Live</tle><rect width="39" height="22" rx="3" fill="#CB1111"></rect><path d="M5.756 5.66H8.186V15.002H12.506V17H5.756V5.66ZM13.5783 5.66H16.0083V17H13.5783V5.66ZM22.5198 17H20.0718L16.7958 5.66H19.2798L21.3498 13.31H21.4218L23.5098 5.66H25.7958L22.5198 17ZM33.3901 15.002V17H26.5861V5.66H33.3541V7.658H28.9621V10.25H32.3101V12.212H28.9621V15.002H33.3901Z" fill="whe"></path></svg></span>on<span class="styl_img__bxg3Y styl_news-now-img__961yW"><svg width="144" height="16" viewBox="0 0 144 16" fill="none" xmlns="><tle>NBC News Now</tle><g clip-path="url(#clip0_3686_260016)"><path d="M143.711 12.9351H106.432V15.7204H143.711V12.9351Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M138.308 11.0828H141.078L143.924 0.253418H141.218L139.725 6.7182H139.678L138.044 0.253418H135.417L133.77 6.7182H133.708L132.215 0.253418H129.276L132.114 11.0828H135.005L136.655 4.66263H136.747L138.308 11.0828Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M120.534 5.67944C120.534 3.79098 121.713 2.45958 123.394 2.45958C125.074 2.45958 126.254 3.76034 126.254 5.67944C126.254 7.59855 125.072 8.89651 123.394 8.89651C121.716 8.89651 120.534 7.59576 120.534 5.67944ZM123.394 11.3253C126.814 11.3253 129.206 8.89652 129.206 5.67944C129.206 2.46237 126.828 0.0307617 123.394 0.0307617C119.959 0.0307617 117.578 2.45958 117.578 5.67944C117.578 8.8993 119.956 11.3253 123.394 11.3253V11.3253Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M113.118 11.0827H116.427V0.250488H113.625V6.71528H113.564L109.74 0.250488H106.429V11.0827H109.23V4.61234H109.294L113.118 11.0827Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M93.1764 3.4594C93.1764 1.43446 94.8964 0 97.608 0C99.9219 0 101.706 1.11414 102.169 2.87169L99.6474 3.4594C99.3672 2.60987 98.6557 2.15308 97.6613 2.15308C96.7368 2.15308 96.0757 2.54581 96.0757 3.26721C96.0757 5.42029 102.423 3.07224 102.423 7.70427C102.423 9.85734 100.572 11.2946 97.9414 11.2946C94.9664 11.2946 93.1147 9.98825 92.5181 7.70427L95.0981 7.31432C95.2562 7.86892 95.5951 8.35559 96.0616 8.69791C96.5281 9.04022 97.0957 9.21879 97.6753 9.20557C98.7958 9.20557 99.5269 8.68471 99.5269 7.96609C99.5353 5.7406 93.1764 8.09143 93.1764 3.4594Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M85.7161 4.61826H85.6489L84.0157 11.083H81.1051L78.2422 0.248047H81.22L82.7411 6.70726H82.8055L84.4583 0.248047H87.1055L88.7583 6.70726H88.8227L90.3439 0.248047H93.0555L90.2122 11.083H87.4361L85.7161 4.61826Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M77.4499 0.248047V2.53203H71.7633V4.42328H76.2453V6.70726H71.7633V8.79627H77.5815V11.083H68.9199V0.248047H77.4499Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M60.5243 4.61826L60.4571 11.083H57.6138V0.248047H60.9193L64.7543 6.70726H64.8215V0.248047H67.6649V11.083H64.3593L60.5243 4.61826Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M42.5679 5.67658C42.5679 2.35087 44.8818 0.0668945 48.2545 0.0668945C50.899 0.0668945 52.8823 1.43728 53.6779 3.78532L50.9662 4.30619C50.7735 3.76474 50.4145 3.29724 49.94 2.96983C49.4654 2.64242 48.8993 2.47169 48.3218 2.48178C46.6018 2.48178 45.5429 3.72126 45.5429 5.67658C45.5429 7.63189 46.6634 8.87416 48.3218 8.87416C48.8996 8.88405 49.466 8.71291 49.9406 8.38498C50.4152 8.05704 50.774 7.58894 50.9662 7.04697L53.6106 7.57062C52.7506 9.98273 50.899 11.289 48.2545 11.289C44.8818 11.289 42.5679 8.941 42.5679 5.67658Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M32.4521 0.248047H37.741C40.1221 0.248047 41.6433 1.16164 41.6433 3.24786C41.6452 3.75624 41.4774 4.25089 41.1661 4.65418C40.8548 5.05747 40.4177 5.34658 39.9232 5.47614V5.5402C40.9821 5.73796 41.9066 6.52064 41.9066 8.01916C41.9066 10.1722 40.3855 11.083 38.0072 11.083H32.4521V0.248047ZM35.3627 4.49012H37.2788C38.3993 4.49012 38.7999 4.2283 38.7999 3.50968C38.7999 2.79107 38.3377 2.53203 37.2788 2.53203H35.3627V4.49012ZM35.3627 6.51229V8.79627H37.346C38.5366 8.79627 39.0632 8.4676 39.0632 7.68214C39.0632 6.89667 38.5366 6.568 37.346 6.568H35.3627V6.51229Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M24.054 4.61826L23.984 11.083H21.1406V0.248047H24.449L28.284 6.70726H28.3484V0.248047H31.1917V11.083H27.8862L24.054 4.61826Z" fill="currentColor"></path><path d="M16.9526 7.11688C16.5767 7.10716 16.2056 7.20323 15.8822 7.39403L10.6504 11.0274H16.9526C17.473 11.0274 17.9721 10.8219 18.3401 10.456C18.7081 10.09 18.9149 9.59378 18.9149 