LOS ANGELES – On Wednesday, October 12, anti-equality advocates failed to submit the required number of signatures to place a referendum for the June 2012 ballot to overturn the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act.
The FAIR Education Act was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown earlier this year. It requires schools to integrate age-appropriate and factual information about historical roles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and people with disabilities into existing social science instruction.
“Opponents of equality grossly distorted the intent and the effect of the FAIR Education Act and perpetuated blatantly false information about LGBT people in their quest to secure signatures for this referendum,” said Eileen Ma, Executive Director of API Equality-LA, “We are ready to engage the Asian American community in an honest dialogue about the importance of giving students a fair education.”
Tawal Panyacosit, Executive Director of API Equality-Northern California, said, “Asian Americans across California are standing up for FAIR Education Act and LGBT people. In the California legislature, all nine Asian American legislators voted to pass this legislation, including Dr. Richard Pan, Mariko Yamada, Fiona Ma, Warren Furutani, Paul Fong, and Mike Eng in the California Assembly, and Ted Lieu, Carol Liu, and Leland Yee in the California Senate.”
Marsha Aizumi, a Japanese American mother of a transgender son, stated, “Today is a great day for the Asian community. As a mother, I love and completely accept my son. However, it was very painful to see him struggle for so many years just to accept himself. LGBT people are our colleagues, friends, and family members. The FAIR Education Act helps to dispel stereotypes of LGBT people and ensure that we can be honest with each other about who we love.”
“As a Chinese psychologist, I am concerned by the lack of understanding of LGBT people in our communities,” stated, Terry Gock PhD, “Modern psychology conclusively demonstrates four facts about being LGBT: (1) it is not a disease, (2) it is not unnatural, (3) it cannot be learned, and (4) sexual orientation efforts change can be harmful.”
Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, a Filipina-American mother, added, “It is shameful that opponents of FAIR Education Act are fanning false fears about LGBT people. As a Filipina mother, I value family unity and social harmony. LGBT people are part of our family and community. The opponent’s lies divide our families and poison our community. Today’s victory shows that the Asian community is standing up for truth and love and joins with all Californians helping to build a safe community and hopeful future for everyone.”
(API Equality-LA press release)
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