The Moscone-Milk assassinations took place on Monday, November 27, 1978, when San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot and killed in San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. White was angry that Moscone was refusing to re-appoint him to his former Board seat, from which had resigned for personal reasons, and angry with Milk for having lobbied against that re-appointment. In addition, Milk was gay, leading to speculation that his assassination may have been a hate crime. These events also launched the political career of Dianne Feinstein, one of White's allies on the Board, who became a United States Senator.
White was subsequently convicted of voluntary manslaughter, rather than of first degree murder. The verdict sparked rioting in San Francisco â?? the so-called White Night Riots â?? and ultimately led to the state of California abolishing the diminished capacity criminal defense.
Further tension between White and the openly homosexual Milk arose with Milk's vote in favor of placing a group home within White's district. Subsequently, White would cast the only vote in opposition to San Francisco's landmark gay rights ordinance, passed by the Board and signed by Moscone in 1978.
Moscone ultimately decided to reverse course and chose to appoint more progressive federal housing official Don Horanzy rather than re-appointing White. On Monday, November 27, 1978, the day Moscone was set to formally appoint Horanzy to the vacant District 8 seat, White packed his loaded service revolver and ten extra rounds of ammunition into his coat pocket and had an unsuspecting friend drive him to San Francisco City Hall. Once there, White slipped into City Hall through a basement window that was often left open, thus avoiding the building's metal detectors. He proceeded to the mayor's office.
White requested a meeting with the mayor and was allowed to see Moscone as Moscone's meeting with Brown ended. As White entered Moscone's outer office, Brown exited through a different door. Moscone met White in the outer office, with White confronting the mayor about his perceived betrayal. White asked again to be re-appointed to his former seat on the Board of Supervisors. When Moscone declined, their conversation turned into a heated argument over Horanzy's pending appointment.Once inside the small room, and realizing his pleas would prove ineffective, White pulled his revolver and shot the mayor twice in the abdomen. White then shot Moscone twice more in the head.
Harvey Milk
White reloaded his weapon and left the mayor's office, observed by an unwitting Dianne Feinstein â?? herself a supervisor at the time. White made his way to the opposite side of City Hall and down a corridor to Milk's office. There, he asked for a private conference in an adjacent room.
Behind closed doors, White confronted Milk. White reported that he began to scream at Milk and that Milk then rose from his seat. White then pulled his gun and shot the supervisor multiple times: three times in the chest, once in the back and two times again in the head.Feinstein discovered Milk's body, but attempts to resuscitate him were in vain.White was found guilty of the of voluntary manslaughter.
The verdict proved to be controversial. In particular, many in the gay community were outraged by the verdict and the resulting reduced prison sentence. Since Milk had been homosexual, many felt that homophobia had been a motivating factor in White's attack upon Milk and/or in the jury's failing to convict White of murder. This groundswell of anger sparked the city's White Night Riots. Paroled in 1984 he commited suicide two years later.