CA Governor Approves Harvey Milk Day, More Rights for Same-Sex Couples
October 13, 2009
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill on Sunday that will designate May 22 as ‘Harvey Milk Day’ in that state.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that the special day of recognition “will not be a formal state holiday,” but instead, is meant to inspire educators “to conduct exercises recalling Milk’s life and contributions to the state.”
Milk was elected to San Francisco’s Board of City Supervisors in 1977 and played a prominent role in the early LGBT rights movement. San Francisco Mayor George Mascone and Milk were assassinated in November 1978 by former supervisor, Dan White.
Gov. Schwarzenegger also signed a bill on Sunday that will “ensure that couples who wed before the passage of Proposition 8 in November retain their status as ‘married’,” according to the San Francisco Gate. Moreover, same-sex couples who married outside of California after November 4, 2008 will be granted “all rights of marriage save the name” in the Golden state. As the San Francisco Gate clarified in an article on Tuesday, “that means married couples who move to California will not have to register as domestic partners to have their relationship recognized by the state.”
But as blogger Pam Spaulding of PamsHouseBlend.com noted, Sunday was not a complete win for the LGBT community. The governor also vetoed two pieces of legislation considered key items to LGBT Californians. The first bill, AB 1185, would have eased the process by which transgender Californians change their gender on birth certificates. And the second, AB 382 , would have established protections for LGBT inmates. Gov. Schwarzenegger cited legal precedents as rendering those bills unnecessary.
Equality California, an organization devoted to achieving equality and securing legal protections for LGBT Californians, celebrated Sunday’s landmark legislation but expressed disappointment at the vetoes:
“We are grateful to the Governor for signing these critical and groundbreaking measures into law and rising above partisan politics to improve the lives of LGBT Californians,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors.
[Of the vetoed bills] “While we believe it is important to have these protections in statute rather than just as policy or court precedent and are disappointed by the vetoes, the Governor’s reaffirmation of these policies will hopefully help ensure they are enforced.”
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of California legislation meant to protect LGBT people. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Harvey Milk Inducted to CA’s Hall of Fame; Next Stop ‘Milk Day’?
August 27, 2009
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Schriver announced on Tuesday that LGBT rights pioneer Harvey Milk will be inducted into the state’s ‘Hall of Fame’.
The couple noted that each of the 13 inductees “embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history.”
The Milk honor, however, comes amidst a debate surrounding a new state bill that would honor the slain supervisor by deeming May 22 as ‘Milk Day’ in the Golden State. The Associated Press writes that the bill “would designate Milk’s birthday, May 22, as a ‘day of special significance,’ but not an official holiday.” That bill awaits approval from the CA Assembly before reaching the Governor’s desk.
But as The Sacramento Bee reports, it was just last year that Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a nearly identical bill because it would be more appropriate, he believed, to honor Milk on a local level.
The governor’s decision to include Milk in the state’s Hall of Fame, however, may imply that Mr. Schwarzenegger now recognizes Milk as a much more influential figure than he had first thought.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Francisco Castillo clarified in Tuesday’s Sacramento Bee that “The governor does recognize the positive impact that Harvey Milk had globally and nationally.”
Milk’s legacy recently garnered national attention after President Barack Obama honored the LGBT rights stalwart with the Presidential Medal of Freedom – an award bestowed on individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural, or other significant public or private endeavors. The president noted that Milk’s “voice stirred the aspirations of millions of people.”
In any case, the governor’s office said no decisions have been made regarding the new bill. In fact, Schwarzenegger has taken to his twitter page to ask the public’s opinion on Harvey Milk Day.
GLAAD will continue to share the media’s coverage of Harvey Milk Day. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Sean Penn Calls for Harvey Milk Day
March 3, 2009
Actor Sean Penn, fresh off his Academy Award-winning turn as Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s biopic, Milk, is in San Francisco today to introduce the Harvey Milk Day Bill.
Harvey Milk
At 11 AM this morning, Penn joined State Senator Mark Leno, State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and Equality California at a press conference to introduce the Harvey Milk Day Bill. Sponsored by Equality California, the bill seeks to educate Californians about the former San Francisco City Supervisor, civil rights activist and American hero whose work helped bring LGBT people out of the closet and into civic life.
The legislation calls on the Governor to proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, designating it as a “day of special significance.”
According to Equality California:
The legislation was originally introduced last year by Sen. Leno but the Governor vetoed the measure on the grounds that Harvey Milk was unknown beyond San Francisco. Milk, who was the first openly gay elected official of a major American city, was responsible for passing San Francisco’s gay-rights ordinance and helping to defeat the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gay and lesbian teachers from public schools. Milk, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was assassinated in November 1978, but his legacy continues. He was named one of the most influential people of the 20th Century by Time.
Celebrate MILK at MILK!
November 24, 2008
Calling all Angelenos! To celebrate the opening day of MILK, Focus Features will hold an all-day party on November 26 at MILK, the amazing ice cream store on Beverly Blvd. Not only can you buy special MILK-themed treats, you will also have a chance to win MILK passes and merchandise!
From 8:00 AM onwards on Wednesday, stop by MILK to buy special Harvey Milk Apple Pie shakes (yum!) and enter to win “MILK Prize packs” (sounds fancy!) and Run of Engagement passes (we love free movies!).
You can even bring your ticket stub from MILK’s opening weekend and receive a free scoop of ice cream from Wednesday the 26th to Sunday the 30th.
If you’ve never tasted MILK’s ice cream, you have been missing out.
So run to MILK! And watch MILK! And celebrate Harvey Milk Day!
MILK is located at 7290 Beverly Blvd, at Poinsettia, just West of LaBrea.
Gov. Schwarzenegger Vetoes Harvey Milk Day
October 1, 2008
On September 30, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have made the birthday of gay political icon Harvey Milk a statewide “day of significance.” According to the Associated Press, the governor said he respected the measure’s intent, but thinks Milk’s “contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level.”
Harvey Milk
Earlier this year, California State Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), inspired by the filming of the upcoming Gus Van Sant biopic Milk, partnered with Equality California to back a measure for a non-fiscal statewide Harvey Milk holiday to take place every May 22, in honor of his birthday. In press materials for the bill, Leno lauds Milk as “a true American hero” who “gave hope to a generation of gay and lesbian individuals whose basic humanity and freedom had been denied and dishonored,” and who demonstrated “that each one of us possesses the ability to create extraordinary change in our communities, our country and the world.” The bill was approved by the Senate with a 22-13 vote and sent to Gov. Schwarzenegger on August 5. Unfortunately, the governor did not sign the legislation.
To learn more about Harvey Milk and his importance to the LGBT civil rights movement, please read GLAAD’s Milk Resource Kit.
Van Sant’s biopic will premiere October 28 in San Francisco’s Castro District. On November 26, Milk will open in select markets.
Check out the trailer here:
