In 1977, no state in the United States of America would allow an openly gay politician at any level or branch of government and the homosexual lifestyle was far from being as accepted as it is today. This all changed in 1977, when Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Bio n.d.). There were many clashes during Milk's campaign and many casualties, but this caught the attention of American citizens everywhere. He was tragically shot dead the following year and numerous books and films have been made about his life. Harvey Milk succeeded in passing an ordinance in San Francisco, California to allow openly gay public employees to be employed and to be open about sexuality. He was eventually murdered by one of his fellow supervisors. Harvey was born on May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York. Harvey and his brother, Robert, worked in the family department store, "Milks"; his father, William, served in the Navy and as did his lively and independent mother Minerva, who was a "Yeomanette" during World War I. Harvey came from a small, middle-class Jewish family that had founded a Jewish synagogue and was well known in the New York community for their civic involvement. He knew he was gay when he attended Bayshore High School, where he was a popular student with interests as wide-ranging as opera and football (Harvey Milk Foundation n.d.). According to Simon Hall of Leads University, “Milk, a former supporter of conservative presidential candidate Barry Coldwater, became active in the gay rights movement shortly after moving to New York in 1972” (Hall 2010). Milk was elected at... center of paper... repentant gay public officials to protect. alternative lifestyles today. BibliographyBio. Biography of Harvey Milk. and http://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170#awesm=~oBVMnslIQSX3iN (accessed 18 April 2014). American gay rights movement and patriotic protests." Journal of the History of Sexuality (University of Texas Press) 19, no. 3 (September 2010): 559.Harvey Milk Foundation. Biography of Harvey Milk. and http:// milkfoundation.org/about/harvey-milk-biography/ (accessed 19 April 2014).Thecastro.net. Anita Bryant. June 19, 1997. http://thecastro.net/bryant.html/ (accessed April 19, 2014).Toplin, Robert Brent. “Milk Review.” Journal of American History 96, no. 1 (June 2009): 318-320.