Chaz Bono, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka Honored At Gay Gala

Chaz Bono, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were honored Saturday at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center's 40^th Anniversary Gala and Auction, which took place at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, GregInHollywood.com reported.

Bono, the child of gay icon Cher and Sonny Bono, was honored with the group's Board of Directors Award for his transgender activism.

In presenting the award, David Arquette noted his personal connection to the issue of transgender rights: “I grew up sharing a room with Alexis, my sister who we all love. I saw how difficult it was for her to come to terms with that, to feel comfortable in her own skin.”

“For me, growing up, I didn't know about being transgender,” Bono said. “When I discovered I was really transgender, I felt like my world was going to fall apart. It took me over 10 years to come up with the courage that I needed in order to start transitioning and finally be myself.”

Glee co-star Jane Lynch, who is heavily involved with the group, presented Harris and Burtka with the group's Rand Schrader Distinguished Achievement Award.

Harris and Burtka welcomed fraternal twins Harper and Gideon to their family last October.

“To much of the world they are a remarkable family and they stand as a role model for young people,” Lynch said. “This is particularly important for kids out there who fear for their own futures because of their own sexual orientation.”

“It's hard to believe that it's been years since The Center first invented gays and lesbians,” joked Harris, the star of the long-running CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. “And we are so happy that they did.”

“More to the point, we are extraordinarily grateful that we are able to stand here today as a same-sex couple with children and not feel like we are some kind of freak show or some kind of government experiment gone awry,” Burtka added.