"You commie, homo-loving sons of guns," Penn began in accepting the prize. "I did not expect this and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often.""How did he do it?" fellow Oscar winner Robert De Niro wondered in introducing Penn. "How for so many years did he get all those jobs playing straight men?"
Milk was the first openly gay man elected to major public office in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. The following year, he was shot to death along with Mayor George Moscone by board colleague Dan White. But during his life, he inspired gays and lesbians to stand up and come out, helped turn the Castro neighborhood into the gay Mecca it would become and roused crowds with impassioned speeches that often began with the words, "My name is Harvey Milk and I am here to recruit you."
In wrapping up his own speech, Penn mentioned the protesters who lined the streets of Hollywood near the Oscar festivities, holding anti-gay signs: "We've got to have equal rights for everyone," he said.
Backstage, when asked what he would tell those protesters if he could speak to them, Penn responded: "I'd tell them to turn in their hate card and find their better self."
