The Westminster City Council in California today will take up the controversial issue of the ban on gays from participating in February’s annual Tet Parade, reports the Orange County Register.
The ban was implemented for the first time this year after a private group took over the parade from the city due to budget issues.
The same group is applying for a permit to run the parade again in 2014.
Viet Rainbow of Orange County is vowing to fight the ban and has the backing of the Democratic Party of Orange County and of the gay rights group, GLAAD.
Public officials are being urged not to participate or support the parade until the ban is lifted.
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The issue of gays in the Vietnamese American community is a difficult one, and until recently, the term LGBT was rarely used.
“In the Vietnamese gay community, it’s a work in progress,” said Tai Phan, a gay Vietnamese American.
You can read more about the unique difficulties Vietnamese American members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities have had in the Orange County Register.
