Gay Rights Activists Challenge Exclusion From Annual Vietnamese Parade

WESTMINSTER (AP) — Gay rights activists are demanding the organizers of a Vietnamese new year's parade in Orange County allow them to march.

Since being excluded from the parade in 2013, Hieu Nguyen formed the group Viet Rainbow for gays and lesbians in the Vietnamese community and to challenge organizers to let them participate in the Tet Festival event that winds through the heart of Southern California's Little Saigon.

The Los Angeles Times reports Monday that other gay rights groups are now also pressuring parade organizers, but some leaders in Little Saigon say the community is not ready to welcome gay men and women.

The Westminster City Council will consider Wednesday whether to grant a permit to the Vietnamese American Federation of Southern California for the Feb. 2 event expected to draw thousands.

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