1978
For the second year in a row, the gay and lesbian community was united against a clear threat, this time from a little closer to home. California State Senator John Briggs sponsored the Proposition 6 initiative that would prohibit gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools and would further forbid teachers from teaching any curriculum that portrayed homosexuality in a positive light. However, although the community found itself united for a common cause, it didn’t prevent them from once again getting mired down in a fight over the participation of the Socialist Worker’s Party.
Prop 6
The proposed law was clearly inspired by Anita Bryant’s success in Florida the previous year. Prop 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative, initially enjoyed broad support among Californians with early polls indicating that supporters outnumbered opponents by a 2 to 1 margin. Several prominent politicians encouraged support for the proposition, including former Los Angeles Police Chief Ed Davis who said “There is no question that homosexuals pose a threat to our children.”
Save Our Teachers/Gay Pride
Opposition groups formed statewide to oppose the passage of the initiative. In San Diego, the “Save Our Teachers” campaign rallied the gay and lesbian community and its straight allies. The Save Our Teachers group also took on the task of planning and organizing the San Diego Gay Pride event, which they saw as an opportunity to rally the community against the Briggs Initiative. The theme was “No More Lies, Never Again.”
The march followed the same route as the previous year, leaving Hobo Park and proceeding east on Broadway, and then north on Fifth to Juniper, and then into Balboa Park, where the rally was held. Speakers rallied the community to vote “No on 6” and to encourage others to do the same.
The “No on 6” campaign was ultimately successful and voters rejected the initiative. Public opinion on the issued reversed and the Briggs Initiative was defeated by a landslide.
Socialist Worker’s Party (part deux)
However, although the community was again united for a common cause against Prop 6, it wasn’t enough to keep the infighting over the involvement of the Socialist Worker’s Party from rearing its head once again. A schism between the Save Our Teachers committee and people who had been involved in the planning of previous Prides developed over the SWP’s participation. Those opposed to the participation of the SWP went so far as to circulate flyers in clubs and bars and on the streets announcing that Pride had been cancelled.
This resulted in the Pride committee being placed in the position of having to get the word out to the community that Pride was not in fact cancelled. However, they were hampered by the fact that many bars and clubs sided with the opposition and refused to let the committee distribute flyers inside. This led to the Pride committee having to picket the bars to notify people that Pride was in fact going to continue as planned.
In the end, Pride took place as planned and the march and rally were a success, with numbers exceeding those of the previous year. The event would have likely been even larger if not for the dissension within the community. Fortunately, the Socialist Worker’s Party began to fade away by the late ‘70s and it became a non-issue in the future.