National
San Francisco mulls naming airport for Harvey Milk
Proposal before supervisors to rename international hub after slain LGBT icon
Harvey Milk in 1978. (Photo by Daniel Nicoletta via Wikimedia Commons)
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal to send to voters a ballot measure that would rename San Francisco International Airport (SFO) after slain LGBT trailblazer, Harvey Milk.
The proposal by gay supervisor David Campos, would make the busy international hub, which sees 40 million visitors annually, the first American airport named after an openly gay individual. Campos told the San Francisco Chronicle, Monday that he had four co-sponsors on the board for the proposal, including gay supervisor Scott Wiener, who represents Harvey Milk’s former district. To be sent before voters, only five supervisors would have to vote in the affirmative, making this a likely prospect for the November ballot.
“What a powerful statement flying into Harvey Milk would be,” Rick Jacobs, chair and founder of California-based Courage Campaign told the Blade on Tuesday. “And frankly, it’d be a great antidote to flying into Bush or Reagan.”
He continued, “I think it has a great shot at passage if it goes before the voters.”
According to Campos, similar airports that have implemented a name change of this sort, have spent $50,000 to $250,000 on the alterations, but the supervisor tells the Chronicle he hopes to attract private donations to offset the cost.
“There are already a number of things honoring Harvey Milk, including schools, but nothing of this national and international scale,” said Campos. “In places all over the world, including Europe and Asia, people of all walks of life look up to Harvey Milk.”
“That no airport in this country has been named for an openly LGBT person is something I hope would be remedied, and what a better place than San Francisco for something like that to happen, and what better person than Harvey Milk,” Campos told British LGBT outlet, Pink News.
Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming California’s first openly gay elected official. He was an outspoken leader for gay rights in the 1970s. In 1978, Milk was assassinated in city hall, along with then-mayor George Moscone, by former Supervisor Dan White. Milk’s death captured the attention of the nation, and he became an icon for the movement to expand rights to LGBT people. Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, who leads the foundation named for his uncle, told the Blade on Tuesday that though he could not predict how the people of San Francisco would vote if this proposal makes it to the ballot, he was excited about the prospect.
“It is quite moving and powerful,” Stuart Milk said, remarking on flights from SFO that travel to 77 nations where homosexuality is still criminalized. “How often do we get to name — and thereby educate and send an enduring message — a public space that has 9 million international and nearly 40 million total people travel through it? And by traveling through it, people talk about the name, have it on their itineraries, boarding passes, in their e-mails and their daily conversations. This has a very profound meaning for international travelers who are either from or do business in nations that have not embraced equality. If nothing else it allows for reflection and conversation, at the most it educates and allows leaders to revisit their societal oppressions.”
Stuart Milk continued, “I can also see small, very meaningful acts taking place ‘Milk, yeah he was the activist killed fighting for equality, you know I have a cousin, I have niece, I have a co-worker who is gay, we rarely talk about it, I think I’m going to bring back this Harvey Milk International mug or keychain, let them know if a city can elevate and celebrate Harvey, I can do the same for them.'”
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
National
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday
Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.
The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.
“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.
Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.
The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.
Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”
The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.
The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”
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