Anita Bryant in a commercial she starred in for the Florida Citrus Commission, n.d. (Credit: AnthonysPeople)
Bryant made the first move in opposition to the ordinance with the founding of the Save Our Children Campaign. As a person dawning the status of a singer with many charting songs and the spokesperson of the Florida Citrus Commission, Bryant had a very decently sized fanbase.
Anita Bryant, founder of the Save Our Children Campaign, performing in front of a crowd, 1977. (Credit: Houstonia)
Bryant at events (Credits: Timeline, Daily Beast, PBS)
Anita Bryant, 19, crowned as Miss Oklahoma and runner-up to Miss America, 1958. (Credit: AnthonysPeople)
Any given chance to talk about her view on homosexuality was not overlooked by Bryant, believing that God had chosen Bryant to tell anyone in support of the LGBTQ+ wrong. She spoke at every event hosted for her and within six weeks of the establishment of the Save Our Children Campaign, Bryant had already garnered enough signatures, and the numbers continued to climb, reaching 60,000 signatures—six times the amount necessary. At this point, a revote on the passing of the gay ordinance was required. Re-voting on the ordinance was taken on June 7, 1977, and on the same day, the ordinance was repealed by a large margin. Multiple states followed what had happened to the ordinance in Dade County Commission and decided to repeal any ordinance that had to do with supporting homosexuals. This was a huge step back and pause for the LGBTQ+ community because they had just lost multiple ordinances supporting them.
Anti-Bryant pin used to show opposition to Bryant, n.d. (Credit: Wikipedia)
The Florida Citrus Commission openly supported Bryant by November 1977, so in retaliation to the campaign that Bryant had started, the LGBTQ+ community and supporters boycotted Florida orange juice, and instead, decided to buy other drinks, such as apple juice.
Furthermore, some actions that were taken sided over towards the violent half with an incident that ended up with Bryant pied in the face during an event.
Bryant pied in the face with a fruit pie during an event in Illinois, n.d. (Credit: Jezebel)
An advertisement endorsing the Briggs Initiative, officially known the California Proposition 6, an attempt by John V. Briggs, a politician, to prevent homosexuals from teaching in public school, inspired by acts of Anita Bryant, 1978. (Credit: AnthonysPeople)
Flyer encouraging unity against Bryant, 1977. (Credit: Houston Public Media)
A protest boycotting the Florida Citrus Commission as well as Bryant, 1977. (Credit: Libcom)
Protest held in Houston when Bryant made an appearance, 1977. (Credit: Houston Public Media)