Hate Crime Legislation signed by President Obama

"We must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones but to break spirits. No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love." ~President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON -- Today at the White House, President Barack Obama signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation, a milestone that activists compared to the passage of 1960s civil-rights legislation empowering blacks. The new law adds acts of violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to the list of federal hate crimes.

The amendment was named partly for Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who died after a 1998 savage beating targeting him because he was gay, and whose parents were instrumental in leading the fight for such legislation, and also named for James Byrd Jr., a black Texas man dragged to his death in a racially motivated killing the same year.

Matthew Shepard's parents joined Obama for the bill signing, as did the family of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy who was deeply involved in pushing the legislation prior to his death in August.

Judy Shepard issued a statement saying that she and her husband, Dennis, "are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly."

She also called on Americans to look beyond legislation and work in their own lives to advance acceptance of gays.

~Linda

Sean Penn in "Milk"

Tonight I watched the movie, Milk. Wow, what an acting job Sean Penn did!

Within minutes into the film, you see beyond Sean Penn and see Harvey Milk. I told a friend not long ago I could not recall when I became a gay activist, or at least began to lean that way. Now I remember. It was Anita Bryant that did it! I wonder how many of us non-gays pulled away from Florida orange juice for while in the late 1970s because of her attitude. Did we replace fresh Florida orange juice with Tang about that time? Many all over this country were outraged about her attitude and bias against homosexuals. And the more she was outspoken with the bias the more irritated people became.

Living in California in those years, I knew a lot about what was going on over gay rights, especially in San Francisco, I remember John Briggs and the Briggs Initiative, and I do recall the tragic deaths of San Francisco Mayor Moscone and Harvey Milk. When I first saw the trailer for the movie, I recalled seeing the news clip of our now Senator Dianne Feinstein making the announcement of the shootings and death of her San Francisco colleagues.

Even though Harvey Milk died, his passion and dedication to the gay rights cause did bring the gay rights issues into the forefront, and hopefully we are making strides to bring about equality.

Isn’t it interesting that the Briggs Initiative was based on fear, just as Prop 8 was again in November here in CA. Politicians are so good at using fear to manipulate, and damn, it too often seems to work. You’d think people would wise up to that game.

The late Randy Shilts (1951-1994), openly gay journalist, reporter, and best-selling author, in a biography of Milk, wrote that Harvey Milk's life was a “metaphor for the homosexual experience in America.”

Shilts also wrote the best seller, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic,” an excellent non-fiction book. It was made into an award winning HBO movie.

Sadly, Randy Shilts died of AIDS at the age of 42. Cleve Jones, gay activist and friend of Harvey Milk, and cofounder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and who conceived the AIDS Memorial Quilt, described Shilts as a hero and characterized his books as the most important works of literature affecting gay people. Having only read one of Randy’s books, “And the Band Played On,” I would agree the book is of significant importance to understanding AIDS in America.

If you’ve not seen Milk, I highly recommend it for a well-written screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, fantastic acting by Sean Penn, and for a look back at history, and acknowledgement of the on-going fight for equality and tolerance. We’re getting closer but not there yet. When people can set prejudices and judgment aside, and keep fear out of the way, someone like Harvey Milk or Matthew Wayne Shepard (1976-1998) will not have died in vain.


Read more on my previous Blog Oscar Winning Screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, and Milk Movie



~Linda