9.07631C18.9149 8.55884 18.7081 8.06257 18.3401 7.69667C17.9721 7.33076 17.473 7.12519 16.9526 7.12519V7.11688Z" fill="#0DB14B"></path><path d="M10.8291 10.1962L16.5432 6.29952C16.7602 6.16158 16.9478 5.98248 17.0953 5.77245C17.2427 5.56242 17.3471 5.32557 17.4025 5.07542C17.4579 4.82527 17.4632 4.56673 17.4181 4.31455C17.373 4.06237 17.2784 3.82147 17.1397 3.60565C17.0009 3.38983 16.8208 3.20329 16.6096 3.05669C16.3983 2.91008 16.1601 2.80626 15.9086 2.75119C15.657 2.69611 15.3969 2.69085 15.1433 2.73569C14.8897 2.78054 14.6474 2.87463 14.4304 3.01257C14.109 3.20856 13.8499 3.49107 13.6833 3.82738L10.8291 10.1962Z" fill="#0089CF"></path><path d="M12.5989 0.249348C12.8333 0.357094 13.0439 0.510047 13.2185 0.699339C13.393 0.88863 13.528 1.1105 13.6156 1.35206C13.7033 1.59363 13.7418 1.85008 13.729 2.10657C13.7162 2.36306 13.6523 2.61446 13.541 2.84621L10.8206 8.79378L9.93701 3.17879C9.90412 3.02045 9.93406 2.85561 10.0206 2.71873C10.238 2.3917 10.7843 2.13396 10.7815 2.09793C10.7788 2.0619 10.7286 1.98984 10.5028 1.98984H9.78369C9.79649 1.71105 9.86569 1.43769 9.98716 1.1861C10.0955 0.952999 10.2494 0.743609 10.4397 0.570069C10.6301 0.396529 10.8533 0.262295 11.0962 0.175156C11.3392 0.0880165 11.5971 0.04971 11.855 0.0624465C12.113 0.0751829 12.3658 0.138705 12.5989 0.249348V0.249348Z" fill="#645FAA"></path><path d="M6.41914 0.249348C6.1847 0.357094 5.97407 0.510047 5.79954 0.699339C5.625 0.88863 5.49 1.1105 5.40236 1.35206C5.31472 1.59363 5.27621 1.85008 5.28902 2.10657C5.30183 2.36306 5.36574 2.61446 5.47701 2.84621L8.19747 8.79378L9.22319 2.27251C9.26287 1.89961 9.19624 1.52313 9.03088 1.1861C8.92252 0.952999 8.76869 0.743609 8.57831 0.570069C8.38793 0.396529 8.16478 0.262295 7.92183 0.175156C7.67888 0.0880165 7.42095 0.04971 7.163 0.0624465C6.90504 0.0751829 6.65221 0.138705 6.41914 0.249348V0.249348Z" fill="#C9234A"></path><path d="M2.46669 6.2992L8.18075 10.1959L5.31535 3.82151C5.14952 3.48468 4.89036 3.20198 4.56836 3.0067C4.12998 2.72812 3.59826 2.63411 3.09017 2.74534C2.58207 2.85656 2.13921 3.16392 1.85903 3.5998C1.57886 4.03567 1.48432 4.56437 1.59619 5.06957C1.70805 5.57476 2.01715 6.01507 2.45553 6.29365L2.46669 6.2992Z" fill="#F37021"></path><path d="M2.06533 7.11707C1.5449 7.11707 1.04575 7.32263 0.677748 7.68853C0.309746 8.05443 0.103027 8.55071 0.103027 9.06817C0.103027 9.58564 0.309746 10.0819 0.677748 10.4478C1.04575 10.8137 1.5449 11.0193 2.06533 11.0193H8.36752L3.13566 7.40252C2.81314 7.20881 2.44206 7.10985 2.06533 7.11707Z" fill="#FDB913"></path></g><fs><clipPath id="clip0_3686_260016"><rect width="144" height="16" fill="whe"></rect></clipPath></fs></svg></span><span class="styl_img__bxg3Y styl_chevron-img__sl67n"><svg viewBox="0 0 10 7" fill="none" xmlns="><path d="M1 1.07454L4.96238 5L9 1" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-lep="round"></path></svg></span></div></a></div></div></div></sectn><div class="article-body" data-activy-map="article-article-body" data-taboola-target="read-more"><div class="article-body__grid--ntaer"><div class="ad dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="terstial" data-siz="[[[0,0],[[4,4]]]]" data-reh-terval="0" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><div class="article-body__sectn"><div class="article-body layout-grid-em layout-grid-em--wh-gutter-s-only grid-l-10-m grid-l-ph-1-m grid-l-6-xl grid-l-ph-2-xl article-body--ctom-lumn"></div></div><div class="article-body__sectn layout-grid-ntaer article-body__last-sectn article-body__first-sectn"><div class="article-body layout-grid-em layout-grid-em--wh-gutter-s-only grid-l-10-m grid-l-ph-1-m grid-l-6-xl grid-l-ph-2-xl article-body--ctom-lumn"><sectn class="mb7"><div class="article-social-share-top"><ul class="styl_ntaer__ZKkl3" data-activy-map="social-share-lks-article-top" data-ttid="social-share-menu"><li data-ttid="social-share-facebook" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_facebook__bOW_X"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-facebook"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-twter" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_twter__ww7sF"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-ptert" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_ptert__CaMm1"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-ptert"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-email" class="styl_em__b5A78"><a href="mailto:?subject=Ana Bryant’s s-old 'Save Our Children' mpaign rgs faiar Florida& target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-email"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-py" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_py__RACZ3"><button type="button" class="styl_button__b3sx_"><span class="in in-lk"></span></button><div class="styl_pyTooltip__Ut_t1"><span class="in in-alt-check"></span></div></li><li data-ttid="social-share-sms" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_sms__Vohh6"><a href="sms:?