Escalating their opposition to gay and lesbian Vietnamese participating in the Tet Parade in Westminster, a group of Viet religious leaders and activists assert they will boycott the event, and several Catholic organizations have pulled out.
At a press conference Thursday morning, the Vietnamese group Hội Đồng Liên Tôn (Interfaith Council), who had planned to march in the parade, announced that they’re withdrawing.
The head of the group, Lutheran minister Tran Thanh Van, said, “We cannot participate if they (Vietnamese GLBT) are in the procession.” Rev. Tran said the Interfaith Council already sent in their withdrawal letter.
The Catholic representative on the council, Rev. Si Nguyen, said that he would be willing to acknowledge gay people, but not during Tet.
Said he, “During Tet, we don’t bring up ugly matters, anything unseemly in the family we hide it away, we only bring out what’s good.” He calls on “all the faithful” to stay away from Bolsa Avenue during the parade.
Garden Grove Councilmember Dina Nguyen attended the press conference, and spoke up. She said, “I don’t believe in homosexuality” (in Vietnamese: “Tôi không tin vào chuyện đồng tình [sic] luyến ái”). She didn’t explain any more about what she meant by that.
Nguyen also said that next year, she would “suggest to the City of Westminster to respect Vietnamese tradition.”
Which is something of a puzzler, because traditionally, Vietnamese may have misconceptions about gays, but they don’t exactly discriminate.
The most common misconception is that being gay is an illness. This mistaken belief showed itself at the Interfaith Council press conference through the Caodai representative Pham Van Kham, who said, “We are very sad to see our children fall victim to it” – referring to the supposed gay disease.
Other than such misconceptions, homophobia is new to Vietnam, and the country’s main religion Buddhism never made an issue out of homosexuality.
Here’s a comparison: The U.S., for example, used to have laws criminalizing gay sex, upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court in Bowers v. Hardwick (see summary here).
Ancient Vietnamese laws, however, never criminalized homosexual behavior, even as it did have a long list of sexual crimes – a fact noted by scholars Nguyen Ngoc Huy and Ta Van Tai in vol. 1 of their massive 3-volume work “The Lê Code: Law in Traditional Vietnam.” (The late Nguyen Ngoc Huy was a legal scholar, former dean of the University of Can Tho Faculty of Law, and a leader of Tan Dai Viet, one of the top political parties of South Vietnam. He also participated as a member of the South Vietnamese delegation at the Paris Peace Talks. He came to the US after the war and taught at Harvard Law School.)
Meanwhile, the LGBT groups that are in the parade are not pulling out. If anything, they’re more determined. On Facebook, someone has put up an invitation for the “Viet LGBT Contingent” to join the march. It has, however, so far drawn only 22 yes’s.
The four participating groups are: Sống Thật Radio; Ô-Môi; Gay Vietnamese Alliance; and the Vietnamese Lesbian and Bisexual Women Network and Friends.
The Tet Parade this year had something unusual. That is the Vietnamese GLBT participates in the parade. Every past Luna new year I took my kids to Bosa and watched the Tet Parade and explained to them the traditional value of Vietnamese culture. This year, with the present of Vietnamese GLBT in the parade I will not take my kids there because the Tet Parade is abused and been taken advantage by an ab-normal group. They can organize their own parade or public appearance on any day they want but do not combine Vietnamese GLBT with other well known event such as Tet.
This year I decide to stay home and I opposed the Tet’s organizers that let the Vietnamese GLBT in the parade.
” I don’t believe in homosexuality ” ??? Does Dina think homo is a myth? She need to know what’s she talking about before opening her mouth!
thats is so stupid. Some asians are just stupid. Who cares if someone is a homosexual. Its not a disease or an outbreak. these are real people with feeling. People just need to let it go and learn from it. There is nothing wrong with homosexuals. Peopl are teaching their kids to gay bash (verbally or physically) You cant hide from them. Just except them for who they are
Dear all Vietnamese GLBT,
I was straight but now I’m gay, so I’m ready for a date with any of you
guys or gals. But let do it in the privacy of our homes. Let’s stay out of the parade. We don’t want to get eggs thrown at our faces on the New Year.
Thanks Bolsavik to start another controversial blog.
To QT: If you do not wan to see the homos you around you, you should move your family to Idaho or some hicks country in the Midwest, but be careful , they don’t like chings over there.
QT, keep your kids at home and stay there yourself along with the other so called “religious leaders” in the community the less idiots on the street the better as the tet festival brings a lot of unwanted traffic to my neighborhood. not to mention communists like si nguyen, andy qhach and of course the ever so brilliant dina nguyen. hey dina, hows your brothers drug trial going? and as far as “respecting the vietnamese tradition” how about respecting this country? i will never in a million years understand how and why these losers keep getting elected. how is it even possible?
