LGBTQ Community Leaders Endorse Robert Lee Ahn for Congress

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - May 10, 2017) - A coalition of LGBTQ leaders today endorsed Robert Lee Ahn in his bid for the 34^th Congressional District calling him a "friend and staunch supporter" of issues long advocated by the LGBTQ community.

"At a time when issues we long thought were resolved are now being threatened again, the LGBTQ community has no better friend than Robert Lee Ahn," said Jason Collins, retired NBA player who became the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues.

"For myself, my friendship with Robert stretches back to high school when we both played basketball and while I may have progressed a little further in my athletic career, he is surpassing me now by taking on the challenge of helping every resident of this district," Collins added.

Collins was joined by Craig Miller, the founder of AIDS Walk Los Angeles and organizer of over 100 fundraising events around the U.S. raising more than $375 million for the fight against AIDS, and Davin Malasarn, the president of the board of directors of the Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles, one of the oldest LGBTQ concert bands in the world.

"Robert will be a strong voice for equality, not just in areas such as discrimination, but also in economic empowerment and the ability of LGBTQ entrepreneurs to break through and be taken seriously as businesspeople, visionaries and transformative figures in commerce, technology and finance," Miller said.

Ahn is running to become the first Democratic Korean-American in Congress ever and the first in 20 years to serve in Congress. He has long been supported by the LGBTQ community through his personal friendships, but also in his work as a public interest attorney and Los Angeles Planning Commissioner.

"California has long been a stronghold for gay and transgender rights, but we should not take these liberties for granted. Robert has a deep understanding of the struggles and the discrimination that our diverse communities -- including the LGBTQ community, the Asian community, and the immigrant community -- have experienced, and he can serve as an effective new leader to carry on our fight for equality and rights," Malasarn said.

A former Los Angeles Planning Commissioner and public interest attorney, Robert Lee Ahn was born and raised in and now is a candidate for the 34^th Congressional district which is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation, stretching from Koreatown, Chinatown and Little Tokyo to the skyscrapers of downtown and communities of Eagle Rock and City Terrace. For more information, go to www.AhnforCongress.com.