&body=Ana Bryant’s s-old 'Save Our Children' mpaign rgs faiar Florida via nbews - target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-sms"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-prt" class="styl_prt__cw6Gn"><button type="button" class="styl_button__b3sx_"><span class="in in-share-prt styl_in__P3XZT"></span><span class="styl_text___8iNX">Prt</span></button></li><li data-ttid="social-share-save" class="styl_save__ILVuj"></li></ul></div><div class="article-body__date-source"><time class="relative z-1" dateTime="2022-04-14T16:21:14.782Z" ntent="2022-04-14T16:21:14.782Z">April 13, 2022, 9:56 PM UTC<span> / </span>Updated<!-- --> <!-- -->April 14, 2022, 4:21 PM UTC</time></div><div class="article-le-byle" data-activy-map="le-byle-article-top">By <span class="byle-name"><a href=">Jillian Eugens</a></span></div></sectn><div class="article-body__ntent article-body-font--loadg"><p class="">At a public hearg Da County, Florida, parents were enraged. The natn, they said, was peril and children were at risk. A recent ordance had granted gay people hog and employment protectns, and that meant teachers uldn’t be fired bee of their sexualy. Florida classrooms quickly beme a battleground, and opponents of the ordance said the state’s support of civil rights for homosexuals was gg on their rights as parents. </p><p class="">Actn had to be taken, and a mpaign to lim the legal rights of LGBTQ people — all the name of protectg children — was enacted. A woman who spoke at this hearg said was her right to ntrol “the moral atmosphere which my children grow up.” That woman was Ana Bryant, formerly Miss Oklahoma and a whe, telegenic, Top 40 sger <a href=">who was well known for her Florida orange juice mercials</a> (“A day whout orange juice is like a day whout sunshe!” she’d say). Bryant spearhead an anti-LGBTQ mpaign of such impact that s echo n be heard today’s rhetoric. The year was 1977.</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><div id="taboolaReadMoreBelow"></div><p class="">Last month, nearly half a century after Bryant’s “Save Our Children” mpaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights Edutn bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by s opponents. The measure, which tak effect July 1, prohibs classroom stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty “krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age-appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards.” Siar bills are beg nsired 19 other stat, acrdg to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ thk tank that has been trackg the bills.</p><figure class="styl_leImage__yAWZ0 styl_medium__OMa6x"><picture class="styl_image__1qciH"><source media="(m-width: 1000px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="Gov. Ron DeSantis shows an image om the children's book" height="1667" width="2500"/></picture><figptn class="ptn styl_ptn__Pe5JC"><span class="ptn__ntaer" data-ttid="ptn__ntaer">Gov. Ron DeSantis shows an image om the children's book "Call Me Max" by transgenr thor Kyle Loff before signg the Parental Rights Edutn bill Shady Hills, Fla. on March 28.</span><span class="ptn__source">Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Tim via AP file</span></figptn></figure><p class="">Advot of Florida’s bill say s purpose is to allow parents to ci how and when LGBTQ topics are troduced to their children. Opponents say hurts the very children advot are tryg to protect. Sam Am, director of advocy and ernment affairs at The Trevor Project, a queer youth advocy group, <a href=">said a statement</a> that the bill will “erase young LGBTQ stunts across Florida, forcg many back to the closet by policg their inty and silencg important discsns about the issu they face.” </p><p class="">Historians say they’ve seen this before. </p><p class="">“It’s a ntemporary versn on the olr attempts to annul homosexualy,” said <a href=">Lillian Farman</a>, thor of “The Gay Revolutn,” among other queer history tl.