Local churches chartered buses full of congregants bearing signs reading things like “GOD SAYS NO, WHO ARE YOU TO SAY DIFFERENT?” and “PROTECT OUR CHILDREN, DON’T LEGISLATE IMMORALITY FOR DADE COUNTY.” Among their number was a surprise witness. Anita Bryant had been Miss Oklahoma 1959, and a runner-up for Miss America. She recorded a string of hit pop songs and became a regular at USO shows and Bob Hope’s annual Christmas specials from Vietnam. In 1968 she belted out the National Anthem at the Republicans’ convention in Miami and her trademark rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at
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