Navy set to rename ship honoring Harvey Milk amid DEI purge; Politico, June 3, 2025

 GISELLE RUHIYYIH EWING and PAUL MCLEARY, Politico;  Navy set to rename ship honoring Harvey Milk amid DEI purge

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to rename a naval vessel named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk, with several other ships honoring civil rights activists and women also potentially being rechristened.

The move targeting the ship named after the gay rights icon comes as LGBTQ+ communities kick off pride month celebrations across the country. The step furthers Hegseth’s agenda to stomp out DEI initiatives at the Pentagon, which has included removing books from service academies and scrubbing some mentions of women and people of color in the armed services from DOD websites."

A Time to Stand With Gay Americans; New York Times, 6/14/16

Frank Bruni, New York Times; A Time to Stand With Gay Americans:

"This is one of those moments, in the wake of terror, when we find the most apt and evocative ways to underscore our oneness and renounce our fear. When we make grand gestures. When we make pointed ones.

So Majority Leader McConnell, pick your rally. Speaker Ryan, accompany him. Governor Scott, attend the funerals of gay victims. Other Republicans and Democrats, recognize L.G.B.T. Americans with both your words and your presence at gay pride celebrations.

You want to show our enemies what America stands for? Then stand with us."