On the same day Harvey Milk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, SaveCalifornia.com president Randy Thomasson held a press conference outside San Francisco City Hall denouncing Harvey Milk and the honor he was bestowed.

Thomasson and SaveCalifornia.com has also been very vocal in opposing a bill that would proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day. From the SaveCalifornia.com website:

Please veto SB 572, “Harvey Milk Day,” due to major problems with this bill:

NO PARENTAL PERMISSION: While schools and school districts get to choose whether to hold “Harvey Milk Day,” SB 572 does not let parents choose whether their children will participate. The bill has no opt-in or opt-out. Yet polls show most parents oppose their children participating in “Harvey Milk Day.” Fathers and mothers deserve your respect and your veto.

INDOCTRINATES CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 5 YEARS OLD: Harvey Milk Day would promote the “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender” agenda of Harvey Milk to up to six million children in public schools, including kindergarteners. These kids aren’t old enough to be taught about sex, but now they’ll be taught about same-sex “marriages,” cross-dressing and same-sex desires? This is highly inappropriate.

OVERLY BROAD: SB 572 is written so broadly, the pro-Harvey Milk “exercises” could include gay-pride parades on campus. The “exercises” are not defined, so the sky is the limit. Under SB 572, what will children in public schools be taught and how will children’s minds be “exercised?” The answer is whatever Milk believed or is said to have believed about religion, sexual experimentation, marriage, politics, etc.

OPPOSED BY A STRONG MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS: In March 2009, San Francisco TV station KPIX commissioned a poll, which found that a majority of Democrats, independents, Republicans, liberals, moderates and conservatives all opposed a statewide “day of significance” honoring Harvey Milk in schools or in any other state observance. Only 19 percent supported an official “Harvey Milk Day.”

Just a toybox full of hate… isn’t it?

As suspected the California Supreme Court delayed their ruling on Proposition 8 thanks to a last minute called place by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom.

From Towleroad:

Confidential sources close to San Francisco City Hall told Towleroad’s Corey Johnson that the California Supreme Court was prepared to release its opinion on Proposition 8 tomorrow, but decided to delay the ruling after a call from Mayor Gavin Newsom.

“Newsom reached out to the Supreme Court and asked them to hold off releasing their decision so it did not coincide with the White Night riots,” said our source.

I’m glad at least that the mayor was cognizant of the timing of the ruling, which would have fallen on the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots. But what of the California Supreme Court… Didn’t they know? Or did they know their decision would cause celebrations, not mayhem?

UPDATE: Gavin Newsom’s office has issued a statement denying he contacted the California Supreme Court with regards to the Prop 8 ruling.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage that had been in place since 2000.

My partner and I were in Sydney on vacation at the time and didn’t realize it had happened until after we got home. And thanks to bad case of vacation hangover, and that we were already domestic partners, we didn’t feel particularly invested in the decision, I’m embarrassed to say.  Sure we were glad the ban had been overturned but we had already decided to wait until 2009 to possibly tie the knot, provided same-sex marriage was legal at the time and that any initiative against it was defeated in the fall.

Over the next month we didn’t discuss or think about the ruling much despite the media frenzy that was  building all around the state in the lead up to 5:oo p.m. on June 16, when the first same-sex weddings were to be performed.

I decided the day before that I wanted to go down to San Francisco City Hall and cover what would most certainly be a circus, as the first gay marriages were sure to bring out the most hateful and bigoted elements of our society, decrying that these marriages were an abomination and would bring about the end days.

After I covered the story, I promptly went home and asked my partner of 8 year to marry me. The weight of the day’s events, both historical and emotional, did not leave me any choice. Fortunately his answer was yes. We exchanged vows 3 months later.

So while not particularly important to us at the time,  May 15, 2008 is now an incredibly important day, as it set in motion the events that allowed me to marry the love of my life. And June 16, thirty days from now, will also be an extraordinarily significant day, not only because it was the day I proposed, but it is the first anniversary of those couples who chose to be  married in that “circus” the very first night.

So it is my sincere hope that the California Supreme Court will soon overturn Prop 8 and grant marriage equality to all Californians, and allow those brave couples to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. And allow us and the thousands that followed that day, to celebrate ours.

In what many consider the liberal capital of the United States, 400 plus individuals gathered to protest increased taxation and government spending at San Francisco City Hall and outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. While the Tea Party movement proclaims to be party agnostic, the anti-Obama sentiment was palpable. If BOTH parties got us into this mess, as they purport, where were the anti-Republican signs and speeches?

The crowd was made up primarily of  white males, definitely skewing older, with white women a distance second. People of color were rare and hard to find. There were the typical memes about the inexorable march toward socialism, the ills of more government and  Obama’s administration taxing us all to the grave. There was also a subtle current of militancy (perhaps it was the Ron Paul supporters mingled in with the crowd) with cries for revolution, particularly among the middle-aged and younger. Those who were older perhaps more interested in holding on to their money than “taking the country back.”

There was also a notable lack of tea, despite the movement’s name. Probably for the best. The original meaning and motives behind the original Boston Tea Party have been lost in today’s events, which have been co-opted by special interest, Fox News and oddly enough, a host of Republicans.  The original Boston Tea Party wasn’t about raising taxes, in fact the Tea Act of 1773 lowered taxes. Instead, colonists objected because they believed it violated their constitutional right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives. It had nothing to do with raising taxes. It had nothing to do with overspending.

But today’s events did present a wonderful opportunity to discuss ideas and solutions that might address our economic plight, but such discussions were woefully absent, constructive debate replaced with whining and complaining. The only solution gently hinted at was to take the country back by way of revolution.

And as for the teabaggery, thankfully there was none. At least not in the literal since. Which is a very good thing indeed.

Additional photos from the protest and a video below…

Previous liveblog from earlier today…