News on the Positive Side- by Cora Berke
Harvey Milk Day

“Hope will never be silent.”- Harvey Milk

In 1977, 47-year-old Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was the first openly gay person to win a public election in the State of California.

Born and raised in New York, Milk moved to the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco with his partner in 1972. The neighborhood was one of the first recognized gay neighborhoods in the country at that time.

Together with his partner Scott Smith, Milk opened a camera store which served as a gathering for his activism in gay rights. Before winning the election in 1977, he campaigned for equal LGBTQ+ rights in jobs, housing and healthcare and became a known activist. After being sworn in as a member of the Board of Supervisors, Milk sponsored an ordinance to prevent discrimination in employment and housing for the community and voted against a proposition banning gay teachers in the public schools.

Tragically, his career ended only eleven months later, when he was assassinated in his office along with then San Francisco mayor, George Moscone. Milk had a premonition he would be killed one day and left a taped message saying, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.”

News on the Positive Side- by Cora Berke

“Each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference.”- Jane Goodall

On April 21, 2026, the European Union’s top court in Luxembourg ruled against Hungary’s anti- LGBTQ+ rules, making this the first move toward equality since 2021. Supported by 15 countries and the European Parliament, the court said,” We welcome today’s landmark ruling judgment of the court. This is the first time that the court finds such a violation of a key treaty provision on the EU values.”

The Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance, under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, enacted this legislation in 2021, banning children from accessing LGBTQ+ content. The high court in Luxembourg argued that this was a shame and extended beyond to discriminating against the entire LGBTQ+ community. Pride Parades were banned and police were able to use face-recognition cameras for those in attendance. LGBTQ+ books, films and theater performances were also banned, all under the guise of protecting children.

The court stated, “Hungary has significantly deviated from the model of a constitutional democracy based on a value judgment that homosexual and non-cisgender life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgender life.”

News on the Positive Side- by Cora Berke

“An optimist sees rainbows when there is rain.”- Debasish Mridha

On March 31, 2026, Gov. Brad Little of Idaho picked up a proposed bill on his desk and signed it; the bill was HB561. HB561 revised which flags could be flown on government properties, which included the US, state, city, and military flags. It also revised which flags were now prohibited. If a prohibited flag continued to fly, there would be a $2,000 penalty per flag per day incurred by the city in which it was flown. The Pride flag flying at the Idaho Capitol State House in Boise was now prohibited by Bill HB561.

The next morning on April 1, 2026, Bill HB561 was passed by Idaho’s House of Representatives, and the Pride flag was removed by the city.

Shortly after the flag was taken down, Mayor Lauren McLean, the first woman to be elected Mayor in Boise, released a statement.

“We will continue to celebrate the vibrancy of our community, the diversity of our residents, and our North Star of being a safe and welcoming city for everyone. Because the law includes a substantial penalty – one that would ultimately fall on the taxpayers of Boise to shoulder—I decided to take down the city’s official Pride flag. But let me be clear: Boise’s values have not changed, and they are not defined by any single action taken at the State House.”