protest the decision. API Equality-LA was there in full force. We also ran into some supporters along the way.
Out Lt. Dan Choi Speaks To Us at the East Los Angeles Rally
Actress Amy Hill Expresseses Her Sadness Over the Decision
Former Miss Universe Brooke Lee and Project Runway Fashion Designer Nick Verreos Tells Us a Thing or Two
Click here to view all Decision Day videos.
The Morning Press Conference in South Los Angeles
The East Los Angeles Rally
West Hollywood Rally
Click here for a link to "Words and Images from Decision Day".
Leading Asian American Coalitions Express Severe Disappointment over Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Proposition 8
Ruling on California Proposition 8 Cases allows a bare majority of voters to enshrine inequality into our constitution and to deprive an entire class of Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry.
The California Supreme Court today ruled in decision that the initiative process in California can be used to strip away fundamental rights from a minority group that has historically been subject to discrimination.
API Equality and API Equality–LA, two organizations that have worked single-mindedly to build public support for same-sex marriage in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities since 2004, are severely disappointed that the Supreme Court will uphold a proposition revoking marriage rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
“We are extremely saddened that the Court saw it fit to take away rights from a minority group,” said Karin Wang of Asian Pacific American Legal Center “Essentially, the court has set forth a dangerous precedent where a simple majority vote is able to strip away the fundamental rights of a protected minority group.”
“As Asian and Pacific Islanders, we are no strangers to the perils of selective justice,” stated Jury Candelario of API Equality-LA. “From bans on immigration and interracial marriage, our community has often been the victim of such discrimination. We cannot stand silent as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender members of our communities come under fire from the same sort of prejudice that has so often hurt our families.”
According to the Williams Institute, an LGBT think tank based at UCLA, there are approximately 66,000 LGBT Asian and Pacific Islanders living in California—the largest in the nation. With the court’s decision to uphold Prop 8, the fundamental right to marry is no longer a right afforded to them.
Fortunately, the Court has chosen to maintain the marriage status of the 18,000 couples who married during the short period that same-sex marriage was legal.
“While today’s decision is deeply disappointing, we are inspired by the recent victories in Iowa and Vermont and are committed to working together so that marriage equality will become a restored right for all,” said HyunJoo Lee from the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium.
Whereas a little over ten years ago, only a handful of API organizations were visibly and vocally supportive of same-sex couples right to marry, among the first was the Japanese American Citizen’s League. Today, through API Equality – LA and API Equality’s efforts, more than 60 API organizations and our leading API elected officials and community leaders have come on record in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples via an amicus brief supporting last year’s In Re Marriage Cases and more recently in public endorsements opposing Proposition 8.
API LGBT couples and individuals are available for interviews in Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Indian, and Vietnamese.
Contact:
Karin Wang | 213-977-7500 | Kwang@apalc.org
Noel Alumit | 213-572-1174 | noela@apaitonline.org
Please click here for the original press release.
The Day of Decision is Tuesday, May 26th!
According to the California Supreme Court website, the Court will announce its decision to either uphold or strike down Proposition 8 on Tuesday, May 26th at 10:00am! Win or lose, come together in solidarity with fellow activists, supporters, and allies! Folks are holding press conferences, rallies, and marches throughout the day. If you can, grab your API Equality-LA t-shirt and look for us in the crowd! We will be updating our Twitter and Facebook at these events, so keep an eye out for information regarding meeting locations and event updates!
If you have questions or comments BEFORE Tuesday: (323) 860-7348
If you can’t find us in the crowd ON Tuesday: (818) 482-6064
Events on the Day of Decision!
(Look for API Equality-LA folks!)
10:30am | Lucy Florence Cultural Center (3351 W. 43rd Street, L.A., CA 90008)
Approximately a half-hour after the expected posting of the ruling, attorneys for plaintiff couples and community leaders will hold a news conference to discuss the ruling and what it means for California’s same-sex couples and their families, communities of color, and the future of LGBT rights in California. Local couples and community leaders will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean for one-on-one interviews.
12:00pm – 3:00pm | L.A. County Marriage License Office (4716 East Cesar Chavez Avenue, L.A.)
There will be a rally and press conference at the LA County Marriage License Office in East Los Angeles. Rally organizers will gather at the corner of Dangler and Cesar Chavez. The rally will commence at the entrance of the county building and signs will be distributed for supporters to display. The press conference will start at 1:00pm.
- More Info: http://decisionday.org/
- Contact: Eddie Martinez martinez.eddie@yahoo.com
7:00pm | The Corner of Santa Monica Blvd & San Vicente Blvd (West Hollywood)
There will be a rally and march starting in West Hollywood. Bring: (1) white ribbon to tie White Knots all along our march; (2) white flowers to lay in Matthew Shepard Human Rights Park; (3) white chalk to write messages in the road and on the sidewalks; (4) wear white to show our united in supporting same-sex marriage; and (5) bring signs and bullhorns and anything else to make noise… let them hear us united and strong! You can also meet the march at approximately 9:30pm at Hollywood & Highland.
- More Info: http://decisionday.org/
- Contact: David Comfort david.comfort@mindspring.com
- Facebook: Day of Decision - LA Area (Facebook Group)
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/DayOfDecision
Other events around Decision Day:
6:00pm | The Corner of 2nd St. & Hill St. (235 Hill St, Santa Monica)
There will be a rally and march in Santa Monica. Meet at 6:00pm for fellowship, refreshments and discussion at the corner of 2nd and Hill Streets. Then the crowd will march to the Santa Monica Courthouse at 1725 Main Street. Please where white or come as you are.