WEll said, Jose S!
Dear Dina,
Before you go and criticize other people’s lifestyles, take a look at yourself in the mirror.
I don’t believe in having children from 3 different men, but I don’t express my beliefs or lack of support for such women at a press conference.
Quackie Quach’s quote is a quack.
“as an elected official of the City of Westminster, I cannot discriminate any group or individual for political, religious, sexual orientation, or personal reasons. These are limitations in the law that all of us must accept”
Does it mean that, as private citizen, quackie Quach would tolerate discrimination against any group for political, religious, sexual orientation ?
So much for your fight ( farce ) for freedom of speech in Vietnam.
You are fighting to destroy freedom of speech in the USA ?
What kind of freedom ? your kind only !
I believe that the city of Westminster should revoke driver’s license of those who have been ticketed drunk driving.
Take Quack’s license away, he is a menace for society.
He will kill someone soon, if the city of Westminster does not put him in a rehabilitation program ( re-education camp )
Quach’s queer qalm :
This politican is learning the art of double talk to appease all sides.
Lincoln quotes, from an 1855 letter to Joshua Speed:
“I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal.’ We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except negroes.” When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.’ When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty — to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”
in 1855 , men of inferior statue : negroes, foreigners, and Catholics.
in 2010 All men are created equal.
Most adult Viets are naturalized citizens, and took this oath of allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Remember your oath : Liberty and justice for all.
“I don’t believe in homosexual.” umm yeah you might have to kisses those people asses when your election come around the corner. Leave them alone. I don’t understand why Vietnamese people stand up for equal right and now we’re boycotting these “homosexual” individual. Can we all just get a long?
do not forget that the majority of ca voters rejected the homo just a few monts ago…
Proposition 8 was about “marriage”. NOT a rejection of sexual orientation.
Please stay as a gossiper to spread lies.
You ask people to fight for freedom in Vietnam, and here you want to treat certain group of Americans as second class citizens.
Go back to your rat role, please.
* Certain people in Vietnam are prohibited from staging parade in Vietnam. That is communist oppression.
* Certain people in Westminster want to join the parade, and you want to prohibit them ? Are you a bunch of communists.
Those who can not speak English should not be given US citizenship.
They do not understand American way of life.
Tết is for everybody. I support Viet gays and lesbians parade for Tết. remember, they have a right to celebrate Tết. LIke any body else!
Communist oppression can not exist in America.
You are willing to take their tax money, and yet not do want to treat equally.
You are nothing but a fraud, a cheater, and a free loader.
what the helll is wrong with you (religious leaders) you’re in NORTH AMERICA! THIS IS NOT VIETNAM, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY OPEN IN THIS COUNTRY . GET USED TO IT. OTHERWISE JUST STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE U.S.A IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE SEEING LGBT.
** Also, why don’t you communists move to Russia? You don’t like Gay/lesbians to be around you people, russia’s a GREAT place to move to.
Gays have same rights in our society but Bible has clearly stated that living a gay life is also a sin.
However, individual believers should not judge against others…… as we are ALL sinners. Show them love and kindness.
Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version) says;
” ‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Jung Kim,
Do I have to remind you that we are living in a democracy, not Islamic Republic of Iran, where I suggest you should go and and change your name to Mohamed.
“Kill all those infidels ” you will enjoy it.
Isn’t the Bible was written by men kind ? It certainly wasn’t written by God because gay people are also his children.
Jung Kim
Wanne be North Korean Dictator, now likes to be Ayatollah Khomeini.
Preaching hatred with blood in your mouth.
The new Grand Supreme Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran is now a retarded communist North Korean Jung Kim.
From one rat hole to another.
Jung Kim;
If you are gay just come out and accept your right place in the sun.
Why are you trying to mask your own sexuality with insults and denial?
I think it stems to the fear of being one which you are already ONE or being labeled “different” than the norm. And things that are different get picked on.
Be the real man…uh… I mean be the real gay man.
jung kim, if your going to quote the bible and leviticus read further to leviticus 20:13 where it says “and when a man lies down with with a male the same as one lies down with a woman both of them have done a detestible thing they should be put to death without fail their own blood is upon them” in other words it means gays should be killed. now are you going to kill gays jung kim? because thats what it says in your stupid bible. and who the hell are you to be quoting the bible you filthy racist homophobic communist swine. see the thing about the bible is you cant pick and choose what you believe in it you either believe it all or you dont and if you believe in it you have to follow what is says or your just a poser like the idiots who are gonna be at the tet festival protesting. as if so many in the viet community havent shamed not only their race but their country with this idiotic behavior. jung kim, you are not a man of god. you’re a monkey who comes from a long line of monkeys. the sooner you realize that the better off you will be. now run along and keep pretending you’re some kind of guru of the stupid.
