They vote for us when they know us

To correspond to the opening of the movie Milk, here is a bit of background on Harvey Milk. I didn't know that the legacy of Milk inspired San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to create the "Winter of Love" in 2004, which led to last May's Calif. Supreme Court ruling for gay marriage and this fall's marriage ban. Milk battled Proposition 6 which would have banned gays from teaching in public schools. He said that voters vote for us when they know us, something that the leaders against the marriage ban didn't learn. Even so, Harvey Milk's legacy lives on.

Though the movie Milk is highly praised, and there is even talk of Oscars, critics have noted that all of the big name actors in this very gay movie are straight. Can't progressive Hollywood find big name gays for these roles? Well, no. All of the A-list actors claim to be straight (though insiders say it isn't so, this article won't spill beans). Reason? Money. There is a perception that moviegoers won't be convinced by a man known to be gay portraying a straight romantic or action lead. Actors aren't willing to risk tens of millions and studios won't risk hundreds of millions per film to verify that isn't true.