Scott Lively: SF Pride Has Named Me This Year's Pink Brick Award Recipient

Scott Lively claimed yesterday that a writer from the Bar Area Reporter has called to get his reaction to being named this year's recipient of San Francisco Pride's annual Pink Brick Award, which they describe on their site:

"The Pink Brick is a symbol of the first brick hurled at the Stonewall Riots in 1969. This faux award is an opportunity to highlight an individual or organization that has done significant harm to the LGBT community. It is also an opportunity to educate the community and the Pink Brick recipient about relevant issues."

SF Pride closed the voting on its Pink Brick Award poll last month and has not yet publicly announced who will join previous "winners," which include Boy Scouts USA and Porno Pete.

Lively's response to the paper quotes from his crackpot book The Pink Swastika, which he has dared them to print. His response opens:

The pink brick, symbolic of the bricks thrown by militant “gays” at police during the Stonewall riots, perfectly captures the irony of bullies posing as victims. I’ve actually already received this award in real life. A pink paving stone scrawled with the threat “SHUT DOWN LIVELY” was thrown through the church windows of Christian Liberty Academy the morning I was to give a speech on “gay” bullying there in 2011. It was wrapped in a note threatening further violence. The worst bullies in America today are LGBT activists and I will not stop telling that truth no matter how many bricks you throw at me. I dare you to publish this comment and accompanying pictures.

As regular JMG readers will recall, many believe that the "thrown brick" was a hoax concocted by Lively and Porno Pete.

CA Sen. Roy Ashburn Earns "Pink Brick" Award From San Francisco Pride

San Francisco Pride has named Sen. Roy Ashburn as the 2010 "dishonoree" recipient of their Pink Brick Award, which is given annually to any person "whose actions are deemed to have caused significant harm to the LGBT community.”

"This is the very first time in Pink Brick Award history that an out gay person is the recipient," said Amy André, executive director of SF Pride in a written statement. "By selecting Sen. Roy Ashburn, the LGBT community is sending a strong message to the world that LGBT people -- especially those with the political power and privilege to further LGBT rights -- have a responsibility to work toward liberation for all." Past recipients of the award include former Miss California Carrie Prejean, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, Fox's Bill O'Reilly and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The president of Pride's board of directors, Mikayla Connell, said in a statement the brick award educates people about the importance of "aligning personal honesty with political action...." "We hope this year's Pink Brick recipient ... realizes that it's never to late for him -- or anyone else -- to choose liberation and justice over shame, fear and silence," she said.

In 2008 the Human Rights Campaign was nominated for a Pink Brick, but did not "win."

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.

[snip]

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.