The White House announced today that San Francisco civil rights leader Harvey Milk will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From the White House press release:

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor.  Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.

The Victory Fund which advocates on behalf of LGBT leaders responded to the news:

“We are thrilled President Obama is honoring Harvey Milk with the Medal of Freedom.  He’s an American hero and trailblazer whose election more than 30 years ago triggered a political awakening that inspires us still today.  This recognition sends an important message about how critical political leadership will be in making all Americans equal in the eyes of the law,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.

Stuart Milk echoed Wolfe’s praise, saying, “The President’s action today touches the core of our very human hearts and my uncle would be so proud of this high honor.  His election was, for him, a beginning–a chance to make real change.  That change is happening, but we still have so far to go.  I hope this recognition inspires LGBT Americans everywhere to heed Harvey’s call to run for office, to serve openly, to live proudly with authenticity and to demand the equality that we all deserve.”

Harvey’s nephew Stuart Milk will be at the White House to accept the honor on August 12. Other recipients include openly lesbian tennis legend Bill Jean King and LGBT ally Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Charges against a Utah gay couple have been dropped for trespassing after they kissed on LDS property. From the Salt Lake Tribune.

Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill said Wednesday he will not prosecute a gay couple cited for trespassing after they shared a kiss on the plaza.

“The two individuals believed — albeit mistakenly — that they had the right to be there,” Gill said. “Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that [openness] in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property.”
…
Gill said his decision not to prosecute this particular case “should not be viewed as limiting” the ability of the church to enforce its private-property rights on the plaza in the future.

“Going forward,” he said, “working toward clarity [on the plaza] serves everyone’s interests in this community.”

Gill’s analysis cites the lack of signs on the plaza that indicate visitors are entering private property “at will,” meaning they can be ejected at any time for any reason.

“The signs will obviously change on the plaza,” Wally Bugden, Jones’ defense attorney said. “The vast majority of the public believed that there was a public corridor.”

Since the incident supporters have staged kiss-ins in Salt Lake and San Diego protesting the actions of the LDS church. Those protests have also inspired a national kiss-in campaign.

Update: A surveillance video (no audio) has been released of the incident showing LDS security roughing up the gay couple.

An Iraqi refugee has accused the U.S. Military of atrocities against gay Iraqis and claims to have the photographic evidence to back it up.

Two gay Iraqi refugees, who declined to use their real names, delivered a presentation at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters July 24 in which they detailed alleged abuses of fellow gay Iraqis while calling on their audience to donate funds to Helem, a Lebanon-based center that works to address the plight of LGBT people in the Middle East.

One of the Iraqis, who goes by the name “Hussam,” showed the audience of about 80 people gruesome images, including shots allegedly of a beheaded man who was gay and another of the victim’s twin brother grieving over the severed head.

While asserting that anti-gay violence in Iraq is often committed by Iraqis, Hussam also said U.S. service members were involved in anti-gay hostility. For example, he said service members displayed signs in front of their barracks with the words “Fuck Off Fags.”

But the reaction from the audience turned from anger to shock when Hussam said U.S. service members had detained Iraqi civilians perceived to be gay and executed them.

He then showed an image of what appeared to be an American soldier standing in front of a small group of four or five kneeling naked men who were chained together. Hussam claimed the men were gay Iraqis and that he possessed images of their execution, which he did not show the audience.

While there have been numerous reports of violence against gays in Iraq, as reported in the USA Today as late as yesterday, this is the first accusation against the U.S. Military.  Defense officials have not yet commented on the allegations.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D) of Florida appeared on Rachel Maddow to discuss an amendment he introduced and then later withdrew at the urging of the White House, a measure which would have suspended funding of discharges under DADT, effectively shutting the policy down.