Anita Bryant

Anita Jane Bryant born March 25 1940 is an American singer and political activist known for antigay activism She had three Top 20 hits in the United States in the early 1960s She was the 1958 Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner and a brand ambassador from 1969 to 1980 for the Florida Citrus Commission In the 1970s Bryant became known as an outspoken opponent of gay rights in the US In 1977 she ran the Save Our Children campaign to repeal a local ordinance in MiamiDade County Florida that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation Her involvement with the campaign was condemned by gay rights activists They were assisted by many other prominent figures in music film and television and retaliated by boycotting the orange juice that she promoted Though the campaign ended successfully with a 69 majority vote to repeal the ordinance on June 7 1977 Dade County restored the ordinance in 1998 it permanently damaged her public image and her contract with the Florida Citrus Commission was terminated three years later This as well as her later divorce from Bob Green damaged her financially Bryant never regained her former prominence and filed for bankruptcy twice She lives in her home state of Oklahoma runs the Oklahoma Citybased Anita Bryant Ministries International and works with a host of charities and nonprofits