About Anita Bryant

Anita Jane Bryant (born March 25, 1940) is an American singer and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5. She later became widely known for her strong views against homosexuality and for her prominent campaigning in 1977 to repeal a local ordinance in Dade County, Florida, that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition to the Florida campaign, she made public appearances in several other states in order to argue for the repeal of local anti-discrimination ordinances. As a result of her activism, she became a nationally known figure, sparking boycotts of products she advertised for. By the early 1980s she had receded from public view, and later returned to the music industry, but with little success. Bryant is a member of a conservative church congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

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