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'Gays are immoral'
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She says her only concern is to protect her children from advances by keeping homosexuals out of the teaching profession.
Miami homosexual organizations say Miss Bryant is grossly naive.
"There are already so many gay teachers that if they left the school systems of this country, the schools would fall apart," says Robert Kunst, director of the Miami Victory Campaign
"They're not out there recruiting. They're only out there to teach. How many parents would object to having their children taught by Socrates or Plato or Gertrude Stein or Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci-all known homosexuals?
The Dade County Coalition, another homosexual organization, claims that far more children are the victims of heterosexual than homosexual attacks. The coalition says it supports laws making child seduction a crime.
Miss Bryant is also bucking stiff opposition from liberal organizations. In 1975, the national Council of Churches declared that discrimination against homosexuals is morally wrong.
And it urged churches to work for legislation that would guarantee the civil rights of everyone, regardless of their sexual preferences.
When Miss Bryant began her campaign against homosexuals in Dade County, the Rev. G. William Sheek of the National Council sent a sharp note, saying:
"Our Constitution states that rights are inalienable and are not based on social codes. When you grant human rights to a person, you have not necessarily granted approval of his life-style.
"The campaign also implies that 'children are at the mercy of every role-model they come in contact with, and that every role-model has to meet all the standards of a set of parents. Should we ban teachers who smoke? Should we ban teachers who are divorced?
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"Freedom of religion also means the freedom from having a single moral code imposed on all citizens."
15:
Miss Bryant offers a strong rebuttal → clippings from homosexual publications.
Fag Rag says the aim is to turn half the population "gay" by seduction and gives a full page of explicit instructions on how to turn normal males into homosexuals.
Gay Crusader recently published an article which spoke glowingly of someone's sexual relations with a 3year-old boy.
can't understand why "some people who attack homosexuality on moral grounds can use pornography to defend their position."....
In California, Miss Bryant has become the target of obscene T-shirt slogans. At home, she has been the target of bomb threats.
The greatest suffering is being caused among homosexuals in Miami's large Cuban community who face not only the scorn of nonhomosexuals but also the special contempt of their own people for whom male virility is a cultural tradition.
Manuel Gomez, za Cuban,
homosexual, spoke out for gay rights on a local TV station. He had been a writer for the Latin edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, published in Miami, and says he was fired on account of his homosexuality. His car, a 1967 Toyota, was fire-bombed.
Miss Bryant's foray into sexual politics has been costly. Last May, she earned $50,000 in personal appearance fees. This May, she earned nothing.
Two conventions she was booked to appear before in June have canceled her act. She won't reveal which conventions they are. Especially stinging was the cancellation she received from the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
Miss Bryant's burning ambition has been to have a TV show of her own, and she was thrilled last year when she was offered a contract by Singer to do a pilot program to be called “Sew.”
She was to act as hostess, sing and interview dress designers, discussing fabrics and sewing techniques. Singer calls it a "Dinah Shore-type show."
Miss Bryant says that just before she was to start shooting the pilot, she received a call from Barry Drucker, producer of the show, assuring her that when she arrived in New York, she would be given a contract to do not only the pilot but the full series of six shows.
Drucker now has "no comment" on that telephone conversation.
A few days later, Drucker sent her a telegram saying she'd become too controversial and that Singer would not go on with the show. The telegram was sent with the blessing of someone at Singer.
The following day, Miss Bryant called a press conference to announce the cancellation and to suggest that it was the result of pressure tactics from homosexual organizations.
Irate American housewives by the thousands bombarded Singer with letters of outrage. Even newspapers that had editorialized against Anita
mam pattacked Singer.
The Miami dispute has caused outrage on both sides of the issue.
Mrs. Shack says she has received abusive phone calls and letters and,
Within a week, Singer issued a statement that top-management had overruled the original decision and hoped that negotiations with Miss. Bryant could continue.
Anita Bryant
A Singer spokesman says that top management had anticipated the problem and had decided in advance. that Miss Bryant's political activity was none of their business but that this decision had not filtered down to the person who canceled the show.
Newspapers across the country reported that Singer had recanted and the angry mail stopped. But Miss Bryant's husband, Bob Green, says that all is not as it appears to be.
He says that Singer is now offering a contract for just the one pilot program. "Where," he asks, "is the contract to produce the six shows we were promised?”
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Green says it looks like a ploy by Singer to escape the heat that once a pilot is made, they'll find some reason for not liking it and will scrap. the whole project.
Miss Bryant was to have been paid $7,500 for the pilot and $5,000 for each of the six shows.
So far, her contract with the
Florida Citrus Commission is not in jeopardy. "Since we hired Anita,” said a spokesman, “orange juice sales just keep going up and up.
It's not certain if that contract can withstand her going national with the Save Our Children campaign, as she
Vows.
She's doing so partly because of a bill introduced in Congress that year by Rep. Edward Koch of New York which would outlaw discrimination against homosexuals nationally.
Another reason is that her work with Save Our Children has exposed her to other areas of moral laxity.
Bob Green says: "When we go national, we're going to zero in on lot of things that threaten the American family -like violence on television and children's pornography."
Miss Bryant agreed, adding: "I am creating a better atmosphere for our children and other children. I don't have a cause I am being obedient to God."
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