- More Info: http://dayofdecision.wetpaint.com/page/Santa+Monica
- Contact: churchop@yahoo.com
Saturday after the Day of Decision!
1:00pm | Steps of Fresno City Hall (2600 Fresno St, Fresno)
We are working to galvanize a movement and knit a community that cries for FULL Access, Equality & Justice 4 ALL. As a movement, we will not have a better stage, a better moment in time, as the WORLD waits and watches for our reaction. On the FIRST Saturday AFTER the Prop 8 verdicts are announced, we are going to converge from each section of this state and neighboring states, to demonstrate our community’s statewide mobilization for FULL equality, in the epicenter of middle America values, for US, and for all our LGBT family, across this great Nation, that are discriminated against - daily. Referring to the sentiments of Harvey Milk, this is an example of a larger movement. We hope you’ll Meet in the Middle and see these efforts for yourself – in FRESNO.
- More Info: www.meetinthemiddle4equality.com
- Contact: Meetinthemiddle4equality@yahoo.com
- RSVP & Bus Sign-up: http://www.meetinthemiddle4equality.com/trip_planner/rsvp.php
Please click here for a link to this event.
API Equality-LA Welcomes Its New Volunteers!
API Equality-LA Wins Award
Pride and Heritage, a coalition of four community-based organizations (Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Sisters, A/PI Queers United for Action, KhushDC, and National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – DC Chapter) has recognized API Equality-LA for its work. Read more here.
May 1st MIWON Rally - Queer Contingent
Join the queer contingent for the Multi-ethnic Immigrant Worker Organizing Network (MIWON) May 1st march and action. Let’s make sure Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer issues are addressed in any immigration reform and workers’ rights agenda!
Time & Place: May 1, 2009, 1:00 pm @ Park and Echo Park Ave [View on Google Maps]
Please Call: Sign up and confirm your attendance as part of the queer contingent 213.738.9050 ext 104 or email: gambaadisaquilombo@gmail.com (leave a name, number and e-mail)
Actor Martin Sheen with API Equality marching in the May Day Rally, 2007
API Equality-LA Volunteer Orientation
Join us on Sunday, May 3rd for our Volunteer Orientation!
10:00am - 1:00pm
Geared toward new API Equality-LA volunteers who have joined us within the past 6 months. The program will be geared toward API Equality-LA basics, including topics such as the history of the API LGBTIQ organizing; API Equality-LA history; organizational/committee structure; past, present, and future activities/events; volunteer opportunities; some skills training and roleplaying. PLEASE Sign-up!
Location: Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), 3465 West 8th Street, 2nd floor, Los Angeles, CA 90005 [View on Google Maps]
Sign-ups: Kat Khommarath | kkhommarath@lagaycenter.org | 323 860 7348
State By State: The Legal Battle Over Gay Marriage
Gay rights activists around the nation are challenging state bans on same-sex marriage -- in state courts and through the legislature. Click here for a look at how the legal battle is playing out, state by state.
API-Equality In Thai Town
Stephanie and Eyre, API-Equality volunteers, attended the Thai New Year festival on April 5th. API-Equality volunteers did a splendid job speaking to hundreds of festival goers about gay marriage and Prop 8.
API-Equality Twitters at Townhall
On April 1, Co-chair Marshall Wong (center) presented information at a townhall meeting on Prop. 8. Volunteers Genevieve and Michelle lent their support. Genevieve (left) twittered the meeting. She’s showing us her sore thumbs. You can follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/apiequalityla
“Think, Write, Win: Choose Love”
Presented by Asian Pacific Islander Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (API-PFLAG)
A College Scholarship Essay Contest
What: Over $5,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to the best student essays on why should same-sex marriage be a fundamental civil right. Essays are to be limited to no more than 1000 words (1500 characters for Chinese and Korean essays).
Why: To discover, give voice to, and recognize the voices of talented youths on the important civil rights issue, the freedom to marry. Essays accepted in English, Chinese, or Korean. Winning essay writers will receive cash.
Who: High school and college students who will enroll part-time or full-time at an accredited two-year or four-year college of university in the Fall of 2009. Must be residents of Los Angeles or Orange counties.
How: Essays should be submitted to apipflag@yahoo.com
When: Deadline for essay submission is April 24, 2009.
Winners to be announced May 15, 2009.
For more information, click here.
The Real Threat of Prop 8 and Why It Must be Overturned
by Karin Wang
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, "an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Thanks to Proposition 8, justice is now threatened everywhere.
The real threat of Prop. 8 is not just against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Californians, it is against all Californians. 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...
To read the rest of this article, please click here.
Asian Pacific Islander Equality – Los Angeles Closely Watches Oral Arguments on Marriage Equality, March 5
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.
Please click here to read the original press statement.
Beyond Prop 8 – The Fight Continues
Protests are occurring in cities throughout California and the nation. People, regardless of race, gender, and sexual orientation, are standing up for the right to marry for same-sex couples, refusing to allow the proponents of Proposition 8, of discrimination and homophobia, to prevail.
API Equality-LA encourages its members and supporters to take part in these actions of support both peacefully and respectfully, keeping in mind that we need to remain positive and forward thinking as we make our voices heard. Borrowing a tip from Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), try to convey a message of acceptance for everyone, we encourage you to be creative, and inspirational, with your signage at the protests without negatively targeting any particular community.
Please click here for more information.
Our Stories
 | Stuart & John My husband John and I are newlyweds after 21 years together – happily married since our wedding this June. Exchanging vows surrounded by our family and friends was one of the happiest moments of our lives. Having my parents witness a second generation in our family attain the freedom to marry was especially meaningful, because of their experiences as an interracial couple. |
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