And the Pink Brick Award Goes to…

The Pink Brick which is given each year to a person or institution whose actions are deemed to have caused the most significant harm to the LGBT community. This year’s award goes to openly gay California State Senator Roy Ashburn.

They really don’t like you, they really really hate you.

From the press release from the SF LGBT Pride Celebration Committee:

Senator Ashburn has served in the California state legislature since 1996 and has an extensive voting history of vigorously opposing LGBT rights, including his overwhelming support of the state’s Proposition 8 which denied equal rights to LGBT citizens. Early in March 2010, Senator Ashburn was arrested for drunk driving shortly after he left a Sacramento gay bar with another man in his state-issued car. Ashburn’s arrest has sparked major controversy.

Since his arrest he has admitted he is gay, and claims his voting record reflects his constituent’s views. Ashburn says he plans to continue voting on behalf of what he sees as the majority viewpoint in his district, even if that means voting against LGBT civil rights.

SF Pride’s Executive Director Amy André stated that “This is the very first time in Pink Brick Award history that an ‘out’ gay person is the recipient. By selecting Senator 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.”

In recent years, Pink Brick Award recipients have included Miss California contestant Carrie Prejean for her efforts against marriage equality, Archbishop George Niederauer for his support of Proposition 8, FOX-TV Commentator Bill O’Reilly for his sensationalist reporting on the LGBT community, former US President George W. Bush for his support of an amendment to the US Constitution that would define marriage strictly as between a man and a woman, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his veto of a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage in his state. Fun folks!

SF Pride Board of Directors President Mikayla Connell concluded: “For 40 years, San Francisco Pride has educated the world about the kind of freedom that can only occur when aligning personal honesty with political action in our lives. We hope this year’s Pink Brick recipient, Senator Roy Ashburn, realizes that it’s never too late for him—or anyone else—to choose liberation and justice over shame, fear and silence.”

–Visit SFPride.org for more info.

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