This Day In Gay Utah History July 20th

JULY 20

1845-In Paris, France a mob attacked a group of about fifty men arrested by police in a sweep of the Tuileries Gardens, a popular Gay cruising area.

1892 "The Crime of a Kid" James Warren, a depraved youth of nineteen summers, who was arrested at a late hour night before last by Officer Rhuben Learn on the charge of committing the crime of sodomy about three months ago near the Ogden river bridge upon the eight year old son of Joseph P Stone, was accorded a hearing before United States Commissioner Hulaniski yesterday. The evidence seemed to be strong against the defendant and he was held to await  the action of the grand jury in bonds of $3500 which he could not give. He was taken to the penitentiary last evening by Marshal St. John. Salt Lake Herald

• 1892 Ogden Standard Examiner Youthful Wretch Bound Over page 1 YOUTHFUL WRETCH BOUND OVER Doctors declare that James Warren is an imbecile. James Warren, the youth who committed the infamous crime of sodomy upon the person of little Howard Stone, was yesterday held to await the action of grand jury in bonds of $3,500. The arraignment took place before Commissioner Hulaniski at 2 o’clock and Warren seemed much ashamed to face the music. Only two witnesses, Joseph P Stone and Howard Stone had been examined before the guilty wretch broke down and admitted the charge. With streaming eyes he implored the judge to discharge him this time and promised never to commit such a wrong again. His is honor stated that he was not invested with the necessary power to cause a dismissal and bound the fellow follow over in the stated bonds.  Deputy St John took the prisoner to the penitentiary last night. There seems to be no doubt in the minds of the physicians who have examined the case that Warren is almost an imbecile and entirely irresponsible for his actions. 

Saloon in Corrine

1897 Utah Journal Exchange Gleanings page 5 Corinne has had quite exciting times this week in criminal matters for a small place, besides the assault on the twelve year old boy, the account of which appears on the front page, there has been a shoe thief arrested, a fight between a white man and an Indian, and an altercation between two citizens who were discussing whether there were ever any earthquakes here. One of the old residents maintained that there were some severe shocks felt here last year. They both got warm under the collar and before the rumpus was over they both went after their guns. Thursday night the young tramps that were arrested in Corinne the other day broke jail. They were not confined in cells so they broke up through the ceiling into the old shoe shop over the jail let themselves down into the jail yard and by means of a pole climbed oven over the nigh wall and away they went at last accounts they were still at large. These are the youthful villains who a few days ago at Corinne perpetrated that “Crime Against Nature” on that little run away lad from salt lake Brigham bugler

1900 Ogden Standard Examiner In Police Court page 5 the case of the state vs Thomas Scott charged with the attempted intimidation of witnesses in the McCormick sodomy case was set for ten o’clock this morning in Justice Breeden’s court but was continued until 4 o’clock this afternoon

• 1900 Ogden Standard Examiner page 5 THE TWO FOUND GUILTY McCormick and his two pals to be sentenced Monday, convicted of sodomy committed upon the person of three boys, are hard cases The case of sodomy against Mike McCormick, Geo. Wilson and James Powers on trial yesterday before Judge Rolapp and a jury in the second district court was closed last night and the jury brought in a verdict of guilty as charged.  The court set Monday morning at ten o’clock as time for sentence. JAMES’ VEST During the few moments when James, the man in for highway robbery, was in  the sheriff’s office, after being on the stand in the sodomy case, his vest was in the jail and  when he went after it, it could not be found. This morning the trio found it and turned it over to the officers but it was cut into shreds. HARD CASES All of the three are hard cases and they look as tough as they are made. They were again searched this morning and a pocket knife as sharp as a razor was found on McCormick’s person.  They had been permitted the use of a razor before the trial and this they refused to deliver up but on being notified that their food was cut off they came to their senses and turned it over.  There is likely to be trouble with them before the deal is ended by their getting to the penitentiary.
• 1900 Convicted of Sodomy- Mike McCormick Fred Wilson and George Powers charged with sodomy committed upon the persons of Robert Danley, Clarence Turner, and Frank Wilson were tried before a jury in the district court yesterday and found guilty. The trial consumed the entire day.  The defendants denied the charge and the case was submitted without argument. The jury was out but a few minutes. The men will be sentenced  Monday morning. Salt Lake Herald

1913- Case No. 3317 Third District Judicial Court-J.T. Morris was Charged with Associating

with Immoral Persons in 1913. Actually the original charge was Vagrancy in Salt Lake City from a complaint made by M.E. Earl on 20 July 1913. He was accused of being in the company of Thomas O’Conners and Lillie Devine of whom O’Conners had carnal knowledge and were known as immoral persons. Morris was accused of wandering about the streets without “lawful business”. He was convicted and fined $100 or 45 days in jail. However he appealed the sentence on August 16th and was released from jail.

FDR

1921- The U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee issued its "Report on Alleged Immoral Conditions and Practices at the Naval Training Station, Newport R.I.," accusing Franklin D Roosevelt of condoning the tactics of investigators looking into reports of immorality. The investigators were accused of engaging in sodomy in order to entrap homosexuals. They were also charged with using enlisted men as decoys to weed out homosexuals.

1981- Six years after defecting from Czechoslovakia Lesbian tennis player Martine Navratilova was granted US citizenship.

1983- The US House of Representatives voted 420-3 to officially censure Rep Gerry Studds, who had recently come out after allegations surfaced that he had an affair with a congressional page. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) proclaimed that they were repairing the damage Studds had caused the House.

Steve Oldroyd
1939-2007

1984- Julliard Graduate W. Steve Oldroyd, first known Utah Gay activist to recognize in a speech “all of Utah gay/lesbian/bisexual community.” Oldroyd was a prominent Hotel Utah Pianist, and winner of first national talent show at the Reno Gay Rodeo. He played Christmas Concerts on a Steinway for many years at ZCMI.

