The U.S. Navy revealed last week that it will be naming a ship after slain gay rights activist and former San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. 

 

Milk was the first openly gay elected official in California. He actually served in the Navy as a diving officer during the Korean War, before being honorably discharged in 1955. In 1977, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and a year later he was assassinated.

 

Some are hailing the Navy's announcement as a serious sign of progress.

 

"We have just reached the point recently where LGBT people can serve openly in the military, and what better message can there be of that than this ship?" argued Milk's nephew Stuart Milk. "It's a very fitting tribute to a man whose primary goal was for people to be authentic and not have to wear a mask."

 

Others are not so sure.

 

"It’s a really tough one," activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca said. “I certainly understand where people would feel pride in this. But I just feel uneasy. It makes me very uncomfortable that Harvey’s name is on anything connected to the military.”

 

 

And yes, even the bigots have an opinion. Quelle surprise!

 

"Although [Milk] served briefly in the Navy, nothing he did merits the kind of tribute [the Navy] is giving him," argued Family Research Council mouthpiece, Tony Perkins. “The Navy seems intent on following in the administration’s ridiculous footsteps and bestowing a great honor on someone primarily on the basis of his sex life. A life marred by promotion of illegal drug use, sexual exploits, and lies doesn’t deserve one of the greatest military distinctions -- especially not with so many genuine heroes to choose from."

 

Milk will be joining others receiving a similar honor, including Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and women's rights activists Lucy Stone and Sojourner Truth. 

 

Our opinion: There's no better way to honor a gay man than with a boat load of seamen.