a. gay men and lesbians
By the second half of the decade, this political defense of the American family had focused on homosexuality. Conservative Page 738 recording artist Anita Bryant led a "Save Our Children" campaign in 1977, successfully repealing a Dade County (Florida) civil rights ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians. Bryant conducted similar campaigns elsewhere and supported the 1978 Briggs Initlative, a statewide ballot proposition in California that would have authorized the firing of any public school employee who engaged in "public homosexual conduct," which included making statements defending the rights of gays.