1986-Sunday- Restoration Church of Jesus Christ  began meeting at the Central City Community Center in Salt Lake City. In attendance were Leanne R. Anderson  and Carol L Dee, Bob McIntier, Mike Howard, Sy Felts, Morgan Smith, Ric Belnap, Russ Lane, Mark LaMarr, Fran and Ben Williams. Ben Williams  and Eddie Muldong were released as Bishop Agent since Tony Feliz stated that he received a revelation releasing all the Bishop Agents. The Wasatch Affirmation met tonight at Crossroads Urban Center.

1989  NEW LIFE FOR AIDS ADVOCACY IN UTAH By Robert Rice, Staff Writer

Ben Barr

Deseret News  Last July, the Utah AIDS Foundation found itself in the midst of a small-scale controversy over Salt Lake City's refusal to permit foundation affiliates to distribute condoms at a Pioneer Day fair.  The battle, complete with threats to sue the city on constitutional grounds over the right to distribute the condoms, was waged from a 5-foot-wide office by a handful of volunteers and an underpaid UAF director, Ben Barr. This year, on the eve of that same Pioneer Day Neighbor Fair, the UAF operates from spacious digs where an overworked Barr talks about the rapidly expanded foundation and his own changing perceptions of AIDS advocacy in Utah. "A year ago the approach that we were taking was a real controversial approach: "People in Utah are going to learn about AIDS whether they want to or not,' " Barr said. "What I've learned is that that may work in other states but it doesn't work in Utah," Barr said. Now, the foundation focuses

on bridge-building, working closely with other advocacy groups, TV stations and health officials from the state of Utah. "We've learned how to build partnerships," he said, pointing to a new relationship with the Utah Department of Health, with whom UAF was often at odds over issues such as AIDS reporting. The department, Barr's "old adversary," is helping UAF fund a two-year AIDS education program in cooperation with a local television station, called AIDS Lifeline. "That's an example of where we're working with the Department of Health instead of fighting with them," Barr said. Barr's consciousness has evolved just as everything else at the foundation has in the past year. UAF Offices last year were crammed into a long, narrow storefront on Main Street where a few volunteers manned phone lines. "Last year we had an office where I could touch both walls at the same time. I had no staff. I was not paid," he said, adding the office budget topped out at $25,000 collected from community donations. Now, Barr supervises from an east-side office building a paid staff of seven, 200 volunteers and administers a $250,000 budget. The UAF board of directors has expanded from three to 18, he reported. The new resources, fueled in part by a $711,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant awarded to five AIDS assistance-related agencies, has given new life to AIDS advocacy in Utah. "Without adequate funding, you can have all the great intentions in the world, but you've got to have that community support," he said. Increased funding has permitted the foundation to expand its AIDS hotline, which last year was only in service eight hours daily and solicited only 30 calls per month. Now, the service is available 12 hours daily and attracts 200 calls a month. The foundation also played a role in helping to open Shalom House, an eight-unit subsidized home for people with AIDS. On Pioneer Day, the Utah AIDS Foundation will return to Neighbor Fair without the controversial baggage it carried last year, setting up a booth and distributing not condoms but information about AIDS.  "We'll be sending the message to people in Utah that . . . we care about people, we care about our community, and we want other people to understand that and that they should give their support to this organization," he said.

1989 Thursday - Mike Pipkim spent most of the day with me in preparation for tonight’s meeting and he read to me my medicine cards from the Sacred Pathway book on Native American shamanism.  I have nine totem animals.  They were the Owl, so that I might not be deceived, the Badger so that I can be aggressive, the Ant so that I can learn patience be a community builder, the Weasel so that I can be wary, the Grouse so that I can understand the Sacred Spiral, the Horse for power, Frog for cleansing, Spider so that I can create, and Bear so that I can be introspective seeking the Kingdom of Heaven within.  The Bear came to me to be my Personal guide and main totem. Mike and I kept waiting for people to show up.  It began to thunder and lightning and it felt wonderful. It was magical that the elements were stirring.  About 9 p.m. Rocky O'Donavan came over to help officially form a Radical Faerie circle here in SLC.  John Merrill never showed which I suppose was the way it was meant to be as we later discovered.  My new apartment is at 19 A Street #42 and we went into the back bedroom which was unfurnished.  There we made a shrine altar where we burned incense and placed what we felt were important relics in the Faerie ring.  Rocky suggested that we shed our clothes and go sky clad as a symbol of shedding our every day cares, and thus lying on our stomachs, in a circle facing the candles we began the process of letting energy flow through us as a proposed to start to work to bring down patriarchy within and without.  We stated that our solemn purpose was to help bring back to the Utah a harmonic balanced between Mother Earth and Father sky. As we meditated in silence in Quaker fashion, I

