summary reported: Since homosexuals began to organize for political action six years ago, they have achieved a substantial number of victories. But even as homosexuals congratulate themselves on [their] gains, many other Americans have become alarmed, especially parents. Some are viscerally hostile. Others, more tolerant, want to be fair and avoid injustice and yet cannot approve behavior that they believe harmful to the very fabric of society. They are especially concerned by the new contention that homosexuality is in every way as desirable as heterosexuality. The growing visibility of gays and lesbians--described as "shocking," "startling," or "jolting"--provided the largest source (approximately half) of the articles about gays and lesbians in the 1970's. Of these, over half focus on opposition to the movement, primarily from fundamentalist Christians, with the largest share of these articles (7 of 17) focused on Anita Bryant's campaign to overturn a gay and lesbian rights statute in Dade County, Florida. Bryant's opposition inspired Newsweek to mn its first cover story on homosexuality in June 16, 1977, featuring Bryant in the foreground, with her brow furrowed, against a background of gays and lesbians marching in a parade, carrying a poster that read, "Gay is Proud." Across a top corner, the cover declared: "Battle Over Gay Rights." Across the bottom: "Anita Bryant vs. The Homosexuals." "Anita Bryant's Crusade" against homosexuals, as another Newsweek headline put it, poised on one side a celebrity--a Miss America runner-up, a singer, the voice of Tropicana orange juice commercials--and, on the other, a new, little understood and widely-despised minority group. The central issue, as described in all seven articles, was Bryant's charge that gays and lesbians were a danger to children (as, indeed, the name of her organization, "Save Our Children, Inc.," implied). H...
