1978 California Proposition 6

California Proposition 6
November 7, 1978
Restricts gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools.
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Yes 2,823,293 41.57%
No 3,969,120 58.43%
Valid votes 6,792,413 95.24%
Invalid or blank votes 339,797 4.76%
Total votes 7,132,210 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 70.41%
County results
Yes:      50–60%      60–70%
No:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

California Proposition 6, informally known as the Briggs Initiative, was an unsuccessful ballot initiative put to a referendum on the California state ballot in the November 7, 1978 election. It was sponsored by John Briggs, a conservative state legislator from Orange County. The failed initiative sought to ban gay men and lesbians from working in California's public schools.

Openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk and Sally Miller Gearhart, as well as many other gay and lesbian activists of the time, were instrumental in fighting the measure. Opposition to the proposition from a variety of public figures, including then-former California Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter, helped to swing public opinion against it.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.