The Viscount remembers when Anita Bryant began her campaign against homosexuality in Florida. He was a young boy living on an estate in the Midwest when Dade County tried to ban discrimination against homosexuals (the term in vogue at the time for gays). Of course the Viscount's readers understand that Dade County is Miami. The city is an interesting mix of people from all over Latin America and the Caribbean and a variety of American transplants, largely from the eastern seaboard cities of the northeastern United States. There is often a tension between the more conservative Latin population and the more liberal northeasterners. The city also has a strong fashion community and a vibrant gay district in Miami Beach.
Back in the late 1970's when this issue came forward, Anita Bryant led the campaign to fight the ordinance and to go after other gay rights issues in the stat such as adoption. Florida voters largely supported Bryant, leading to delayed gay rights in many portions of the state. Bryant's celebrity and outspoken nature gave considerable cover to many homophobes who were quite shocking in their hateful and dangerous rhetoric. The legacy of Bryant lives on in Florida where it is still illegal throughout the state for gays to adopt. While Dade County overturned the adoption ban recently, the extremely conservative state legislature has not reversed the adoption ban developed during the Bryant era.
Anita Bryant's career fizzled after she went public on her anti-gay stance. At the time, she was a spokeswoman for Florida orange juice. Her contract was not renewed in the midst of this controversy and she and her husband also divorced during this period. The divorce tarnished her reputation among conservative Christians.
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