Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law introducing a memorial day for gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

Mr Milk was the first openly homosexual person elected to public office in the United States. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. On 27 November 1978, Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were shot dead by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned.

Last year, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill because he thought there was no need for a Harvey Milk Day. He says he changed his mind due to the publicity Harvey Milk and his work received in the past year. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on 12 August 2009, and the film Milk was made about his life, starring Sean Penn who received an Oscar for the leading  role.

Harvey Milk Day will be 22 May, the date of his birth. The day will not be a state holiday but will be commemorated by California's public schools.