The state of California is again considering a bill that would designate a day of "significance" in California for slain gay politician Harvey Milk. The bill is heading to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. The bill was vetoed last year by the cowardly Schwarzenegger, who was then quoted as saying that Milk "should be continued to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions."
in other words, non straights are lesser citizens under GOP rule.
CNN has some details on this year's efforts.
State Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat who authored the current bill as well as last year's, said in a written statement that the governor had "contradicted" his veto message by announcing that the gay rights icon will be inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
Milk was a "unique" historical figure who led a civil rights movement and then was "assassinated in his public office for being who he was," Leno said.
"In a perfect world, we'd have a state holiday for him, like [the Rev.] Martin Luther King Jr. or Cesar Chavez," Leno said in a telephone interview.
But the California state finances are in such "disarray ... we think it's appropriate in light of our fiscal crisis" to have a special day of significance that won't cost the state anything, said Leno, whose district includes portions of San Francisco.
That way, he said, Milk is still afforded "the respect that he's due."
This of course seems very reasonable. Harvey Milk was indeed equal in stature as a very couragous leader to King and Chavez and should be honored by his state.
CNN also mentions the reactionary opposition.
However, Randy Thomasson, the president of SaveCalifornia.com, said the bill was vague and could allow for a number of things at schools, including gay pride parades or "mock gay weddings."
"There's no definition in the bill," he said. "There is absolutely no limit to what could occur on campuses and go into little children's brains."
"Harvey Milk was a terrible role model for children," Thomasson said. His organization plans to oppose the bill through automatic phone calls, e-mails, media interviews and news conferences, he added.
A visit to the website for Save Califonia.com shows that along with their/Thomasson's campaign of disrespect to Harvey Milk, they were active in the distortion campaign against Obama's school speech yesterday, as well as getting on board to defend the blatantly discriminatory Prop 8. Thomasson is also described, glowingly,by a fellow Christofascist as
. . .one of California's top pro-family leaders. He is on the front lines fighting to restore family values to the nation's most influential state. Known for his energetic and informative news and commentary, Randy has led the way for family-friendly policies in government and society since 1993 through his non-profit, nonpartisan organization known as Campaign for California Families.
If I were a Californian, I would be very disgusted both by the actions of such bigoted zealots in my state, as well as by the cravenness of a governor who ought to be standing up to such a lunatic fringe but like a true GOP hack opportunist, refuses to do so, time and again.