True leaders know the cup is half-full. When Harvey Milk saw Anita Bryant he didn’t see fear; he saw opportunity. He saw the work Bryant – a singer, beauty queen, and celebrity orange juice spokesperson – who was best known for her work in favor of bigotry against gays and lesbians, as an opportunity to mobilize, energize and bring GLBT social justice issues to the forefront of the late 1970s. Harvey Milk wanted to bring that fight to California and he did.

As 2009 roars in, more than 30 years later, we will not forget the great victories 2008 brought, such as the California Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. Nor can we forget the challenges we faced as the opposition overturned our civil rights by a slim five point margin with Proposition 8.

If Harvey Milk were alive today he would not be sitting and complaining about Nov. 4, 2008. Instead he would be celebrating yesterday’s milestones, those yet to come and working to build that momentum to move forward in 2009.

We named “Yes on Prop 8” as our people of the year. Some in the community were not pleased. But we think Milk would have approved, because, like Bryant, the “Yes on 8” supporters have done what no other individual or organization has accomplished: mobilizing GLBT supporters – both within the community and our straight allies – to say, “Enough.”

Across the nation legislation that will legalize same-sex marriage, create domestic partner registries or expand civil rights protections are expected to be filed this year in a number of states, including Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.

Vermont, the first state in the country to legalize civil unions in 2000, is expected to consider a bill this year that would amend the state’s civil union law to provide for full marriage.

As the New Year rolled in, three laws took effect in California that enhance protections and expand rights for GLBT people across the state. While they may have gone unnoticed under the looming shadow of marriage, they represent significant milestones in the overall quest for equality.

The Foster Youth School Safety Education Act helps protect foster youth against harassment and discrimination at school. The new law educates foster care youth and their caregivers about existing California laws that protect students against bias.

SB 1729, authored by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), and sponsored by Equality California will help create safe environments within senior care facilities that are free from bias for all older Californians. It will require licensed healthcare professionals who have constant interaction with seniors to participate in a training program that focuses on preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many health professionals already receive cultural diversity training, but it does not include information and education about GLBT issues.

The Civil Rights Act of 2008 strengthens existing law to ensure protections based on gender, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status and sexual orientation. It will clarify sections of the law that prohibit discrimination in insurance and government services and activities.

Additionally, a local same-sex couple has won a federal court ruling that their adopted son’s Louisiana birth certificate must bear the names of both adoptive fathers. The facts are so clear that no trial is needed, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey wrote in his ruling Dec. 29, in the case of Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith of San Diego (www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=13833). This ruling clearly crosses state borders and will have nationwide impact in future rulings.

Also in California, the new session of the State Assembly seats three members of the Legislature’s LGBT Caucus as chairs of key committees. Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) has been appointed chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) will head the Senate’s Public Safety Committee, and Assemblymember John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) is chairing the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

Nationally, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) chairs the powerful House Finance Services Committee. Joining him in the 111th Congress will be the nation’s first openly-gay non-incumbent elected member, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and openly lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

GLBT leaders will be working closely with the Congress and President-elect Barack Obama to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Leaders will also be looking to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Matthew Shepard Act. The Matthew Shepard Act passed both the House and the Senate in 2007, but was dropped by Democratic leaders before it arrived to President George W. Bush, who threatened to veto the legislation.

While President-elect Obama has already caused some frustration in the GLBT community with his selection of Rev. Rick Warren for the inaugural invocation, he has named a number of openly gay or lesbian members of his staff and administration. There is also some political chatter that Obama may name an openly-gay Secretary of Commerce, after New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson withdrew his name for consideration.

If Harvey Milk were alive today, he would celebrate these milestones, but as grassroots leaders across the nation will be gathering this weekend to repeal DOMA, Milk would still have his signature bull-horn to remind Obama of his campaign promises saying he “supports repealing the Defense of Marriage Act.”

Locally, Milk would likely join the march and rally in front of the County Administrative Building here in San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. He would lead the march through Downtown and past the Manchester Grand Hyatt, to show owner Doug Manchester the faces of our community, because he would see Manchester not as a tool of fear, but as an opportunity.

While we wish that the movie Milk would have been released prior to the election, looking forward, perhaps there is a reason why it was not. Perhaps Proposition 8 needed to pass in order to bring social justice and equality to the big screen.

One day – a day we believe Harvey Milk knew in his heart would come – there will be no more discussion about half-empty or half-full. When the day of true equality arrives, we will know it because our cups will runneth over.

Until then, we must be our Harvey Milk. We must come out, stand up, push the shame away, and say, “My name is Harvey Milk and I am here to recruit you.”