May 22nd will from here on out be known as "Harvey Milk Day" in the state of California. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill this week making it official, even though he vetoed a similar bill last year. Perhaps President Obama awarding Harvey Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom had something to do with the Governor changing his mind. If the country can honor him, why not California?
Besides honoring Harvey Milk, Governor Schwarzenegger also signed a bill that will recognize out-of-state marriages in California as domestic partnerships. By not recognizing the out-of-state marriages as marriages, Schwarzenegger says he is upholding the will of the people who voted to pass Prop. 8.
In addition to those two bills, Governor Schwarzenegger also signed the LGBT Domestic Violence Programs Expansion Bill which will give money to LGBT-specific domestic violence programs across the state and is subsidized by a $23 fee on new domestic partner registrations.
And all eyes will be on California in the coming months as a lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8 is going to court.
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