Asian, Pacific Islanders organize
Rally for same-sex marriage in San Francisco
By LeiLani Dowell
San Francisco
The Asian-Pacific Islander community held its
first-ever rally in support of same-sex marriage Aug. 8 in San
Francisco. The fog of San Francisco's Sunset District could not
dampen the mood of participants in an action organizers called
"Summer of Love 2004."
The 2000 U.S. Census states that Asians and Pacific
Islanders make up 31.33 percent of the population in San
Francisco.
Gary Chen of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance told the crowd:
"We as gay Asians understand the ignorance and prejudice placed
upon us. ... We are here to show we have a voice, and we will
continue speaking out. This is just a starting step."
Chen said the rally was organized because members believed
that Asian voices were unheard around the issue. He said he was
overwhelmed that so many share GAPA's vision of equality and
community.
Mabel Teng, general assessor-recorder for the City of San
Francisco, was the keynote speaker for the event. Born and
raised in Hong Kong, Teng in 1994 became the first
Chinese-American to serve on the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors. She officiated in the first same-sex marriage
ceremonies in San Francisco in February of this year.
Teng told the audience that she wholeheartedly supports gay
marriage because she remembers the time when Chinese were only
allowed to attend one public school in San Francisco, the
Commodore Stockton school, then called the Oriental School. She
emphasized that there can be no equality where there is
segregation and separation.
Zaji Gershon Lieberman, a 10-year-old Chinese daughter of
lesbian parents, echoed Teng's sentiments. "My moms have been
together for 24 years but can't get married," she said. "In the
old days, they used to have laws against Chinese families. Now
there's laws against gay marriage, but I know that will
change."
Patricia Lin, a Taiwanese Jewish American, spoke about the
next day's anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped by the United
States over Nagasaki, Japan. San Francisco Board of Supervisors
member Bevan Dufty said that the future of San Francisco lies
in the API community and urged equality in immigration rights
for lesbian-gay-bi-trans partners. Andy Wong of Community
United Against Violence said the API people have always been
present in the struggle for same-sex marriage.
API couples who had been married on that historic
Valentine's Day weekend in San Francisco this year participated
in the Aug. 8 demonstration, along with their families and
friends. People held signs reading "love is gender blind" in
Japanese, Chinese and English.
As much a fight-back rally as a celebration, the event
commenced with the married couples tossing bouquets into the
crowd, a symbol of their commitment to make same-sex marriage a
concrete reality for all.
Sponsors of the event included the Gay Asian Pacific
Alliance, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Asian
Pacific American Coalition for Equality, National Center for
Lesbian Rights, and the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women
& Trans gender Coalition. The event was supported by 70
other API and gay rights organizations.
Reprinted from the Aug. 18, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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