</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><p class="">“In the prent environment, you n’t go after homosexual teachers anymore,” Farman said. “We have too many alli. And so Florida has found another way to do by this ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which don’t go after homosexual teachers precisely. But the ia is the same. That is, that homosexualy is a pariah stat, and shouldn’t be discsed the public schools.” </p><figure class="styl_leImage__yAWZ0 styl_medium__OMa6x"><picture class="styl_image__1qciH"><source media="(m-width: 1000px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="Ana Bryant" height="1650" width="2500"/></picture><figptn class="ptn styl_ptn__Pe5JC"><span class="ptn__ntaer" data-ttid="ptn__ntaer">Sger-turned-polil activist Ana Bryant speaks at a news nference Miami Beach, Fla. on June 7, 1977.</span><span class="ptn__source">Bettmann via Getty Imag file</span></figptn></figure><p class="">When Bryant began her mpaign 1977, she had four children, and often said she was speakg as a mother and a Christian. And while the villaizatn of LGBTQ people was not new, Bryant took the ia of protectg children and ma mastream. Her mpaign and the subsequent “Save Our Children” polil aln ed the argument that “homosexuals nnot reproduce, so they mt rec. And to hen their ranks, they mt rec the youth of Ameri.” </p><p class="">Bryant’s foc on the ia that LGBTQ people were threateng to children created a talkg pot that social nservativ were able to rally around and promote to their iends and neighbors. Bryant paired this wh her Christian fah, tellg <a href=">Playboy</a> magaze 1978 that her posn “was not taken out of homophobia, but out of love” for gay people. When a gay activist threw a pie her face durg a news nference, she immediately prayed for the man to be “livered om his viant liftyle.”</p><sectn class="embed-widget embedWidget embed-widget--medium"><div class="embed-widget__e-prentatn embed-widget__iamely-youtube" style="--iame-height:0px"><div><div class="iamely-youtube iamely-player iamely-embed"><div class="iamely-rponsive" style="paddg-bottom: 75%;"><iame data-src=" loadg="lazy" src="//" allowfullscreen scrollg="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-wre *; encrypted-media *; gyrospe *; picture--picture *;"></iame></div></div></div></div></sectn><p class="">“Deviance” was part of Bryant’s re argument that homosexualy was evil and that LGBTQ people didn’t serve rights. To award them nondiscrimatn protectn was to offer them a kd of special privilege. If we label homosexualy a civil rights issue, what is to stop “<a href=">the murrer om shoutg ‘murrer rights’”?</a> Bryant wrote her 1977 book, “The Ana Bryant Story: The Survival of Our Natn’s Fai and the Threat of Milant Homosexualy.”</p><p class="">Bryant’s work rulted the repeal of the Da County nondiscrimatn ordance, by a more than 2-to-1 marg, a voter referendum. Its repeal ed a backlash other stat that had passed siar ordanc, and Bryant’s fame grew. She took her msage across the untry, and for the next three years was named “The Most Admired Woman Ameri” Good Hoekeepg’s annual poll.</p><p class="">While Bryant fueled the ia that gays were harmful to children, the blueprt for this type of rhetoric had been laid nearly 20 years before, also the state of Florida.</p><sectn class="le-vio le-vio---body"><div class="le-vio__background"><div class="le-vio__player"><div class="vioPlayer styl_vioPlayer__bL8AJ styl_adNotPlayg__Q51_C styl_alignDktopBottom__4cHaO styl_alignMobileBottom__bhgkQ" data-ttid="vio-player"><div class="vioSlate"><a href=" class="allowClicksOnPreview"><picture class=""><source media="(m-width: 1240px)" srcSet="><source media="(m-width: 758px)" srcSet="><img loadg="lazy" src="></picture></a><div class="playButtonOuter absolute absolute-fill w100 dn-prt"><div class="absolute absolute-fill w100 df ems-center ems-center-m jtify-center jtify-center-m"><div class="play le-vio__play-button"><svg class="play--in" xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 15 15" prerveAspectRat="xMidYMid" style="max-width:30px"><path