Schwarzenegger grapples with honoring gay icon Harvey Milk

Much has happened since a proposal to honor gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk each year with a state-declared day of recognition was vetoed last September by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

-- Milk's life was portrayed in an Academy Award-winning movie, "Milk," that resulted in a best-actor Oscar for Sean Penn.

-- President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Milk the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, declaring that the San Franciscan "changed the landscape of opportunity for the nation's gay community."

-- The California Hall of Fame selected Milk for its 13-member "Class of 2009" to honor people who "embody California's innovative spirit and have made their mark on history."

Now Schwarzenegger must wrestle again with the notion of honoring Milk's birthday with an annual day of recognition, a proposal adopted by the Legislature and sent to the governor last week.

Senate Bill 572, if signed into law, would encourage schools to conduct "suitable commemorative exercises" each May 22 to remember Milk's life and social contributions.

"No modern history of California can be told without including him," said Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who proposed the honor.

Opponents counter that schools already are hard-pressed to cover required curriculum and that many parents would find honoring Milk objectionable.

"When you consider that SB 572 would affect children as young as kindergarten without parental consent, you can understand why Harvey Milk 'gay day' is driving fathers and mothers crazy," said Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com, an advocacy group on family issues.

Unlike state holidays, schools and government offices remain open on days of special significance. California currently has three such days, honoring teachers, poppies and John Muir.

Milk was the nation's first openly gay man elected to public office in a major city, San Francisco, and his push for gay rights helped make him a role model and symbol of gay pride.

After serving less than one year on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Milk was fatally shot along with Mayor George Moscone by colleague Dan White inside San Francisco City Hall in November 1978.

More than 100,000 people have contacted the governor's office with phone calls, letters or e-mails to weigh in on SB 572, with an overwhelming number of them opposed, said Andrea McCarthy, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman.

The governor has taken no position on the Milk bill, said McCarthy, who declined to comment further.

In vetoing a similar measure last year, Schwarzenegger applauded Milk as an "important community leader and public official."

"However, I believe his contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions," Schwarzenegger's veto message said then.

Leno contends that Schwarzenegger recently "negated his comments" from last year's veto message by noting the extraordinary global impact of this year's California Hall of Fame nominees, who include Milk.

The Legislature voted largely along party lines in passing SB 572, with Republicans opposed.

The push to honor Milk comes at a time when gays and lesbians are fighting nationwide to legalize same-sex marriage, which California voters rejected by approving Proposition 8 last year.

Milk, a camera-shop owner, sponsored a successful San Francisco gay-rights initiative and helped defeat a 1978 ballot measure, known as the Briggs Initiative, to ban gays and lesbians from teaching in California public schools.

SB 572's legislative findings declare that, "Perhaps more than any other modern figure, Harvey Milk's life and political career embody the rise of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement."

Thomasson counters that Milk had character flaws that would set a "horrible example" for children and that he was "not the nice guy in the movie."

Thomasson cited passages from "The Mayor of Castro Street," a Milk biography written by the late Randy Shilts, a gay author and San Francisco Chronicle reporter, that described incidents in which Milk engaged in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy and advocated polygamist relationships within the gay community.

Reach Jim Sanders at jsanders(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com.

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