Asian & Pacific Islander LGBT Community Celebrate Prop 8 Ruling

During this historic week, as GLAAD's Director of Field & Community Media, I am attending a major conference for jounalists -  the 21^st annual national convention of the Asian American Journalists Association. I oversee GLAAD's API Media Program.  As I attend  presentations and meet with media professionals who cover a variety of issues, including those that impact  the API LGBT community, the landmark  Proposition 8 decision is a key news story to cover.  Several blogs like 8 Asian and Angry Asian Man that write about the API  community have reported on the response to yesterday’s historic ruling in the federal Proposition 8 case where Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. API Equality applauded Judge Walker’s ruling in a press release issued immediately after the decision was announced. “The judge’s conclusions add to the growing consensus in courts and legislatures across the country that no good reasons exist for continuing to exclude same-sex couples from marriage,” said Heidi Li, a steering committee member for API Equality in Northern California.  “Instead, the evidence and legal arguments showed that Proposition 8 harms loving gay and lesbian couples and their families, while helping no one.” Yesterday’s historic ruling has added significance for the API community in California.  The state is home to more than 66,000 Asian & Pacific Islanders who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – the largest concentration in the United States, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. GLAAD will continue to monitor the media's coverage of Prop 8 and its impact  across all communities affected by this groundbreaking decision.