The San Francisco Pride celebration is brewing with controversy. The issue? Who will serve as a Community Grand Marshal.
The electoral college voted for Army analyst Bradley Manning. The gay soldier is under arrest for releasing thousands of confidential military documents to WikiLeaks.
Gary Virginia says he voted for Manning.
"To me he put his life at risk to help save lives," virginia said.
After the vote SF Pride announced Manning won the honor. But just a few hours later the board released a statement saying it was a mistake and Manning was out.
Virginia says the board is out of line.
"I think they chose to project their political opinion onto a public process," he said.
Activists staged a fake SF Pride board meeting on the street Tuesday night because the real board canceled its meeting, telling activists they will discuss the controversy after the Pride parade.
But Manning supporters aren't giving up, they filed a discrimination complaint with the Human Rights Commission. It's a move that could affect SF Pride's access to city funds if the complaint is sustained.
