Harvey Milk Day Bill Heads To Schwarzenegger's Desk

All eyes are on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a proposed Harvey Milk Day bill heads towards his desk.

State Senator Mark Leno's bill would set aside Milk's May 22 birthday to honor the gay rights leader.

Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major U.S. city when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He won on a platform of civil rights but his tenure was cut short when he was gunned down by a disgruntled former supervisor, Dan White, the following year.

“Harvey Milk was a champion for seniors, for working people and for those who didn't have a voice, and his courageous work set the stage for many of the key civil rights advances we enjoy today,” Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California (EQCA) said in a statement.

Lawmakers approved the bill for a second time Thursday, after Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, saying Milk's accomplishments should be celebrated at the local level.

But Milk's profile has soared during the intervening months. President Obama honored Milk with a Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award; the California Museum, which was conceived by Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, is about to induct him into its California Hall of Fame; and a movie about his life, Milk, drew national attention to the tumultuous early years of the gay rights movement.

Conservatives are dead set against the idea of honoring a gay politician. Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, is heading the fight against a Harvey Milk Day. The group is behind a campaign of phone calls, faxes and emails that urge the governor to veto the bill.

“So, under 'Harvey Milk Gay Day,' elementary and secondary schoolchildren could be taught adult-child homosexual 'sex' is OK, having multiple sexual relationships at the same time is OK, and telling a very public lie is OK if it 'gets you ahead,'” the group says on its website.

Senator Leno says Milk's heightened stature will win the governor over. But the last we heard from the governor's spokesman on the issue was that he had not changed his mind.