This Day in Gay Utah History July 27th

JULY 27

Index 

1899-Henry James, Hendrik Christian Andersen, Conte Alberto,.’

1927 June Mathis, Julian Eltinge, Rudolph Valentino,  Alla Nazimova, Jean Acker, Natacha Rambova, Heber C. Kimball.

1928- Radclyffe Hall 

1940-Rev Troy Perry.

1969- Martha Shelley, Marty Robinson 

1975 Rev. Candy Naisbett, Rev. Alice Jones 

1978- Joseph Maressa, 

1984 David  K Nelson,  Michael Aaron, Wess Jolley, Richard Madison 

1986- Leann R LaMaster 

1987 Tom Waddell

1988- Adrian Morris Jr. 

1988 Eric Christensen, Shawn Hughes,  Ben Barr,  Ben Williams

1990 Mike Pipkim, Luci Malin, Ben Williams.

1997 Norma Wagner, David Johnson Jr.,  Andrew Pavia, Lori Smith, Barbara Shaw, 

Michael McMullen, 

2004 Babs de Lay, Ray Hencke, Joseph Dover, Michael Perry, Rev. Robert Waldrop, Michael Aaron, Laura L. Ferreira, David Nelson, Scott Dunn, Michelle Beauchaine,Satu Servigna, Chad Kellar, Bobby Childers, Alice Hart, Becky Moorman, Kathy Worthington, Ron Shelby, Randy Richardson, Ben Williams, Brandon Creer,  Kim Russo,  Dina and Whitney Hannah,  Todd Dayley, Janice Eberhardt,  Brandon Burt 

2006 Rocky Anderson, Roberta Sklar, Neil Giuliano, 

2015 Dennis McCracken, Charles Frost, Ben Williams

2017 Jeff Sessions, Donald Zarda,

Henry James

1899-Author Henry James wrote to Hendrik C. Andersen, "I've struck up a tremendous intimacy with Conte Alberto, and we literally can't live without each other. He is the first object my eyes greet in the morning, and the last at night." James never married, and after settling in London proclaimed himself "a bachelor" and regularly rejected suggestions that he marry. After his death, critics speculated on the cause of his bachelorhood. As more material became available to scholars, including the diaries of contemporaries and hundreds of affectionate and sometimes erotic letters written by James to younger men, the picture of neurotic celibacy gave way to a portrait of a closeted homosexual. James's letters to expatriate American sculptor Hendrik Christian Andersen have attracted particular attention. James met the 27-year-old Andersen in Rome in 1899, when James was 56, and wrote letters to Andersen that are intensely emotional: "I hold you, dearest boy, in my innermost love, & count on your feeling me—in every throb of your soul.’

1927 Lesbian Hollywood Screenwriter June Mathis died in New York City. She was born

June Mathis

in Colorado but raised in Salt Lake City where she got her start performing on the stage.  She became a leading support for Julian Eltinge the famous female impersonator, In Hollywood, she promoted her close Gay friend Rudolph Valentino to stardom by featuring him in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She and actress Alla Nazimova were lovers. Nazimova helped start the careers of both of Rudolph Valentino's wives, Jean Acker and Natacha Rambova, who was the great granddaughter of Heber C. Kimball.

1928-The classic lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall was published. The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 lesbian novel that follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" is apparent from an early age. She finds love with Mary Llewellyn, whom she meets while serving as an ambulance driver in World War I, but their happiness together is marred by social isolation and rejection, which Hall depicts as having a debilitating effect on inverts. The novel portrays inversion as a natural, God-given state and makes an explicit plea: "Give us also the right to our existence".  The Utah Stonewall Center had a first edition until it disappeared after the center closed in 1997.

1940-Rev Troy Perry was born. He was founder of the

Troy Perry

Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a church with a primary outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.

1967-A bill decriminalizing consensual homosexual acts in England was given Royal Assent and passed into law.

1969-Sunday The Gay Liberation Front organized a protest of police harassment, with an estimated 300-400 people participating. The Mattachine Society and its committees along with the Daughters of Bilitus organized a rally in Washington Square Park in support of “the rights of homosexuals to openly love whom we please and to an unharassed lifestyle..We refuse to accept the straight person’s guilt about sex. Help bring about the day when we can walk out in the open as 1st class citizens.” People were asked to wear lavender arm bands as a sign of support.  Near the Memorial Arch, about 300 to 400 people showed for the first demonstration of homosexual unity since the Stonewall Rebellion.  The MSNY printed a legal size flyer of the aims of the Mattachine society which was too long and too detailed. It spoke to a generation short of patients and distrustful of red tape and people over 30.  Speeches were made by Martha Shelley and Marty Robinson and then the vigil moved to Sheridan Square opposite the Stonewall Inn.  “People were getting into a great high, they were singing, and had their arms around each other” as watching police advised the committee organizers against a march to the 6th Precinct house. Abruptly the action Committee called out to the crowd, “thanks a lot for showing up. Everybody please go home now.”  The abrupt closure of the vigil soured people on any further actions by the NY Mattachine Society.

