This Day in Gay Utah History July 26th

July 26th

Thomas Taylor

Index 

1886  Connell O’Donovan, Simeon W. Simkins, William W. Simkins, John Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Richard Williams, Brigham  Young, 

1985- Vic Basile-  Human Rights Campaign Fund Executive Director, Dr. James Curran-director of AIDS activities for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, Alfonse D'Amato R-NY, John Danforth (R-Mo.),Bruce Decker- CAIR President, George Deukmejian- California Governor, Robert Dole (R-Kan.), David Durenberger (R-Minn.), Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Margaret Heckler- Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, John Heinz (R-Pa.),Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), Jeff Levi-, National Gay Task Force Director, Gary MacDonald -executive director of the AIDS Action Council,Mack Mattingly (R-Ga.), James McClure (R-Ida.),Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.),Mel Rosen-,  director of the New York State AIDS Institute and former head of the Gay Men's Health Crisis of New York City, Nancy Roth- Gay Rights National Lobby Executive Director, Maria Schutz, Jeff Snow, Steven Symms (R-Ida.),Strom Thurmond (R-S.C), Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.), Pete Wilson (R-CA),  

1986 Sheldon "Winky" Constantine Spears 

2004 Doug Fabrizio, Ben Williams  

2005 - Naomi Lee, Mark Saxenmeyer 

2005  Aaron Cloward, Robert A. Rees, Stephen Shroy 

2005 Dani Eyer, Marc Johnson, Holly Mullen, Jane Phan, Elizabeth Beano Solomon, 

2006  Deborah Bulkeley, Jennifer Toomer-Cook,  Xander Gordon, Tom Henry, Valerie Larabee, Lloyd Naylor,  Mike Thompson, Ben Williams, 

2017 President Donald Trump, President Barack Obama, Ashton B. Carter, Sue Roberts

1886 Mormon Bishop Thomas Taylor is removed from his position in Salt Lake City because of his sexual relations with other males. In 1886, Mormon leaders used homosexual accusations to politically destroy the character of one of their own elite. Thomas Taylor, the wealthy polygamous bishop of the Salt Lake 14th Ward, was excommunicated for masturbating with several young men in Southern Utah. Behind this accusation, however, lay years of conflict between Thomas Taylor and the church leaders. Twenty years earlier, Taylor had loaned the church $15,000 to help emigrate a group of Mormon converts from Europe to Utah, with the understanding that the church would later repay him. Brigham Young neglected to pay the sum back, and when Young died Taylor went to John Taylor (no relation) for the payment owed him. However, the new Mormon president judged Thomas Taylor's claim to be invalid and asserted that Taylor had secured the money illegally in the first place. Thomas called this accusation libelous and through adjudication won payment of the money owed him. Then, not surprisingly, came the accusations from Richard Williams of Parowan, brothers Simeon W. Simkins and William W. Simkins of Cedar City, and a fourth, unnamed teenager who alleged that Thomas Taylor had on several occasions slept with them and during the night had used their hands to masturbate him.[42] Taylor was immediately disfellowshipped from the church, and news of the proceedings reached the columns of the anti-Mormon Salt Lake Tribune. The Tribune went so far as to accuse Taylor of being "guilty of a horrible and beastly sin" and interestingly reiterated that he was "a polygamist." In another editorial the Tribune asked if Taylor should be "prosecuted in the courts? Or is there no law against sodomy, either, in this most lawless of Territories." Here the anti-Mormon Tribune identifies Taylor's "beastly sin" as sodomy (which same-sex masturbation technically was not) and then obliquely compares sodomy to the "lawlessness" of Mormon polygamy. In a letter to church president John Taylor on September 22, 1886, Thomas confessed his "sins" and asked to be reinstated into full fellowship with the church: I am sending consent today for my [first] wife to obtain a divorce, she never has appreciated the addition of [other] wives to my family, and now I have sinned, her patience is exhausted, and I fear for my children. I am ashamed to think that I have been so weak and I feel to cry God be merciful to me, and I want my brethren to be merciful to me[.] I want to be humble and live so that I can purify my thoughts and words and actions...Oh, help me to come back to [God's] favor. I expect to have offended you greatly[.] I humbly ask your forgiveness. I am suffering terribly. My nerves are unstrung[.] I have such throbbings of the heart, and headache[s]. I cannot sit still, nor sleep, when I doze off to sleep, I wake and see before me ["]excommunicated["], and my wife suffers almost if not quite as much as bad, and I feel for her because it is my doing and I ought to be alone the sufferer, and I will try to endure. I do not want to apostatize[.] I want to return to my allegiance to God and his work and I pray you to grant me this favor as soon as you can in righteousness, and I will try to live so as to be worthy of so great a favor. Despite this plea for forgiveness, none was forthcoming, for Thomas Taylor had committed two unspeakable crimes: he had challenged a church president, and he had dared to desire other men. [Connell O’Donovan]

