Harvey Milk: Why the LGBTQ Trailblazer Is Trending Right Now

In the middle of Pride Month 2025, the Pentagon’s sudden decision to strip gay-rights pioneer Harvey Milk’s name from a U.S. Navy oiler has ignited a national debate over whose stories America honors at sea—and on land. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week directed the Navy to begin the formal process of renaming USNS Harvey Milk, the fleet-replenishment ship christened just three years ago to recognize the slain San Francisco supervisor who served as a Navy diving officer before becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. The move is framed by the Pentagon as part of a broader review of “politically divisive” ship names, but LGBTQ-advocacy organizations call it an erasure of hard-won visibility. “Renaming this vessel sends a chilling message to every queer service member who thought their country finally saw them,” said Navy veteran Stacy Hamilton, co-founder of the Modern Military Association of America. “Harvey Milk wore the same uniform we do. Pretending he never existed does nothing to improve readiness or morale.” Milk’s own Navy career was cut short in 1955 when, according to archival records, he accepted an “other than honorable” discharge under suspicions about his sexuality—a fate shared by thousands under Cold-War-era policies. After moving to San Francisco, he galvanized Castro District voters and in 1977 won a seat on the city’s Board of Supervisors. Just 11 months later he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated, making Milk a martyr whose megaphone only grew in death. The 2021 naming of USNS Harvey Milk—overseen by then-Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and attended by Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk—was celebrated as institutional recognition that LGBTQ sailors belong. The ship’s crest features a quote from Milk: “Hope will never be silent.” Now that emblem may be destined for a museum display instead of the open ocean. Political timing Hegseth’s directive lands during an election year in which cultural-war flashpoints have dominated campaign rallies. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to “end wokeness in the military,” targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Analysts say renaming the oiler allows the administration to showcase action without the lengthy congressional fights required to overturn statutory base-renaming commissions. Yet the backlash has proven swift. House Democrats, led by California Rep. Robert Garcia, have introduced legislation that would bar the Department of Defense from removing commemorations of historical LGBTQ figures without congressional approval. “If Harvey Milk is too controversial, so is the very idea of equality,” Garcia said in a floor speech yesterday. San Francisco officials are also mobilizing. Mayor London Breed vowed to convene city leaders, veterans’ groups and the Harvey Milk Foundation to plan “a visible response” on the 47th anniversary of Milk’s assassination this November. “We cannot allow revisionist history to diminish what Harvey accomplished for LGBTQ people and for democracy,” Breed said. Historical pattern This is not the first attempt to roll back honors for the late supervisor. In 2019, opponents tried—unsuccessfully—to rescind naming rights for San Francisco International Airport’s Harvey Milk Terminal. Historians note that similar pushback surfaced after Milk received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. “What you’re seeing is a continuation of the ‘twinkie defense’ in a new form,” said Prof. Lillian Fong, referencing the lenient 1979 sentence that Dan White received for Milk’s murder. “Efforts to minimize Milk’s legacy spring from the same discomfort with queer political power that made him a target in the first place.” Impact on the fleet The Military Sealift Command says the ship’s logistical mission will continue unaffected while the naming review unfolds. But some sailors assigned to the Lewis B. Puller-class oilers worry that morale will suffer. A petty officer currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, said the vessel’s name had become “a point of pride.” “When we pulled into ports, LGBTQ sailors from partner navies would ask about the Milk. It mattered,” the sailor said. “Changing the name tells them the U.S. is retreating.” Next steps Under Navy regulations, the secretary can rename a ship by issuing ALNAV and NAVADMIN messages. Naval historians expect the process could be finalized within months, allowing for ceremonial events before a possible administration change in January 2029. Advocacy groups, however, are preparing lawsuits that claim the order violates equal-protection principles and internal DOD anti-bias rules. For Milk’s surviving contemporaries, the dispute underscores why the activist spent his final years urging people to “come out, come out, wherever you are.” Anne Kronenberg, Milk’s campaign manager, quoted that line at a candlelight vigil on San Francisco’s Castro Street Wednesday night. “They can sandblast a name off steel,” Kronenberg told the crowd, “but they cannot sandblast hope.” SEO keywords: Harvey Milk, USNS Harvey Milk, Navy ship renamed, Pete Hegseth, LGBTQ rights, Pride Month 2025, San Francisco, civil rights icon, ship renaming controversy, Donald Trump military policy.