Queer History 128: The Day The Initiative Died

Also The Day California Told Bigots to Go Fuck Themselves

How Teachers, Ronald Reagan, and Harvey Milk Crushed the Most Dangerous Anti-Gay Ballot Measure in American History

Picture this: It's 1978, and a conservative state legislator from Orange County wants to ban every gay and lesbian teacher in California. Not just fire the ones who are out—he wants to hunt down anyone who might be gay, anyone who supports gay rights, anyone who so much as suggests that maybe gay people deserve basic human dignity. This wasn't just about removing teachers. This was about erasing an entire community from public life.

John Briggs thought he had the perfect plan. Fresh off Anita Bryant's homophobic "Save Our Children" crusade in Florida, he figured California would be easy pickings. He was dead fucking wrong. On November 7, 1978, California voters didn't just reject Proposition 6—they obliterated it. The Briggs Initiative went down by more than a million votes, losing even in Briggs's own conservative Orange County stronghold.