By Melanie Nathan, Feb 04, 2016.
The annual San Francisco Pride Pink Brick award probably sits as a badge of honor for those in the anti-Gay world. But one wonders how a man like Trump will spin his honor. After all he is named alongside the luminaries of hate, and should he win, could be an alumni of the likes of The American Family Association, Scott Lively, and a chorus of anti-LGBTQ trumpeters. However I encourage you to carefully examine all three nominees and see who you think is most deserving! Tough choice as all three are deserving! Please note that this years San Francisco Pride Theme is For Racial and Economic Justice.
From the San Francisco Pride website: “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. “
This year’s pink brick nominees include the Liberty Council, an organization specializing in evangelical Christian litigation, advocating for anti-LGBT discrimination under the guise of religious liberty; One Million Moms, associated with the American Family Association, an organization that calls for boycotts of companies which uses same-sex families in advertising; and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who opposes same-sex marriage.
Public voting started this week online and runs through February 29. For ballots and more information, go to http://www.sfpride.org/vote. People can also vote at the SF Pride offices, 30 Pearl Street, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One Million Moms, One Million Moms (OMM) is a parallel project created by the American Family Association (AFA — 2015’s Pink Brick Award Recipient) and was listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center as of November 2010 for the “propagation of known falsehoods” and the use of “demonizing propaganda” against LGBT people. OMM administers websites geared to mobilizing parents to “stop the exploitation of children” by the media through organizing boycotts and urging activists to send emails to mainstream companies that have released advertisements, products, or programs that are inclusive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In November 2015, One Million Moms called for a boycott of American Girl magazine after it included husbands Rob and Reece Scheer in a story about the children that they adopted from foster care. “Scripture says multiple times that homosexuality is wrong, and God will not tolerate this sinful nature,” OMM wrote. Rob Scheer told media that, as a gay man with four adopted African-American children, he expected a certain amount of criticism. But he was shocked because the attack came from a group of “moms.” (Sources: Huffington Post, rawstory.com, rightwingwatch.com, Southern Poverty Law Center, Wikipedia.) We also Highlighted One Million Moms here on this BLOG.
Donald Trump, Donald Trump is a billionaire business magnate, investor, socialite, author, television personality, and candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election. In 2011, Trump stated that he was against gay marriage as well as civil benefits for same-sex couples and publicly supported traditional marriage. Of the June 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, he said: “I would have preferred states, you know, making the decision and I let that be known. But they made the decision. […] So, at a certain point you have to be realistic about it.” In a January 2016 interview with Fox News, when asked whether he would appoint judges to overrule the Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage across the nation, Trump responded: “I would strongly consider that, yes.” (Sources: Huffington Post, Southern Poverty Law Center, Wikipedia.) It seems that since Trump has taken the pledge and said categorically that he will do all he can to negate marriage equality.
Liberty Counsel, Liberty Counsel is an organization specializing in evangelical Christian litigation, advocating for anti-LGBT discrimination under the guise of religious liberty. The Liberty Counsel shares a close affiliation with Liberty University (founded by the late Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Va.), and the university’s school of law. The Southern Poverty Law Center listed Liberty Counsel as a hate group in 2015. That same year, LC posted on their website: “Homosexual conduct can result in significant damage to those involved who engage in such conduct. There is no evidence that a person is born homosexual. And there is evidence that people can change. Our culture is being pressured with demands that our homes welcome, our daycares embrace, our schools indoctrinate, our businesses promote, and our laws reward this harmful sexual behavior.”
Liberty Counsel supports barring people from the military on the basis of homosexual activity; defends employment discrimination against gay workers;and opposes the addition of sexual orientation, gender identity, or similar provisions to hate crimes legislation. Liberty Counsel also opposes same-sex marriage, civil unions, and adoption by gay people. Most notably, in the recent case of Miller v. Davis, Liberty Counsel represented Kentucky’s Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, an Apostolic Christian who stopped issuing marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples have the right to marry. (Sources: Occupy Democrats, Southern Poverty Law Center, Wikipedia.)
PAST AWARDEES:
American Family Association
Scott Lively
Boy Scouts of America
Peter La Barbera
Lou Engle
Roy Ashburn
Carrie Prejean
Bill O’Reilly
George W. Bush<
Arnold Schwarzenegger
FOR PINK BRICK VOTE HERE: http://www.sfpride.org/vote
Public voting started this week online and runs through February 29. For ballots and more information, go to http://www.sfpride.org/vote. People can also vote at the SF Pride offices, 30 Pearl Street, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For Community Grand Marshals VOTE HERE
For Community Grand Marshals VOTE HERE