Ok ok, so Dina’s an airhead and Quach’s a dickhead. What else is new?
The LGBT Viets should be allowed to march just as much as the rest of them.
Do not vote for Andy Quach or Dina Nguyen in their next elections. If they are going to be close-minded and preventing people freedom to do what they want, then they are like the communists we all tried to run from.
In the meantime, there are thousands of gay teens in OC who are contemplating killing themselves because not only do they see society and their community turning their backs on them, they know their own families will turn their backs on them, too! So much for family values.
Separation of church and state…they keep bringing it up. This is a public event.
Pingback: Gay protesters targeting tomorrow's Tet Festival, in Westminster | Orange Juice
Jung Kim Says:
February 12th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Gays have same rights in our society but Bible has clearly stated that living a gay life is also a sin.
However, individual believers should not judge against others…… as we are ALL sinners. Show them love and kindness.
Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version) says;
” ‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
If this doesn’t convince some of you……
Another important Bible verse that applies for All of us.
1Corinthians 6:9-10;
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Now …how to earn the kingdom of God?
Let’s go visit http://www.cuttingedge.org/savation.html and these are first steps we need to undertake in order to live forever after departure from our earthly body. One good thing is we can meet our loved ones again ..ie, your family members in the heaven
1. Understand that ALL men ever born are sinners. Romans 3:23, says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This message that all men are sinners is amply repeated through Scripture . This means you are a sinner in the eyes of an angry God, Who must punish all sin. Do you believe you are a sinner?
2. Since man is an imperfect sinner, and God is a perfect God, no man can save himself. Jesus made this fact very plain in Matthew 5:48, when He said, “Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”!!!
If we all have to be perfect in God’s eyes, how can there be anyone in Heaven, especially since the Bible declares, repeatedly, that ALL people are sinners? Obviously, no one is going to get to Heaven this way, by trying to be ‘good enough’ to merit Heaven. Since the Bible says there are going to be untold millions of people in Heaven, there must be some other way to get there, other than by trying to be ‘good enough’.
You must also be very sorry for your sins, and want to have them forgiven. This is known as Repentance. The word Repent means to both be very sorry for your sins, and to want to not sin anymore. Repentance means the desire to turn your life around 180 degrees. This does not mean you will never sin again, but it does mean that sin will become the exception in your life, not the rule.
3. When the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ, shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary, He died for the sins of His people in their place as a sacrificial substitute. And in doing so, He suffered the wrath of God the Father upon their sin. He paid the penalty for that sin in His own body and purchased their eternal redemption. This enables Him to give as a free gift His own holiness and righteousness to those who believe in Him and trust Him for salvation. making them absolutely perfect in God. s sight! Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” None of us deserve to be saved; in His love and mercy God extends grace to those who will believe. Grace is defined as “undeserved favor” and perhaps this little acrostic will help you to remember its meaning: G od. s Riches At Christ. s Expense. [The true meaning of GRACE]
4. In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Apostle Paul reiterates this teaching that eternal life with God is a free gift. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.” No man can stand before God in eternity, and boast that they ‘earned’ their way to Heaven. All people in Heaven will be there only because of Jesus’ FREE Gift, which He obtained from God because of His substitutionary death sacrifice on the Cross. Rather than punishing each person’s individual sins, God heaped all those sins on Jesus on the Cross Isaiah 53:2-12]
Now, you are probably thinking, ‘How can I obtain this free gift of eternal life’? Again, the Bible is not silent. In Acts 16:25-33, the jailer anxiously asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved”? Paul answered “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” verse 31″. You must BELIEVE on Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. To truly believe, you must place your complete faith and trust in Christ and rely upon Him as your only hope of salvation and eternal life. This is a matter of the heart and you cannot hope to deceive God by putting on an act because He knows everything about you. Many people mistakenly think that by merely believing the facts concerning Jesus Christ. s death, burial, and resurrection, they will be automatically be given the gift of eternal life. But such is not the case. Preachers call that a “head knowledge and not a heart knowledge.” Salvation is freely given, but only to those who are genuine believers.
Again we human are full of flaws…hence no one is better than another and only important question for all of us is “What happens to us (I, and my loving family members) after a short visit on earth?”
Jung Kim;
Was Jesus gay? How else can you explain his behavior of refusing female companion but to hang out with men all the time? They dined together, slept together, kissed each other, putting heads against each other breasts and so on…
Just come out Jung Kim, accept your sexual orientation…
Be a real man or be a real gay man. LOL
“putting heads against each other breasts ”
LMAO!!!!