invoked the Spirit of Light to purify my motives, and help me understand what I was doing. I asked for help in coming to terms with the gifts of my Feyness.  After the silence was broken Michael and I told Rocky about the medicine cards and how we felt strongly that having one's cards read and discovering one's totems should be the initiation into the Faerie Circle. Rocky readily agreed and he had his cards read by Michael.   Rocky's main totem was the Butterfly which was so appropriate for him since in Spanish Mariposa is a slang word for Fairy.  Michael had previously had his cards read and his main totem was the Hummingbird which stands for Joy. We also decided to invoke the Gay Spirit's Will to determine the focus of this circle rather than come up with our own purpose.  Thus we did a Butterfly Spread reading to determine a four year plan for the outcome and direction of our group's enterprise.  It was so totally different from what Rocky and I had envisioned and I am so grateful we asked for the Gay Spirit's direction.  Rocky and I originally thought of our new group as sort of an Urban guerrilla tag team,  spray painting pro Gay graffiti, putting up posters, and doing in your face outrageous antics. However the Butterfly Spread told us to seek another path. Our Egg Stage or first year totem was the Porcupine.  She was to teach us to remain innocent, reminding us to become playful like children, harmless, honoring the Spirit which allows everyone to win.  Our Larva Stage card or the second year totem was the Squirrel.  He would come to teach us how to be gatherers and be prepared for what was to come next.  Our Cocoon Stage card or the third year totem, which was to be our most important stage of the evolving process, was the Ant. The Ant was here to teach us how to be patient, to be active community minded folks, and to be content to see our dreams being accomplished a little at a time.  We were told to use our power of creation to build a strong community until

the illusion of Patriarchy melts away. Finally our Butterfly Stage card or the fourth year totem was the Deer. She would be here to teach us gentleness and how to always use that power to touch the hearts and minds of those wounded beings who are trying to keep us from our destiny.  We were amazed that the Gay spirit spoke to our hearts stating that the ultimate purpose of this Faerie circle was to find a sacred space where gentleness would heal all wounds and where the message of the Deer's lessons of unconditional love could be heard. What a powerful experience! We felt so full of magick, medicine, power, and enchantment when we closed our gathering.  Before leaving however each of us agreed to become a pillar.  The Gay Spirit chose Michael Pipkim to become the Pillar of the Wind .  I thought that was so true because Michael can be so flighty.  Rocky O'Donavan was the Pillar of the Earth and I was the Pillar of Fire.  We knew all along that the Gay Spirit had been present at the circle and was the Pillar of Water or life until a new Faerie would be drawn to the call. We agreed that the next gathering would be the August Full Moon on the 16th although we felt like we ought to be doing a Faerie Circle up at Camp Rogers since the 5th is close to either Midsummer or Lammas.  I'm not sure.  We agreed in principle that we would meet every full moon to do magick and ritual and every Solstice and Equinox for celebrations .Tonight we have taken on new Faerie Names to empower us and to recognize the change in us that Magick has worked through us tonight.  Michael has chosen the name Puck after the Shakespearean Sprite, Rocky is Kyle Sky Bear, and I'm Gayflower Feare Naught which means fear nothing and fear not. What a sweet magical night this twentieth anniversary of foot prints on the moon.  Instead of flying to the moon we have drawn the moon down to us. (Journal of Ben Williams)

• SACRED FAERIE BELIEFS The Sacred Faeries have adopted a few tenants or ideas that we seem to have in common in Wicca DO AS YE WILT AND HARM NONE* FAERIES respect all living creatures* FAERIES respect the Mother Earth, walking lightly upon her doing little to upset her intricate circle of life.* FAERIES respect the Power {Great Spirit} which creates the galaxies, DNA, and Billions of terrestrial life forms * FAERIES respect the law of Karma * FAERIES know that true MAGIK is LOVE *
• THE FIVE TENANTS OF THE SACRED FAERIES 1.  Equality of the Sexes is Acknowledged through timely rituals linked to the Sun and the Moon 2.  The Earth is our mother and we must take care of her 3.  We are incarnating essences in an endless cycle of birth death and rebirth 4.  Magick is used for life affirming purposes only and must be in harmony with the laws of nature and the psyche. 5.  Missionary tactics are taboo.  Faeries are attracted to the call of the Sufi {and the rustling of taffeta} by Gay Spirit speaking to Gay Spirit
• FAERIE LORE FAERIES hiss when they are happy * FAERIES are blue when they are very good * FAERIES are mostly vegetarians, making love in their gardens * FAERIES commune regularly with the Delvic World and with plants and animals

Doug Hansen

1993, Douglas Edward Hansen, age 32, died of complications due to AIDS. A native of Salt Lake City Utah. He is survived friend and partner, Mike Bolin; Doug worked with Pioneer Theater Co. for eight years in the wardrobe department as a dresser, wardrobe stock coordinator, and wardrobe supervisor. He was the Armorer for the Utah Shakespearean Festival for six seasons. He also had the opportunity to tour the U.S. for a year with John Houseman's "The Acting Company" as a wardrobe and wig supervisor. Doug loved his work and regretted having to give it up. He was gifted with his hands and enjoyed creating in many mediums. Doug was a member and Honored Brother of the Wasatch Leathermen Motorcycle Club.

1995 URIOSTE DENIES HE DUPED AND BILKED HIS `HUSBAND' By Hilary Groutage, Associated Press Writer  Deseret News-  A man who posed as a

Felix Urioste

woman during a 31/2-year marriage to an unsuspecting husband admits he claimed to be pregnant before the wedding. In court documents filed this week, Felix Urioste urged a judge to grant his former partner an annulment of the 1991 marriage in Wyoming. However, Urioste, 34, disputed the claim that he duped Bruce Jensen into marrying him or that he illegally ran up thousands of dollars in credit card debts in Jensen's name. Urioste is in the Davis County Jail awaiting trial on a second-degree felony communications fraud charge. Prosecutors allege he tricked Jensen into marrying him and later bilked him out of $40,000 to $60,000 in credit card charges. Jensen, 39, filed for an immediate annulment last month after learning from Bountiful police that the wife he knew as "Leasa Jensen" was actually a man. Prosecutors and police say they're convinced Jensen's ignorance was sincere. The couple even had the marriage "sealed" in the Salt Lake Temple of the LDS Church. Jensen's annulment complaint lists Urioste's name, six alleged aliases and "John-Jane Does 1-99" as defendants. He is seeking the dissolution on grounds that a same-sex marriage is legally void and asks that the 90-day waiting period be waived. Jensen says he was "fraudulently induced" to marry Urioste and that "the discovery" has caused him "severe duress." He said he agreed to marry Urioste to provide a father to the "child" Urioste claimed to be carrying. In his written response, Urioste denied that allegation, saying he didn't know if Jensen had married him because he thought he was pregnant. He did acknowledge he had told Jensen that the "pregnancy" was terminated several months after the marriage and that the "fetus" had been "unable to survive." But Urioste said he didn't illegally obtain credit in Jensen's name in excess of $40,000 and shouldn't be ordered to assume the debt or pay Jensen's legal fees. Urioste signed the court document as "Felix Urioste" and "L. Jensen." Jensen has declined to be interviewed since the case became public. No court dates have been scheduled in the annulment case. Urioste is scheduled to be arraigned on the fraud charge Tuesday in 2nd District Court.

