Gov urged to approve Harvey Milk Day

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Gay activists are urging California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill establishing a state holiday honoring Harvey Milk.

The legislation was on its way to the governor's desk Wednesday after being passed by the state Senate on a bipartisan 22-14 vote, the San Francisco Sentinel reported.

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said Milk was a champion of working people in general and had been recently honored by President Obama with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"His remarkable legacy is still felt far beyond San Francisco," Kors said. "As such, we urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to recognize Harvey Milk's tremendous contributions to our state and to our nation, just as President Obama has, by signing the Harvey Milk Day bill into law."

Schwarzenegger vetoed an earlier bill establishing a holiday for the slain San Francisco city supervisor, saying Milk was not well-known outside the city and that honoring him should be a local decision rather than a state mandate.

The Sentinel said the veto came prior to the Medal of Freedom and a major motion picture about Milk's life.