Got Milk? Thanks But No Thanks, Says The Tea Party

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man in U.S. History to be elected into a political position.  In 1977 Milk was voted in as the San Francisco City Supervisor.

Only 11 months later, November 27, 1978 both Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone were assassinated by fellow politician and outspoken anti-gay conservative Dan White.

In 1984 the documentary The Times Of Harvey Milk was released.  It investigates Milk’s journey and both of the murders.   I have included the full film below:

Last year, 31 years after his assassination, Milk’s home state of California voted to make May 22 Harvey Milk Day.   This year was the first year in which the statewide holiday was celebrated.

Sadly, the Kern County school district decided that their schools wouldn’t recognize the holiday or encourage any celebrations in his honor.

Local pastors brought out the Bible to cite the reasons they are choosing not  to honor the holiday.  Pastor Jonathan Morgan (Baptist) says:

“Simply it’s not a civil rights issue at all, and it’s an issue of morality for me”

Trustee Ken Mettler, who is also running in the 32nd Assembly District Republican primary (Tea Party/ Yes on Prop8 ) had this to say about the Kern County decision:

“Harvey Milk, himself, his level of accomplishment does not warrant a celebration in our school system, because when you look at the facts he was a supervisor for less than one year,  he sponsored only two ordinances in his whole time in office…”

Here is the local NBC News clip for more information:

One of Milk’s greatest accomplishments was his work on Proposition 6 (more commonly referred to now as the Briggs Initiative, because of its conservative republican sponsor John Briggs).

The initiative failed, largely in part because of Milk.  The initiative would have banned gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights  from working in California’s public schools.

Here is an interview Milk gave not too long before his assassination, in which he spoke out against the initiative.

His responses eerily sound as if they are directed towards those opposed to his holiday today.

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