However, the LGBTQ+ community didn’t die down simply because Bryant repealed a couple of ordinances. If literally compared to a barrier, the LGBTQ+ supporters, who acted as a barrier to Anita Bryant and the Save Our Children Campaign, were merely cracked, and not yet broken.
The controversy between Bryant and the LGBTQ+ community was taken to national levels with multiple states and cities acting to further pursue in Bryant’s goal. In certain areas in which ordinances protecting the LGBTQ+ community were passed, repealing was not uncommon, Anita Bryant's win.
Eventually losing television contracts and being dropped by the Florida Citrus Commission, Bryant’s reputation began to pummel. She had also divorced her husband around the same time, and in the end, her attempts to rid of homosexuals resulted in the Streisand Effect. Rather than lowering the motivation and esteem of the homosexual community in general, the growth in homosexuals coming out of the closet spurred.
A gay pride parade on the streets of Warsaw in Europe, 2019. (Credit: The New York Times)
Bryant with Bob Green. (Credit: AnthonyPeoples)
Streisand Effect: an occurrence when information is to be hidden or removed, but unintentionally becomes public and has a larger audience than before
June has been officially recognized as LGBT Pride Month, a month in which people in support or part of the LGBTQ+ community showcase their pride. Parades are held throughout the nation and across continents as well to unite people.
Gay Pride Parades (Credits: Reuters, The Korea Herald, The New York Times, Visit Philadelphia, MetroSource)