Marriage Equality
AACRE supports policies that secure equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the APIA community. Unfortunately, the struggle for equal marriage rights is not new to the APIA community. APIs historically have fought against discriminatory laws that prohibited individuals from marrying the person they love because of race. In taking leadership in the fight for marriage equality, AACRE continues the struggle to ensure all APIA families are free from discrimination.
In California, tens of thousands of APIA same-sex couples and families are harmed by marriage discrimination. According to a recent report by the Williams Institute of UCLA School of Law, California has the largest population of APIA same-sex couples in the nation.
- One in 10 same-sex couples in California include at least one APIA individual (13,000 APIAs in total).
- Over 50 percent of APIA same-sex couples are raising children who would benefit from the protections that civil marriage would provide for their families.
- More than 4,000 APIA children are raised by California same-sex couples.
AACRE supports AB 43 (Leno) a bill that would allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses. AACRE’s partner organizations are also involved in local advocacy efforts to educate APIA communities on the importance of marriage equality.
See AACRE Agenda for positions AACRE is taking on important legislation.