d="M0 0v15l15-7.41z" fill-le="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></div><div id="137664581787"></div></div></div></div><div class="le-vio__"><h2 class="le-vio__tle"><a href=">1977: Ana Bryant vot to repeal Da County’s gay rights law</a></h2><span class="le-vio__tail"><span>June 7, 1977</span><span>01:17</span></span><div class="styl_share__n3Syu le-vio__share dn-prt"><div class="styl_shareExpanr__hVk8d le-vio__share-expanr styl_hoverEffect___Dj4s"><span class="styl_shareDot__9pfRZ le-vio__share-dot"></span><svg class="styl_shareClose__6BZxR le-vio__share-close" viewBox="0 0 15 15"><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="0" y2="15"></le><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="15" y2="0"></le></svg></div><div class="styl_shareList___M8wC le-vio__share-list"><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-facebook styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-twter styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href="mailto:?subject=1977: Ana Bryant vot to repeal Da County’s gay rights law& class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-email styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a></div></div></div></sectn><p class="">The Florida Legislative Invtigatn Commtee (monly referred to as the Johns Commtee, after Charley Johns, s first chairman) was tablished 1956, and was born out of opposn to the segregatn of schools and the pursu of “munists.” The mtee first targeted the NAACP but was stopped by the Supreme Court. The mtee then turned to vtigatg alleged munists Florida schools, but was stopped by the Amerin Associatn of Universy Profsors. They need a new target, and the fall of 1958, the mtee began to vtigate — and elimate — LGBTQ people om Florida schools. There was no urt and no associatn to protect them. The mtee was well-fund by taxpayer dollars. School prcipals and universy prints operated. </p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><p class="">“Charley Johns’s argument was that of, the homosexuals are pervertg our youth bee they’re teachg our youth llege, and high school, and elementary school, and we have to get rid of them so they won’t turn young people to homosexuals,” Farman said. From 1958 to 1965, hundreds — if not thoands — of stunts and teachers were targeted, wh many losg their livelihoods. </p><div class="remend-tersectn-ref" data-activy-map="remend-article-body-remend" data-ttid="remend-wrapper"></div><p class="">Though the mtee was terred om s vtigatn to the NAACP, s roots opposn to segregatn and s evolutn om racist opposn to homophobic opprsn is clear, historians say. </p><div class="remend-tersectn-ref" data-activy-map="remend-article-body-remend" data-ttid="remend-wrapper"></div><p class="">“The Christian right really together on enforcg segregatn the 1960s. It’s about anti-Black racism; that’s largely where starts. And they’ve h on this ia that they’re protectg children and tn,” said Hugh Ryan, a historian and thor of “When Brooklyn Was Queer.” “They realize that this works, that this is the issue that will create a ‘polil moral majory.’” </p><p class="">By the time we get to Ana Bryant 1977, Ryan said, “they’ve already realized that they n harns this polil nservatism and attach to relign by talkg about the fay.” </p><h2 class=""><strong>Bryant 'won the battle' but lost 'the war'</strong></h2><p class="">Though the Da County ordance was repealed, opposn to the bill led to a kd of LGBTQ activism that had not been prevly seen South Florida. </p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><p class="">“The thg to remember is that Ana Bryant won that battle ially, but she did not w that war,” said the historian Jul Capó Jr., a native Floridian, who wrote “Wele to Fairyland: Queer Miami Before 1940.”  </p><p class="">He said Bryant advertently spurred a mobilizatn and a movement. </p><p class="">“It was transformative,” Capó said. “It got people to see themselv as a votg bloc. It got them to see that their very existence and their rights were very much unr attack a different way than we had seen the prr.” </p><sectn class="le-vio le-vio---body"><div class="le-vio__background"><div class="le-vio__player"><div class="vioPlayer styl_vioPlayer__bL8AJ styl_adNotPlayg__Q51_C styl_alignDktopBottom__4cHaO styl_alignMobileBottom__bhgkQ" data-ttid="vio-player"><div class="vioSlate"><a href=" class="allowClicksOnPreview"><picture class=""><source media="(m-width: 1240px)" srcSet="><source media="(m-width: 758px)" srcSet="><img loadg="lazy" src="></picture></a><div class="playButtonOuter absolute absolute-fill w100 dn-prt"><div class="absolute absolute-fill w100 df ems-center ems-center-m jtify-center jtify-center-m"><div class="play le-vio__play-button"><svg class="play--in" xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 15 15" prerveAspectRat="xMidYMid" style="max-width:30px"><path d="M0 0v15l15-7.41z" fill-le="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></div><div id="137664069755"></div></div></div></div><div class="le-vio__"><h2 class="le-vio__tle"><a href=">1977: After victory at polls, Ana Bryant discs takg anti-gay mpaign on the road</a></h2><span class="le-vio__tail"><span>June 8, 1977</span><span>01:18</span></span><div class="styl_share__n3Syu le-vio__share dn-prt"><div class="styl_shareExpanr__hVk8d le-vio__share-expanr styl_hoverEffect___Dj4s"><span class="styl_shareDot__9pfRZ le-vio__share-dot"></span><svg class="styl_shareClose__6BZxR le-vio__share-close" viewBox="0 0 15 15"><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="0" y2="15"></le><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="15" y2="0"></le></svg></div><div class="styl_shareList___M8wC le-vio__share-list"><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-facebook styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-twter styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href="mailto:?subject=1977: After victory at polls, Ana Bryant discs takg anti-gay mpaign on the road& class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-email styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a></div></div></div></sectn><p class="">The activism spread om Da County and across the untry, phg agast Bryant’s own “Christian csa,” as she lled . In 1977, the -executive directors of the Natnal Gay Task Force wrote a thank you <a href="> The New York Tim</a> to Bryant and her Save Our Children anizatn, sayg they were “dog the 20 ln lbians and gay men Ameri an enormo favor: They are focg for the public the nature of the prejudice and discrimatn we face.” </p><p class="">Though Bryant did enjoy some addnal years of fame, her anti-gay rhetoric ultimately ed her reer prospects to plummet. Her bookg agent dropped her, the Florida Cs Commissn stopped nng her orange juice ads and she filed for bankptcy — twice. The anti-discrimatn ordance she helped repeal 1977 <a href=">was rtored 1998</a>.</p><p class="">And today, even though state legislators ntue to chip away at LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage is legal across the untry and feral law prohibs anti-LGBTQ discrimatn the workplace.</p><figure class="styl_leImage__yAWZ0 styl_medium__OMa6x"><picture class="styl_image__1qciH"><source media="(m-width: 1000px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="Image: People celebrate ont of the Supreme Court after the lg favor of same-sex marriage June 26, 2015." height="1667" width="2500"/></picture><figptn class="ptn styl_ptn__Pe5JC"><span class="ptn__ntaer" data-ttid="ptn__ntaer">People celebrate ont of the Supreme Court after the lg favor of same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015.</span><span class="ptn__source">Mark Wilson / Getty Imag file</span></figptn></figure><p class="">Though the tim have changed signifintly sce Bryant’s heyday the late ‘70s, appears her views have not. In 2021, Bryant’s granddghter Sarah Green <a href=">told Slate</a> that she me out to her grandmother on her 21st birthday. Bryant reportedly rpond by sayg homosexualy isn’t real. </p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div><p class="">“It’s very hard to argue wh someone who thks that an tegral part of your inty is jt an evil ln,” Green said. Green, <a href=">who clarified to </a><a href="><em></em></a> that she is bisexual, told Slate about her upg weddg to her fiancée, a woman, and said she wasn’t sure if her grandmother would be attendg.  </p><p class="">“I jt kd of feel bad for her,” Green add. “And I thk as much as she hop that I will figure thgs out and e back to God, I kd of hope that she’ll figure thgs out.”