Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist and has long been considered a hero by Democrats.
Mr. Milk, however, has had a rough year in terms of his tributes and landmarks named for him since Trump took office.
And that is about to get worse, as Milk's name may well be removed again.
Milk served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s, when the country was not so welcoming of the gay community.
When the Navy found out that Milk was gay, he was given an “other than honorable discharge” instead of being court-martialed.
Milk had a brief political career, but he really made a name for himself as an activist. He was the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, and his assassination made him a true martyr for the gay community.
There were streets named after him, and even a Navy vessel, but that is no longer to be the case.
Milk left the Navy as Lieutenant (junior grade). To my knowledge, there was nothing particularly significant about his service, and there are no decorations of significance noted in his record. He did, however, receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom (posthumously) from President Barack Obama, but that is a civilian award.
That is important to note, as the Navy previously named a ship after Milk, breaking the usual tradition of naming vessels after Naval heroes and presidents.
When Pete Hegsth was named secretary of Defense, now secretary of War, he decided to remove Milk’s name from the aforementioned ship and instead honor Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson, a Medal of Honor recipient.
A Defense Department official stated, “On June 26, 2025, at the request of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan renamed the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Harvey Milk (TAO-206) the USNS Oscar V. Peterson (TAO-206).”
Milk’s friends and family were just informed that Harvey Milk Boulevard in Salt Lake City could be renamed after Charlie Kirk, courtesy of state Rep. Trevor Lee, who stated, “From the vast majority of Utahns, they would say that Harvey Milk does not have any connection to Utah whatsoever. But Charlie Kirk does now, especially after being assassinated in the state of Utah.”
Kirk, as you know, was shot and killed in Utah during a Turning Point USA event. Lee noted, “It’s extremely sad that someone was assassinated because they wanted to have dialogue and someone didn’t agree with that.”
He added, “So they chose to murder him, and there’s no need for that in this environment. And so I think it’s a good way to honor someone who always wanted to try to have discourse, and try to reach out to the other side of the aisle on different opinions.”
While Lee supports the name change, there is one hiccup. The roadway at issue is not a state road, so the city legislature will have to be the one to pursue the name change. Lee can suggest it and put pressure on the city legislature, but he is actually powerless to do anything else to effectuate the change. I, for one, hope his pressure campaign works.
