SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A spokesperson for the San Diego Police Department said that multiple establishments in the Hillcrest and North Park neighborhoods that serve LGBTQ+ patrons were targeted by an unknown suspect or suspects in a dark-colored sedan early Saturday morning.

According to the San Diego Police Dept., they received reports of a pellet gun being fired out of a vehicle just after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. As of Sunday evening, the locations police could confirm were shot by the assailant were Rich’s, The Rail, #1 on Fifth Avenue and PECS in the Hillcrest and North Park neighborhoods.

SDPD confirmed that one of these incidents struck three people outside Rich’s Nightclub and hospitalized one.

Witnesses told San Diego CBS affiliate KFMB-TV8 it appeared to be a BMW, but police have not released an official suspect or vehicle description.  

In an interview with CBS 8, Eddie Reynoso, a host at Rich’s said that he was standing outside and turned when he heard someone yelling expletives at the patrons outside the bar. Reynoso saw what he believed to be an AK-47 and hear myriad rounds being shot off. 

He tried to crouch but it was too late. 

“I get hit directly in the eye,” he said. ” I feel something kinda like explode almost like something popped. And by then I was already falling to the ground. In my mind, I thought I just got shot through the eye and my eye just flew out.”

He said it wasn’t the first time Rich has been the target of a crime like this. And he’s confident it won’t be the last. 

A man named Abel was also hit with at least five pellets at Rich’s. He said he’s glad everyone is safe. 

“It was still scary,” he said. “It was traumatic.” 

At The Rail in Hillcrest, Donny Hurry, a security guard told CBS 8 he saw someone shooting out of the car’s back window. The suspect started shooting at him, and he ducked into the building before he realized it wasn’t a real gun. 

Hurry had been hit in the arms and back multiple times but tried to run back out to get a description of the suspect of the vehicle. 

SDPD are investigating the multiple incidences from Saturday morning, but are not specifying whether the non-lethal rounds were pellets or paintballs.

Police also cannot yet confirm whether this was motivated by anti-LGBTQ hate. 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – San Diego’s Gossip Grill, one of the last remaining Queer Women’s bars in the U.S. was targeted in an apparent arson attack Friday, October 20, at about 12:30am. Both front patios were set on fire.

San Diego Fire Department (SFFD) and police responded to the bar located at 1220 University Avenue and the flames were quickly extinguished. According to a spokesperson for the SDFD no structural damage was sustained and nobody was hurt.

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Later in the day, around 1:45 p.m., the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Ryan Habrel, was spotted near the scene and taken into custody, SDPD Lt. Adam T. Sharki said in a statement. “Habrel was arrested and booked into jail for arson to a commercial structure and the use of an accelerant,” Sharki said.

Habrel was identified by the San Diego Police Department as a suspect in the arson. The restaurant’s security cameras, which are placed throughout the premises, were operational and captured footage of the arsonist. 

Habrel is allegedly a former employee of Gossip Grill sister restaurant Urban MO’s. Staff and local residents who know Habrel speculate that mental health and homelessness issues might have contributed to the incident. Habrel is a recognized transient who has been living homeless on the streets of Hillcrest for several years.

The bar will continue to operate its normal hours from 2pm-2am. In a message on its Facebook Page the bar noted: “We hope you will stop by for a meal or a round of drinks to show the staff your support.”

Related:

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The San Diego LGBT Center will celebrate its 50th year with a gala at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Saturday.

The center’s Deputy CEO, Kim Fountain, said she is most proud of the combined $4.2 million in funding the center secured this year for their “Safe STAY” facilities and programs.

The LGBTQ Safe STAY Wellness Center provides up to 21 non-congregate beds and supportive services to unhoused persons ages 18-24 years old in the City of San Diego. LGBTQ-empowering staff and case managers provide access to resources and referrals, with a focus on helping young people connect with more permanent housing opportunities. Additional services include, but are not limited to: meals, peer support, showers, laundry services, and linkages to community resources.

“Approximately 20-40% of unhoused youth are queer,” Fountain told The Balde. “There is still a stigma, so you have a lot of parents throwing their kids out of their homes.”

Fountain said that LGBTQ+ youth are also seven times more likely to be assaulted on the street when unhoused.

Risk of LGBTQ+ homelessness is further threatened by new outing policies sweeping school districts across California.

“The places where youth are supposed to learn and grow and thrive are becoming places fraught with danger and obstacles,” said Fountain. “You are talking about endangering the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.”