1995 Thursday GAY CIVIL RIGHTS- GAY ACTIVIST MICHAEL AARON- GLUD COUNTY

Michael Aaron

CLARIFIES ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW Salt Lake County added language to its anti-discrimination law that places clear limits on insurance benefits rather than scrap a list of protected classes. The County Commission was set to drop protection based on "age, marital status, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, race or religion." The county wanted to follow state and federal anti-discrimination law. But neither state nor federal law considers marital status or sexual orientation protected classes. Commissioner Randy Horiuchi persuaded his colleagues to back off changes to the anti-discrimination provision for delivery of county services. The county's Gay and Lesbian Employees Association succeeded in getting the commission to preserve protected classes in the employment section. Instead, the commission added sentences to the anti-discrimination provisions that limit its liability for services and benefits. In the employment section, the new wording says that "nothing in this section is intended to require additional employee benefits, including benefits related to family, marital, co-habitant, or dependent status unless provided for by state or federal law or contract." "That reflects the original intent of the ordinance when it was passed," said County Commission Chair-man Brent Overson. It also won praise from the county's Gay and Lesbian Employees Association and the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats. "Your change in the ordinance reflects recognition of our diverse employees," said Carrie Cox, co-chairwoman of the employees association. Michael Aaron, of the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats, called the changes a "compromise." "We're pleased that the board has agreed to keep the protection of equal-employment rights for bisexual, gay and lesbian people in county government," Aaron said. But he said it is "discouraging" that same-sex partnerships aren't entitled to the same benefits as heterosexual couples. Overson lashed out at a representative from the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats organization for framing the proposed changes in the ordinance as being driven by the "radical right" - specifically the Eagle Forum. "The genesis of this has nothing to do with the Eagle Forum," Overson said. A representative of the Eagle Forum, Karen Clark, did appear at Wednesday's meeting and pleaded for the county to make its law consistent with state and federal law and the moral code of the majority of the community.   © 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co

 1999 KSL STORY, PART TWO  (what a waste of time, nothing new!)California Battle Over Same Sex Marriage July 20, 1999 The LDS Church is under attack in California for its involvement in a fight over same sex marriage. Because of that involvement, the church could face a challenge to its tax-exempt status. Is this a religious or political battle? News Specialist Nadine Wimmer just returned from San Francisco, California, where the sides have squared off. It's both political and religious. But in this case, the fight seems to center on one religious group, the LDS Church. San Francisco's gay and lesbian activists are ready to campaign against a California initiative that would recognize marriage only between a woman and man. Several churches openly support the measure including, Catholics, Baptists and Muslims in California. But criticism has been aimed almost exclusively on the LDS church. What drew the ire of some city leaders was a letter that went out to California ward houses, urging members to give their time and means to support the marriage initiative.Initiative organizer Rob Stutzman says churches have the right to have a voice. "This isn't like endorsing a candidate, this is weighing in on a public policy of moral gravity here in California," he says. But a San Francisco city leader disagrees.Supervisor Mark Leno has asked California's attorney general and the IRS to investigate whether the LDS church's efforts violate its tax-exempt status. "Whatever the IRS has established as the playing field, we all need to be on the same page," he says. Opponents say what sets the LDS Church apart from other religious groups is its past record of aggressive support in other states. The LDS Church donated more than $1-million to defeat same-sex marriage campaigns in Alaska and Hawaii. Mike Marshall, of "Californians for Fairness" says, "They're not a big part of the electorate, so that doesn't concern me, but the money does." But initiative supporters see action against the LDS Church as a thinly veiled threat. "Frankly, that's chilling. That an elected official of government would try to turn the power of investigative government on people of faith because they, in their own houses of worship, care to discuss an issue of moral relevance." Both sides believe the vote, scheduled during a presidential primary next March, will cost millions of dollars and spark heated debate. Activists say, "First of all, we're right, they're wrong, that helps to start out with. " A campaign firm says, "We'll be busy trying to match them dollar for dollar. We think that will be necessary." LDS Church leaders issued a statement saying the church is simply adding its voice to a broad-based coalition of many who feel strongly about preserving the traditional family. But opponents argue a repeat of its past involvement would defeat the purpose of a statewide initiative. "It's not a reflection of the will of the people of California, it's a reflection of the will of the Elders of the Mormon Church." Financial disclosure forms are due this month. Supporters say they'll show the LDS Church has donated no money to the initiative. The only effort thus far, has been the letter sent out by the Area Presidency, which was read in California ward houses.

