Members Lucky Posted July 27, 2021 Members Posted July 27, 2021 No doubt many of you have not heard of Anita Bryant. She was a loud opponent of gays way back when. Now her granddaughter is a lesbian and getting married. Will Anita attend the ceremony? Will she even be invited? https://news.yahoo.com/granddaughter-notorious-anti-gay-rights-205513063.html Quote
Members Lonnie Posted July 27, 2021 Members Posted July 27, 2021 4 hours ago, Lucky said: Anita Bryant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_BryantAnti-gay rights activism Bryant is known for her anti-gay rights activism.[15] On March 23, 1969, Bryant participated in a Rally for Decency at the Orange Bowl to protest an incident involving Jim Morrison and The Doors'[16][17] performance in Miami, Florida in 1969. Fundraising card for the Save Our Children campaign In 1977, Dade County, Florida, passed an ordinance sponsored by Bryant's former friend Ruth Shack that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[18] Bryant led a highly publicized campaign to repeal the ordinance, as the leader of a coalition named Save Our Children. The campaign was based on conservative Christian beliefs regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and the perceived threat of homosexual recruitment of children and child molestation. Bryant stated:[19] What these people really want, hidden behind obscure legal phrases, is the legal right to propose to our children that theirs is an acceptable alternate way of life. [...] I will lead such a crusade to stop it as this country has not seen before. The campaign marked the beginning of an organized opposition to gay rights that spread across the nation. Jerry Falwell Sr. went to Miami to help Bryant. She made the following statements during the campaign: "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children" and "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters."[19] She also said, "All America and all the world will hear what the people have said, and with God's continued help we will prevail in our fight to repeal similar laws throughout the nation."[18] Notably, Bryant referred to gay people as "human garbage".[20][21][22] The name of the campaign had to be changed because of legal action by the Save the Children foundation.[23] Victory and defeat An anti-Bryant campaign button in support of a boycott of the Save Our Children campaign for which she served as spokesperson On June 7, 1977, Bryant's campaign led to a repeal of the anti-discrimination ordinance by a margin of 69 to 31 percent. However, the success of Bryant's campaign galvanized her opponents, and the gay community retaliated against her by organizing a boycott of orange juice.[19] Gay bars all over North America stopped serving screwdrivers[24] and replaced them with the "Anita Bryant Cocktail", which was made with vodka and apple juice.[25] Sales and proceeds went to gay rights activists to help fund their fight against Bryant and her campaign.[25] In 1977, Florida legislators approved a measure prohibiting gay adoption.[19] The ban was overturned more than 30 years later when, on November 25, 2008, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cindy S. Lederman declared it unconstitutional.[26] Bryant led several more campaigns around the country to repeal local anti-discrimination ordinances, including campaigns in St. Paul, Minnesota; Wichita, Kansas; and Eugene, Oregon. In 1978, her success led to the Briggs Initiative in California, which would have made pro-gay statements regarding homosexual people or homosexuality by any public school employee cause for dismissal.[19] Grassroots liberal organizations, chiefly in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, organized to defeat the initiative. Days before the election, the California Democratic Party opposed the proposed legislation. President Jimmy Carter, Governor Jerry Brown, former president Gerald Ford, and former governor Ronald Reagan—then planning a run for the presidency—all voiced opposition to the initiative, and it ultimately suffered a massive defeat at the polls.[25] In 1998, Dade County repudiated Bryant's successful campaign of 20 years earlier and reauthorized an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by a seven-to-six vote. In 2002, a ballot initiative to repeal the 1998 law, called Amendment 14, was voted down by 56 percent of the voters.[25] The Florida statute forbidding gay adoption was upheld in 2004 by a federal appellate court against a constitutional challenge but was overturned by a Miami-Dade circuit court in November 2008.[26] Bryant became one of the first persons to be publicly "pied" as a political act. During a television appearance in Iowa on October 14, 1977, Bryant was struck by a pie thrown at her by Thom L. Higgins (1950–1994).