He is perhaps best known for sponsoring Proposition 6 in 1978, also known as the Briggs Initiative,[2] a failed measure which attempted to remove all gay or lesbian school employees or their supporters from their jobs.

[citation needed] He attended Fullerton Union High School and later served in the United States Air Force (1947–51) rising to the rank of Technical Sergeant, seeing action in the Korean Theater.

They married in December 1951 and moved to Fullerton, California where Briggs enrolled and graduated from Long Beach State College while working night shifts at Delco Remy Battery plant.

In June 1973, Briggs was selected by his alma mater California State University Long Beach as Outstanding Alumnus.

He began a successful 14-year career as a lobbyist representing heavy equipment contractors, drunk driver's treatment schools, minority owned business associations, among others.

In 1962 and 1964, Briggs ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for the California State Assembly in the 69th District (which includes parts of Orange County).

In 1976, Briggs ran for, and was elected a member of the California State Senate, representing the 35th District, comprising most of Orange County.

While in office, Briggs concentrated much of his attention on insurance reform, a wider application of the death penalty, nuclear energy development, and construction regulation.

"[8] Former California governor Ronald Reagan spoke out publicly against the Briggs Initiative, stating that "there are enough laws that protect children".

He stated that he continued to regard singer Anita Bryant (a vocal opponent of gay rights measures in the late 1970s) as "a hero," but he also said that, "with the passage of over thirty years, America has changed — including me."