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AT: And I know we're getting close to an hour, but I also really want to touch on his LGBTQ advocacy because he was such, very intersectional with his activism. And so he, during his time in JACL, he really pushed for that. And much of his advocacy started in the '90s as well as with the API community and other communities when the referendum 74 campaign. So I was just wondering if anyone could maybe talk on his activism within that, and maybe if, Bill, if you'd like to touch on that first, and then if anyone else would like to start after that?

BT: Yeah, thanks, Ana. I'm not even... I didn't know Kip in the '90s. I've only read about some of the things that he did. And I remember him telling me how that was very important to him, but I'm not sure how it started. And I remember when I spoke at the 2002 national convention against a JACL resolution that would condemn or that -- anyway, the Boy Scouts were banning gay members,  and Arlene Oki told me to speak against it, and I did. And then basically, I came out on the floor of the national convention. And I remember Arlene saying, "I can't wait to tell Kip. Kip will be so excited that you did this." [Laughs] And that's when I first really became aware that he was a big advocate. And it came about with the R-74 campaign, which was a big campaign to all for freedom of marriage in the state of Washington. And he was a really big advocate. And I remember that he got me and Don Regal to cosign an article that he wrote that appeared in the Seattle Times endorsing the Freedom to Marry Act, and Bob reminded me a couple of days ago, that he did a video, an ad, publicized ad for the campaign in support of R-74 Freedom to Marry. And in this short video, how he, he related his experiences as a Japanese American, and what happened to his family, and why any type of discrimination is wrong, and everybody should have the freedom to marry. And he was a just a very vocal and active advocate. Personally, though, he, it was, it was all true. He's so personal. And I remember when my partner and I were going to get married, and he not so subtlety came up and said, "Oh, by the way, I have a license to marry people." And I was like, thrilled. I said, "Kip, I hope you can officiate our marriage." And he, I could see that he was just he was really happy to do this. And we met maybe six weeks before our wedding, and Kip was just so enthused, and it was like, "Gosh, Kip, you're more excited than I am." And he was saying, "Yeah, we could do this and we can do this. And what do you want? How do you want this to go about? I can do whatever you want." And so it was like, it was just going to be very exciting. And I think that was just heartbreaking for me because that's, unfortunately he passed away about four weeks before we were married. But I just hold dear that memory of Kip potentially being part of my life and my husband's life in such an intimate way that I would, I just never forget.

AT: Yes, definitely. Thank you for that, Bill. Janice, I know you worked, I think, with JACL in the '90s, is that correct? And so I was just wondering if maybe you had any insight to his activism within the LGBTQ community.

JD: It's been so long. I can't -- I'm sorry, I can't, I can't recall anything specific. Yeah, but I definitely remember, I mean, Kip, yeah, very values driven and, and really not caring. Just about... I mean, you say he's great with relationships, but also really, really holds true to his values. And even if there were challenges at national -- and every two years, we have a national convention. And I know, we were still in 1998 working on marriage equality, even at that time, and so I've no doubt that he was the forefront proposing that before we got to marriage equality again in 1988. So, yeah.

AT: Yeah, thank you.

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