He gained massive amounts of weight, began drinking profusely, and died at the ripe young age of 47. The White House distanced itself from him, his family rejected him, and he sunk into a dark depression. But Harvey Milk, a famous gay rights activist, chose to out him so the public could see that gay men could be heroes, too. While Sipple was very active in the gay men's scene in the Castro, he was not out to family or work. When the press began contacting him, he asked that his sexuality not be discussed.
A former marine named Oliver Sipple grabbed the gun, preventing the assassination attempt. President Ford was visiting San Francisco in 1975 when a woman attempted to shoot him.
