Current:Home > NewsDianne Feinstein's life changed the day Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated — the "darkest day" of her life-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Dianne Feinstein's life changed the day Harvey Milk and George Moscone were assassinated — the "darkest day" of her life
View Date:2024-12-23 22:40:28
In 1978, San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, and the city's Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. The person who broke the news to the world: Dianne Feinstein, then president of the city's Board of Supervisors.
"Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed," Feinstein told a gaggle of reporters, who expressed shock at the news. "The suspect is Supervisor Dan White."
Feinstein, who died at age 90 on Friday, went on to become California's first woman U.S. senator. But directly after the assassination, she assumed the role of mayor of San Francisco.
In 2008, the 30th anniversary of the assassination, Feinstein spoke to SF Gate about discovering Milk's dead body in city hall after their colleague, White, killed him. "I went down the hall. I opened the wrong door. I opened (Milk's) door. I found Harvey on his stomach. I tried to get a pulse and put my finger through a bullet hole. He was clearly dead," she told the local newspaper.
Feinstein said she was on a three-week vacation before the murder, but she spoke to White on the phone during that time. He was upset that the mayor wasn't going to reappoint him and felt that Milk did not defend him, according to Feinstein.
During his murder trial, White employed the now-infamous "Twinkie Defense," blaming junk food – as well as stress about his job – for the murders. By blaming mental illness, White received a lesser sentence, manslaughter. Furious Milk supporters, who wanted White convicted of first-degree murder, rioted in the city in what is known as the "White Night" riots.
In her interview with SF Gate, Feinstein said White did not kill Milk because he was homophobic, but rather because he felt betrayed by Milk when the mayor decided not to reappoint him.
During the trial, Feinstein testified about White and their friendship, which brought the defendant to tears.
But she told SF Gate that when White was released from prison in 1984, she had San Francisco Police Chief Con Murphy tell White not to come back to the city, because "his chances of survival were not good." White committed suicide in 1987.
Feinstein told SF Gate if she could undo the moment of the assassination, she would do "it in a second, in a nanosecond."
When the Oscar-nominated film "Milk" was released in 2008, she said she didn't want to see it. "I think in my face you saw the pain of the day 30 years ago," she told SF Gate. "I still have a hard time returning to it, and I'm not a masochist. I know what happened. I lived those times, and I've tried to learn from them in terms of the kind of public servant I am, and that's really enough for me."
Feinstein has since called the day of the assassinations "the darkest day of my life." In the summer of 2016, after several instances of gun violence across the country – including the killings of two Black men by police officers – Feinstein put out a statement and referenced the killings that affected her life.
She said after White's trial, the city was "filled with grief and torn apart by hate and a lack of trust" and as mayor, she formed a task force of gay and religious community leaders as well as police officers to help heal the city.
Decades after the tragic event, Feinstein continued to remember Milk, regularly posting about him on his birthday or on the anniversary of the assassinations. And in 2022, she marked the acceptance of USNS Harvey Milk – a Naval shipped named after the gay rights icon – into the Navy.
She was on the San Francisco board when it passed Milk's gay rights ordinance, which banned discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community in housing, employment and public accommodations. The only person who voted against the ordinance was White, according to a New York Times report from 1978.
During her time as a senator, Feinstein continued to stand up for LGBTQ rights, introducing the Respect for Marriage Act in 2011. The law, passed in 2022, guarantees legal protections for same-sex marriages and repealed the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented the recognition of same-sex marriage by the federal government. Feinstein was one of the few senators who opposed DOMA in 1996.
She also advocated for equality in the military and supported the Equality Act, which would expand civil rights for the LGBTQ community at the federal level.
- In:
- Dianne Feinstein
Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (2926)
Related
- NFL Week 10 winners, losers: Cowboys' season can no longer be saved
- Brad Pitt and Girlfriend Ines de Ramon Make Red Carpet Debut at Venice International Film Festival
- Is Usha Vance’s Hindu identity an asset or a liability to the Trump-Vance campaign?
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Last Try
- U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
- California lawmakers pass ambitious bills to atone for legacy of racism against Black residents
- Jennifer Lopez Proves She's Unbothered Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
- Federal investigators start probe of bus crash in Mississippi that killed 7, injured dozens more
- What’s the secret to growing strong, healthy nails?
- Jason Duggar Is Engaged to Girlfriend Maddie Grace
Ranking
- Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House
- Moms for Liberty fully embraces Trump and widens role in national politics as election nears
- Murder on Music Row: Shots in the heart of country music disrupt the Nashville night
- Sinaloa drug kingpin sentenced to 28 years for trafficking narcotics to Alaska
- Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
- Paralympic track and field highlights: USA's Jaydin Blackwell sets world record in 100m
- Paralympic track and field highlights: USA's Jaydin Blackwell sets world record in 100m
- Thousands of US hotel workers strike over Labor Day weekend
Recommendation
-
Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
-
Man charged with murder in connection to elderly couple missing from nudist ranch: Police
-
Gymnast Kara Welsh Dead at 21 After Shooting
-
Dusty Baker, his MLB dream no longer deferred, sees son Darren start his with Nationals
-
'I know how to do math': New Red Lobster CEO says endless shrimp deal is not coming back
-
College football Week 1 grades: Minnesota fails after fireworks fiasco
-
As millions leave organized religion, spiritual and secular communities offer refuge
-
Clemson smacked by Georgia, showing Dabo Swinney's glory days are over