Today in Labor History January 15, 1976: A judge sentenced Sara Jane Moore to life in prison. She had attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in front of the St. Francis Hotel, in San Francisco. It was the second failed attempt on Ford that year. Oliver Sipple, a gay, former marine happened to be standing nearby and thwarted her second shot. Sipple was out of the closet and fairly well-known in the San Francisco gay scene. He was also friends with Harvey Milk, who outed Sipple to journalist Herb Caen. Milk’s rationale: "For once we can show that gays do heroic things, not just all that caca about molesting children and hanging out in bathrooms." However, Sipple who was still in the closet with respect to his family, was devastated. His mother disowned him. Family members refused to speak to him. The president refused to invite him to the White House or offer him a medal or commendation. Sipple sued the San Francisco Chronicle for invasion of privacy. But the courts ruled against him. His mental and physical health deteriorated after this. He started drinking heavily and was found dead in his apartment in 1989, at the age of 47.

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