San Francisco APAs Celebrate Gay Marriage Ruling at City Hall
May 16, 2008
SAN FRANCSICO- Over 200 people gathered at the Hall Rotunda yesterday, electrified in rhythmic applause and chants of “Hey! Hey! Hey!” With the podium surrounded by pumped fists and warm embraces, city officials and supporters from San Francisco’s LGBT community celebrated the groundbreaking California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state ban barring lesbian and gay couples from civil marriage. “This is an extraordinary moment,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom, to chants of “Gavin! Gavin! Gavin!” “This is an extraordinary time. It’s about human dignity, it’s about human rights, and it’s about time!” Among those gathered were members from the Asian American Community such as Lance Toma, executive director of San Francisco’s Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center. Toma stood on the steps with his partner of four years, Erik Webb, and more than 50 other couples who will now be given the right to civil marriage.
Toma said the ruling was bound to create change within the Asian Pacific American community. “There is so much societal ignorance we need to fight each day. There will be less silence in the community because of this.” The silence on the issue of sexuality within the Asian Pacific American community has been important to many APA activists like Diana Rubang, who said the ruling would much for APAs who have not come out to their families. “I have friends that were planning to go to Canada to get married,” Ruband said. “[The ruling] will make it more comfortable for people to express their sexuality”. The ruling was a close 4-3 decision, with one prominent Asian American judge, Justice Ming Chin, voting against it. Chin was the first Asian American to serve as president of the Alameda County Bar Association in its over 100 year history. APA activist Aaron Chon attributed Chin’s dissent to generational differences. “Old and new cultures clash,” Chon said. “It also has to do with fear, fear of people not being used to it.” Regardless of Chin’s vote and how much it may be reflective of the sentiments of the wider Asian Pacific American community, APAs like Toma continue to stay positive: “It just means we have a lot of more work to do.”
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