1999 -- A California church member reported on a Mormon internet list on Monday, 21 June 1999, that the day before, Sunday the 20th, that at the beginning of Sunday School he and several ward members were invited by a counselor in the bishopric to visit during Sunday School with the bishop in his office. The Bishop talked with them about the fundraising campaign. The bishop told them that gay activists were prepared to spend 10 million dollars to defeat the initiative and that it needed to pass to protect the world that their children would live in. He mentioned gay activism in the San Francisco area as a problem. The bishop told them, the author of thee-mail post reported, that the fundraising effort was being done under the authority of the Area Presidency, and that the First Presidency was supportive. The bishopric would provide later the information as to whereto send the money, and told the group that the money would not be tax deductible. He also told them that there would be no pressure to donate, nor any ecclesiastical repercussions for not donating. The post further reported the specific dollar amount that was being assessed the Stake, as well as the specific amount that had been assigned to his ward, but, to protect his identity, I have declined to state those dollar figures. The bishop also told them that he could not say anything about this over the pulpit. The bishop stated that Salt Lake [presumably Church headquarters]wants to make sure this proposition passes since California sets patterns for the nation and if California supported same sex marriage, the rest of the country would follow. The bishop told the group in his office that this was the right thing to do since it was in accordance with the Proclamation on the Family.-- A woman reported in an e-mail post about a phone conversation with a friend on Monday, 21 June 1999, about what happened in her friend's ward. The bishop made a presentation on the initiative in Relief Society. After the bishop left, two women in the group made public comments expressing concern about the church interfering with their right to decide the issue and vote freely.  A third woman, a visitor in the ward, also described the private meetings the leaders were having with church members to request donations. At the close of the meeting, the Relief Society president defended the initiative as a moral cause, as well as the methods the church is using to support it financially.--  A priesthood quorum leader reported in a post dated 22 June 1999 that the request for financial contributions to support the passage of the initiative was on the agenda for "next Sunday's" meeting of the bishop and the other leaders of organizations for adults in his local ward.--  One person in an e-mail post on 22 June 1999 reported that his Stake President had discussed the letter of May 11th with Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who reportedly confirmed to the Stake President that the letter was to be read. Elder Maxwell said these things were done with his approval.-- On 24 June 1999, a priesthood leader in the greater Los Angeles Area reports that his ward had been given an assessment of $10,000.  He also reported that the Stake President told the bishops that the direction to become involved had come directly from Gordon B. Hinckley, the President of the Mormon Church.-- A poster on the internet writes on 27 June 1999 that the priesthood meeting he attended in San Diego County that day was used to explain that the church had "authorized members" to support the Knight initiative.-- In a post to an online group, one writer on 28 June 1999 described a conversation with a relative who is a bishop in California. He reported that the bishop said that the goal for funds to be raised from the stake required an average donation of $250.00 from each family, with the better off being asked to donate more, the less well off less.-- The Saturday, 3 July 1999 issue of the Los Angeles Times features an article by Larry Stammer, a LA Times religion writer. Titled "No End to Dissent", the article describes the battle over rights for gays and lesbians in several religious denominations. Stammer identifies as backers of the Knight initiative "the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormons) and the Assemblies of God and the Assemblies of God Northern California/Nevada District." Elder Douglas L. Callister [who is not otherwise identified in the article, but is an Area Authority Seventy of the Mormon Church] was interviewed.  Stammer writes, "Asked about the Mormon church's support of the March ballot measure against recognizing same-sex marriages, Elder Douglas L. Callister said that traditional marriage between a man and a woman is at stake. 'It's whether or not marriage means anything at all,' Callister said. 'This is very painful for us. We do get involved in these [issues] unless we think it is a moral issue, not a political issue. We are not anti-gay. WE have many fine friends that are in the gay community and do not wish to be their adversaries...but our concern is the thing we believe we are defending --traditional marriage. This is a moral issue and we wish we did not live in a society in which we felt it was being attacked.'"

