''Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida'', also known as the Purple Pamphlet, was an anti-homosexual propaganda pamphlet published in January 1964 by the

Florida Legislative Investigation Committee The Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (commonly known as the Johns Committee) was established by the Florida Legislature in 1956, during the era of the Second Red Scare and the Lavender Scare. Like the more famous anti-Communist investi ...

(FLIC) of the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

led by State Senator Charley Johns. The booklet contained several pornographic images and a glossary of terminology used in the gay community. It was sold for 25 cents a copy, with a discount for bulk orders of 100 copies or more. The Johns Committee had for several years conducted a witch hunt for homosexuals in public schools, universities, and state government agencies, believing they were part of a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

strategy to "subvert the American way of life by controlling academic institutions and by corrupting the nation's moral fiber." By publishing its findings, the Committee hoped to persuade the Legislature to enact comprehensive anti-homosexual legislation, and to "shock Floridians into accepting its program."

he report He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
viewed homosexuals as the carriers of a degenerative disease that posed a greater menace to society than child molesters. .. The committee expected readers to select a theory conforming to its own views, and the pamphlet portrayed gays as sex fiends who spent every free moment searching for anonymous partners, recruiting youth, or transmitting venereal diseases.

Instead of becoming a best-seller as its authors hoped, the Purple Pamphlet provoked a backlash of criticism for its explicit photographs of gay men involved in sexual activities. A Dade County official threatened to bring legal action against the committee, and the

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

"warned the FLIC to cease distribution of this 'obscene and pornographic' material." A gay book club in Washington, D.C., sold reprints of the pamphlet for two dollars apiece. The backlash from the pamphlet controversy destroyed the committee, which disbanded on July 1, 1965, after the Legislature refused to continue to fund its activities. The records of the FLIC's investigations were sealed by the Legislature until 2028, although in the early 1990s, redacted copies were placed in the Florida state archives for public inspection.Florida Memory
State Archives and Library of Florida.

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External links

Full text
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. *
The Florida Legislative Investigation Committee
James T. Sears, 1997 (Internet Archives)

The Dark Legacy of the Johns Committee, 1999. Documentary film. * {{cite book, last = Braukman, first = Stacy, title = Communists and Perverts Under the Palms: The Johns Committee in Florida, 1956-1965, url = https://books.google.com/books?id=C0UgYAAACAAJ, year = 2012, publisher = University Press of Florida, isbn = 978-0-8130-3982-4 1964 in LGBT history 1964 non-fiction books LGBT history in Florida Pamphlets Propaganda in the United States Persecution of LGBT people in the United States 1964 in Florida

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