The narrow margin of victory of Propostion 8, banning same sex marriage in California, made Obama's victory bitter-sweet for many of the LGBT community, who like me and my spouse of 24 years were married over the summer. It isn't just about a piece of paper but the climate created by thousands of minutes of commercials that sold a message, largely using children, to sell that old hate-filled myth, that gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexuals people, are threats to families and their children. Our state constitution, for the first time, now legally authorizes exclusion for a group of its citizens based on this climate of fear and loathing of homosexuality. It reminds me of another initiative and another time, 30 years ago, when our community faced an equally frightening prospect, loss of our jobs as public school teachers, with the Briggs Initiative in our state. It created a similar climate of fear and in its wake, although we barely defeated this really discriminatory proposition, saw the murder and loss of our what for us was the first public martyr to the cause of Gay rights, Harvey Milk.
On November 27th, 1978, former Supervisor Dan White, entered San Francisco city hall with a loaded gun. He was very angry at our Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, for not re-appointing him back to the Board of Supervisors. November of 1978 was a hard one for the people of San Francisco. Proposition 6, the Briggs initiative, was narrowly defeated in one of the most openly homophobic campaigns in our state's history. State Senator John Briggs had enlisted Anita Byrant and her "Save our Children" campaign to help get an initiative passed similar to one passed in Florida's Dade County. The campaign spent most of its time stereo-typing Gays as sexual predators and recruiters to homosexuality in our public schools. Banning Gay teachers or ones thought to be Gay or supportive of Gay rights was what this initiative would have done if it had passed. It didn't pass by the narrowist of margins but the hate and fear remained.
A week later, news from Guyana and the people killed there from Jim Jone's former "Peoples Temple" in San Francisco happened. Hundreds of former San Franciscans found dead in the jungles of Guyana after taking massive quanities of cynanide spiked punch under the directions of religious fanatic, Reverend Jim Jones. To make matters worse, Congressman Leo Ryan, was killed earlier in the day after flying with concerned family members to try and see what was really happening at the Jonestown compound.
Then, the news that Dan White murdered Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Milk the last week of November. Harvey had had death threats before and had even tapped recorded his last will and testament. More threats came as a result in the wake of the "No on 6" victory. Then the news that our Mayor and Supervisor Mild were found dead by Supervisor Diane Feinstein who heard the shots. We were stunned, dazed and unbelieving. Fear and hate turned to real, bloody violence against a Gay man, the first openly Gay public official here in the city of St. Francis. Homophobia does indeed kill. Fear and loathing of Gay people not only killed our progressive Mayor and Harvey, it killed Dan White who would later end his own life in his garage filled with car exhaust years later.
But Harvey's death produced a community determined to change things for the better. Harvey's life gave us two lessons. "Ya got to give them hope" was the first lesson to those of us still deep in a lonely closet without hope. The second was "come out of that closet" and let people know in our families, in our places of worship, in our work places and the public square who we were as Gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual people. We are not afraid anymore and will take the risk that telling the truth is better than living a lonely lie.
Things have decidely gotten better for the Gay community since that awful day in 1978. With the election of a candidate just a few days ago whose central campaign themes were hope and change, I feel confident that despite this awful propostion that just barely passed, we will mourn, get angry and organize to fight this all the way to the Supreme court of California. Remembering Harvey Milk today and all the days until our marriages and future ones will be restored. Thank you Harvey. "Ya gotta give them hope" Hope that things will get better despite the set backs.