December 5, 2006 -- Asian Pacific American civil rights organizations and advocates of marriage equality hailed the introduction of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act [5]. This legislation seeks to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the social support and legal protections that come with it.

According to a recent poll conducted by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California and the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, APA voters firmly support ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. A majority (51%) of respondents in Los Angeles County, sixty-eight percent (68%) in San Francisco County, and seventy-two (72%) in the city of Oakland believed that same-sex couples should no longer be excluded from marriage. "Our poll reveals remarkably strong statewide support among Asian Pacific American voters for ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage," noted Karin Wang, Vice-President of Programs for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center [6] of Southern California.

"California is home to the largest population of Asian Pacific American same-sex couples in the nation so the impact of this measure on our communities will be enormous," stated Andy Wong of Asian Equality. According to a study conducted by the Williams Project [7] at UCLA, one in ten same-sex couples in California include at least one Asian Pacific American individual and over 50% of APA same-sex couples are raising children and would benefit from the protections of civil marriage.