|
No on Proposition 8 |
| |
 |
|
|
"I went
to school in a black tar-paper
barrack [as a child in internment
camps] and began the day seeing the
barbed-wire fence, and thank god
those barbed-wire fences are now
long gone for Japanese Americans.
But I still see an invisible,
legalistic barbed-wire that keeps
me, my partner of 19 years, Brad
Altman, and another group of
Americans separated from a normal
life." |
| |
--
Star Trek's George Takei, during a 2006
interview on National Public Radio |
|
|
|
Separate Is Not Equal
| In the case
Perez v. Sharp (1948), the Supreme
Court of California became the first state
in the country since Reconstruction to
strike down bans against interracial
marriage. The repeal of anti-miscegenation
laws by so-called "activist judges"
was not aligned with the opinions held by
the public at that time. The
rejection of interracial marriage was overwhelming and dwarfs the
percentage of people who are opposed to
same-sex marriage today. A
1958 Gallup Poll revealed that 94% of
whites were opposed to interracial marriage.
It wasn't until 1967 when the U.S.
Supreme Court followed California's lead and
brought down all state anti-miscegenation
laws (Loving
v. Virginia). The definition of
marriage has changed over time. So, when
Proposition 8 supporters talk about
"reaffirming traditional marriage"
and not letting anyone else "redefine
marriage," are we talking about the pre-1967
definition of marriage or the post-1967
definition of marriage?
|
|
Many of you may be in an
interracial marriage or you may be close to
someone who is. How would you feel if your
government had the power to invalidate that
marriage? How would you feel if your rights
to take care of your ill spouse or children
were suddenly under question or removed?
In this year's landmark
In re Marriage Cases (2008), the
conservative-leaning Supreme Court of
California based much of its decision to
strike down the same-sex marriage ban on the
Perez v. Sharp decision. The 2008
decision stated that "an individual's
sexual orientation -- like a person's race
or gender -- does not constitute a
legitimate basis upon which to deny or
withhold legal rights."
Proposition 8, also known as
Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to
Marry Act, would write inequality into
our state Constitution. Proposition 8
is silent on the retroactivity of a ban, but
its passage could possibly invalidate the
estimated 11,000 same-sex marriages that
became a reality after the court decision.
Supporters of Proposition 8
are currently in the midst of a media
blitz based on misleading charges
(San Diego Union Tribune 10/16/08)
that |
|
 |
|
NOC co-presented Lina Hoshino's
film, "In God's House: Asian
American Lesbian and Gay Families in
the Church" in 2007 |
|
| have been
challenged by legal experts (San
Jose Mercury News 9/30/08,
10/18/08). Their
argument that domestic partners already have
the same rights as married, heterosexual
spouses should make all Americans recall the
devastating logic of "separate but equal"
laws (Plessy
v. Ferguson) which had severe
consequences in promoting and legitimizing
second-class citizenship, racial
segregation, and intolerance. |
Hate
in our backyard. Los Altos, CA in
2006. Photo by Will Kaku |
|
As a result of the television and
radio advertisements, support for
Proposition 8 has surged ahead in
recent polls. As defenders of civil
liberties and human rights, NOC
believes it is critical to defeat
Proposition 8 which seeks to exclude
a single group of people from a
fundamental right. Join us in
voting NO on Proposition 8. |
|
| |
|
| |
| A partial list of organizations in our community
that support voting No on Proposition 8:
Asian Law Alliance
Japanese
American Citizen League-San Jose Chapter (San Jose
JACL)
Japanese American Citizen League-Sequoia Chapter
Council of Churches of Santa Clara County
ACLU-Santa Clara Valley
DeFrank Center
PFLAG
Google
Levi Strauss
PG&E
Click
here to see a list of other groups opposed to
Proposition 8.
Other Links:
Download the Supreme Court of California In re
MARRIAGE CASES decision
from the NOC site by clicking
here.
NoOnProp8
Human Rights
Campaign
Equality California
|
|
JACL Community
Recognition Dinner |
| |
San Jose JACL's 7th Annual Community
Recognition Dinner
Saturday, November 1,
2008
Holiday Inn, 1740 North First Street, San
Jose, CA 95112 |
| |
|
 |
|
The
Nihonmachi
Outreach Committee (NOC)
will be honored at
San Jose JACL's Community
Recognition Dinner on November
1st. NOC was founded in 1979
by a group of grassroots community
activists who were concerned about
preserving the unique character of
Japantown (Nihonmachi) during
redevelopment. During the 1980’s, NOC was an active
participant in the redress and reparations
struggle which eventually led to the Civil
Liberties Act of 1988. |
|
The symbol of Japantown was designed
as part of a NOC-sponsored contest |
|
NOC gathered
testimony from San Jose residents for the
Commission on Wartime Relocation and
Internment of Civilians hearings and
organized the San Jose component of the
1987
National Coalition for Redress/Reparations
lobbying delegation to Washington, D.C.
| |
|
|
| Since
1981, NOC has been hosting the
“Day of Remembrance” event
in San Jose. The Day of Remembrance
commemorates Executive Order 9066,
which President Franklin Roosevelt
signed on February 19, 1942, that
led to the incarceration of 120,000
Japanese Americans during World War
II. At this annual event, we renew
our commitment to justice, equality
and peace for all people. Recently, NOC has
been involved in organizing educational
forums and discussions on current issues
that pertain to civil liberties and justice
in our community (e.g. LGBT civil rights, WW
II draft resistors, Lt. Ehren Watada,
redress for Japanese Latin Americans). |
|
Traditional Day of Remembrance
candlelight procession through
historic Japantown. Photo by Andy
Frazer. |
Other honorees at the JACL Community
Recognition Dinner include Mr. Warren
Hayashi, Mr. Ray Matsumoto and Mrs. Lucy
Matsumoto, Mr. James Benjamin Peckham Sr.
and Mr. James Benjamin Peckham Jr., Mr. Jimi
Yamaichi and Mrs. Eiko Yamaichi.For more information:
San Jose JACL website:
www.sanjosejacl.org
Reservations and inquiries can be directed to JACL's Jeff Yoshioka at
jyoshioka@msn.com (408) 363-8191.
|
|
|
|
