Leaders in the LGBTQ+ community and the family of Long Island native and gay rights activist Harvey Milk this week denounced a Pentagon review that could strip his name from a U.S. Navy ship.

"It sends a message, in particular to our lesbian and gay service members, that although they may be tolerated, they are not going to be celebrated," said Stuart Milk, a nephew of Harvey Milk’s who grew up in Rockville Centre and now lives in Wilton Manors, Florida. "I don’t see an upside for the Navy in this."

In an interview Thursday, Stuart Milk said generations of his family had served in the Navy and his uncle had been proud of his service, which occurred during the Korean War and included work as a diving instructor before he was forced out of the military for being gay.

Harvey Milk was born

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