Hegseth to impose second and posthumous homophobic Naval disparagement on Harvey Milk

By Walt Zlotow

In life and death the US Navy relished punishing Harvey Milk for being gay.

In 1955, Milk was ‘voluntarily forced’ out of the Navy he had faithfully served for four years for that offense. In the 1970s Milk went on to become a national symbol of LGBTQ+ political empowerment as one of the first prominent gay political leaders. In 1977 he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. A year later he was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in a homophobic hate crime.

Sixty-seven years after firing Milk, the Navy made symbolic amends by naming a fleet replenishment oiler the USNS Harvey Milk.

But it didn’t take long for Trump’s Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth to demand Milk’s ship name be consigned to Davy Jones locker. According to Hegseth the Navy cannot have a gay rights leader’s name on a ship that must only bear names befitting the military’s “warrior culture”.

Hegseth is clueless that the real warrior here is Milk; who was a warrior for inclusion and human decency, qualities totally MIA in the damaged psyche of Pete Hegseth.

Harvey Milk served his country. Pete Hegseth only serves his president.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn IL

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