2003 Sunday Subject: Logan High Gay/Straight Alliance posted by Kathy Worthington- Logan, Utah Logan High gay club OK'd Principal says federal law requires approval of students' proposal By John Wright LOGAN HERALD JOURNAL July 20, 2003 Two students apparently have won their battle to start a chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Logan High School. Logan High Principal Charles Nelson said Friday he plans to approve the students' recommendation to establish the club.Nelson initially denied the recommendation in April, saying the Gay-Straight Alliance's name and mission statement were at odds with district policy, which prohibits any club "whose program and activities would materially or substantially involve human sexuality."However, Nelson said school officials subsequently determined that the local policy is at odds with federal law. According to the federal Equal Access Act, if a school allows any club whose purpose is not directly related to the school's curriculum to meet on school grounds, it cannot deny other groups the same access based on the content of their proposed discussions. "We plan to propose the Gay-Straight Alliance in the first part of September," Nelson said. "We're going to go ahead and approve the club, as it's named."The students who want to start the club, Mark Sailor and Jessica Liddell, could not be reached immediately for comment.However, they said previously that their goal is to promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity in sexual orientation, and not to focus on sexuality. The club's mission statement says it's aimed at increasing "awareness of hardships faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people." There are thousands of Gay-Straight Alliance chapters at public and private high schools throughout the country.Both the students and Nelson have said that intolerance of gays is a problem among both students and faculty members at Logan High. Nelson said he's supported the concept of the club from the beginning."I don't think we've ever been opposed to it," he said. "We've known (intolerance is) a problem. We've done things in the past to try to take care of it." however, after Nelson's initial decision, Sailor and Liddell accused him of stonewalling their efforts, because he did not provide a formal written denial, which would have allowed them to appeal the matter to the District Student Services Review Committee. But Nelson said his sole concern was the apparent conflict with district policy. District Superintendent Richard Jensen said part of the delay can also be attributed to the fact that the club was proposed near the end of the school year. "I think the kids wanted us to move faster than we really had time to move," Jensen said. "I'm very satisfied that we've taken a thoughtful approach to it. We've tried to make sure we're doing the right thing for the kids." Shortly after Nelson's denial, the American Civil Liberties Union drafted him a letter, which was later posted on the group's Web site. In the letter, ACLU staff attorney Janelle P. Eurick encouraged Nelson to allow the club, but also hinted at the potential consequences of his decision. "By acknowledging students right to form GSA's, you are not only obeying the law and avoiding potential legal liability, you are supporting diversity in your schools and taking a strong step towards addressing anti-gay harrassment. ... We send you this letter to provide you with basic information you need to avoid expensive and redundant litigation over this issue," the letter said. Eurick said that according to the Equal Access Act, if a school district decides to ban a Gay-Straight Alliance, it must ban all non-curricular clubs, including organizations like the Black Students Union and Students Against Drunk Driving. The Salt Lake City School District chose that route after students at East High tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance in 1995. In an attempt to quash the students' efforts, the Salt Lake district in February 1996 banned all non-curricular clubs. The decision affected 46 other organizations. However, after the Salt Lake board continued to allow certain non-curricular clubs to meet, the ACLU and two other groups filed suit on behalf of the students in 1998.  "We've brought this case before and we're prepared to bring it again," Eureck said Thursday, before learning of Nelson's decision to approve the club. "From our standpoint, this is so clearcut." After two years of litigation, the Salt Lake school board agreed to change its policy and allow the Gay-Straight Alliance. The school board reportedly spent more than a quarter-million dollars in attorneys fees in the case. There is now a Gay-Straight Alliance at every public high school in Salt Lake, according to reports.  Nelson said local school officials never seriously considered banning all non-curricular clubs. "That was not an option," he said. "Back when it happened at East High, I felt that was the wrong decision." He said Eurick's letter was one of many unsolicited opinions he received from numerous groups, mostly in favor of the club. "It's been interesting the number of people." However, he said neither the East High debacle nor the public input influenced the decision. He said school officials weren't concerned with doing "the easy thing" or "the popular thing," but rather the right thing. "We knew that no matter what we do, somebody was going to be unhappy." Nelson said some school officials were concerned that having a Gay-Straight Alliance could cause straight students to become gay. "I'm not sure that fear is founded, but that's the underlying thing," he said. (The club) needs to happen. We're not really concerned with the morals. ... What we're concerned with is that everyone is treated with respect at school." After Nelson approves the Gay-Straight Alliance, it will be voted on by the Logan High faculty and student senates, which both must approve it by a majority. If one or both of the senates rejects the club, the students can appeal the decision to the District Student Services Review Committee. Like Nelson, the committee is obligated to comply with federal law. But Nelson said he hopes that will never become an issue. "I'm going to work as hard as I can to make sure (the senates) don't reject it," he said. "I think the case for the club is a good one. I think it will be approved."

