Proposition 6

Proposition 6, informally known as the Briggs Initiative, was an unsuccessful ballot initiative put to a referendum on the California state ballot in the November 7, 1978, election. It was sponsored by John Briggs, a conservative state legislator from Orange County. The failed referendum sought to ban homosexuals from working in California's public schools. Openly gay liberal politician Harvey Milk & Sally Miller Gearhart, as well as many other gay and lesbian activists of the time were instrumental in fighting the measure. Opposition to the proposition from a variety of public figures such as then-former California Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter helped to swing public opinion against it. Ronald Reagan, a conservative republican, publicly spoke out against the Briggs Initiative, stating that "there are enough laws that protect children".