CA Senate education committee passes Harvey Milk bill

Civil rights activist Harvey Milk would be commemorated with an official day honoring his leadership under a bill approved on June 19 by the California Senate Education Committee. The day before, Senate committee members passed Assembly Bill 2567, which would establish May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in California, with a 6-3 vote. The legislation is authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California. If the measure is passed in the full Senate and signed by the governor, California would become the first state in the nation to designate a day commemorating a leader of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. "By passing this bill, the Senate Education Committee acknowledges the unprecedented legacy of Harvey Milk and the importance of teaching our future generations the important role he played in history," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "Through his staunch commitment to human rights, Milk, one of the nation's first openly gay leaders, inspired a community to stand strong in the face of aversion. Perhaps more than any other figure, Harvey Milk's life and political career embody the rise of the LGBT civil rights movement. His achievements and vision deserve this wide recognition." AB 2567 will be heard next on the Senate floor. Milk was one of the nation's first openly gay elected officials. He was assassinated in 1978, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by a homophobic colleague with the Board of Supervisors. AB 2567 would proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of his birth. The bill would encourage public schools and educational institutions to conduct activities teaching students about this important LGBT leader. As a non-fiscal state holiday, it would not impact the state budget because it does not increase the number of paid holidays for state employees or suspend public functions. "Harvey would be proud to know that his legacy continues to teach us to believe in ourselves and our dreams," said Assemblymember Leno. "Given the alarming rates of suicide, depression, substance abuse, bullying and violence against LGBT youth in our schools, the bill aims to give LGBT and straight students alike a positive representative of who LGBT people are that inspires pride and self-esteem rather than fear and shame. That is what Harvey was all about," he said. During the 1970s, Milk worked to pass an LGBT civil rights ordinance in San Francisco and helped defeat an initiative that would have banned gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools.