David Norris Speaks in San Francisco

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Irish Senator David Norris, who was referred to in the San Francisco press as the Harvey Milk of Ireland, was the guest of honor last night at an event hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco.

California State Senator Mark Leno, a leading advocate of marriage equality in California, presented Senator Norris with a proclamation commending his commitment and dedication to civil rights and his successful campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in Ireland. The proclamation read: "It is through the work of individuals such as yourself that equality becomes attainable for all."

A diverse mix of people in the Irish community and leaders in the LGBT community in San Francisco were some of the 150 people in attendance to hear Senator Norris. The guests included San Francisco's Treasurer Jose Cisneros; Rebecca Prozan, Assistant District Attorney and LGBT Pride Director at Obama for America; Kiva CEO Matt Flannery; the Assistant District Attorney of San Francisco, Michael Sullivan; and Ireland's Consul General, Gerry Staunton. Alex Rodriquez, on behalf of Mayor Gavin Newsom, presented Senator Norris with an official certificate of welcome which also recognized his work as a champion of civil rights.

Senator Norris spoke of the struggle for human rights on a broad scale - discussing a variety of examples, from his own legal campaign to have homosexuality decriminalized in Ireland, to the work of an unemployed Dublin bus conductor, Tom Hyland, who brought attention to the suffering in East Timor. Norris described himself as an "ordinary" person and encouraged the audience by noting that ordinary people can bring about change.

US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo recognized the nine George J. Mitchell Scholars who were present. The George J. Mitchell Scholarship program is the flagship project of the Alliance. It is one of the country's most prestigious scholarship programs and each year selects 12 young Americans, from a nationwide competition, to pursue a year of graduate study in Ireland or Northern Ireland. The Mitchell Scholars in the area include two studying law at Stanford; one completing a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford; two Berkeley Law School students; the West Coast Regional Sales Manager for YouTube; and the Chief Cardiology Fellow at UCSF.

Those who served on the event committee included San Francisco Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Sean Elsbernd; Scott Ellingson of Baker & McKenzie; Mark Kelleher of SFSU; Belfast-born private investor David Kirk; Tom McEnery, the former mayor of San Jose, member of US-Ireland Alliance advisory board; Robert Martin of Signal Demand; Mark Nagel, a member of the board of the US-Ireland Alliance; Kevin Shanahan of 365 Main; Laela Sturdy of YouTube; and Kevin Winston of Porter Novelli.

Sponsors of the event were the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs and American Airlines.