Tracee Rosen

2003    Page: A1 The Salt Lake Tribune Photo Caption: Rabbi Tracee Rosen with Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino, Calif., is moving to Utah in August to become the senior rabbi at Kol Ami Congregation in Salt Lake City. Rosen teaches in the conservative tradition and feels it is a representation of who she is theologically. "Judaism is about affirming human dignity," Rosen says, seen below in a quiet moment.; Jump Page A8: Rabbi Tracee Rosen prides herself on building a welcoming sense with the parishioners at the synagogue and visiting newcomers at day schools. While she waits to assume her position in Salt Lake City, she will lead the synagogue in Encino, Calif., through the end of July. Rosen wears a four-cornered, hand-embroidered tallit, or prayer shawl, she decorated. The tallit's fringe, below, is a reminder to respect God's commandments.  New SLC rabbi ready for all Yearning for something greater, Rabbi Tracee Rosen comes to the Kol Ami Congregation in Salt Lake City with a sense of 'empathy for the stranger';   Rabbi balances tradition with change By Peggy Fletcher Stack   The Salt Lake Tribune ENCINO, Calif.  --  The first thing you notice about Rabbi Tracee Rosen is her cap. The round cloth bobby-pinned to the top of her head is black with gold-stitching, like her silky blouse and midcalf length skirt. The rabbi has a whole collection of these head coverings (known as kippot and usually worn by men), each designed to match a different outfit, the way some women coordinate shoes or purses. Next you will see how much Rosen loves her car. It's red and it's a convertible. But mostly, you will be drawn to the way she talks.   "Look," she says into the phone to a breathless mother-of-the-bride in crisis. "If a couple doesn't want to elope sometime during the process, you're not doing it right." Rosen often starts her sentences with words like "look" and "listen" as if the kippot and the car and the fact that the love of her life is a woman were not enough to get your attention.  Other than that, she is the epitome of a rabbi who can whip up a sermon about sorrow on a moment's notice and dishes out advice like Dear Abby. Questions are answered with stories, like the one about the man who said he would become Jewish if the rabbis could teach him the entire Torah while he stood on one leg. The first rabbi says, "Go away. You cannot be serious in your desire to be Jewish." But Rabbi Hillel, renowned for his wisdom, takes the challenge. "Here is the sum of Judaism: What is hateful to you, don't do to others and all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn."  That, she says, is what she plans to do when she arrives next month as the new rabbi at Salt Lake City's Congregation Kol Ami. Utah seems like the right step, she says, leaning over her schnitzel and Israeli salad at Sassi, a kosher eatery near the Ventura Highway. It feels like the same kind of unexpected destiny that led her to drop a career in banking and go to rabbinical school in 1996.  "Look," Rosen says. "I was born and raised in Denver, which has a similar climate and geography to Utah. I loved the mountains." You might say she's always been a bit of a nonconformist.  Though her parents were not strictly observant Jews, she chose to attend an Orthodox Jewish Day School from  fourth to eighth grade. There she became proficient in the alphabet and grammar of Hebrew and conversant with Bible stories and Jewish culture. When the classes were divided by sex in seventh grade, Rosen was incensed that the boys got to study Jewish scriptures and laws, while the girls were relegated to home economics.  "I didn't understand why there was any Jewish learning that was denied to women," Rosen recalls. "I definitely had a budding feminist sensibility."    So she decided to have a bat mitzvah, a coming-of-age ritual for Jewish girls that parallels the boys' more common bar mitzvah. She was the first girl from her school to do it. At a public high school in Englewood, Rosen was involved in B'nai Brith Girls but also was drawn to journalism and computers. ("I was one of the first generation computer geeks," she says, laughing.) After graduating from high school in 1978, she spent a year in Israel on a kibbutz, studying Jewish history and culture. She was there when Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords and grew to love the nation. When she returned, she enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis, where about a third of the students are Jewish. She had a ready-made major in Jewish studies, so she added accounting and economics courses. Within five years, she also had a master's degree in business.  With her technology background and workaholic temperament, Rosen quickly climbed the corporate ladder at Bank One in Columbus, Ohio. Soon her social life mostly revolved around work.  "There was a great loneliness," she says. "I longed to belong to something greater." Then, she says, came a gentle nudge from God. A co-worker was taking a class in comparative religions and asked Rosen, the resident Jew, for help researching the topic of women rabbis. That coincided with her return to more active involvement at the synagogue, which was looking for an assistant to help manage its membership growth.  As she watched the parade of applicants, all young, male students, she found herself thinking, "I could read the Torah. I could do that chanting. I could say those prayers." And, for the first time, she said aloud words she had scarcely dared to think: "I could be a rabbi." The matchmaking committee: Kol Ami, which means "all my people," is Utah's principal Jewish community. It was created in 1972 by combining two smaller synagogues, Congregation B'nai Israel (Reform) and Congregation Montefiore (Conservative) and offers services in a mix of Hebrew and English.  "We have to be all things to all Jews or at least lots of things to lots of Jews," says Beth Levine, a committee member. Its rabbi is automatically a key player on many of Utah's interfaith councils, joining regularly with Catholic, Protestant, LDS, Buddhist and Muslim leaders. That person is routinely asked to give the official Jewish perspective on public issues. Finding just the right rabbi, then, was important not only for Kol Ami but for Utah in general.  It fell to an "assembly of tokens," as Levine jokingly put it, each member representing some segment of the community: old, young, long-timers and newcomers, interfaith partners, single parents, retirees, progressive and conservative Jews. At first, members of Kol Ami's search committee were only seeking an assistant to Rabbi Frederick Wenger, whose administrative skills were stretched too thin. But when Wenger announced his retirement, the task became more urgent. The committee hosted focus groups, met weekly, talked on the phone often, e-mailed back and forth and came up with a plan. "Soon the terms 'Conservative' and 'Reform' became less important," says Rick Rappaport, one of the co-chairs. "We didn't define ourselves that way."    Nor did they set out to hire a woman. They wanted someone who could help the congregation become more welcoming and open, especially to interfaith couples and transplants from other cities. "We wanted someone who wanted us, who saw our reality and our potential," says Maeera Shreiber, the other co-chairperson.   Levine helped make a recruitment video starring Mayor Rocky Anderson, who said Salt Lake City was more diverse than most people thought, that it had a world-class symphony that had had two Jewish conductors and that the city had a Jewish mayor and the state a Jewish governor before New York did. It also featured scenic mountain vistas and lively shots of children at play in the Jewish Community Centers. Rosen had watched the video four times. She was ready for their questions. How did you come to be a rabbi? they wanted to know. How would you lead a service in the opposite (Conservative/Reform) movement? How would you handle interfaith couples? What would you do to attract and retain members? In her answers, Rosen drew on her three-year apprenticeship at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino. She realized that coming from one of the largest and most prestigious synagogues in the Conservative movement to a smaller, blended congregation will give her a chance to test her ideas on leadership.    She told them she had no intention of becoming a CEO or "parent" rabbi. She wanted the rabbi and the congregation to be partners, and she wanted to leave the front door open. As Kol Ami's rabbi, Rosen would work to make everyone feel recognized and accepted  --  including herself and her partner. "Empathy for the stranger is a very biblical thing," she told them. At that point, any question of her sexual orientation became irrelevant to the committee, Levine says. The congregation was dazzled. She had led a service, coaxed a lethargic congregation into song, taught an adult education class and outlined a vision for Utah's Jewish community that mirrored their own. "She's a class A rabbi, the Michael Jordan of rabbis," Levine says. "Salt Lake City was lucky to get her."    The match was made. On the road: Still, Rosen has her worries. In Utah, where she starts work in mid-August, domestic partners do not have joint property rights and unmarried couples who live together cannot adopt children  --  and there are few kosher delis. But, she says, no one should have to choose between religion and anything, "not politics, gender or sexuality." Like most world religions, Judaism has been slow to open its leadership ranks to women. Orthodoxy prohibits it, but Reform and Reconstructionist Jews have allowed women to be rabbis since the 1970s. The Conservative movement ordained its first woman in 1985 and by now, women make up about 15 percent of its 1,200 rabbis. The question of ordaining gays, however, is still open. Officially, the movement forbids it, but several rabbis have acknowledged their sexual orientation after ordination. It's a kind of don't ask, don't tell policy, Rosen says. It was while studying to be a rabbi at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles that Rosen met Keren Goldberg at a Gay/Lesbian Outreach Synagogue. A year ago, they exchanged rings in a commitment ceremony. Rosen wouldn't consider leaving either Goldberg or Conservative Judaism. "Conservative, that's who I am theologically," she says. "My bent is towards traditional observance, and balancing tradition with change." Now her bookshelves are packed ("I buy books like other people buy produce  --  by the pound and by the bushel"). She has an embroidered prayer shawl that makes her feel wrapped in a hug from God. She's bought a house a few miles from Kol Ami. And she's writing sermons in her head. "We are all still trying to hear God's voice."

