June 7th, 2012
TODAY’S AGENDA:
John Corvino and Maggie Gallagher Discuss Same-Sex Marriage: Online. Wayne State University philosophy professor and gay rights advocate John Corvino has co-written a book with National Organization for Marriage’s Maggie Gallagher titled, Debating Same-Sex Marriage. It’s a kind of a point/counterpoint of four alternating chapters between Corvino and Gallagher, making it the only book in the entire universe to earn recommendations from those two arch-nemeses, Dan Savage and Rick Santorum. Santorum calls Gallagher “relentlessly reasonable” while Savage says that Corvino “deserves a Gay Medal of Honor for the heroic work he has done in this book.” You can get a glimpse of that heroism this evening as Corvino and Gallagher meet for an online discussion at the Institute for American Values with IAV president David Blankenhorn moderating. The event begins tonight at 6:00 p.m. E.D.T. and will be live-streamed here.
Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Albany, NY; Anchorage, AK; Athens, Greece; Birmingham, AL; Blackpool, UK; Bologna, Italy; Boston, MA; Bromsgrove, UK; Brooklyn, NY; Cheyenne, WY; Des Moines, IA; Edmunton, AB; El Paso, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Kalamazoo, MI; Key West, FL; Huntington, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Olympia, WA; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Prince Albert, SA; San Antonio, TX; São Paulo, Brazil; Saskatoon, SA; Split, Croatia; Spokane, WA; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Washington, DC.
Other Events This Weekend: Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Hartford, CT; Razzle Dazzle Dallas, Dallas, TX; Sierra Stampede Gay Rodeo, Rio Linda, CA; and Tel Aviv LGBT International Film Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
Miami Voters Rescind Gay Rights Ordinance: 1977. The Dade County Commission approved an ordinance in January of 1977 that would outlaw discrimination against gay people in employment, housing and public services. Miami joined about 40 other communities around the nation had similar anti-discrimination laws in effect.
Reaction from local Christian conservatives was swift. Former beauty queen and Florida Orage Juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant learned about the ordinance when it was denounced from the pulpit at Northwest Baptist Church. She sprang into action, creating a group called “Save Our Children” to overturn the ordinance at the ballot box. Fearmongering about “access to children” would be the group’s main focus. “When the law requires you to let an admitted homosexual teach your children and serve as a role model for them, it’s time to stop being so tolerant,” Bryant said. Her mean-spiritedness reportedly cost her a planned syndicated television series when producers backed away from the controversial singer. This gave her a chance to reveal her persecution complex. Declaring that “the blacklisting of Anita Bryant has begun,” she claimed that in losing that job, “it destroys the dream that I have had since I was a child.” Gay rights leader and local businessman Bob Kunst relished the irony. “She wants to cause gays to lose their jobs and she complains because she has lost a job. The lady is a hypocrite.”
As acrimonious as the campaign was, the final vote wasn’t even close. When the day of the special election came around, the final tally was 202,319 to just 89,562. Dade County voted overwhelmingly to jump onto Anita Bryant’s bandwagon. Bryant responded, “The laws of God and the cultural values of man have been vindicated,” and announced that she would take her campaign to other cities across America.
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And feel free to consider this your open thread for the day. What’s happening in your world?
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Stefan
June 7th, 2012
It’s amazing how much has changed in just 35 years!
cowboy
June 7th, 2012
Stefan, I’m not so sure. We are still categorized as a threat to children by lots of people. I have friends who are school teachers and they cannot be open about who they are and in spite of what happened with Wendy Weaver there is still a very strong emphasis on muzzling any discussion about homosexuals. (read about the books the librarians in David school distrct need to remove from the shelves ).
Susan
June 7th, 2012
Yes, amazing also how much has stayed the same, even worse, for the gay children of the opposition living closeted and poisoned by the “dialogue”. I remember.
Stephen
June 7th, 2012
Appalling that the OUP should be publishing M Gallagher. She belongs at Regnery.
Marcus
June 7th, 2012
Jim, could you guys make a tag for these Daily Agendas?
Smith
June 7th, 2012
It’s Rick Santorum, not Rich. Quality blog.
Timothy Kincaid
June 7th, 2012
Smith, thank you. We have corrected the typo. We strive to present the highest quality of thought and perspective — typing, not so much.
customartist
June 7th, 2012
I will dance on the day that Anita Bryant dies!
jerry
June 7th, 2012
Ten times a year, Freedom From Religion Foundation publishes a newsletter. Each issue has a feature called the black collar crime blotter. Many of the crimes listed are for sexual abuse by clergy and religious workers. These are people who have been arrested and indicted, convicted and sentenced. Non that I have seen in the two years I have been getting the newsletter has ever been listed specifically as gay. I think we need to do a much better job of defending ourselves from the likes of Bryant and Archbigot Dolan of New York.
Hue-Man
June 8th, 2012
Saskatoon, SK not SA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_subnational_postal_abbreviations
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