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| Two-Spirit Prop 8 filmmaker, Ruth Villaseñor | | Print | |
| Written by Miko Thomas |
| Friday, 03 April 2009 23:02 |
 San Francisco, CA -- Recently, local filmmaker, Ruth Villaseñor (Apache Nation) and her wife Diane Pfile came to a recent BAAIT-S event to get footage for a short film she is making that covers the passage of Proposition 8 (the Gay Marriage Ban amendment in California) and how it affected Two-Spirit people.Ruth and Diane were married by the mayor of Oakland in early 2008, after the California Supreme Court held that denying marriage to Gays and Lesbians was discriminatory. Although Equality California fought the anti-gay marriage bill courageously, they were unable to bar it from going on the November ballot. A slight majority of voters approved the bill and gay marriage came to a screeching halt. The fight for marriage equality is very personal to the couple. Paws and Claws, the couple’s pet supply store in Oakland, became a rally ground. Supporters stopped off to pick up posters and lawn signs and joined them in protest. While Christian fundamentalists gathered each day to show support of Proposition 8 leading up to the election, Ruth and Diane made it a point to make their presence felt and to give a voice to those opposing the ban. The Intertribal Friendship House in Oakland held a fundraiser for the Equality California with Ruth and Diane as their special guests. It included films, drum songs and heart felt testimonials from Native people from both straight and LGBT communities. It was there that Ruth became the face of Native American marriage equality. Besides her business, Ruth works at the Native American Health Center and has been busy filming Two-Spirit events in Oakland and San Francisco. She was one of the recent judges for the Bay Area Two-Spirit Pageant and continues to insure the Two-Spirit people have a voice in the Native community and the larger LGBT community. Add this page to your favorite Social Networking websites        
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 23 April 2009 02:23 |