Harvey Milk Day in California?

Thanks to QueersUnited, one of my favoritest activist blogs.

State Sen. Mark Leno (D) in California's State Senate has proposed SB 572, the official designation of May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in that state. Last year, AB2567 (warning: anti-gay website) passed both houses and was sent to Gov. Schwarzenegger, who vetoed it saying that Milk's "contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions."

In short: he's a local hero, not a state one.

I think, considering the success of MILK and the growing national understanding that Harvey Milk had on the movement -- "you gotta give them hope" -- that it is impossible for the Guvahnator to deny his influence (even Sean Penn is now championing the cause, btw) to the nation as a whole, let alone the state of California.

Equality California has set up a convenient online form for you to email the Governor your support. The reason we repost it here? Because Harvey Milk was the first person in the world I identified as a gay hero -- he was the first person I ever knew about that had done something great as a gay man. As a young kid in South Carolina, it was enough to remember him. I think all of us, all of us queers, knew about Milk long before the movie came out, and we all have our affinities for him, or stories about how we found out about him...

...which is why it's so wonderful that all of us get the chance to return the favor and thank Mr. Milk.

In related news, make sure you check out the growing movement, nationally, led by Equality Cincinnati's Dan Drent, to have a Harvey Milk postage stamp created.

"You Gotta Give Em Postage"

I reported on this a few weeks ago, but it has really taken off in the news!

Cincinnati native Daniel Drent, an Equality Cincinnati board member, started a group on Facebook to encourage the US Postal Service to issue a stamp in honor of Harvey Milk. You know, when I start stuff on Facebook, you're never quite sure where it's gonna go...

... I gotta give Dan credit on this one, it really took off. Check out stories on Towleroad (where the above pic comes from), and two pieces (story 1, story 2) from the SF Examiner. He had emailed me, said he was "excited that people are talking about it." 

Well done, Dan! So, join the Facebook group and email Dan (dpdrentec@aol.com) if you can help organize in your area!

Harvey Milk Stamp?

I know, I know, it seems I'm culling Facebook this morning for material, but this is worthwhile because it's an actual movement that's growing that's started by Equality Cincinnati's own Daniel Drent. That is, asking the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee of the US Postal Service to honor Harvey Milk with his own stamp.

What do you think the stamp should look like?