It’s been almost 31 years since Dan White took Harvey Milk from us, and who knows where we would be now if he were still with us. Harvey’s courage and wisdom would have guided us though the AIDS crisis here in San Francisco and the growing gay rights movement that followed. He would have been 79-years-young today.

Even though Governor Schwarzenegger has yet to sign a bill instituting Harvey Milk Day, there’s no reason why we can’t celebrate it. California Ripple Effect put together a great list of things we could do to honor Harvey’s memory…

• For starters, let’s make it official. Make sure you’ve added your name to the petition urging Gov. Schwarzenegger to sign Harvey Milk Day into law at www.eqca.org/HarveyMilkDay.
• If you’re in Sacramento, you can join your LGBT Caucus on the North Lawn of the Capitol for a Harvey Milk birthday celebration tomorrow from 11:30 to 1 p.m.
• A grassroots group has also organized candlelight vigils tomorrow night across the state to mark the occasion.
• If you want to tuck in with a good movie, or organize a screening for your friends, there are two excellent Oscar-winning flicks about Harvey Milk’s life, the documentary Times of Harvey Milk and Gus Van Sant’s Milk starring Sean Penn.
• Finally, wish those you see tomorrow a “Happy Harvey Milk Day”. This is a great opportunity to share his story with someone new if they don’t know it.

I’ll close with Harvey’s famous “Hope” speech, used so eloquently in the video below. And where ever your are Harvey, Happy Birthday!

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots, spurred by the lenient sentencing of Dan White for the murder of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

A look back at that turbulent time…

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.

Move along. Nothing to see here. At least this week. From the court’s website:

May 20 2009 — No opinions were announced for filing on Thursday, May 21, 2009.
There is no pending notice of forthcoming opinion filings. When opinions are expected to file, notices are generally posted the day before. Opinions are normally filed Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.

The California Supreme is Court is taking its sweet precious time in delivering a ruling on Proposition 8. Time is running out for the court as they have to reach a decision before June 5. But considering a ruling tomorrow would have fallen on  the 30th anniversary of the White Night riots, and on the eve of Harvey Milk’s birthday , perhaps it’s wise for the court to wait at least another week.

When the ruling is finally announced, celebrations or protests are scheduled to occur throughout the state and across the nation. To find out about events that may be occurring in your area visit the DayOfDecision.com