</p><p class="">Bryant, now 82, no longer liv Florida. She returned to her home state of Oklahoma and ns Ana Bryant Mistri Internatnal. Neher Bryant nor Green rpond to requts for ment. </p><p class="endmark"><strong><em>Follow </em></strong><a href="><strong><em>NBC Out</em></strong></a><strong><em> on </em></strong><a href="><strong><em>Twter</em></strong></a><strong><em>, </em></strong><a href="><strong><em>Facebook</em></strong></a><strong><em> & </em></strong><a href="><strong><em>Instagram</em></strong></a></p></div><div class="article-body__ntent article-body-font--loadg"><div class="expand-byle-ntributors articleByleContaer"><div class="expand-byle article-expand-byle" data-activy-map="expand-byle-article-bottom"><span class="byle-thumbnail byle-thumbnail--no-image expand-byle__thumbnail"></span><span class="byle-name expand-byle__name"><a href=">Jillian Eugens</a></span><span class="byle-social expand-byle__social"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a></span><div class="expand-byle__b-wrapper"><p class="byle-b expand-byle__b">Jillian Eugens is a wrer and filmmaker New York Cy.</p></div></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body--right-rail-ntaer"><div data-ttid="right-rail-ntaer" class="article-body__right-rail layout-grid-em grid-l-4_5-l grid-l-3_5-xl grid-l-ph-half-xl"><div class="ad article-body__right-rail--ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxrail" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[[300,250],[360,360]]],[[758,1],[]],[[0,0],[]]]" data-offset="10" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div></div></div></div><span></span><div class="body-bottom-remend"><div class="ad ad--midrponsive ad-ntaer dn-prt" data-ttid="ad__ntaer"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="midrponsive" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[[700,1],[5,5]]],[[758,1],[]],[[0,0],[]]]" data-offset="300" data-reh-terval="0" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-ttid="ad__ntaer__ner"></div></div></div></div></div></article></div></div><div id="hfs-footer" class="dn-prt" data-activy-map="hfs-footer"><footer class="hfsf" ><div class="ner"><div class="logo"><a href="><svg class="peack" viewBox="578 62 67 39" xmlns=" fill="currentColor"><g fill-le="evenodd"><path d="M579.074 90.58c1.717-4.494 6.472-6.08 10.697-3.37l18.29 12.754h-22.18c-4.62 0-8.252-4.23-6.8-9.385"></path><path class="feather" d="M579.074 90.58c1.717-4.494 6.472-6.08 10.697-3.37l18.29 12.754h-22.18c-4.62 0-8.252-4.23-6.8-9.385"></path><path class="feather" d="M597.563 75.863l9.442 21.613-19.478-13.35c-4.887-3.24-3.896-8.79-1.19-11.237 3.83-3.24 9.245-2.12 11.226 2.97"></path><path class="feather" d="M610.57 70.93l-3.433 24.19-9.772-23c-2.113-5.75 2.64-9.516 5.81-9.583 3.632-.396 8.188 2.38 7.396 8.394"></path><path class="feather" d="M625.494 72.103l-9.707 23.067-3.102-20.82c-.265-3.17 1.716-3.237 2.443-3.832-.133-.463-1.124-.463-1.124-.463h-1.848c-.198-5.42 4.028-7.8 7.462-7.535 3.697.132 7.856 4.428 5.876 9.583"></path><path class="feather" d="M635.338 84.167L615.86 97.584l9.177-21.348c2.775-6.742 9.245-5.42 11.556-2.842 2.51 2.51 3.235 7.6-1.255 10.773"></path><path class="feather" d="M637.448 99.9h-22.515l18.29-12.756c4.49-2.975 9.244-.266 10.498 3.635 1.327 4.36-1.65 9.12-6.27 9.12"></path></g></svg></a></div><nav class="lks"><ul class="lks__wrap" data-l-2="14" data-l-3=15><li><a href=" target="_self">About</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Contact</a></li><li><a href=">Help</a></li><li><a href=">Careers</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ad Choic</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Privacy Policy</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Do Not Sell My Personal Informatn</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CA Notice</a></li><li><a href=">Terms of Service (Updated JULY 7, 2023)</a></li><li><a href=">NBC News Semap</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Closed Captng</a></li><li><a href=">Advertise</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Select Shoppg</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Select Personal Fance</a></li></ul></nav><div class="py"><p>© 2023 NBC UNIVERSAL</p><div class="brands"><a href="><svg viewBox="0 0 120 20" fill="none" xmlns=" aria-labelledby="nbc_news_logo"><tle class="nbc_news_logo">NBC News Logo