The celebration this weekend marks 50 years of making an impact on and creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people in the San Diego region. The event will include a cocktail reception, dinner, a drag show with DJ Taj Altaji, and live music by Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra.

The Gala offers a chance for supporters of the organization to see how, through their support, they and The San Diego LGBT Community Center can join forces to create a world where everyone belongs and thrives, regardless of background, sexuality, or gender identity.

WHERE & WHEN:

• Saturday, October 14, 2023
• 5-6 p.m. – Guests arrive; media window
• 6 p.m. – Cocktail reception on the terrace
• 7 p.m. – Dinner & program
• Hilton San Diego Bayfront
• Indigo Ballroom + Terrace
• 1 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Salvador Rios was relentlessly bullied online and at two schools then ending up taking his life in August. According to his grieving mother, Eunice Rios, he died by suicide because he was bullied for being gay.

 In a TikTok post last month, holding a photo of her her 14-year-old son, she said: “I support the gay community, always. Always. Love is love. But as a mom, it was not easy to accept that my son was going to be exposed, go through all these ordeals because the world is so mean,” the mother said. “My son, he experienced embarrassment, humiliation, pain.”

In an interview with KNSD-NBC 7 San Diego, Rios told the station that the night of her son’s death, he had called her out of the blue.

“‘Are you sure you’re OK? Are you hungry?’” Rios said, recounting her final conversation with her 14 year-old. “And he said, ‘No, I love you.’ And that was all,” she continued.

She told NBC 7 that she had not read the online hate-filled messages of those who bullied her son. “I don’t want to know because I don’t want to read the messages, and I will never read the messages because this is the reason I think he took his life,” she said.

Fernando Lopez with San Diego Pride also spoke with NBC 7 San Diego. “What the research is saying is that our LGBT kids are not having an OK time right now. They’re having disproportionate impacts to their mental health, and so in these moments, we want to make sure that parents, teachers and youth are fully aware of the breadth of resources available to them in this region,” Lopez said noting to NBC 7 a hyperpolarized political climate can be echoed anywhere in the community.

“The most important thing that we need to instill in folks is knowing that there are people out there that love you, people out there that are going to have your back and support you and make sure that you’re safe. And that’s, I think, the most important.” Lopez added.

Rios said that she had reached out to the San Diego Unified School District and filed a police report after her son’s death. District officials however, did not respond to NBC 7 when asked for comment.

Rios said that while she has buried her child, her life now will be committed to honoring his legacy and creating awareness of the bullying that took his live and endangers countless other LGBTQ+ youth.

Related:

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Housing Commission has awarded a contract to San Diego’s LGBT Center to operate an LGBTQ+ youth shelter for young people who are experiencing homelessness.

“It’s a first for our city. We’re very, very excited,” Casey Snell, VP of Admin. Homeless Initiatives San Diego Housing Commission told KGTV ABC News 10 reporter Ryan Hill. “We know that LGBTQ+ experience homeless many at a rate almost 40 percent higher than their non-LGBTQ+ plus peer. So, it’s extremely critical we target services for this population.”

According to Snell,  $1.5 million for the new shelter was allocated in the city’s 2023 budget. While a search has been launched to find a permanent location for the 45 bed facility, Snell tells ABC 10 that two interim locations in Clairemont and Point Loma will have 21 beds.

Victor Esquivel, the Director of Housing & Youth Homeless Services for the LGBT Center noted “Oftentimes, when it comes to LGTBQ+ youth, they have been rejected by their own families. These types of programs are a real lifeline, right? They instill that hope in them, and we’re going to be excited to see them on that first night when they come to us.”

With homophobia, bullying, harassment, and extremist hate on the rise, both from the government and civilians alike, queer youth of today are facing a torrent of obstacles leading to a devastating increase in mental health crises.

Even more devastating is the number of queer youth who are facing these challenges while homeless. Kicked out of their homes and living on park benches and truck stops, these kids face a terrifying reality of discrimination, isolation, and violence. 

LGBTQ youth are overrepresented among young people experiencing homelessness and housing instability in the United States. This elevated risk of homelessness and housing instability has detrimental effects on LGBTQ youths’ mental health. 

A research report released in February 2022 by the Trevor Project revealed that 28% of LGBTQ+ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives — and those who did had two to four times the odds of reporting depression, anxiety, self-harm, considering suicide, and attempting suicide compared to those with stable housing.