Pete Wilson

1985-US Senators Pete Wilson (R-CA) and Alfonse D'Amato

Alfonse D'Amato

(R-NY)  sponsored  a briefing on AIDS for Republican senators. Not a single senator showed up for it only sending staff. Staff members representing 18 Republican senators—including some of the senate's leading New Right figures-attended a two-hour Capitol Hill briefing on AIDS organized by Concerned Americans for Individual Rights (CAIR), the national group representing moderate to conservative Gays. The briefing, which was closed to the press, included presentations by CAIR President Bruce Decker, National Gay Task Force Political and Governmental Affairs Director Jeff Levi, two Gay health advocates, and the head of the AIDS activities office of the federal Centers for Disease Control, according to CAIR office manager Jeff Snow. Snow said he and Decker believe the staffers obtained valuable information from the briefing and will most likely be much more sensitive to the AIDS problem despite the fact that all but one of the staffers refrained from asking questions. Among the senators represented by staff members at the briefing were Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), and Phil Gramm (R-Tex.). A staff member representing Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (R-Kan.) also attended the session. No senators attended. Maria Schutz. legislative assistant for health affairs for Senator Pete Wilson (R('alif.), said Wilson and Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) sponsored the briefing at Decker's request. Shutz said Wilson and D'Amato sent a joint "Dear Colleague" letter to the health-related staff members of all 53 Republican senators, inviting them to the briefing. The briefing was held in the Russell Senate Office Building on July 26. In addition to Decker and Levi, speakers at the briefing included Gary MacDonald, executive director of the AIDS Action Council, a coalition of AIDS—related groups seeking more federal funds for AIDS research; and Mel Rosen, director of the New York State AIDS Institute and former head of the Gay Men's Health Crisis of New York City. Gay Rights National Lobby Executive Director Nancy Roth and Human Rights Campaign Fund Executive Director Vic Basile attended the briefing but did not give presentations, according to Snow. Also speaking at the briefing was Dr. James Curran, director of AIDS activities for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control. Schutz said Curran urged the staffers to support the Reagan Administration's recent request for an increase in the fiscal year 1986 AIDS budget by $40.7 million. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler last week said in a letter to a House subcommittee that the additional funds, to be added to the Administration's earlier request for only $85.6 million, would come from reallocation of funds from other programs. Snow said he and Decker were "very pleased" with the number of senators who sent staff members to the briefmg. Snow said he thought Decker's position as chairman of California Governor George Deukmejian's AIDS Advisory Committee served as a means of assuring the Republican staffers that Republicans as well as Democrats should be supportive of more federal attention to the AIDS problem. Deukmejian is a Republican. Other - senators represented by staff members at the briefing included Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.), Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Steven Symms (R-Ida.), James McClure (R-Ida.), Mack Mattingly (RGa.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Danforth (R-Mo.), David Durenberger (R-Minn.), John Heinz (R-Pa.), Wilson, and D'Amato. "Realizing that AIDS is not a partisan, political, or sexual issue, that it is a public health issue, leadership must come from the Republican side of the Senate aisle," Decker said in written remarks released at the briefing.