1977 miami gay

Miami-Da County Commissn vot 7 to 6 to ban discrimatn based on sexual orientatn; actn over 20 years after Ana Bryant's 'save our children' csa Miami led to repeal of one of untry's first gay rights ordanc and galvanized bate over gay rights natn; gay rights advot and Miami-Da officials say vote reflects natnal change attu as Amerins have bee creasgly tolerant of equal rights for homosexuals; Miami-Da has grown to metropolan area of over two ln people that pris self on s ethnic diversy and is tryg to sell world-class image; officials say nnot afford to be perceived as tolerant of homosexuals; Bryant photo (M)

Contents:

GAY RIGHTS FIGHT SHAPG UP MIAMI

Free Onle Library: Ana Bryant January 1977: the enactment of a gay rights law Miami-Da unty mobiliz the ex-bety queen's antigay mpaign--as well as gays natnwi, cludg San Francisn Armistead Mp. (Gods & Monsters). by "The Advote (The natnal gay & lbian newsmagaze)"; News, opn and mentary * 1977 miami gay *

The show had a signifintly posive impact on the cy’s image, and was well on s way to rtoratn due to a number of factors beyond Miami Vice – an enomic upturn, better (ls rpt) law enforcement, a cle the e wars, Versace and a massive migratn of the gay muny. A bter fight is shapg up here as Miami's ntroversial "gay rights" law head for an electn tt.

Forced by a petn drive which gathered 6 tim more signatur than need, the Da County Commissn here voted to ll a special electn June 7 to ci the fate of a newly passed ordance which prohibs discrimatn agast homosexuals employment, hog, labor unns and private tn. Bryant heads Save Our Children, Inc., the group which secured the petns and which has spearhead opposn to the gay mights law, passed Jan. "This is not a mpaign to kick the homosexuals out of where they've always been, " said Bob Green, Bryant's hband and bs manager.

IN FLORIDA, MIAMI-DA HAS BEEN GROUND ZERO FOR GAY RIGHTS STGGLE

* 1977 miami gay *

" Save Our Children ntends that passage of the law will enable homosexuals to "rec" youths.

The accatn was reerated the Sunday ad, which charged that the ordance will allow homosexuals "to provi 'role mols' for the imprsnable - that is, the right to tell all society, pecially our youth, that homosexually isn't wrong, jt 'different' and, of urse, 'Gays.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

And Bob Basker, spokman for the Da County Coaln for the Humanistic Rights of Gays, which is ordatg the gay mpaign, poted out that crime statistics show that society has more to fear om the heterosexual molter of female children than om the homosexual molter of male children.

ANA BRYANT JANUARY 1977: THE ENACTMENT OF A GAY RIGHTS LAW MIAMI-DA UNTY MOBILIZ THE EX-BETY QUEEN'S ANTIGAY MPAIGN--AS WELL AS GAYS NATNWI, CLUDG SAN FRANCISN ARMISTEAD MP. (GODS & MONSTERS).

The gays, meanwhile, have untered wh an offer to unrwre the st of the electn by solicg ntributns om gay groups natnwi.

"Washgton and other ci, " said Neil Rodgers of the Da Gay Coaln, "haven't had a major personaly e out and create a wch hunt. " Basker said his group, too, has been receivg letters, telephone lls and fancial aid om other parts of the untry as well as lolly, both om gay and straight supporters. " Last week, a r belongg to a Lat who spoke out for gay rights on a Miami televisn news show was firebombed here.

Manuel Gomez said, "The firebombg is an absurd act, probably by a super-macho Cuban who felt ashamed at a Lat who was gay and wanted to give a warng. Ana Bryant speakg at the podium durg a Gay Rights bate, 1977. Man holdg sign that reads "Gays History" while walkg Miami's first Gay Rights Para, 1978.

DIPLOMATIC TENSN REPORTEDLY RISG BETWEEN UNED STAT AND JAMAI OVER GAY AMERIN DIPLOMAT

Visors saw memorabilia om some of Miami's olst gay bars, photographs of ralli and march, archival material om Ana Bryant's "Save Our Children" mpaign, historil footage, and origal vio terviews om the people volved creatg Miami's LGBTQ muni. Three participants ridg a r Miami's first Gay Rights Para, 1978.

Two women holdg each other while walkg Miami's first Gay Rights Para, 1978. The lol law, among other thgs, prohibed discrimatn agast gays employment and hog.

Bryant was adamant that "homosexuals" had no legimately regnizable place a cent society. "As long as they do their job and do not e out of the closet and force their sexualy on , " Bryant said gays, who she nsired to be "sick and pathetic, " should not be "given special treatment.

2 DES ON, MIAMI ENDORS GAY RIGHTS

Bryant lead a mpaign lled "Save Our Children" to repeal the gay rights ordance. She and her supporters argued that gays would rec children to their liftyle. " The Bryant effort portrayed gays as perverts and pedophil.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* 1977 MIAMI GAY

Diplomatic tensn reportedly risg between Uned Stat and Jamai over gay Amerin diplomat .

TOP