Call Gov. Schwarzenegger Today: Sign SB 572!

As you may already be aware, on September 3rd, State Assembly Bill 572 (Harvey Milk Day), passed by a considerable majority (45/27). Unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger has not yet signed the bill. He must sign or veto the bill no later than October 11th. It calls for the creation of a "Day of Special Significance", in honor of slain civil rights leader, Harvey Milk. Notably, Milk appears in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the [20th] Century. And on August 12th, President Obama posthumously honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor.

It should be noted, that in order to make this bill as palatable as possible, the "Day of Special Significance" designation was chosen specifically, because it holds significantly less weight than a state holiday. California's "Days of Special Significance" currently include: Day of the Teacher, John Muir Day, and California Poppy Day. Who is it that would step forward, and say that Harvey Milk was less significant than a flower?

I could ramble for pages about the significance of this bill. But a young man by the name of Dustin Lance Black, can do so more eloquently than I ever could. Take a moment, and listen to the moving testimony that he gave before the California Senate Education Committee. (4:09)



As they did with Proposition 8, fundamentalists are now stooping low to subvert passage of this important bill. Their media campaign is spreading lies that Harvey Milk was a child molester, and that passage of the bill will result in forced "homosexual indoctrination of schools". And its working. As a result, the Governor has received over 100,000 calls, mostly against passage. Save California Families delivered 14,255 signatures to the Governor opposing Harvey Milk Day. Equality California responded with a petition to support passage, and within 24 hours delivered close to 40,000 signatures.

Call Schwarzenegger TODAY, to show your support at 916.445.2841.

Footnote: If you don't know who Dustin Lance Black is, (or if you missed the Oscars), watch his heart wrenching and inspiring acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay, "Milk". The Academy is quite fervent about copyrights, and won't allow me to embed the video here. But you can view his speech on YouTube. (2:04)