KTLA News: "Gay rights activist reacts to repeal of anti-discrimination ordinance in Florida" (1977)

[Silence]. [Troy Perry] Well, we made up our minds. It's not going to  happen here. Not the uh...it's going to make us work harder. There's going to be some slow up I'm sure  with some politicians but we're still going to get the bills passed that we need passed in Los Angeles. [Reporter Stan Chambers] Are you planning any future efforts to stop this? [Perry] Yes, we are. We are, of course, meeting with  gay people this coming Monday night. We're having a uhm... a demonstration of solidarity at Hollywood High School and then marching down Hollywood Boulevard and down Sunset. Uh...we have a meeting planned to where  gay organizations all in the city are meeting to say we better start mapping out our strategy now. In case, by some far-fetched feeling, she should show up in California trying to drive a... destroy the laws that have been passed here already. [Silence]. [Camera crew] We're rolling. [Reporter Chambers] What is your reaction to the Dade County vote? [Perry] Well, I'm certainly disappointed. I spent a week in Dade County. Oh and the vote really  didn't surprise me after I went down and saw the tenure of the campaign and especially this  whole issue of child molestation that was thrown up by the "Save Our Children"  forces over and over again. [Reporter Chambers] Were you surprised the large percentage of voters voting against the ordinance? [Perry] Very honestly? Yes. I didn't think it would be as bad but again it didn't surprise me. A lot of people if...if an election had of been held in Selma, Alabama during the height of the Black demonstrations you'd have  probably gotten the same sort of results and of course our movement is still young and there  are a lot of people who are still frightened. [Camera crew] Ask that question again, would you Stan? [Chambers] Alright. [Camera crew] I had a problem. [Reporter Chambers] Alright. Were you surprised at the  large percentage of voters against the ordinance? [Perry] Uhm...yes. I knew that we would lose or I felt after going down there that we would but I was surprised at the percentage  but I shouldn't have been. If the same thing would have happened in Selma, Alabama  during the height of the Black demonstrations, I'm sure it would have been the same thing. [Reporter Chambers] How is this going to affect the LA community? ...states that have removed the laws? [Perry] Yes, I do, only because she last  night has stated now that she's going to those eighteen states and tried to repeal the laws that have been passed. We will be there working too and we will be holding a national meeting probably the last weekend in July in Denver, Colorado to talk about this whole thing with gay people from all over America. [Reporter Chambers] Do you think she might get uh...  large public support for her move? [Perry] I don't think so. She will in some areas like the Bible Belt but once you move out of those areas...no, she's not going to  get a lot of wide public support for her move. [Reporter Chambers] What are the lasting repercussions of this selection yesterday? [Perry] Well the...the lasting repercussions are that it lets me know that we haven't done the  job we think we've done in educating a lot of Americans that we're not child molesters as she  has tried to use and to point out in her campaign. [Room noise]. [Silence].