I'm also reminded of the "Briggs Initiative" -- a notorious anti-gay proposal in 1978 that would have banned homosexual teachers from working in California public schools (i.e., kindergarten through 12th grade).

True, it was sponsored by a Republican politician (named Briggs, obviously!), but the proposed law went crashing down in flames at the ballot -- after another Republican politician (named Ronald Reagan) bluntly denounced the initiative in a newspaper editorial.

(Many California gays were so pleasantly shocked by Reagan's public support for them, in opposition to religious conservatives from his own party, that it led directly to the founding of the "Log Cabin Republicans", a nationwide group that attempted to "build bridges" between the GOPers and the LGBTers. Arianna's ex-husband Michael Huffington is, by the way, a member...)