Gus Van Sant’s film Milk, based on the life of Harvey Milk, premiered tonight at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to political office, but was later assassinated along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone in 1977. The movie stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch and was filmed on location here in San Francisco. It is slated for limited release this Thanksgiving and nationwide a few weeks after.

While we are kicking ourselves now for not attending the premiere, but we did get some brief video of Sean Penn as he walked down the red carpet. Apologies in advance for the poor audio.

Here is the amazing trailer for the film.

The film is receiving substantial Oscar buzz, particularly Penn’s performance. Be sure to check it out.

I often say living in San Francisco is akin to a living bubble. It’s among the many reasons I choose to live here. Acceptance is a part of its DNA. People are free to be who they are or who they choose to be.

I’m reminded of that every time I hear a story like this one. Kim Ji-Hoo, a young Korean actor who recently came out of the closet, was found dead in his apartment of an apparent suicide. The note found at the scene read “I’m lonely and in a difficult situation. Please cremate my body.”

Police and Kim’s mother said that he was a victim of public prejudice and discrimination; the announcement of his sexual orientation had taken a terrible toll on his personal life and his career.

Unfortunately this is hardly unique. Like the gay teen in Derby England who was goaded into jumping off a building just yesterday by an angry mob, or a gay Mormon back in 2000 who killed himself in the hopes it would change his church. There are many more of course, too numerous to do them justice here, the suicide rate thriving in a culture of intolerance and discrimination.

It goes without saying that it is terribly important never to forget these individuals and those who came before them, and unfortunately, those who will inevitably come after. Lives so filled with despair because society refused to accept them for who they were, they saw no recourse but to take their own lives.

And their sacrifice must not be in vain. EVERY SINGLE LIFE LOST must propel us forward in the fight for tolerance, acceptance, and equal rights.

As I sit in my office inside this bubble that is San Francisco, I’m not sure if that bubble is there to stop them from getting in, or from us getting out. I’m also reminded that the 10th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death was only yesterday. Wow. We have such long way to go…

For Kim Ji-Hoo and those who took the same path, I hope they are now in a better place.

I encourage everyone who has time on Sunday to come on out and join us. Bring your family, your friends. And if you can’t, support some who is walking.
Like me for instance. 🙂

It really does make a difference.

Yesterday was quite the day… At 5:01PM on June 16, gay marriage became legal in California. While I have never been an active proponent of gay marriage (partly because I feel it cost us the election in 2004, and I rank other issues facing the country ahead of it), I am glad this day has come. It was a typical, overcast day in San Francisco, cold and dreary. Shortly after 5pm I ambled up to the front of the crowd across from City Hall and took the scene in. It was a large crowd of course, the vast majority voicing their support for gay marriage, while the minority were self-righteous and indignant as they held up bigger signs. Looking around I found myself standing close to members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, holding aloft some of the most hateful signs in the crowd. They were wedged into a small space by a pair of barricades like caged animals. Not to protect us, but to protect them. As I looked over at them, it was a struggle not to hurl all kinds of colorful metaphors in their direction. Others however did not share my restraint. But those bigots didn’t deserve the attention they so desperately craved, so I ignored them. Instead I focused instead on the brides and grooms as they came out onto the steps of City Hall. Each time they waved the cheers in the crowd would swell, drowning out the vitriolic cries of hate and intolerance. And the warmth and happiness on each of their faces, took the edge off the damp weather, making the protestors small, and less relevant. I choked up a little. Below is some video from the event. Apologies in advance for some of the harsh audio (turn your speakers down). Hopefully it will give you a taste of what happened…

Since the ruling we have been asked many times if Chad and I were going to get married. I always smile and say maybe next year, provided the anti-gay marriage initiative fails in November. But if you ask me again tomorrow… I might have a different answer.