In Los Angeles, Lisa Phillips, Director of Youth Services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said:

“The Los Angeles LGBT Center has always had a high demand for youth-oriented services, including emergency, transitional, and permanent housing—and we have not seen that demand falter. Unfortunately, as political attacks on our community escalate throughout all corners of the United States, we also don’t expect to see that demand go down anytime soon.

We understand that, like any other issue affecting the LGBTQ+ community, a holistic approach that caters to the dignity of the individual is urgent and necessary. That’s why the Center doesn’t just offer a place to sleep but also provides health and mental health care, substance use and recovery efforts, legal services, housing and job navigation, and, most importantly, community. We do not take our responsibility to LGBTQ+ youth lightly, and we are always proud to be leaders in the fight for a more equitable world for queer and trans people.”

True Colors United, a national initiative co-founded over a decade ago by Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Barbaris, Jonny Podell, and Gregory Lewis, reported that according to a recent study from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, LGBTQ young people are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth.

“Right off the bat, these young people are presented with an uneven playing field. True Colors United is working to level that field so that LGBTQ youth are no more likely to experience homelessness than anyone else. We’ve seen this higher risk reflected in our own research. It’s estimated that about 7% of youth in the United States are LGBTQ, while 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are LGBTQ.”

Snell from the Housing Commission told ABC 10 they hope to have those two interim locations up and running within the next 60 days.

TIJUANA, Mexico – San Diego Union-Tribune journalist Wendy Fry takes readers on journey through the power of music in an unlikely place to find a gay men’s chorus, the rough and tumble world of the raucous border city of Tijuana.

Fry writes about the importance of the presence of the chorus, especially in elevating the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community in Baja as well as beyond.

Story excerpt below read the full story here: [Link]

The group is one of only two active gay men’s choruses in all of Mexico, where like in other parts of the world the LGBT community still faces stigma and discrimination

The chords and notes from the Tijuana Gay Men’s Chorus spilled out from the basement of the red brick Casa de la Cultura and into the still night.

The immense border city was quieter than usual at this hour, following a recent wave of arson and cartel threats that had forced residents into hiding on a recent weekend night. But not on this block, where the 11-member vocal group belted out harmonies as part of their Wednesday night vocal technique class.

Tijuana's Gay Men's Chorus harnessing the power of music to make LGBT community more visible https://t.co/K33Us84dHR

— The San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut) September 4, 2022

One of only two active gay men’s choruses in all of Mexico, the group aims to create a safe space for the artistic development of Tijuana’s gay and transgender community.

“This type of project in this city was more than necessary,” said Edgar Gheno, the director of the chorus. “Because we know that — or rather in my personal experience — not being who you are and not being able to express yourself generates problems

But there is also a larger mission: to raise the profile of the LGBT community at a time when there have been advances and set-backs.

“What better way than through music to promote a message of respect, non-discrimination and tolerance,” explained Gheno.

“Power of Music”: Tijuana’s Gay Men’s Chorus:

CHULA VISTA – A dispute between neighbors that escalated to physical assault which included homophobic slurs has landed a South Bay man in court charged with a hate crime.

Robert Frank Wilson, 40, is accused of directing slurs at his neighbor in a Nov. 10 altercation in the victim’s driveway. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wilson blocked the neighbor’s driveway, yelled homophobic slurs, then reached into the victim’s vehicle and struck him in the face, KFMB-TV, CBS 8 reported.

Wilson, who is currently out of jail on bond, appeared Monday in-person in a Chula Vista courtroom and pleaded not guilty to a felony count of battery, plus a hate crime allegation.

“This case and these events demonstrate that those who are motivated by prejudice often spread their hate around to various groups, attacking our neighbors on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or other grounds,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.

“Hate against one group is a threat to everyone and we won’t tolerate these crimes in our community. Anyone considering committing a hate crime should think again as they will be investigated, prosecuted and held accountable under the law.”

In an non-related case, Wilson and several others were charged by the San Diego County District Attorney for hanging “a large anti-Semitic poster on the fence of an Interstate 805 overpass” on Dec. 18, in violation of the San Diego City Municipal Code.

In a statement released Monday, the DA’s office noted that although hate speech in and of itself may not always rise to the level of criminal activity, [it] “is relevant as it could escalate to criminal behavior. Hate crimes are often preceded by hate speech.”

