At a Congressional hearing on “Defending Marriage” on Friday, LGBT activist group GetEQUAL caught up with Maggie Gallagher, the anti-gay marriage board chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, and presented her with the “First Annual Anita Bryant Award for Unbridled and Unparalleled Bigotry.”
A statement by GetEqual said competition for the prize was fierce, with Gallagher “out-bigoting such notable figures as Senator John McCain, Michelle Bachmann, Pastor Rick Warren, and Sarah Palin.”
“In presenting this award to Ms. Gallagher, we are recognizing the bigotry that she has pioneered over the past few years — malice that has put her ahead of the pack in the world of professional bigots who draw a paycheck each day from the hatred they stir up among the ‘radical right’ wing of the American public,” said Robin McGehee, director of GetEQUAL.
“At a time when Americans overwhelmingly support marriage equality, it takes a very special person like Ms. Gallagher to stand up and fight for discrimination and bigotry. It’s gratifying to be able to draw attention to the unrelenting hatred that Ms. Gallagher and others at the National Organization for Marriage have been contributing to American life.”
Michael Dixon from GetEqual DC, presented Gallagher with an award certificate; watch here:
According to GetEqual, Gallagher will receive an additional prize in honor of the award’s namesake — a cream pie.
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Harkening back to an incident in 1977, said GetEqual, the award is given in commemoration of the “pieing” of Anita Bryant -– then leader of “Save Our Children,” a political coalition formed in Miami, Fla., aimed at overturning a Dade County ordinance that banned discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation.
Here’s a clip of the Anita Bryant incident:
“I have seen the video of the four ‘self-proclaimed homosexuals’ who delivered the pie to Anita Bryant in 1977,” said Dixon. “It is truly an honor to walk in their footsteps as GetEQUAL recognizes and rewards the tireless efforts of Ms. Gallagher — the woman who has picked up the mantle of hatred and prejudice from Ms. Bryant — and worked so hard to promote bigotry and discrimination against an entire class of American citizens. I hope we can unite her with her pie as soon as possible — I have always believed that bigots should get their just desserts.”
GetEQUAL said it will “deliver the pie” during a future public appearance by Gallagher, “to ensure that she is able to celebrate the award publicly, in front of an audience.”
The exact moment of delivery is unknown at this time.
