The American Family Association (AFA) is asking why a known sexual predator was celebrated in California schools last week.
Thursday was Harvey Milk Day in California, and kids were taught to look up to a man who preyed on teens and young men. The day honoring the former city councilman who fought to gain public approval of the gay lifestyle was observed in California’s K-12 public schools.
Milk’s claim to fame was that he was the first openly gay politician to run successfully for public office in California, but his sordid story goes beyond politics.
“Behind parents’ backs, children as young as 5 years old will be made to participate in commemorative exercises that celebrate a known sexual predator,” says AFA President Tim Wildmon.
“It’s no secret that Milk sought out and preyed upon impressionable minors, specifically young boys, to gratify his sexual fantasies,” Wildmon says. “Regardless of anyone’s beliefs about sexual practices between adults, for the state of California to sanction teaching children to honor a man who might very well have preyed upon them is a twisted definition of education by any standard.”
Based on a 2009 law passed in Sacramento by Democrats and signed by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harvey Milk Day is a so-called special “day of significance” for all California government schools.
Because there is no parental notification or consent for Harvey Milk Day, the only way for parents to protect their children from ideals that may not be in keeping with the values they want their children to learn is to keep them home from school. Organizers at SaveCalifornia.com have created a page to equip California parents to take action. Those who don’t have children in public school can still take action via the page.
The U.S. Postal Service recently unveiled a new Harvey Milk stamp, which was officially presented for circulation Friday at a White House ceremony.
According to Milk’s biography, The Mayor of Castro Street, written by his friend and fellow homosexual activist, Randy Shilts, “Harvey always had a penchant for young waifs with substance abuse problems.” Shilts adds that Milk had a relationship with a 16-year-old boy who was “looking for some kind of father figure. … At 33, Milk was launching a new life, though he could hardly have imagined the unlikely direction toward which his new lover would pull him.”
Milk is the first openly gay politician to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp. He served as a city councilman in San Francisco in the 1970s and was gunned down by fellow lawmaker Dan White in 1978.
