Moscone and Milk Tragedy Remembered

I write to express appreciation and dismay about the feature on the 15th anniversary of the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk in San Francisco (“Death & Politics,” Nov. 21).

Josh Getlin and The Times perform an invaluable service in keeping that tragic history alive. I take exception, however, to the observation, based on interviews with various San Francisco politicos, that “Milk wasn’t killed because he was gay.”

Getlin reports White’s determination to weed the “deviates” out of City Hall. Those of us who remember White’s campaign rhetoric, filled with homophobia, cannot dismiss hatred of gays as a motivating factor in his actions. After all, Milk was not alone on the board in opposing White’s reappointment, yet White sought out Milk after murdering Moscone.

FENTON JOHNSON, San Francisco

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The story on the late George Moscone was well done. It pointed out that Dianne Feinstein was through with politics after her upset defeat by John Barbagelata in the runoff in the 1975 race for mayor of San Francisco.

I was the chief strategist and marketing consultant for Barbagelata in that race that eliminated Feinstein. As a result of the assassination, she became mayor of San Francisco and the rest is history. What fate will do.

EDGAR S. SPIZEL, La Jolla