The DA’s full statement on the incident: 

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced criminal charges today against a man who attacked his neighbor on November 10 while yelling anti-gay slurs. Robert Frank Wilson, 40, is charged with one count of felony battery and a hate crime allegation. He was arraigned today in San Diego Superior Court in the South Bay and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Wilson blocked his neighbor’s driveway, got out of his vehicle and started yelling homophobic slurs at the victim. At one point, Wilson reached into the window of the victim’s vehicle and struck him in the face.

About five weeks after the incident, on December 18, Wilson was cited by the San Diego Police Department for working with a group of people to hang a large anti-Semitic poster on the fence of an Interstate 805 overpass in violation of the San Diego City Municipal Code. The DA is including the code violation as part of the charges it filed against Wilson. If convicted, he faces up to three years, six months in prison.

“This case and these events demonstrate that those who are motivated by prejudice often spread their hate around to various groups, attacking our neighbors on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or other grounds,” DA Summer Stephan said. “Hate against one group is a threat to everyone and we won’t tolerate these crimes in our community. Anyone considering committing a hate crime should think again as they will be investigated, prosecuted and held accountable under the law.”

Prosecuting hate crimes is a priority for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. The DA has nearly tripled the number of hate crime cases it has prosecuted in recent years, filing 21 cases in 2020 and 30 such cases in 2021.

Last year, in response to reports of hate-related incidents aimed at the Asian community across the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the District Attorney’s Office announced a new online form and hotline where the public can report suspected hate incidents and hate crimes they’ve been a victim or witness to in San Diego County. The online reporting form can be found on the District Attorney’s website here. The Hate Crimes Hotline number is 619-515-8805.

Individuals submitting information about a suspected hate crime will be contacted with information about the DA’s review of the report and any action that may be taken. The public is reminded that hate speech in and of itself often does not rise to the level of a hate crime but is relevant as it could escalate to criminal behavior Hate crimes are often preceded by hate speech. By law, a hate crime is a criminal act committed against another person that is motivated by prejudice against that person’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

SAN DIEGO — Kristina Frost, a trans woman, was “viciously attacked” after being placed in a men’s holding cell by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, according to court documents. 

Frost was a book-and-release detainee at the San Diego Central Jail in November of 2020. After informing the jail staff that she is a trans woman, she was placed in a holding cell alone. Frost’s DMV records and driver’s license state her gender is female, according to a civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. 

But she was later moved to a “minimally monitored” cell with three men “without any reasonable justification,” according to the lawsuit.

“No reasonable deputy would have put Ms. Frost in a minimally monitored cell with three men,” her lawyers wrote. “She was forced into the cell anyway.”

Frost eventually fell asleep in the cell but awoke to one of the men striking her head with closed fist punches, resulting in a broken jaw that has required two surgeries. 

The lawsuit alleges that deputies observed the assault but didn’t immediately intervene. Frost said one or more deputies paused before they entered the cell and removed the assailant.

Frost then had to wait upwards of 12 hours without medical care before she was released, according to the complaint. 

San Diego Sheriff’s Department Deputy Mason Cassidy, who is named as one of the defendants in the case, is believed to be the one who placed Frost in the men’s cell. The lawsuit states that Cassidy “was deliberately indifferent to Ms. Frost’s safety risks and needs as a pretrial detainee.”

The County of San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff William Gore and other unknown San Diego Sheriff’s Department personnel are also named as defendants in the case. 

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Blade that they “are committed to an inclusive environment within our agency and the communities we serve.”

“The incident occurred in November 2020 in a temporary holding cell during the Intake process, not a housing unit,” the department said. “It was in the Intake area of the facility, where people are waiting to complete the booking process or pending release. Miss Kristina Frost was temporarily placed in a holding cell with other individuals who were also identified as being in protective custody status. The person who allegedly assaulted Miss Frost stated he was assaulted by Miss Frost first and stated he acted in self-defense. Additionally, Miss Frost declined to press charges.”

The Blade attempted to reach the County of San Diego for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publishing this article. 

The complaint also alleges that the incident involving Frost was “foreseeable” as department personnel have shown a pattern of failing to keep people in custody safe. 

“The mortality rate in San Diego County jails is the highest among California’s largest counties,” Frost’s attorneys wrote. “At least 140 people died in County custody from 2009 to 2019.”

Frost’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment, but one of Frost’s lawyers, Brody McBride, told ABC 10 News San Diego that he hopes some good comes out of the case. 

“Hopefully the sheriff’s department takes this incident serious and makes the changes necessary to ensure people in their care are kept safe and treated with dignity,” McBride said. 

