Protesters Among the Gay Tuxedoed CrowdTommi Avicolli-Meccabyline‚ Jul. 28‚ 2008“This is one for the history books,” said Robert Haaland, a longtime San Francisco transgender activist. He couldn’t be more on the money. A coalition of groups, including Pride at Work, And Castro 4 All, and the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, called a boycott and managed to get not only local politicians, but also the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) dinner’s keynote speaker to cancel at the last moment. In the end, HRC, the national gay group that last Fall dropped transgenders from coverage in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), learned the power of the queer and transgender communities in San Francisco. The occasion was HRC’s annual dinner, a major fundraising event at a fancy hotel in the downtown area of San Francisco. Scheduled as featured speaker for the July 26 event was Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. A ton of other politicians, gay and straight alike, were also slated to be there. Only California Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey actually made an appearance. |