Ruth Shack, 94, died after a brief respiratory illness. In 1977, Shack was a Dade County commissioner who sponsored one of the first LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances in the country, officially known in Miami-Dade as the Human Rights Ordinance.
The ordinance passed and was enacted, but was repealed after a relentless, homophobic campaign by Anita Bryant. While Bryant was successful in getting the measure rescinded, her hate-filled rhetoric encouraged LGBTQ+ organizing to begin across the country. In Dallas, Dallas Gay Alliance formed in response to the hatred she was spreading.
Boycotts began around the country and Bryant lost her position as spokeswoman for the Florida orange juice industry.
When Shack was elected, it was with open support of gay-rights activists, according to her obituary in the New York Times. Before sponsoring the ordinance, Bryant and Shack were friends who socialized with each other.
Shack, who was Jewish, said she simply saw LGBTQ+ rights as “a human rights issue.” Although the ordinance was repealed, Shack was re-elected and remained in office until 1986. And Bryant’s granddaughter came out as lesbian in 2021. Bryant died in 2024.
— David Taffet