According to a 2020 NBC News report, trans people are often housed according to their sex assigned at birth, not their gender identity. Out of 4,890 trans prisoners across the U.S., NBC News could only confirm 15 cases in which a trans prisoner was housed according to their lived gender.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law this past September requiring prisons in the state to house trans people according to their gender identity.

SAN DIEGO – The United States Navy christened and launched its latest John Lewis class of fleet replenishment oilers Saturday as the U.S. Naval Ship Harvey Milk slid down the ways at the General Dynamics-National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, NASSCO, shipyards into the waters of San Diego Bay.

The ship is named after slain openly gay LGBTQ+ rights activist and former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who along with LGBTQ+ ally Mayor George Moscone was assassinated by disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White, in their offices in San Francisco City Hall on November 27, 1978.

The time-honored christening ceremony with a bottle of champagne broken over the bow was executed by Paula Neira, the Clinical Program Director for John Hopkins Center for Transgender Health. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Stuart Milk, the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk’s nephew, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and California State Senate President pro Tem, Senator Toni Atkins, whose Senate district includes the area of San Diego where the U.S. Navy’s sprawling naval base is located as well as the NASSCO shipyards.

Dignitaries also included Out San Diego city and county commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez, San Diego’s openly gay Mayor Todd Gloria, Supervisor Milk’s campaign manager and advisor Anne Kronenberg and Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Nathan Fletcher.

Addressing the audience of attendees, Secretary Del Toro told them; “The secretary of the Navy needed to be here today, not just to amend the wrongs of the past, but to give inspiration to all of our LGBTQ community leaders who served in the Navy, in uniform today and in the civilian workforce as well too, and to tell them that we’re committed to them in the future.”

The Secretary then directly spoke to Milk’s sexual orientation and his being forced from naval service.

“For far too long, sailors like Lt. Milk were forced into the shadows or, worse yet, forced out of our beloved Navy,” he said. “That injustice is part of our Navy history, but so is the perseverance of all who continue to serve in the face of injustice.”

In 2016, then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus decided that six new fleet oilers scheduled to be built would be named after civil and human rights leaders.

Del Toro told Mabus, who attended the christening, that it was a courageous decision.

The Milk is a fleet oiler and will be assigned the tasks of replenishing fuel oil and dry goods to U. S. naval vessels at sea. The Milk is the second ship in the new John Lewis class of fleet oilers. The future USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205) , is named for the former civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman, and is also under construction at NASSCO San Diego.

The first six vessels in the Lewis class of fleet oilers are named after prominent civil rights activists and leaders, in addition to the USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205) are; USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) – LGBT activist Harvey Milk; USNS Earl Warren (T-AO-207) – Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren; USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO-208) – U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO-209) – Women’s rights activist Lucy Stone; USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO-210) – Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth.

Also addressing those in attendance, Stuart Milk, the co-founder and president of the Harvey Milk Foundation referring to his uncle’s naval service said;

“He has a less-than-honorable discharge. He was forced to resign because he was gay,” Stuart Milk said, adding that “we have to teach our history to prevent ourselves from going backwards and repeating it.”

Milk told the audience that although there is a process for reversing such discharges, he said it was important to not do that for his late uncle in order “to keep the memory of how we did not honor everyone in this very honorable service.”

Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and attended the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. By 1954 he was a lieutenant (junior grade) stationed at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, which during Milk’s tenure of service was the Naval Air Missile Test Center near Oxnard, California. He was serving as a diving instructor.

As the Bay Area Reporter wrote in an article in February 2020, Milk was given an “other than honorable” discharge from the U.S. Navy and forced to resign on February 7, 1955 rather than face a court-martial because of his homosexuality, according to a trove of naval records obtained by the paper. It contradicted an archival document housed in the San Francisco Public Library’s San Francisco History Center that authors of several recent biographies of Milk had used to claim that Milk was honorably discharged from the Navy.

#TeamToni was happy to attend @GDNASSCO‘s christening and launch ceremony for the @USNavy‘s Harvey Milk ship! This vessel was built by San Diegans to commemorate Harvey’s profound civil rights legacy and honor his service in the Navy. 🏳️‍🌈🛳 pic.twitter.com/OhCwpDemIj

— Senator Toni Atkins (@SenToniAtkins) November 6, 2021

Today, General Dynamics NASSCO christened and launched the future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206).

