Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –
As a gay dad in California I have a vested interest in SB 572 Harvey Milk Day.
Since you vetoed it last year, four important things have changed. And it’s a mixed bag, but bear with me.
- The California Supreme Court observed that homosexuals are a protected class in California, no different from every other group that has been systematically oppressed. And a narrow majority of voters have alleged otherwise.
- Harvey Milk was the subject of an Academy Award winning movie.
- Harvey Milk was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- About 2,520 California teens have killed themselves because they are gay.
This last point is why SB 572 is so important. Only Harvey Milk Day will ensure that our children are taught the important lesson of hope that they need to survive.
I know that you and your wife Maria are inducting this Time Magazine 100 Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century into the California Museum; I also know that opposition to Harvey Milk Day comes from the oppressors we still have lingering around, literally killing our kids.
We don’t need somebody stuffed into a museum, we need a living lesson of hope and a clear message that the acts that killed Matthew Shepherd, Trevor and Harvey Milk are not tolerated in California. I hope you do the right thing for our children and SIGN SB 572.
Sincerely,