1986 Sheldon "Winky" Constantine Spears died this day. Utah's first public AIDS activist. He was born August 5, 1951 in San Francisco, California and graduated from Skyline High School in Salt Lake. He later taught classes at the University of Utah and helped found AIDS Project Utah. He died July 26, 1986 of AIDS, survived by his partner, Barney Jacobs. Spears was the first person to discuss his condition publicly. He appeared on the cover of USA today, was a guest on Take Two on KUTV and gave interviews on a number of radio talk shows.  He taught classes at the U of U and served in the navy where he was decorated for meritorious service. Employed by University of Utah. He helped found the Utah AIDS Project. 

Ben Williams

2004 Subject: KUER to do talk show on Utah Lambda RadioWest will be presenting The History of the Lambda Community in Utah tomorrow at 11:00 and replayed again at 7:00. Among those invited to participate is Ben Williams director of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society and columnist for The Salt Lake Metro. 'KUER presents RadioWest weekdays live at 11:00am and replayed 7:00pm. RadioWest is an hour-long conversation about ideas ranging from arts and culture to history and politics. The interview format allows host Doug Fabrizio to explore topics in-depth with local and national experts.Listeners are invited to join the conversation by phone or by e-mail. KUER FM 90 is a public radio station licensed to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. KUER is affiliated with the two major public radio networks in the U.S., National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Radio International. We broadcast 24 hours a day, with news and jazz throughout the week, and a range of information and entertainment programs on the weekends.'

  

2005 - Film & Discussion - Center Space (6:30pm) Come watch a different type of reality show, which Director Mark Saxenmeyer calls "Reality TV with a Purpose." Experiment: Gay & Straight follows the lives of ten Chicago-area strangers, five men and five women, during a one-week period in which they live together in a three bedroom/three-bath house on the Windy City 's north side. Their task was to help bridge the gap between America 's gay and straight communities, and to forge better understanding between the two groups. Winner of seven film awards, his film combines elements of popular entertainment like Survivor with serious and sometimes explosive issues involving sexuality, human rights, and discrimination. Much of what these participants say echoes the views of the general public - opinions and feelings many people voice privately, but fear speaking aloud because of the potential repercussions in our "politically correct" culture. In The Experiment , the housemates are refreshingly and sometimes stunningly honest. There is no tip-toeing around any issue whatsoever. Please bring your straight friends and family for a frank discussion to follow, facilitated by the Salt Lake Film Center's Development Officer, Naomi Lee.

2005  Subject: Sunstone Meets Stonewall:  Sunstone Symposium has a wealth of audio files dealing with gay Mormons. Here are just some of the audio files about homosexuality which they have available for download:

• +Shall the Youth of Zion Falter? A Panel by Young Gay Mormons **(Aaron Cloward, Stephen Shroy)
• +Discussion of the Smith Family
• +Long-Term Gay Male Relationships
• +Committed Same-sex Unions: Is a Theological Accomodation Possible?
• +Christ and Culture in Conflict: The Gospel and the Homosexual
• +Confessions of a Mormon Boy: Eagle Scout, Missionary, Husband, Father, Homosexual . . . Human
• +Same-sex Attraction, Spirituality and Mormonism: The Hero's Journey
• +Embracing Our Homosexual Children
• +The Persistence Of Same-Sex Attraction In Latter-day Saints Who Undergo Counseling Or Change Therapy
• +Voices In Exile: Stories of Lesbian Mormons
• +In Quiet Desperation **(Robert A. Rees)
• +Not Just Lip Service: How We Can Help Gays and Lesbians Feel Welcome In Our Religious Communities (Robert A. Rees)

