Licked your very last Harvey Milk stamp while mailing out your gas bill? Not to worry. The gay icon and legendary San Francisco politician is about to have a Navy ship named after him, if reports are to be believed.
Related: 10 Things About 2016 That Would Make Harvey Milk Beam From Ear To Ear
USNI News obtained a Congressional notification signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that strongly suggests he’s sneakily planning to name a Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Harvey Milk.
The move will likely come to pass; Mabus has already named ships after several civil rights heroes, and the idea of naming a ship after the gay-rights activist has been floating around for several years. The USNS Harvey Milk would follow in the footsteps of USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) and USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14).
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Related: Giving Us Hope: Harvey Milk’s Top 7 Quotes
Raised by a Navy family, Milk was a diving officer in San Diego for the Korean war until he was honorably discharged as a lieutenant junior grade. Shortly after, he became the first openly gay politician in California to be elected to office. Infact, when he was shot to death in 1978 , he was still wearing his U.S. Navy diver’s belt buckle.
According to nephew Stuart Milk, naming a ship after Harvey Milk “will further send a green light to all the brave men and women who serve our nation that honesty, acceptance and authenticity are held up among the highest ideals of our military.”
ErikO
He was not that revolutionary of a man or politician. He was a chickenhawk and sexually abused teenage boys which is sick. The Randy Shilts bio confirmed this as did the documentary the life and times of Harvey Milk.
MacAdvisor
Going to have to write two posts, darn it.
“Licked your very last Harvey Milk stamp while mailing out your gas bill?”
Actually, the Harvey Milk stamps were only produced in the peal-and-stick format. The USPS doesn’t produce any stamps that require moistening, such as licking, to adhere any more.
MacAdvisor
@ErikO:
ErickO, I have read the Randy Shilts bio, The Mayor of Castro Street as well as watched the documentary several times. I even own a copy. Neither supports your suggestions Milk was a chickenhawk or sexually abused teenage boys. He liked men in the 20s and 30s, but he was only 48 when he died, so his preference was not unusual or in any way sick. Milk was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civil honor, by President Obama. If there was even the slightest hint of what you suggest, I doubt he would have been so honored. You disgrace yourself by smearing such a man.
Sluggo2007
@ErikO: You poor, lonely, bitter old queen. Get a hobby.
DCguy
@ErikO:
This is what I mean when I say that the Log Cabiners have become and anti-gay group. They are no longer here to try to expand lgbt representation in the GOP. Most of their members have left and the only ones left are the anti-gay self hating ones.
Their first response is to always defend anti-lgbt big*ts or to attack anything that is possibly a big step for lgbt rights or representation. Rather than being happy the military is acknowledging lgbts, this Log Cabiner attacks.
Alistair Wiseman
@DCguy:
Oh, I see. So it is not the character, integrity or accomplishment of the honoree, but only the mere fact of being gay that is to be acknowledged?
DCguy
@Alistair Wiseman:
Alistair, you will have to remind me. When have you ever posted anything supportive of a situation like this?
Oh that’s right, you haven’t. you have just attacked “The Left”. “Liberals” and “Democrats” and “LGBT people”.
As for Milk, please be specific, what exactly are you saying? Vague commentary about somebody because you don’t like the fact that they were out of the closet or a democrat isn’t valid and you know that.
ErikO
@MacAdvisor: Actually yes the book and documentary do state that Harvey Milk was a predator and sexually abused young teenage boys as he was a chickenhawk. When Milk was in his 30s he was having sex with teenage boys who were well under the age of 18 which is sick. Just because you want to revise this fact about him does not mean he was not this way.
MacAdvisor
@Alistair Wiseman:
“Oh, I see. So it is not the character, integrity or accomplishment of the honoree, but only the mere fact of being gay that is to be acknowledged?”
Yeah, not like Harvey gave his life or anything in serving his city and his community. It isn’t like he wasn’t the highest ranking gay official elected to office at that time. It wasn’t like he went up and down the state arguing against the Brigg’s Initiative banning gay school teachers. It wasn’t like he spent his time urging everyone to come out to end homophobia. No, he didn’t do anything but be gay. That’s all. Not much.
Alistair Wiseman
@MacAdvisor:
Are you kidding me with this response? Harvey Milk’s professional and public life has been well documented. You missed the whole point to what I posted.
Oh, and by the way, the Brigg’s Initiative was winning across the state and was only defeated because ex-California Governor Ronald Reagan stepped in and denounced the initiative as discriminatory. Reagan’s intervention with this initiative also prompted the forming of DCguy’s favorite group, the Log Cabin Republicans.
Alistair Wiseman
@DCguy:
Well, I just tried to respond to your above post, but the Queerty censoring fascists will not let it post – as usual.
It was a rather lengthy response so I tried to post it in pieces, to no avail.
I have never seen a website that is so afraid of differing opinions.
Pathetic.
GayEGO
ErikO thinks all gays are predators as he only thinks about sex. Many of us have relationships such as my lifetime partner of 54 years, married 12 years, and are both retired living the American dream. Congratulations to the Navy for their honorable action to name a ship after Harvey Milk – USNS Harvey Milk. I was in the Navy when I met my partner, and yes, I was honorably discharged as an MU2 Petty Officer who played the flute! I learned how to deal with the harassment and did not mix business with pleasure. I introduced my partner as my roommate to quiet them down. Unfortunately I met other Navy guys who got discharged because they weren’t as careful, back in the 1960s.