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Bryant's legions have been equally active. The Save Our Children coalition attracted some 10,000 people to the Miami Beach Convention Hall last month for a "God and Decency Rally." More than $140,000 has been raised in contributions, some from as far away as Southern California and Texas. Florida Governor Reubin Askew is supporting the movement. Orthodox Jews and the Catholic hierarchy, concerned about their private schools, have come out firmly against the ordinance. The Rev. F. William Chapman, pastor of Bryant's church, insists he would burn down his parochial school "rather than permit a homosexual to teach here."
In the heat of the campaign, emotions have got out of hand. A gay worker was hospitalized after a beating; others have received crank calls. Urges a bumper sticker: KILL A QUEER FOR CHRIST. After receiving many telephone threats, Jack Campbell, a gay-rights leader, has installed guards around his house. Bryant has also hired security men because of phone warnings.
National Issue. Meantime, Bryant has stepped up her rhetoric, telling one interviewer that God does not like homosexuality because "the male homosexual eats another man's sperm. Sperm is the most concentrated form of blood. The homosexual is eating life." During a debate with Gay Rights Activist Bob Kunst, she startled the audience by breaking into a stirring rendition of Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Many Miami homosexuals think that they will be the ultimate winners this week, even if they lose what is expected to be a close vote. Their reasoning: Bryant's spirited attack has encouraged homosexuals all over the country to come out of their closets. Already, gay groups from Boston to San Francisco are organizing as never before. Says Kunst: "We have created a national issue, and we intend to stay with it."
So does Anita Bryant. She has announced plans to go national with Save Our Children. Cities across the country are starting to struggle with the gay-rights problem, and only Massachusetts is in the process of approving a bill forbidding public agencies to discriminate against homosexuals in hiring employees. A federal bill protecting gays against bias, introduced by Congressman Ed Koch, has so far collected 38 cosponsors. Whatever happens in Miami this week, the fight for—and against—gay rights is just beginning.