Former D8 supervisor Bevan Dufty has dropped out of this year's San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. He was selected to be grand marshall earlier this year, along with state Attorney Kamala Harris, Perry Lang, Betty Sullivan, and most notably, Bradley Manning.
"I very much wanted to be a Pride grand marshal but I don't feel this is the right time," Dufty wrote in an email to the B.A.R.
As you recall, the Gay Pride board removed Manning's as the grand marshal after a handful of people (as well as corporate sponsors) complained about the queer soldier's inclusion.
When asked whether or not Dufty decided to step down over the controversy, he wouldn't say specifically, cleverly noting, "I'm going to let my actions speak for me in this situation."
In related news, the San Francisco Chronicle published an op-ed ("Bradley Manning doesn't merit accolades") piece slamming Manning while cheering the Pride board's decision to remove the imprisoned soldier from the city's annual LGBT parade. SFist asked the paper's (predominantly heterosexual) editorial board for further clarification on their stance. They have yet to respond to our inquiry. We'll update as soon as they do!