Sen. Scott Wiener speaks at a press conference at Jane Warner Plaza in San Francisco, on June 6, 2025. LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans and San Francisco officials condemned a proposal by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to rename the naval vessel, calling it an attack on queer history and military service. (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)
Over a dozen LGBTQ+ rights activists, veterans and elected officials gathered in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood this week to protest against the Trump administration’s decision to rename the USNS Harvey Milk.
The naval ship, named after former San Francisco Supervisor and gay rights trailblazer Harvey Milk, is one of several vessels that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly plans to rename this Pride month. Bay Area advocates and Navy veterans are calling the move an attack on the LGBTQ+ community and a disservice to gay service members.
“Veterans worked for years to secure the naming of a naval vessel for our hero, Harvey Milk, and what Trump and Hegseth are doing is despicable,” state Sen. Scott Wiener said. “It is part of their campaign to erase all LGBTQ people from public life.”
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Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country, served as a U.S. Navy officer before he was forced to retire after his sexuality was made public. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 and served until his assassination the following year.
The USNS Harvey Milk was christened in 2021 in honor of the civil rights icon. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, Milk’s legacy is deeply tied to the Bay Area’s gay rights movement, Wiener said, and the ship serves as a powerful acknowledgment of that history and his leadership.
Openly gay American politician, Harvey Milk (1930-1978), at the Gay Pride Parade, San Francisco, June 23, 1978. He is holding a placard that reads: “I’m from Woodmere, NY.” (Terry Schmitt/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Renaming the USNS Harvey Milk would be a slap in the face to the LGBTQ+ community, he said.
As for the Trump administration’s repeated commitment to the military’s warrior ethos, Wiener said its efforts to weaken the Department of Veterans Affairs — and limit access to essential services such as health care — have jeopardized the well-being of soldiers and veterans.
The Trump administration “claims that they are so macho and masculine and are going to have the best military on the planet,” he said. “But then, they go ahead and attack and undermine the very people who have made this country what it is by serving and putting their lives at risk.”
Zoe Dunning, a former U.S. Navy commander and one of the lead advocates for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, called the decision to rename the USNS Harvey Milk an affront to “every LGBTQ+ veteran and service member in uniform.”
Soldiers commit to protecting the American people — even if it costs them their lives, Dunning said, and in return, the nation has a duty to treat them with care and respect.
“Harvey Milk honored the Navy’s values, which is honor, courage and commitment,” Dunning continued. “He was truthful about the fact that he’s a gay man. He showed courage in coming out and being the first openly gay elected official in the country.
Zoe Dunning, a gay veteran, speaks at a press conference at San Francisco’s Jane Warner Plaza on June 6, 2025. (Samantha Kennedy/KQED)
“He showed commitment by serving in the Navy and being committed to our country and then being committed to the LGBTQ community here in the Castro and in San Francisco.”
Mario Benfield, commander of the Alexander Hamilton Post of the American Legion and a war veteran, said Hegseth and the Trump administration’s push to remove Milk’s name is “poor leadership.” Their attempts at dismissing service members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, especially those who are transgender, are outrageous, Benfield said.
“These red-blooded Americans volunteered to serve in our military, and now, they’re supposed to just give it up because of [Hegseth’s] homophobia,” Benfield said. “We can’t tolerate this.”