Matt Aune and Derek Jones

2009 Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City kissing protest brings

Hans Totterer

cheers, jeers (with multimedia) Counter-protesters such as America Forever criticized gays. By Ben Fulton Trespassing case? Gay couple detained after kiss near LDS temple said he came to the LDS Church's Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City for Sunday's 12:15 p.m. "kiss-in" without plans for smooching.  After a heated exchange across signs held by counter-protesters from the anti-gay group America Forever, however, he found a surprise partner. As the two men locked lips, those in support of the protest cheered. Counter-protesters holding placards chiding gays for "leading a persecution movement against American religions," jeered. "Their signs insulted me," said Totterer, an 18-year-old supply store employee and Salt Lake Community College student. "They upset me so much, I couldn't think of anything else to do." Later on, at the south end of the Main Street Plaza, more than 200 protesters left the public sidewalk and walked onto church property for three rounds of kissing between the plaza's fountain pool and Salt Lake City LDS

Temple. The event marked the second such protest in support of two men cited for trespassing on church property July 8 after security guards apprehended them for kissing on the plaza, which was sold to the church in 1999. After 20 minutes of shouting between members of America Forever and protesters at Sunday's event, several gay couples moved to the plaza for kissing and hand-holding, along with straight

couples such as Peter Saunders, a Salt Lake City software designer, and his wife of 37 years, Gerda. "There's no need for controversy and hatred, especially in a beautiful environment like this," said Saunders, raising his right arm toward the temple. LDS Church members in support of the protest, and troubled by their church's support last fall for California's Proposition 8, also made a showing. One handed out fliers promoting an online petition for reconciliation between the church and the gay and lesbian community. Another, 25-year-old Brigham Young University graduate Kate Savage, attended with her boyfriend, Tristan Call. "It's as if the doctrine of the importance of families we're taught is used to destroy other people's families, and we don't understand that," Savage said. Counter-protesters led by America Forever's Sandra Rodrigues held their ground, even if unsuccessful in preventing protesters from entering church property. "This is a staged scenario," Rodrigues said. "These people just want to embarrass the church." Police arrived after reports of two slight altercations between protesters and counter-protesters, including a roll-by kiss given to one female counter-protester by a man wearing in-line skates who sped north across the plaza grounds and was too fast to be apprehended. "There were a couple tussles here and there that de-escalated, which is just the way we like it," said Salt Lake City Police Lt. Carl Kunz. LDS Church spokeswoman Kim Farah declined to comment regarding the Sunday afternoon protest.

2016  The California State Board of Education unanimously voted to implement a 2011 state law signed by Governor Jerry Brown that mandates including LGBT history in public school curriculums as early as second grade.

2017 Editorial in Provo Daily Herald  As we approach another holiday — one centered around heritage, endurance, finding respite and freedom — we feel it necessary to address the controversy that befell the community on the Fourth of July before moving on. This week the Freedom Festival released a statement regarding its last-minute decision to revoke previous permissions granted to the Encircle group to participate in the festival’s pre-parade.
The festival’s executive director Paul Warner explained that according to Parade Guideline No. 3, “The Executive Committee reserves the right to refuse an entry into the parade if, in its sole judgment, it determines that the entry is controversial, unlawful, political or otherwise considered to be inconsistent with the standards, theme, quality or purposes of the Freedom Festival.” The festival has every legal right to include or exclude whomever it would like. It seems appropriate the board is able to exercise those rights given to it during a time at which it celebrates freedom and the values of our unique Utah County community. Though we are at a time of celebrating much history of our country and state, the festival and community would be remiss to not also learn from history — however recent that may be. While the festival can legally prohibit or permit whichever group it would like for consistency with its own standards, it does not absolve the festival’s board members from carrying out this rejection in a thoughtless manner. To accept and then deny the Encircle group, a 501(c)(3) organization that is not an advocacy group but a family and youth resource center for LGBT+ in Provo — less than a day before the event when preparations have been made, money spent, vacations rearranged — is unprofessional, inconsiderate and a reflection of poor judgment and planning exercised by the festival. Subsequently, the festival created a public relations nightmare for itself that reflected poorly on it and our community as it failed to respond to the situation it created, even working to remove all negative comments and feedback in efforts to dodge consequences. Despite the festival’s wrongdoing in execution of its decision, Encircle has nonetheless garnered more respect. Those associated with Encircle could have smeared the festival and touted the mistake, and yet they have upheld their mission: no sides, only love. We hope those unfamiliar with Encircle will take a minute to look up the organization and understand what it actually does versus what one might assume it does. There are admirable youth and parents in our community struggling through difficult situations looking to prevent youth suicide, homelessness and deep feelings of loneliness. This hurtful situation that was created will not likely be forgotten anytime soon, and because of it we hope and urge the festival’s board to use this unfortunate opportunity to make some changes. Clearly, there are processes in place that must be improved upon and perfected (despite the festival’s 30-plus years of history) before next year’s events so that future participants do not experience the inconsistency and disorganization we witnessed two weeks ago. With the festival accepting more than $60,000 in taxpayer money and services contributed to the operations of the events, we also dream to see the festival be more transparent in its future operations and who it permits to participate in the parade. While it is under no legal obligation to do so, it would extend some effort of good faith in interacting with the community so eager to participate and enjoy the fruits of freedom.