Dan Savage

trying not to look like I'm listening and thinking to myself, my dad thinks I'm a child molester. It made me doubt his love. And if I'm going to be honest, it still does. To this day, there is still this tiny doubt. That's how poisonous Anita Bryant's campaign was. It was also successful. Anita Bryant's Save Our Children campaign was

trying not to look like I'm listening and thinking to myself, my dad thinks I'm a child molester. It made me doubt his love. And if I'm going to be honest, it still does. To this day, there is still this tiny doubt. That's how poisonous Anita Bryant's campaign was. It was also successful. Anita Bryant's Save Our Children campaign was

Managed to repeal the anti-discrimination statute in Dade County. Didn't just manage to repeal it. It was repealed by a landslide, a 40-point margin. Bryant's campaign led to other anti-gay initiatives being filed all across the country, including the Briggs Initiative in California, which would have banned gays and lesbians from being teachers.

Managed to repeal the anti-discrimination statute in Dade County. Didn't just manage to repeal it. It was repealed by a landslide, a 40-point margin. Bryant's campaign led to other anti-gay initiatives being filed all across the country, including the Briggs Initiative in California, which would have banned gays and lesbians from being teachers.

And everyone believed the bigots would win that one too, because the bigots, like Anita Bryant, they were on a roll. But they lost. And it was the fight against the Briggs Initiative that brought Harvey Milk to national prominence. Today, he's on stamps. And Bryant, forgotten.

And everyone believed the bigots would win that one too, because the bigots, like Anita Bryant, they were on a roll. But they lost. And it was the fight against the Briggs Initiative that brought Harvey Milk to national prominence. Today, he's on stamps. And Bryant, forgotten.

The headline for her obituary in the New York Times read, Anita Bryant, whose anti-gay politics undid a singing career, dead at 84. In addition to forgetting Bryant was alive, a lot of people forgot she was a singer. But she had gold records, top 40 hits. She was talented. That bitch had pipes. Actually, let's listen to something from her 1967 album that I own called I Believe.

The headline for her obituary in the New York Times read, Anita Bryant, whose anti-gay politics undid a singing career, dead at 84. In addition to forgetting Bryant was alive, a lot of people forgot she was a singer. But she had gold records, top 40 hits. She was talented. That bitch had pipes. Actually, let's listen to something from her 1967 album that I own called I Believe.

How dare she. And joke's on her. The land we dreamed of was the gayborhood and the dream we dared to dream, getting married, having kids, buying a fucking washing machine and a refrigerator, really did come true. Wright recorded her cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow again in 1967, long before she began her poisonous campaign against gay rights. And I think she did it on purpose.

How dare she. And joke's on her. The land we dreamed of was the gayborhood and the dream we dared to dream, getting married, having kids, buying a fucking washing machine and a refrigerator, really did come true. Wright recorded her cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow again in 1967, long before she began her poisonous campaign against gay rights. And I think she did it on purpose.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow was already the gay national anthem in 1967, and the rainbow was already a symbol. The man who designed the rainbow flag in 1978, Gilbert Baker, insists he wasn't inspired by Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but I don't believe him. Gay men in the late 70s were collectively going through one of our butchered-up, mask-for-mask, straight-acting phases.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow was already the gay national anthem in 1967, and the rainbow was already a symbol. The man who designed the rainbow flag in 1978, Gilbert Baker, insists he wasn't inspired by Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but I don't believe him. Gay men in the late 70s were collectively going through one of our butchered-up, mask-for-mask, straight-acting phases.

Clones with mustaches wearing Levi's cruising the Castro. And being into Judy Garland was... Considered a little too feminine. Cringe, we would call it now. But the rainbow on that flag, like Brian's cover of that song, did not happen by accident. I bring Brian up today, of all days, because we fought her and we won. But we didn't win right away.

Clones with mustaches wearing Levi's cruising the Castro. And being into Judy Garland was... Considered a little too feminine. Cringe, we would call it now. But the rainbow on that flag, like Brian's cover of that song, did not happen by accident. I bring Brian up today, of all days, because we fought her and we won. But we didn't win right away.

The thing about the fight, even when you lose, the fight brings out the best in us. It helps us identify leaders. It helps us craft winning arguments. And fighting the fight puts us in people's living rooms. One of the things I saw on TV that summer, in addition to Anita Bryant saying the most hurtful, hateful, poisonous thing, were gay men and lesbians defending themselves.

The thing about the fight, even when you lose, the fight brings out the best in us. It helps us identify leaders. It helps us craft winning arguments. And fighting the fight puts us in people's living rooms. One of the things I saw on TV that summer, in addition to Anita Bryant saying the most hurtful, hateful, poisonous thing, were gay men and lesbians defending themselves.

I don't want to put too much of a gloss on this moment. The next four years are going to suck. And they're going to suck worse if we let the news cycle and the man who dominates it drain all the joy from our lives. We need to pay attention. We need to fight the fight. But we need to spend as much time as we can over the next four years with friends and lovers doing the things that bring us joy.

I don't want to put too much of a gloss on this moment. The next four years are going to suck. And they're going to suck worse if we let the news cycle and the man who dominates it drain all the joy from our lives. We need to pay attention. We need to fight the fight. But we need to spend as much time as we can over the next four years with friends and lovers doing the things that bring us joy.

Anyone who tells you that making time for joy is a distraction or a betrayal has no idea what they're talking about. watching clips of the protests against Bryant. It's remarkable how much fun the gays and lesbians at those protests in the 1970s that I saw on TV when I was 11. It's remarkable how much fun they were having at those protests.

Anyone who tells you that making time for joy is a distraction or a betrayal has no idea what they're talking about. watching clips of the protests against Bryant. It's remarkable how much fun the gays and lesbians at those protests in the 1970s that I saw on TV when I was 11. It's remarkable how much fun they were having at those protests.