Wikileaks Suspect Manning Named Honorary Grand Marshal of San Francisco Homosexual Pride Parade

Photo Credit: DonkeyHoteyRainey Reitman, a member of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said Friday that her group was notified this week that a committee of former San Francisco Pride grand marshals had voted to select the imprisoned intelligence specialist for the distinction that each year recognizes about a dozen celebrities, politicians and community organizations for their contributions to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Manning is openly gay, and his lawyers have argued that his experience as a soldier before the repeal of the U.S. military’s ban on gay service played an important role in his decision to pass hundreds of thousands of sensitive items to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

“As a longstanding Manning supporter, I’m thrilled to see our community publicly embrace his courage in disclosing classified truths about the war in Iraq and other facts, which empower the American public to promote smarter future policy,” Reitman said.

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