The nephew of Harvey Milk has said that the best way to protect his legacy is to elect Joe Biden as president of the United States in November.
A pioneer of LGBT+ rights, Milk was one of the first openly gay people to hold elected office in the United States. Tragically, his life was cut short when he was shot dead by his former city supervisor opponent, Dan White.
Milk would have turned 90 today if he was still alive – and to commemorate the occasion, his nephew Stuart Milk urged voters to protect his legacy by casting a vote for Biden in the presidential election later this year.
Writing in The Advocate, Stuart said Harvey Milk would be leading the charge to have Biden elected if he was alive today.
The nephew of Harvey Milk praised Joe Biden for shattering ‘closet doors’ during his time as vice-president.
“Most of the progress in LGBTQ+ rights over the last 40 years has happened in the last decade,” Stuart wrote.
“As vice president, Joe Biden’s public support for the freedom to marry, at a time when 30 states had laws on the books against same-sex unions, shattered so many closet doors not just for LGBTQ+ people, but our allies too.”
Stuart continued: “He helped change hearts and minds and set in motion the Supreme Court’s landmark decision recognizing our right to love.
“Vice President Biden allowed the world to accept us and, for once, see us as human. That took courage, and it’s the kind of leadership and empathy we so desperately need today.”
Biden has already gained crucial endorsements from two major LGBT+ organisations.
Stuart hit out at Russia, Brazil and Hungary for rolling back LGBT+ rights and slammed Donald Trump for hurting the LGBT+ community.
“There are dark realities at hand and challenges ahead, but in Joe Biden, we have the opportunity to stand on Harvey’s shoulders and continue his life’s work,” he added.
Joe Biden is now expected to face Donald Trump in the United States presidential election later this year.
He has already received crucial endorsements from some of the biggest LGBT+ rights organisations in the United States, including the Human Rights Campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality.