Sunday, November 27, 2011

Daily Kos: 33 years ago today: we SHOULD remember

Daily Kos: 33 years ago today: we SHOULD remember:

33 years ago today: we SHOULD remember

America was shocked when Dan White, a recently resigned Supervisor of the City of San Francisco, murdered Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in San Francisco.

He got the city to pass a stringent Gay Rights ordinance.

He was a hero to the large Gay community in SF, and to many others as well. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

Dan White was only convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, using what became known as the "twinkie defense" - his attorneys did not in fact argue that eating twinkies CAUSED the depression White claimed led to his violent acts, but were rather a symptom of that depression.