When Lancy Woo and Cristy Chung step off as grand marshals in Sunday's Pride Parade, the couple will once again put a public face on the fight for same-sex marriage. The women, together for 18 years, are the lead plaintiffs in Woo v. State of California, one of the consolidated same-sex marriage cases heading to the California Court of Appeal next month.
As reported in the Bay Area Reporter 's Pride section two years ago, the case was filed on behalf of same-sex couples who were denied the right to marry after the state Supreme Court halted the marriages in San Francisco. In March 2005, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled that the state's laws restricting marriage to a union between a man and a woman are unconstitutional.
Woo, 39, and Chung, 42, were surprised that they were chosen to be listed as the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Woo, owner of VIP Grooming in Noe Valley, usually shies away from the spotlight. Chung has become more involved in the fight for marriage equality in recent years, working with Women's Educational Media and doing trainings around the film That's A Family. The couple has an 8-year-old daughter, Olivia.
"We were totally shocked," Woo said of the grand marshal honor.
"But very honored," Chung added. "There's a piece around visibility that's so important. If we're not out there, people don't know."
Woo and Chung have stepped up their community involvement over the last two years, and have become a bit more at ease with their public role. They participated in the Chinese New Year Parade as part of a marriage equality contingent and have made inroads gaining allies in the Asian American community. And they also took part in a marriage equality demonstration in the more conservative Sunset District that was held in August 2004 to counter a rally by conservatives opposed to same-sex marriage. Many Asian American political leaders have also become more vocal in their support for LGBT rights in the last two years.
"It's great to have Asian leaders behind us," said Chung, who supported Supervisor Fiona Ma in her successful Democratic primary win for state Assembly. Ma, who is heavily favored in the November general election, has come out in support of marriage equality, as have other Asian American political leaders, such as Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), who co-authored Assemblyman Mark Leno's gender neutral marriage bill last year. Yee won his state Senate primary earlier this month and is heavily favored to win the seat in November.
Woo has garnered support among her customers, both gay and straight. "People and families come in and there is so much encouragement from the straight community," she said during a recent interview outside her dog grooming business.
But basically, Woo and Chung are, in their words, "just a regular family."
"We ended up becoming these celebrities completely by accident," Chung said. "It's a little stressful being a public face. We didn't really realize there's a whole public image and PR piece that takes place."
The reason they got involved, they said, was the hurt they experienced at not being able to wed in City Hall. The couple had been at City Hall in the days before the marriages stopped, but missed getting inside because the line was so long. On March 11, 2004, the day the court halted the nuptials, Chung was sick in bed and Woo was on the phone with attorneys from the National Center for Lesbian Rights discussing whether the couple should join the case.
"I think we were just super hurt," Woo said, "to stand in line and not get married."
As they await next month's court hearing, the women are looking forward to riding in the parade. And their daughter likely will join them.
"We've really left it up to her about whether to participate," Chung said of Olivia's taking part in all the activities. "This year, she's looking forward to riding in the car."