Photo by Daniel Nicoletta

Harvey Milk filling in for Mayor Moscone for a day in 1978.

On Jan. 15 in San Francisco, a measure was introduced to change the name of the San Francisco International Airport.

This measure will spark some debate in the city of San Francisco and around the country; the proposed measure is to change the name of San Francisco International Airport to Harvey Milk San Francisco International Airport.

The measure is sponsored by David Campos a San Francisco District Supervisor, and would have to garner five votes from other district supervisor. If it were to gain the vote the measure will then be put in the November ballot for the public to vote on.

For those not familiar with Harvey Milk he was one of the first openly gay men to be elected into public office in California and the United States, he served on a seat in the San Francisco board of supervisors. He was also an equal rights activist in San Francisco in the 1970s, prominently dealing with the rights of the LGBT community. Milk’s life was cut short when he and former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former co-worker Dan White. Milk held the belief that gays should not hide who they are and instead should be proud.

There are bound to be an endless amount of reasons why the measure should be passed and why it should be rejected, these are some of my reflections on both sides of the topic.

On one side of the coin the proposed measure sounds like a very interesting idea that could serve as a great educating factor and stand as a symbol of hope for many. San Francisco is widely known as one of the main hubs of the LGBT movement. Naming an airport after someone who greatly influenced the LGBT movement, and is probably not as widely known outside of the Bay Area, would be a great push forward for the LGBT movement.

Millions of people pass through San Francisco International Airport every year. A large amount of people that pass through San Francisco International Airport come from areas of the world where being openly gay is shunned or even punishable by death. Having an airport named after a openly gay man who not only fought for gay rights but for the rights of everyone would send a message of hope to people around the world, especially those who have to keep their sexuality a secret for fear of punishment.

Flipping the coin, Harvey Milk has been honored in a many number of ways already; May 22 in California is recognized as Harvey Milk Day. Schools and various other locations have already been named after him, and a proposal to name a Navy vessel after Milk is in the works, Milk served in the Navy at one point in his life. He was even given the honorary title, Mayor of Castro Street. Naming things after someone who accomplished great things is a nice way to honor their memory, but how far it too far, the money that is going to be spent to change the name of the airport could be put to better use like forwarding the LGBT movement.

Another problem with renaming an airport after Milk is that it seems a little off base, he had little to nothing to do with airports or aviation; it is true there are airports that have been named after great people who had nothing or little to do with aviation. But just because something has been done does not justify doing it too. San Francisco International Airport is already an iconic name, when someone hears it you can’t help but think about all the different walks of life that live in the beautiful city. To add someone’s name to the airport would draw people’s thoughts to only one aspect of an amazing city that encompasses not only a prominent LGBT community but also much more.

With the measure still traveling through the proper channels one can only speculate as to what the masses thoughts are of the new proposition. Regardless of the decision the debates on whether the name change is the right or wrong idea will be a good topic to keep a close eye on.