Read the full press release, view more photos, and replay live footage from the event at https://t.co/IDa9D2hBKj.#NASSCO pic.twitter.com/BU2j2BFmoi

— NASSCO (@GDNASSCO) November 6, 2021

The USNS Harvey Milk was launched in San Diego. The US Navy Fleet Oiler was commissioned by Paula Neira, the Clinical Program Director for John Hopkins Center for Transgender Health. SF Supervisor Milk was killed in office by Dan White in 1978. Milk was a Navy Vet. @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/P1aPq9CWF2

— John Zuchelli (@tvzuke) November 6, 2021

Navy launches ship named for gay rights leader Harvey Milk – ABC News https://t.co/SIgVfP4bVc

— Stuart Milk (@StuartMilk) November 6, 2021

The christening and launch ceremony for the future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206):

SAN DIEGO – The construction work on the future U.S. Navy fleet oiler named for slain gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk is nearly sixty-percent completed according to a spokesperson for the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company division of General Dynamics Corporation commonly referred to as NASSCO.

This past week on the eve of what would have been Milk’s 91st birthday on Saturday, Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk, elected officials and other dignitaries were given two separate tours of the vessel.

The Milk is a fleet oiler and will be assigned the tasks of replenishing fuel oil and dry goods to U. S. naval vessels at sea. The Milk is the second ship in the new John Lewis class of fleet oilers. The future USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205) , is named for the former civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman, and is also under construction at NASSCO San Diego.

The first six vessels in the Lewis class of fleet oilers are named after prominent civil rights activists and leaders, in addition to the USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205) are; USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) – LGBT activist Harvey Milk; USNS Earl Warren (T-AO-207) – Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren; USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO-208) – U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; USNS Lucy Stone (T-AO-209) – Women’s rights activist Lucy Stone; USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO-210) – Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth.

San Diego City & County Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez arranged the private tours led by Dennis DuBard, Manager of Government Relations at General Dynamic NASSCO on behalf of the shipbuilders.

Among the dignitaries were Stuart Milk- Co-Founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, San Diego’s openly gay Mayor Todd Gloria; State Senate President Toni G. Atkins; City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn; State Assemblymember Christopher Ward; Congressmember Sara Jacobs; State Commissioner Robert Gleason; The Center’s Cara Dessert; and Navy veteran, Chief Petty Officer Morgan M. Hurley, USN Ret. former chair of the LGBTQ Veterans Wall of Honor.

Also given a tour were Bevan Dufty, former San Francisco Board of Supervisor- District 8, member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors and Executive Director of H.O.P.E. for the City & County of San Francisco; Ryan Bedrosian, business man, owner of Rich’s San Diego and secretary of the Hillcrest Business Association; Charles Rozanski, businessman, president and CEO of Mile High Comics, and member of the International Imperial Court Council; Michael “Bigmike SanDiego” Phillips, philanthropist, and chair of the newly minted San Diego LGBTQ historic Task Force; Eddie Rey, Executive Director of the Equality Business Alliance.

Eddie Rey, Executive Director of the Equality Business Alliance noted; “The naming of the USNS Harvey Milk is historic for multiple reasons- including that it’s the first military ship named after a service member who was harassed, court martialed and then dishonorably discharged- simply for being gay; but most importantly to me — because it tells the world that our nation now honors and supports LGBTQ individuals. It is my hope that someday the military will reverse and rectify the wrongful “Other Than Honorable Discharge” given to thousands of our LGBTQ brothers, sisters, and siblings. As for Harvey Milk- the message of his less than honorable discharge and naming of a ship is a powerful message- that the family wishes to keep as is.”

Milk was given an ‘other than honorable‘ discharge from the US Navy on February 7, 1955 after being forced by U.S. Navy investigators to describe his sexual relationships in a 152 page document. Some twenty-two years later he was the first openly gay person elected to a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk would go on to only serve 11 months in office, until he and then San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, were murdered in their office spaces at City Hall on the morning of November 27, 1978 by disgruntled former supervisor Dan White.

Every year on his birthday, the foundation that bears his name celebrates Harvey Milk Day to remember and teach about his life and his activism work to stop the discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and in California, Harvey Milk Day is recognized by the state’s government as a day of special significance for the Golden State’s public schools. 

The day was permanently established by the California legislature and signed into law by then Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009.

A NASSCO spokesperson said that the Milk is on schedule for a November ‘ship’s christening’ with commissioning to follow at an unspecified date.