[27][28] Bryant quipped "At least it's a fruit pie,"[29] making a pun on the derogatory slur of "fruit" for a gay man. While covered in pie, she began to pray to God to forgive the activist "for his deviant lifestyle" before bursting into tears as the cameras continued rolling. Bryant's husband said that he would not retaliate, but followed the protesters outside and threw a pie at them.[25] By this time, gay activists ensured that the boycott on Florida orange juice had become more prominent and it was supported by many celebrities, including Paul Williams,[30] Vincent Price (he joked in a television interview that Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance referred to her),[31] and Jane Fonda.[25][page needed] Johnny Carson also made Bryant a regular target of ridicule in his nightly monologues.[32] In 1978, Bryant and Bob Green told the story of their campaign in the book At Any Cost.[19] The gay community continued to regard Bryant's name as synonymous with bigotry and homophobia.[25][33] Quote
bucky13 Posted July 27, 2021 Posted July 27, 2021 The biggest part of homophobia is ignorance. Closely knowing a gay person often opens the door to the reality and acceptance that they're just 'people'. Let's hope Anita has finally seen the light. Now, admitting publicly to your previous madness is a whole different story... t0oL1 and floridarob 2 Quote
Members Lonnie Posted July 28, 2021 Members Posted July 28, 2021 More detail from The Advocate: She had no intention of coming out to Bryant, but she was spurred to do so on her 21st birthday. Bryant sang “Happy Birthday” to her granddaughter on the phone and told her that if she had faith, the right man would come along. “And I just snapped and was like, ‘I hope that he doesn’t come along, because I’m gay, and I don’t want a man to come along,’” Green recalls. Bryant responded by telling Green that homosexuality is a delusion invented by the devil and that her granddaughter should focus on loving God, because that would make her realize she’s straight. “It’s very hard to argue with someone who thinks that an integral part of your identity is just an evil delusion,” Green says. Now, years later, Green is planning her wedding and is debating whether to invite Bryant; she and her fiancée have discussed it extensively. “I think I probably will eventually just call her and ask if she even wants an invitation, because I genuinely do not know how she would respond,” Green says. “I don’t know if she would be offended if I didn’t invite her.” Bryant knows Sarah is engaged to a woman, said Robert Green Jr., Sarah Green’s father and Bryant’s son, says on the podcast. When he told his mother, he notes, “All at once, her eyes widened, her smile opened, and out came the oddest sound: ‘Oh.’ Instead of taking Sarah as she is, my mom has chosen to pray that Sarah will eventually conform to my mom’s idea of what God wants Sarah to be.” Sarah Green says she doesn’t hate Bryant but feels sorry for her. “I just kind of feel bad for her,” she says. “And I think as much as she hopes that I will figure things out and come back to God, I kind of hope that she’ll figure things out.” Slate sought an interview with Bryant, but she declined. A variety of people involved in the fight over the ordinance are interviewed in the episode, including Bob Kunst, a Miami gay activist who thinks the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement is ungrateful to him and who became a supporter of Donald Trump. The podcast can be accessed here, and a transcript will be posted soon. Quote
Members BigK Posted August 9, 2021 Members Posted August 9, 2021 "Now, years later, Green is planning her wedding and is debating whether to invite Bryant; she and her fiancée have discussed it extensively. “I think I probably will eventually just call her and ask if she even wants an invitation, because I genuinely do not know how she would respond,” Green says. “I don’t know if she would be offended if I didn’t invite her.” She (Green) seems to have her head screwed on straight. Hit the ball into her grandmother's court and let her decide. But don't expect a change of Bryant's attitude. Quote
vinapu Posted August 11, 2021 Posted August 11, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 8:56 AM, Lucky said: No doubt many of you have not heard of Anita Bryant. She was a loud opponent of gays way back when. Now her granddaughter is a lesbian and getting married. Will Anita attend the ceremony? Will she even be invited? only if granddaughter is stupid she 'd invite grandma, why to risk she spoils festivities? reader 1 Quote
