Friday, May 04, 2012

Feeling At East With A Younger Crowd

I spent part of this week in Sacramento.  I went to the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Policy Summit, which encourages APIs to get engaged in the political process through workshops and legislative visits.  I went to get updates on health reform and brush up on mental health issues affecting the community. 

I also went to meet with legislative staff about bills we cared about.  We met with the staff of the Assembly Speaker John Perez, Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher and Senator Roderick Wright.  Among the bills we talked about included content on proper translation servcies, benefits for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender veterans, and better foreclosure practices.

By the end of the two day, I was exhausted.  However, what invigorated me was the number of young people there.  Seeing all of these young people there made me so very happy.  Included in those young 'uns were several gay and Asian upstarts.

Here I'm picgtured with Filipino American gay men  Paul Ocampo and Carlo de la Cruz of the Asian Law Caucus and Consultant Andrew Medina. 

Part of me felt at ease knowing that there was a future with younger people carrying the torch. Maybe I can relax now.