Harvey Milk's Fight For Gay Rights

Harvey Milk, though he had “known since high school that he was gay” (Biography), was initially outwardly ambivalent to legislation passed against the LGBTQ community. This all changed after he befriended a group of “gay radicals” in his mid-forties. They propelled him into the politically charged world of activism, in which he developed his voice, and stood out as a leader in the LGBTQ community. Milk stood on the steps of the San Francisco’s City Hall to celebrate Gay Freedom, but also to

Gays were forced to stay under the shadow. They were afraid to show their own true colors. Harvey Milk was a gay activist who had encouraged people to come out of the closet and join their organization to fight for their rights. He says “Burst down those closet doors and stand up once and for all, and start to fight.” (Document G) In the the quote he explains that people who are scared and haven’t come out of the closet should and help join the movement for equal rights for homosexuals. Harvey Milk’s encouragement had a big impact in the past organizations, his voice and words have impacted the LGBT society in a big way. In document H it shows how people were doing riots to express how they felt. This helped make people aware of their movement and what they want. They were able to express how they felt through these riots. Today, all these riots and LGBT activist work have made an everlasting impact. They had finished their goal and had legalized gay marriage, something they have been fighting for a long time. Even though they face discrimination, they have had made a huge step for equality because of their hard work in the past and

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay officials in the U.S in 1977 who was unjustly assassinated because of jealousy and his lifestyle;however, others that disagree with his choices think he deserved to die. Harvey Milk was murdered do to political reasons and differences in opinion. Some people argue that he was murdered instead of assassinated.

The topic of homosexuality in religion has many sides. There are those who believe that it is a sin in God’s eyes and according to the Bible, and there are those who believe the God and the Bible are not specific to homosexuals. It is a tough debate based on whether you are a religious person, how you were raised, and where your morals and ethics stand. You cannot truly believe one way without taking into account the other side and have valid proof to back it up.

His words still resonate today with anyone who is struggling with their sexual orientation. During the 70's the "LGBTQ+" was just the "GAYS". There was no education or resources for people who didn't fit in the majority view of American norms. The people of the LGBTQ+ were the voiceless people living in the shadow's of America or just in the closets of America like the Boogie Man. Milk gave the LGBTQ+ community a voice and a face and allowed for a start of acceptance of LGBTQ+ into mainstream America. Through his political and social activism he became known as the Mayor of Castro Street. His political life was cut short after just one year in office, who knows what kind of legacy he would have offered the world had he been allowed to live? He was named in "Time" magazine as one of the 100 most influential figures of the 20th century. Not a bad for a short political career that was just over 4 years and tragically cut short.

Milk’s message as a public figure during the 1970s around greater rights and freedoms for gay people was powerful and arguably, in many ways, remains relevant today. Pearson (2005) maintains that Milk was pivotal in the gay rights movement and that gay rights are still an issue in the United States and many other places around the world.

The Bible does not teach messages about god loving everyone equally (God, 2011). The Westboro Baptist Church discuss on their web site that the Bible has very strict rules about how a person is suppose to live their life. (God, 2011). Being homosexual, or even allowing homosexuality to occur, is against those rules (God, 2011). A person must follow the Bible to an extreme to be considered sinless (God, 2011).

Harvey Milk said, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”(Aretha 83). Harvey Milk was the first gay politician that moved people’s hearts. He changed the way people thought about gay people back in the 1970’s. Defending homosexuals from criticism, he civilized them with the people. Since the background of homosexuality was harsh which affected Harvey Milk’s early life, he took the action to process of becoming civilized as an officer, and he left many legacies.

Homosexuality has become accepted by many in our culture today. PBS estimates that there are 9 million members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community (Greve, Joan. “LGBT America: By the Numbers.”). This makes up 3.8% of the US population. Some of these members identify as Christians. So this poses a couple of questions: does the Bible really condemn homosexuality, can you be a gay Christian, and can two people of the same sex be legitimately married? These are important questions for churches to have answers to as the LGBT movement is becoming very popular.

Non-Christians believe that love is love no matter the gender of the people. They feel that no judgement should be passed on the people of the gay community. Christians have a different view on this matter. We are raised believing that, according to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin. “Don’t you know that evil people will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who are prostitutes or who commit homosexual acts.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) “Do not have sex with a man as you would have sex with a woman. I hate that.” (Leviticus 18:22) “Suppose a man has sex with another man as he would have sex with a woman. I hate what they have done.” (Leviticus 20:13) Since Christians have this view that homosexuality is a sin, society tends to believe that we hate all gays. This view is wrong. Christians do not hate gays, we hate the sin they have committed, just as we hate all sin. Christians are seen as looking down on the gays. In reality, Christians see gays as someone that is sinning, and our aim is to help lead sinners out of the way of sinning. This misunderstanding leads to a lot of strife between Christians and non-Christians.

I feel that Harvey Milk was successful because he was so real with himself and showed others that it was okay to express who you really are. He was able to show others that were hiding from their true selves, that they would be accepted the same way he was. By allowing people to feel comfortable with their sexuality, Milk brought the community together. He showed everyone in his community that being different was okay. In my opinion, Harvey Milk being gay, had nothing to do with his assassination. Dan White was angry that he was no longer welcome on the Board, so he took matters into his own hands. If Milk happened to be straight, I feel that White still would’ve shot him dead. If Milks murder was because he was gay, the mayor may not have been

However, those who use the bible as a crutch for their ignorance seem to forget that the bible also says “You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (qtd. in NIV 1488). This verse in Romans, 2:1 translates into the idea that we as humans have no right to judge, as it is not our place. If some of those supposed “Christians” would acknowledge the entire bible, instead of the parts that are considered beneficial to their circumstance, there would be a considerable decrease in the amount of cases within the church where homosexual men and women deny their true selves and are then exposed through scandal. The bible also goes on to teach that “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good”(qtd. in NIV 1500). It is perplexing as to why people in society today cannot love whom they please because judgment and pompous behavior is currently running rampant.

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis (Willey, 7). On July 29th, four months after he became pope, Pope Francis shocked the world with that statement. He called out to all Catholics and people to accept the homosexual community with grace and love. No pope before him had ever done that. Even though he has said this, some think that this is not far enough. When a specific denomination or church says that a same-sex couple cannot be married, that church or denomination is slapped with the accusatory terms of bigotry and/or homophobia. These churches become disgraced and tarnished all because of that one policy. To some, the greatest offender of “homophobia” is the Catholic Church. There needs to be more clarity when it comes to the Catholic Church’s position.

Most religious groups openly denounce and speak out against homosexuality, as well as same-sex marriage. “If a man also lie with mankind, as

“Whenever one violates the natural moral order established by God, one sins and offends God” (LGBT Community: Stop Gay Marriage). Same-sex marriage is a perfect example of this. So, it stands to reason that anyone who professes their love to God should be opposed to same-sex marriage. Furthermore, I have the perfect solution to rid our precious society of these vicious queers. We shall set ablaze every part of this great, green Earth in which these demons exist. Scorching-hot fire shall rain down upon every homosexual individual, and we shall watch as they burn; we shall watch as they are cleansed of their cursed impurities. We will deliver their punishment just as God unleashed his on the sinful cities that committed these heinous acts: “The Lord rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.” (Gen. 19:24-25)