I remember watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite and seeing the Sen. McCarthy at the hearings House Un-American Activities Committee… Are you now or have you ever been a homosexual?
From the NSA website...
When people think of the civil service of the late 1940s and early 1950s, thoughts often go to the efforts of Senator Joseph P. McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to uncover communists and subversives in the Federal Government. While it is true that there were communist spies in the Federal Government, the simultaneously running, but distinct, efforts by McCarthy and the HUAC were primarily motivated by a desire for attention-grabbing headlines and political wins. Known as the Red Scare, this episode was intertwined with what later became known as the “Lavender Scare.” The Lavender Scare was defined by the intense anxiety of elected officials and the public that there were homosexuals employed in the civil service. Some believed homosexuals might be easily recruited by foreign intelligence services and communists or be easily blackmailed. Others believed they were simply unsuitable for government employment and a threat to traditional American values.
During that time many states passed constitutional amendments, which are still on the books, banning gays and lesbians from government jobs. And now history is repeating itself.
California tried to ban gay teachers in 1978. Educators and activists who fought back fear history may be repeating itself.
Insider
By Erin Snodgrass
December 24, 2022
Larry Allegre always knew he wanted to be an educator. It was a simple enough goal to achieve, he figured — that is, if he kept secret an integral part of his identity: He was gay.But amid the increasingly-hostile national attitude toward gay rights in the late 1970s, an ominous wrench was thrown into Allegre's carefully-laid professional plans.
State Sen. John Briggs, a conservative California lawmaker from Allegre's native Orange County, introduced a ballot initiative in 1977 to be put to a referendum in the upcoming state election that would bar gay men and lesbian women from working in California's public schools.
"I wanted to be a teacher, to go into education," Allegre told Insider. "But I certainly wasn't going to do that if it was going to be illegal for me."
[…]
The Briggs Initiative was the first effort to restrict gay rights through a statewide ballot measure, but it would not be the last. And the bigoted aim at the heart of the initiative would continue to rear its ugly head time and time again in the succeeding years — most recently with the introduction of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation that sparked national outcry earlier this year.
[...]
Inspired by emerging anti-gay activist Anita Bryant's overwhelming success in repealing a Florida ordinance that would have prevented discrimination based on sexual orientation, Briggs sponsored his own similarly-minded initiative, seemingly hoping it might be his star-maker.
It was Republicans back then pushing the anti-LGBTQ laws and they are doing it again!
And this lead the way for Harvey Milk’s famous “Come, come out” speech.
"The LGBT community is not monolithic, but when it comes to attacks like this, they tend to come together," Ammiano said.
The fight against Briggs coalesced in San Francisco, a hotbed of political activism and social justice where professional activists, politicians, and educators came together to form what would become the "No On 6" campaign.
[…]
They were vindicated, Ammiano said. But the whole affair had left a lingering fear throughout the community.
"If it could happen here in California, even being put on a ballot, then this fight is not over," he said. "This struggle is not over."
And that leads us to today when it is all being repeated!
Florida lawmakers revived old tactics in a similar ploy this year
Even after Briggs' defeat, both Ammiano and Allegre would go on to face instances of homophobia throughout their decades-long educational careers. But it wasn't until 2022, when Florida lawmakers introduced contentious legislation that banned public school instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school classrooms, that they witnessed such a direct parallel to their own battle against Briggs.
"It is frustrating and upsetting and gets you angry when you see all this resurfacing," Ammiano said. "But it's also a good heads up. You can't really be comfortable on these issues of social justice and equality."
The Republicans are doing it again and for the same reason… votes! And Power! So they can gerrymander voting districts, and so they can pack the courts with judges who put the Bible (As they interpret it.) before the Constitution.
We did it once and we can stop them again in the voting booth but we need allies. We must build coalitions to stop the Republican juggernaut.
I went to school in Orange Country in the early 1970's. One of my best teachers was gay though I did not know it at the time. I had him for Advanced World History during my 10th grade year in 1971. I asked him to give me extra credit reading, and he recommended a few books, and one was Last of the Wine.
ReplyDeleteThat is where I first learned of homosexuality. I wasn't overly shocked thinking it was more about the culture. The book was interesting, and I learned a lot and didn't think much about it other than it helped me with the paper I had to write on the 3 major philosophers of that time. Hearing about evolution was more of a shock to me in 9th grade. I had him again in my senior year for sociology and psychology. He wrote a recommendation to UCI for me. It was a great teacher!