Gays Against Briggs | 2. Defend Our Children

Slow Burn

Slate Podcasts

News, Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Politics

4.6 • 25.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1977, John Briggs was a small-time state senator with big dreams. But Briggs’ plan to ban gay and lesbian teachers from California schools changed the arc of his life and career. Suddenly, he was a right-wing hero, and a villain of the gay rights movement. And his message seemed to be catching on all over the country. Season 9 of Slow Burn was written and produced by Christina Cauterucci. Slow Burn is produced by Kelly Jones, Joel Meyer, and Sophie Summergrad. Josh Levin is the editorial director of Slow Burn. Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Susan Matthews is Slate’s executive editor. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. We had engineering help from Patrick Fort and Madeline Ducharme. Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Ivylise Simones, based on an image of Silvana Nova and a poster designed by Larry Hermsen and the Too Much Graphics Collective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's opinion-pollusa season here at Slate. I'm Dalylethwick, the host of Amicus, Slate's
0:06.4	podcast about the courts and the law and the Supreme Court. As this Supreme Court term hurdles
0:12.2	towards its close, the justices are handing down decisions
0:15.4	that will shape our politics and our lives for years and decades to come.
0:20.1	My team and I are putting out analysis of the biggest cases just as quickly as we can bound to our
0:26.8	closets and fire up our laptops to speak to you.
0:30.3	From presidential immunity to social media content regulation to domestic abusers gun rights,
0:35.7	we will be here unpacking the news for you.
0:38.8	Listen to Amicus, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:48.0	Before we get started, a heads up. This episode contains sexual content, strong language, and a gayler. It may not be appropriate for some
0:54.4	listeners. Why don't you start by telling me your name and what you do now?
1:00.1	My name is Ron Briggs and I'm looking for work.
1:06.5	Political consulting is what I do actually,
1:09.2	which is always looking for work.
1:12.1	And on your dad's campaign, what did you do?
1:15.8	Yeah, I was the gopher.
1:19.4	Ron's dad was John Briggs, the California State Senator who was pushing a plan to ban gay teachers.
1:25.5	It is not a question of civil rights or human rights, but it is one of parents' rights and simply one of morality.
1:35.0	In 1977, Briggs was hoping to harness the anti-gay backlash that Anita Bryant had instigated
1:40.9	in Florida, and it seemed to be working.
1:44.0	Even though Briggs's gay teacher ban was still just an unofficial proposal and hadn't been placed on the ballot
1:50.0	he quickly became a leader of the national movement to restrict gay life.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.