2006-06-15 - Third Thursdays hosts discussion -- "From Race to Sexual Orientation: API Perspectives on Marriage Equality" in SF

Third Thursdays is hosting a discussion entitled "From Race to Sexual Orientation: API Perspectives on Marriage Equality" on Thursday, June 15, 2006, 7:00-9:30pm at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center in San Francisco.

The event will feature a short film by Stuart Gaffney and a panel discussion with Gaffney, Belinda Drokers-Laureta of API Family Prodie, and Rev. Deborah Lee.

From the event description:

What if you couldn't marry the person you love because she is Asian?

1905: California Civil Code forbids marriage between whites and "Mongolians"
1935: Washington State House Bill prohibits marriages between Caucasians and "Negroes, Orientals, Malays"
1948: California is first state to overturn anti-miscegenation laws

What if you couldn't marry the person you love because she is lesbian?

2005: California ballot proposal to outlaw same-sex marriage and eliminate domestic partner rights fails twice.
June 2006: US Constitutional amendment is proposed that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and would prevent extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex couples.

Given the API community's historic experiences with marriage, how can we uniquely contribute to the current national conversation on marriage and marriage equality? At this month's TT event, we bring you the perspectives of a Taiwanese civil rights lawyer, a Christian pastor, a Filipino mother, and a self-described Hapa gay filmmaker on this question. A brief 5-minute video will also be shown.