 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS/AP) -- The California Assembly passed a bill Monday marking the birthday of the late pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk.
Lawmakers adopted the bill on a 45-23 vote with no debate. It now goes to the Senate.
The bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco would declare May 22 as a day of special significance.
Milk was the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by a fellow supervisor a year later.
Leno says he is not asking lawmakers to shut down state government on Milk's birthday because the state is running a deficit. Instead, Leno says he hopes the date will memorialize Milk and motivate people to learn about and celebrate his legacy.
A bronze bust of Milk is scheduled to be installed at San Francisco City Hall during a champagne gala on Thursday, which would have been Milk's 78th birthday.
The sculpture, which sits atop a stone base inscribed with a quote from one of Milk's speeches, would be the first likeness of an openly gay person to be permanently ensconced in a civic building, according to the private committee that raised money for the memorial.
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Harvey Milk Memorial
(Photo by Daniel Nicoletta)
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