california's asian americans against gay marriage ban

As you might know, California is currently in the middle of a heated battle over Proposition 8, which would reverse May's California Supreme Court ruling that gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Regarding this issue, I must defer to the opinions of Diana over at Disgrasian, who recounts a freaking awesome phone conversation she had the other day with a Prop 8 supporter.

But guess what? According to data from the National Asian American Survey, Asian Americans in California overwhelmingly oppose the ballot measure: Asian-Americans overwhelmingly against outlawing gay marriage.

The poll found that 57 percent of Asian Americans likely to vote in the November 4 election oppose Prop 8, while only 32 percent planned to vote yes. Eleven percent were undecided. This news is a little surprising, given the general perception that Asian Americans have traditionally been less tolerant of homosexuality. I guess folks will have to rethink that one.

According to the article, experts in Asian American voting trends attribute the unfavorable opinion of Proposition 8 to the ability of gay-marriage proponents to frame it as a major civil rights issue. Remember the internment? Exclusion Acts? Anti-miscegenation laws? More relevant here than you think.

I like this quote from Steve Smith, manager of the statewide campaign opposing Prop 8: "If there is one community that is extraordinarily sensitive to the dangers of the government treating one group differently than another, it would be the Asian-American community." Indeed.