FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2008
Contacts:
EunSook Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703, ext. 206
Dae Joong Yoon, KRC, 323-937-3718
A Victory for Equality and Opportunity
NAKASEC and KRC joint public statement on
Marriage Equality in California
(Los Angeles, CA) Today, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its Los Angeles affiliate, the Korean Resource Center (KRC), celebrate with the 90,000 gay and lesbian families in California (one in 10 of these families is Asian American) who until today were excluded from marriage.
In a historic ruling today, the California Supreme Court overturned a same-gender marriage ban by 4-3 and ruled that same-gender couples deserve the freedom to marry under California law. With this pioneering ruling, California is one step closer in joining Massachusetts to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. In addition, California is now the first state in the country grant lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people full equality.
“When two people are in love, the sacred path they take towards commitment should not be blocked by discrimination and ignorance. We applaud the California Supreme Court for their courageous decision,” stated EunSook Lee, Executive Director, NAKASEC.“
Immigrant communities and communities of color are all too familiar with institutionalized denial of our basic humanity. Presently we are working to ensure that limited English proficient Korean American immigrants have full access to the ballot, healthcare, and schools. It is with pride that we stand up for marriage equality and with LGBTQ communities,” stated Dae Joong Yoon, Executive Director, KRC.
NAKASEC and KRC were two of over 50 Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations that signed onto a marriage equality amicus brief filed in the California Supreme Court. We will continue to support efforts to authorize same-gender marriage in California.