A lot of campaign funding of Steve Poizner is from Gay/Lesbian community. Your Van Tran is getting a good chunk of it.
Who cares about Steve Poizner ….when we are talking about your future after death?
Whatever it is man made …it has little value in the end.
Jung Kim, Son, have you forgotten the fact that Jesus’s last supper was a sausage fest. Spewing hatred towards our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters is a crime against our Lord and Savior and what he was and still is. When you insult our Lord’s sexual orientation, you insult me, your own father. Apologize now or don’t call me your father anymore.
P.S.
Your mother wants you to get her some tampons at K-Mart. She heard somewhere that there’s a new brand called the iPad.
A spineless political would keep mum on this gay issue.
van tran has not said anything on this.
Jung Kim; What IZ the homorable van tran take on the gay thing? PleaZe let us know.
like i said jung kim, you are not a man of god if you were you wouldnt be so racist and hateful and also if you believed in the bible you would be at the tet festival right now killing gays because thats what it says in your twisted little bible. and yes humans have many flaws but some humans (monkeys) such as yourself just seem to have more flaws than others. once again jung kim, you are not a man of god and you’re nobody in the community.
The word “Jesus Christ” is offensive for those having fear of terminating, permanently ending the attachment to this vibrating life.
Cling on to false mask you are wearing now but death will hunt you down regardless in the end……. and the “end” usually come sooner than one has expected.
The “dice” is in your hand .
How to Receive Christ from http://www.ficm.org/receivec.htm Enjoy!
Your Invitation to Life
Jesus said, “…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV). Have you discovered the joy and peace of personally accepting Jesus’ invitation to life? Perhaps you have believed in the existence of God and His Son and have tried to live a good life, but have never consciously invited Him to be your Savior and Lord. No matter who you are or what you have done, at this very moment, you too can make the decision of a lifetime. Right now Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. He offers you the same wonderful life which millions through the centuries have received with life-changing results. He has already paid the penalty for your sin. He is asking you, in the quiet of your heart, to put your trust in Him. Here are four spiritual points that will help you discover how to know God personally and experience the full life He promises.
* 1. God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.
God’s Love: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NASV). “Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). God wants you to know Him. Why is it that most people do not have a personal relationship with God? Because:
* 2. Our sin cuts us off from God so we cannot have a personal relationship with Him and experience His love.
We have all sinned. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23, NASV). We were all created to have a personal relationship with God, because we all choose to go our own independent way, our relationship with God was broken. The fact that we are selfish and self-centered is obvious because we either rebel against God or don’t really care about Him. This is evidence of what the Bible calls “sin.” We are cut off from God. “The wages of sin is death…” [spiritual separation from God] (Rom. 6:23). God is holy (pure and sinless) and we are sinful. A great gap cuts us off from God because He cannot tolerate sin. People often try to find a full and meaningful life through their own efforts. They try to live a good life or be religious. But the Bible clearly teaches that there is only one way to bridge this gap.
* 3. Jesus Christ is God’s only cure for our sin. Through Him you can know God personally and experience His love.
Jesus died in our place. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NASV). Jesus rose from the dead. “…Christ died for our sins . . . He was buried . . . He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . . He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred . . .” (1 Cor. 15:3-6, NASV). Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6, NASV). God has done the work to bridge the gap which cuts us off from Him. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sin. But it is not enough just to know these truths. We must take the next step . . . and “cross the bridge.”
* 4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.
We must receive Christ. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12, NASV). We receive Christ by personal invitation. Thus, receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins so that we can begin our personal relationship with Him. Just to know in your mind that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will. Would you like to accept Jesus’ invitation to life? You can receive Jesus Christ right now by faith through prayer. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Millions of people all around the world have already found new life in Christ. Here is a suggested prayer which can help you express your trust in Jesus, too:
Dear Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and for rising from the dead. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. I trust You now to forgive my sins and give me eternal life. Please make me the kind of person You want me to be.
Please get those InterStalinist commies out of here.
Jung Kim is getting commie money to destroy America.
Jung Kim should be registered as an agent for foreign country.
His campaign is being financed by that Inter-Stalinist Committee.
People’s freedom of speech is from the constitution, not from you, RED RATS.
Haven’t you killed enough people in North Korea, Commie Jung Kim ?
Jung Kim’s Bible ;
Kill one gay person, I go to heaven.
Kill then gay people, I go to heaven with 10 virgin angels.
Ninth Commandment : ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”
* You covered up for your drunken friend driving into the wall. Have you confessed your sin yet ?
Seventh commandment : ‘You shall not commit adultery”
Jung Kim, have you been fateful to your spouse ( male or female ), you have been in and out of the whore house Citryst.