January 18 Miami, Fla. The Miami […]

When

1977-01-18

Description

January 18 Miami, Fla. The Miami Metro Commission passed an ordinance banning discrimination in Dade County in housing and employment based on sexual orientation by a vote of five to three. This ordinance had been bitterly opposed by religious conservatives, including Anita Bryant. Bryant, a former beauty queen and, since 1968, spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission, had accused gays of "trying to recruit our children to homosexuality." Those opposed to the ordinance gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue. This was the beginning of one of the most famous fights of the 1970s between religious and social conservatives and gay liberationists, a contest that would spill over into Canada. (There were many news stories and events related to Anita Bryant, particularly in 1977–78. See also May 16,1977; June 7, 1977; June 25, 1977; June 29–July 3, 1977; July 22, 1977; November 5, 1977; December 29, 1977; January 14–15, 1978; February 5, 1978; February 17–19, 1978; March 31, 1978; April 1978; April 23, 1978; April 28, 1978; April 29, 1978; April 30, 1978; May 23, 1978; June 8–10, 1978; July 1, 1978; September 9, 1978; September 10, 1978; November 8, 1978; January 11, 1979; January 12, 1979; February 11–15, 1980; April 11, 1980; May 1980; and January–February 1981.)

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