On August 5, the California State Senate approved legislation that would designate May 22nd "Harvey Milk Day" in California. The vote was 22-13, and split directly on party lines (surprise, surprise). The bill now returns to the assembly briefly and then proceeds to Governor Schwarzenneger's office for signature.
If approved, the new law would make the late San Francisco supervisor's birthday a "day of significance," not a state holiday, and its purpose would be to encourage schools to include curriculum on that day that would commemorate and honor Milk's contributions to San Francisco and the LGBT community.
Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay elected political officials in the nation when he became a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Barely a year later, in 1978, he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former fellow Supervisor Dan White. His death was a tragedy and he was a true hero of the LGBT movement -- certainly worthy of the state's acknowledgment.
And, if you want to see Hollywood's version of Harvey Milk's life and times, Gus Van Sant's "Milk" sees its national theatrical release on December 5th, starring Sean Penn as the man himself.
