SF Pride Throws Pink Brick At HRC

San Francisco Pride has nominated the Human Rights Campaign for their annual Pink Brick award, the first time a LGBT organization has received such a dubious distinction. The Pink Brick is meant to recognize groups or persons on the wrong side of the fight for LGBT equality.

While no other LGBT groups have been nominated since the award was created in 2002, at least one LGBT ally has won the dubious honor. The community awarded the Pink Brick to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) in 2005. The vote was prompted by Feinstein blaming the Democrats failure to win the 2004 presidential race in part on Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to marry same-sex couples in February of that year.

The other Pink Brick nominees this year are Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, who's spoken out against same-sex marriage, frequently denounces San Francisco values, and has attacked the Folsom Street Fair, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who's said there are no homosexuals in his country.

The unprecedented decision to include one of the community's own on the list is a sign of the lingering hurt feelings HRC's decision on ENDA, and Solmonese's continued defense of HRC's position, have generated in the Bay Area.

"I recognize the HRC has done a lot of good work, but last year, they really turned their backs on and betrayed the transgender community," said Mikayla Connell, who's openly transgender and president of the board of directors of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee.

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Past Pink Brink honors have gone to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (2006), United States Attorney General John Ashcroft (2004), and Dr. Laura Schlessinger (2002). President George W. Bush has the distinction of being the only person to win the LGBT raspberry twice, first in 2003 and again last year.

HRC's Brad Luna: "We continue to work everyday to educate members of Congress and pave the way for a fully inclusive ENDA. Pink Brick, or not, we will not stop doing this type of crucial work in the struggle for equality for our entire community." Luna notes that HRC has allocated $100K and three staff members to Equality For All, a group fighting California's proposed anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.