Discrimination
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Moms Across California Say NO To Prop 8
Join the 888 Campaign to Defeat Proposition 8!
Click here to join the 888 Campaign to defeat Prop 8!
Dear Friends,In less than 35 days, 12 million Californians will go to the polls to elect a new President and weigh in on Proposition 8—the ballot measure that would eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples.
A number of public polls have shown that our side—the NO side—is ahead. This is much better than being behind, but the devil is in the details. An in-depth analysis of the polling reveals that fully 20% of the voters are still undecided.
We've learned from losses on other anti-gay ballot initiatives, here and in other states (Wisconsin, Colorado, etc.), that people lie to pollsters about their prejudices. There is typically a 7-10 point difference between what people tell the pollster about their views on LGBT rights and how they really vote. In other words 7-10% say they believe in equality but actually vote against us.
When you consider all of these factors, we’re in a dead heat on Prop 8.
So, we cannot rest easy—we must do everything we can to match the efforts of our opponents. Please join our campaign to identify 888 voters who pledge to defeat Prop 8 on Election Day.
Click here to join the 888 Campaign to defeat Prop 8!
Once you’ve taken the pledge. Please forward this on to eight of your own friends and family and get them to take this pledge and defeat Prop 8 on Election Day.
Sincerely,
Amos Lim, 林明利, Community Organizer
API Equality | www.apiequality. org
17 Walter U. Lum Place, San Francisco, CA 94108
415-274-6760 ext. 306 | 415-397-8770 (f) | alim@caasf.org
Lesbian and Gay Couples Win Freedom to Marry in California!
On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled in a historic 4-3 decision that lesbian and gay couples deserve the freedom to marry under state law. API Equality and its coalitions of supporters are thrilled by this momentous decision, which is a victory for all Californians who cherish fairness and equality, and will ensure that every Californian will enjoy the dignity and respect that marriage provides.
The positive ruling will impact thousands of Asian American families. According to a study by the UCLA's Williams Institute, Asian Americans form a highly visible portion of California's population of same-sex couples and their children. Although the numbers are difficult to ascertain, a low estimate indicates there are at least 13,000 Asian American same-sex couples raising over 5,600 children in the state.
Read the California Supreme Court opinion and press release.
Read an FAQ about the Court's decision and how to marry in California.
Read the Asian American amicus brief in support of the Marriage Cases.
Read API Equality's press release heralding the Court's decision.
Read responses by API Equality-LA, Asian & Pacific Islander Health Forum, Asian American Justice Center, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and National Korean American Service & Education Consortium.
View more videos and Subscribe to API Equality's You Tube Channel
API Equality Partners with SFSU's Family Acceptance Project
API Equality is pleased to announce its partnership with the Family Acceptance Project (FAP) at San Francisco State University to develop tools and resources for API families to learn how to love and accept their LGBT children.
To start, API Equality wants to talk with API families with LGBT children to ask their advice on developing education materials for families and providers in the community. Families who would like to learn about this new research to help their LGBT children lead healthy and successful lives, and provide advice for these new family education materials should contact Amos Lim at alim@caasf.org or (415) 274-6760 ext. 306. Families will receive a stipend for their participation and time.
For more on API Equality's partnership with FAP, click here.
9 Outstanding Young API Leaders Selected for Helen Zia Fellowship for Social Change
Nine outstanding young API leaders have been selected for the Helen Zia Fellowship for Social Change. They are Wendy Chuah, Kenny Gong, Maggie Kong, Siddharth P. Kulkarni, Cynthia Liao, Carmina Ocampo, Chibo Shinagawa, Trangdai Glassey-Tranguyen, and Daniel Wu. Each were selected on the basis of their leadership potential, commitment to serving their API community, and interest in advancing social justice.
Named after the award-winning journalist, author, and activist, the Helen Zia Fellowship is a 4-month leadership program to train the next generation of API community leaders to effectively advocate for their community's needs and interests. The program will support the work of progressive organizations that are advocating for fairness and justice in California, including API Equality and Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality (AACRE).
For more about the program and fellows, click here.
API Equality Bids a Fond Farewell to 2007
As 2007 draws to a close, API Equality is proud to reflect on its accomplishments this year. Among other things, 2007 marks the year that API Equality joined with Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), one of the nation's oldest and most reputable API civil rights organization, and became a fully-funded, fully-staffed project. Prior to its merger, API Equality was an all-volunteer run organization.
Some of its proudest accomplishments this year include encouraging hundreds of API community members to take action in support of marriage equality legislation, generating sustained media coverage of marriage equality in the API and English language press, and organizing the first-ever coalition of API faith leaders to speak out in support of LGBT families.
For a recap of API Equality's accomplishments in 2007, click here.
API Allies Show Love at Holiday Fundraiser
On December 8, 2007, over 250 API allies of marriage equality came out to support API Equality at HOLIDAY LOVE 2007, a fundraiser hosted by Emi Gusukuma, Emily Lam, Tina Lee, Steve Ngo, and Richard Pio Roda at Zebulon Bar and Cafe. Sponsored by the law firm Minami Tamaki, led by notable civil rights lawyer Dale Minami, the event raised critical funds to support API Equality's important work. Many thanks to our hosts and sponsor for their generous support and to all of our allies for coming out to show their love.
Let California Ring
Every day gay and lesbian Californians are denied the freedom to marry the person they love. Let California Ring is a public education campaign to open hearts and minds about the freedom to marry and the respect, support, protections, and responsibilities that come with marriage.
Comprising a coalition of more than 45 diverse local, state, and national organizations, including API Equality, Let California Ring is a project of Equality California Institute. It will forever change the way Californians feel about LGBT people and the freedom to marry.
Find out more at www.LetCaliforniaRing.org.
Unprecedented Coalition of
Over 60 Asian American Organizations
File Brief in Support of Marriage Equality
A coalition of 63 local, state, and national Asian American organizations have filed a legal brief in California in support of equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. The Asian American amicus (friend of the court) brief supports basic fairness for same-sex couples and their families, drawing from the Asian American community's own past struggle with anti-miscegenation laws in the state of California.
For a copy of the brief, click here.
For more information, click here.