by Rex Wockner
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Sept. 30 that would have created a day honoring the late legendary gay activist and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.
"I respect the author's intent to designate May 22nd as 'Harvey Milk Day' and a day of special significance for California public schools and educational institutions to honor Harvey Milk as an important community leader and public official in the city and county of San Francisco," Schwarzenegger said in his veto message. "However, I believe his contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions."
The executive director of Equality California, Geoff Kors, called the veto "a disappointment to thousands and thousands of Californians who regard Harvey Milk as a national hero."
"This is a sad reminder of the lack of understanding of both the LGBT community and of the impact of Harvey Milk," Kors said. "As one of the first openly gay leaders in this country, Milk inspired Americans in every corner of our nation to stand proud in the face of adversity, and he gave his life in the pursuit of equality. This fall, his story will be celebrated in movie theaters nationwide as a tribute to a legacy that extends far beyond California."
Milk settled in the Castro district in 1972 and opened a camera store. He went on to pioneer a populist gay rights movement in the city and, in 1977, was elected to the Board of Supervisors, becoming the third openly gay candidate elected in U.S. history.
He and Mayor George Moscone were shot to death inside City Hall on Nov. 27, 1978, by then recently resigned city Supervisor Dan White, who was angry that Moscone wouldn't let him un-resign and that Milk had lobbied Moscone not to reappoint White. White's lenient sentence for the killings (seven years and eight months with parole) led to the famed White Night Riots in San Francisco on May 21, 1979.
