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| | [[Image:AnitaB.jpg|right|thumb|Anita Bryant in 1977]] | | [[Image:AnitaB.jpg|right|thumb|Anita Bryant in 1977]] |
| − | '''Anita Bryant''' (born 1940) was an extremely successful singer and commercial endorser who became an early proponent of gay rights. As a result, the entertainment and corporate world ostracized her. | + | '''Anita Bryant''' (born 1940) was an extremely successful singer and commercial endorser who became an early opponent of [[homosexuality]]. As a result, the entertainment and corporate world ostracized her. |
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| | A devout [[Christian]] born and raised in [[Oklahoma]], Bryant won the prestigious talent competition of [[Arthur Godfrey]] at age 16, was runner-up in the [[Miss America]] competition at age 19, and next recorded three smash popular hit songs, of which a couple were imitated later by famous groups such as the [[Beatles]]. In the late 1960s and 1970s Anita Bryant became one of the most successful endorsers of goods, most famously Florida orange juice. She was an extremely popular celebrity in her time, and had such broad appeal that she performed the [[National Anthem]] at [[Super Bowl III]] in 1969 and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the burial of former President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1973. | | A devout [[Christian]] born and raised in [[Oklahoma]], Bryant won the prestigious talent competition of [[Arthur Godfrey]] at age 16, was runner-up in the [[Miss America]] competition at age 19, and next recorded three smash popular hit songs, of which a couple were imitated later by famous groups such as the [[Beatles]]. In the late 1960s and 1970s Anita Bryant became one of the most successful endorsers of goods, most famously Florida orange juice. She was an extremely popular celebrity in her time, and had such broad appeal that she performed the [[National Anthem]] at [[Super Bowl III]] in 1969 and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the burial of former President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1973. |
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| | Bryant also successfully led a campaign for the Florida legislature to prohibit homosexuals from adopting children. Over two decades later, in 2004, that law was upheld by the [[Court of Appeals]] for the [[Eleventh Circuit]].<ref>''Lofton v. Sec'y of the Dep't of Children & Family Servs.'', 358 F.3d 804 (11th Cir. 2004).</ref> | | Bryant also successfully led a campaign for the Florida legislature to prohibit homosexuals from adopting children. Over two decades later, in 2004, that law was upheld by the [[Court of Appeals]] for the [[Eleventh Circuit]].<ref>''Lofton v. Sec'y of the Dep't of Children & Family Servs.'', 358 F.3d 804 (11th Cir. 2004).</ref> |
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| | + | Homosexual advocates vilified Bryant for her stance, and continue to insult her to this day. They organized a boycott of her corporate sponsors and they obtained denunciations of Bryant by other entertainers. Four self-proclaimed homosexuals slapped Bryant with a pie in her face during a speaking event in Des Moines, Iowa.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS91gT3XT_A</ref> Bryant responded immediately by saying a prayer for her assailants. Police authorities refused to prosecute for the assault. |
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| − | Anita, a homosexual herself, continues to campaign for gay rights throughout Florida, preaching christian values that treasure the equal treatment of all people.
| + | The efforts of the homosexual activists succeeded in destroying Bryant's career. The corporations refused to continue to hire her; the music industry excluded her. Subsequent attempts by Bryant to further her entertainment career in small towns were unsuccessful, and [[liberal]] [[newspaper]]s hound her about that also.<ref>http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2002/04/28/State/Bankruptcy__ill_will_.shtml</ref> |
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| | + | Homosexuals continue to attempt to discredit Anita Bryant as part of their current effort to repeal the Florida law against adoption by homosexual couples. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that on March 25, 2007 a "meeting, organized by local, state and national gay advocacy groups, was held to discuss a proposal in Tallahassee to repeal Florida's 30-year-old ban on gay adoption. Organizers said the ban is a remnant of former beauty queen and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade of the 1970s."<ref>Elizabeth Baier, "Gay adoption of kids advocated at church: Gathering held to discuss state bill to repeal ban," South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) (Mar. 26, 2007)</ref> |
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| | + | It should be noted that Anita Bryant was largely correct in that she believed homosexuals wanted to recruit children into their ways, for example noted gay rights activist [[Harry Hay]] protested the exclusion of groups like NAMBLA in the 1990s (that had previously been in the gay mainstream) and Hay refused to participate in the official 1994 parade in New York City commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots because of its 'exclusionary policies'. Instead he joined an alternate parade called "The Spirit of Stonewall" |
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| | ==External links== | | ==External links== |