2005 Mullen: GAYPLAT is cool, sez judge By Holly Mullen Tribune Columnist The Motor Vehicle Division of the Utah state Tax Commission sent its standard rejection letter in March to Elizabeth Solomon, denying two of her three requested personalized license plates. "GAYWEGO" was OK, but "GAYSROK" and "GAYRYTS" were not. The reason for the denial? The commission reserves the right to ban license plates as a "public forum." Little did the bureaucracy know it had unleashed a tsunami. "My mommy button got pushed. My friend button got pushed. I wasn't going to take no for an answer," says the 60-year-old Solomon, whom everyone knows as "Beano." She lives in Park City, has long been active in gay rights organizations and has a lesbian daughter. "And I have adopted in my heart two young men who are gay," Solomon says. Solomon decided to appeal the decision, and enlisted the aid of the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. On July 19, Administrative Law Judge Jane Phan ruled at an initial hearing in favor of Solomon. Barring

Elizabeth Beano Solomon

 any appeal by parties requesting a formal hearing, the decision becomes final on Aug. 19 and Solomon will have her plates. It is the first time the Tax Commission has ever approved a personalized plate containing the word "gay." Tax commissioner Marc Johnson said Wednesday that commission policy precludes him from addressing the merits or details of the case during the 30-day appeal period. The Utah ACLU considered the matter a "routine free-speech case," says executive director Dani Eyer. "We thought the restrictions the commission had applied were

Dani Eyer

arbitrary. They can't pick subjects they like and don't like for a personalized license plate." What Utah statute does permit is rejection of plates that "may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency or that would be misleading." The commission also has its own administrative rules that give it more specific powers, including the right to reject plates that serve as a "public forum," or that can be deemed as "vulgar, derogatory, profane or obscene." Other grounds for denial: messages that "relate to sexual and eliminatory functions" or expressions of "contempt, ridicule, or superiority of a race, religion, deity, ethnic heritage, gender or political affiliation." Phan's ruling determined that an "objective and reasonable person" would not see the slogans "GAYSROK" and "GAYRYTS" on their own as offensive or indecent. Nor could she see a problem with the plates referring to "current political or social issues." Neither did the plates refer to any specific sexual function or obscene act. Solomon says she never saw controversy in her request - she is a typically proud mother and takes any opportunity to proclaim her children as "normal and decent people who lead a lifestyle like everyone else's." But the state's rejection letter set her to boiling. "I was on fire," she says. "If the ACLU hadn't accepted my case, I would have hired my own civil rights attorney. I have the time, energy and resources and I was prepared to take this to the U.S. Supreme Court." The real issue, says Solomon, was in the challenge. "Too many people are afraid to fight. I'm not arrogant but I'm also not afraid. I've changed something that was wrong and I'm very proud of myself." So proud, in fact, that she hopes to encourage a whole conga line of vehicles with pro-gay license plates. A regular benefactor of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Center of Utah, Solomon says she will donate $50 to the center for each of the first 100 vehicle owners who can produce proof of plates with the word "gay." Call the GLBT Center at 539-8800 and go from there.

2006  Gay candidate seeks Murray board post By Deborah Bulkeley and Jennifer

Xander Gordon

Toomer-Cook Deseret Morning News Xander Gordon is running what could be a historic race. If he's elected to the Murray Board of Education, gay rights advocates and a community historian believe he'll be the state's first openly gay school board member. Gordon, a 31-year-old social worker for the Division of Child and Family Services, acknowledges that being gay may be a "big deal here in Utah," where family values are deeply carved. "I don't identify that as part of what motivates me to be involved," he said. "It's not an agenda. . . If I were a board member, I would advocate for equal treatment for all students." Gordon said it's critical that school boards are aware of issues students face, including safety. Bullying and gangs are two key issues that he feels schools need to address. "Schools need to be safe," he said. "We entrust our children to the schools for pretty much the major chunk of their day." Gordon earned the most votes in a three-candidate primary, over Tom Henry and incumbent Lloyd Naylor. "I don't know where (Gordon) stands on issues. All I can say is where I stand — as a candidate for traditional family values," Naylor said. "I do know traditional values, and I do know my record. I've been on the board eight years, and I've been a very solid voice." Gordon is among Utah candidates backed by the Victory Fund, a national group that supports openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates. Mike Thompson, executive director of Equality Utah, said the gay rights advocacy group will interview local candidates for potential endorsement early next month. In an online endorsement of Gordon, the Victory Fund said "With your help, Xander, a strong, progressive voice fighting for our nation's future, can succeed in his fight against a 'family values' incumbent." Said Naylor: "I don't think they could have paid me a higher

