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On the day of the anti-Anita Bryant rally, the Macon Telegraph featured an article with the title
“Pastors Wouldn't Welcome Unrepenting Gays.” Nine pastors, all from the Middle Georgia area,
were interviewed about their congregations and their personal opinions on homosexuality. Six of
the nine pastors agreed that a homosexual person seeking acceptance into their churches must
express some desire to change. The other three pastors stated that it was left up to their
congregation to decide.11
Macon Coalition for Human Rights

When the Telegraph conducted multiple interviews leading up to the rally, the leader of
the Macon Coalition for Human Rights was identified only as a woman who did not want to
share her name in the newspaper. 12 Fambro agreed to serve as a spokesperson for the coalition
and allowed his name to be published despite considerable risk.13 There were many concerns
within the group about the direction of the coalition. The Macon Coalition for Human Rights
stressed that the protest would be a “human rights” protest and not specifically a gay march.14
The co-founder of the group, Rabbi Edward Cohn, had concerns in the pre-planning stages and
moved during a November 8, 1978 meeting to put the coalition on record as not officially
supporting any protest, but asserting the rights of individuals to picket. That motion was defeated
by Fambro and several other members, who stressed that the group must stand together against
homophobia. Throughout the meeting, Cohn expressed doubts about any sort of protest, claiming
it could “create a carnival-like atmosphere that could end in tragedy.”15 Not knowing how many
people would attend the rally, Fambro contacted Atlanta-based progressive groups and persuaded

11 Jane Oppy, "Pastors Wouldn't Welcome Unrepenting Gays,"Telegraph (Macon), December 9, 1978, 6B.
12 Kevin P. Morison, "Homosexual Group Planning Protest,"Telegraph (Macon), November 15, 1978, 1B..
13 Every state adopted some form of a sodomy law by 1960, which made homosexual acts illegal. Even the American Psychiatric
Association also believed that homosexuality was a mental disease.
14 Sidney Hill, "Bryant Not Only Issue In Quiet Gay Protest,"Telegraph (Macon), December 10, 1978,1A.
15 Kevin P. Morison, "Gay Activists Planning Protest," Telegraph (Macon), November 9, 1978,1B.

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