Ben Williams

compliment." Community historian Ben Williams and representatives of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah, and Equality Utah, said they weren't aware of any past sitting gay school board member. Valerie Larabee, executive director of the center, downplayed Gordon's orientation, saying what's important is that school board members be willing to put their religion aside and have tough conversations about what's really

Valerie Larabee

going on in schools. "If you have a member of the gay community who is also a school board member, that's a different level of understanding because you have the gay experience," she said. "All school board members have the capacity to develop compassion and understanding for the issues facing kids." Matters involving gay students have come up in Murray School District in the past two years. In 2004, two Murray High students, who said they were gay, received permission to pair up in the junior prom's time-honored promenade at the Capitol rotunda. When one of the girls left town before the dance, a straight friend stood in for her. Case law supported the district's decision, which district officials said the decision was made for students' sake, even though it stirred controversy among community conservatives. A year ago, a lesbian pair were featured in Murray High's yearbook as "cutest couple" — a title earned by popular vote. School and district officials stressed the importance of tolerance and acceptance when commenting on the matter. "That had the potential to be a very bad situation and it turned out wonderful for the student body and youth involved," Larabee said. "I feel they handled that very well." But handling isolated issues well doesn't mean the Murray community has taken a more liberal turn. "(Those) were out of the same 400 students, and they're just two kids," Naylor said. "Seems to me to be a very small group."

2006 Gay Men's Naturist Club Our first OVERNIGHT_CAMPOUT will take place this weekend. Join us Saturday night (July 26) and camp through Sunday afternoon. Meet at the parking lot of Saltair of I-80 westbound Saturday at 7pm or out at the beach (map of camp location below). We have fireworks, campfire wood, games, music, a grill, etc. Bring

Burmester Beach

something to sleep in, something to eat, drink, water, sun screen. If you can't make it overnight, join us Sunday! If you haven't seen the pictures of the last beach outing, go to the yahoo group and click on the "Photos" link. You'll find both the June and July pics there (Thanks John and Scott). Map to Burmester Beach Campout

2017 Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed in the Military WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States will no longer “accept or allow” transgender people in the United States military, saying American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” and could not afford to accommodate them. Mr. Trump made the surprise declaration in a series of posts on Twitter, saying he had come to the decision after talking to generals and military experts, whom he did not name. “After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” he added. The sweeping policy decision was met with surprise at the Pentagon and outrage from advocacy groups. It reverses the gradual transformation of the military under President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year that transgender people could serve openly in the military. Mr. Obama’s defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter, also opened all combat roles to women and appointed the first openly gay Army secretary. 

• Message from the Board of the Utah Pride Center “As a 20 year veteran of the U.S.

  

  Sue Roberts

  Army, I am outraged by the change of direction occurring today.  The administration has been delaying portions of implementation of a directive given two years ago.  Now they are announcing the final blow.   It is estimated that 15,000 transgender troops are serving and they are serving honorably.   Many started their transition after open service was made policy in 2016 and now this directive will paint a target on their back and may result in the ends of their careers.  This is not how we should treat any citizen, never mind those who are putting their life on the line for our safety.  This directive does not advance the readiness of our military and will isolate and endanger transgender individuals that are proud of their service.” ~ Sue Robbins, Board Chair (Sue Robbins is the Utah Pride Center Board Chair, a Trans woman and a veteran of the US Army.)