.

1975 Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake City interview Rev. Candy Naisbett and Rev. Alice Jones for position of co- pastorate. 

1978-New Jersey repealed its sodomy laws. In 1978, the New Jersey legislature enacted a criminal code revision99 that abrogated common-law crimes,repealed the sodomy law, and established an age of consent of 16. One State Senator, Joseph Maressa, got himself caught up in the anti-Gay mood of the nation during this year and introduced a bill to keep criminal consensual sodomy between people of the same sex. Maressa withdrew the bill early in 1979 after opposition from the public. An appellate court decided the case of State v. Ciuffini in 1978 after the repeal of the sodomy law, but before its effective date. The Court overturned the conviction of Ciuffini for a consensual act of sodomy with a male who was two months past his 16th birthday on the ground that the state established an age of consent for females at 16 and could not, without violating the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, prohibit males from consenting at the same age. The Court then went on to rule that the sodomy law was unconstitutional as it applied to consenting adults.

1982-The term AIDS  Acquired immunodeficiency

syndrome  was coined at a Center of Disease Control  meeting, replacing the term GRID, which stood for Gay Related Immune Deficiency.  The name changed destroyed a diet candy called AYDS which was an appetite-suppressant candy which enjoyed strong sales in the 1970s and early 1980s. By the mid-1980s, public awareness of the disease AIDS caused problems for the brand due to the phonetic similarity of names. By 1988 sales had dropped as much as 50% due to publicity about the disease.  While the product's name was changed to Diet Ayds, it was eventually withdrawn from the market.

David Nelson and Michael Aaron

1984- Gay Community Inc, a non-profit Utah Corporation incorporated to engage in educational activities and public advocacy of human and civil rights of Utah’s Gay and Lesbian population. It offered professional networking with local and national organizations to refer Gay and Lesbian people. Board of trustees made up of President Michael Aaron, vice-president- Wess Jolley, and Secretary David K. Nelson. Richard Madison Press Secretary.  Gay Community had five service programs including a public speakers group; a media advocate division, a publishing division, support groups, informational archival services and a Gay Democratic Group.  David Nelson becomes the Editor of the Up Front a Gay Newsmagazine.

1986- Last meeting of Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City occurred. At business meeting of the Wasatch Affirmation members agreed to meet at the Unitarian Church since RMCC was vacating the space. The Rental cost was $50 a month

1986- Leann R LaMaster was ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood in the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ’s Los Angeles Branch, California

Tom Waddell

1987-Sports Illustrated published a five-page tribute to Dr. Tom Waddell, Olympic decathlete and organizer of the Gay Games, who had recently died of AIDS. Other accomplishments-•He was the first gay man to be featured with his lover in the "couples" section of People magazine; •He was a US Army paratrooper; •He was a physician specializing in the treatment of infectious disease; •He was a gymnastics champion at Springfield College in Massachusetts; •He was the personal physician to the brother of the King of Saudi Arabia.

1988-US Army private Adrian Morris Jr. was found guilty of

sodomy and discrediting the military by a military judge in Ft. Huachuca but not guilty of aggravated assault for not informing his partners that he was HIV positive. He was fined $1,200 and given a bad conduct discharge. He had unprotected sex with one male partner and two female partners, but was unaware of his HIV status at the time.

1988 I was at the Salt Lake central library a lot today getting my workshop pulled together for Beyond Stonewall. I’m doing it on Gay Activism.  Eric Christensen is in the LDS hospital having tried to commit suicide by over dosing on Tylenol.  Shawn Hughes is really upset since they are best friends. Thank God he’s going to

be okay. Eric has had a hard time dealing with being Gay and Mormon. I spent time with Ben Barr today talking about all the workshops we have going for Beyond Stonewall. We have done all this without any help from the Royal Court or the bars and without one  drag show! Yeah! Eric Christensen was a very talented artist majoring in Fine Arts at the University of Utah. Designed the first ad for Beyond Stonewall and created it’s logo. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1990 Mike Pipkim and I went over to Luci Malin's to return her incense burning pot that she left in our care up at Beyond Stonewall. We stayed and visited for a while and she gave me a belated Christmas gift of  a salt and pepper shaker set in the shape of a white penis and a black penis. [Journal of Ben Williams.

1997 Page: B1 AIDS Cases and Deaths  AIDS Patients Preparing to Live After Years of Planning to Die; Drugs Give AIDS Patients Unexpected Lease on Life Byline: BY NORMA WAGNER THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE After being diagnosed with AIDS four years ago, David Johnson Jr. sat down and wrote his obituary, planned his funeral and set up a will and a living trust. ``I did it because I didn't want my mom and dad to go through the pain,'' the 43-year-old Tooele man said. ``I'd even gone as far as ordering the flowers.'' Now Johnson is among hundreds of thousands of AIDS and HIV-positive patients around the country who have cause for new hope – a triple combination of drugs that may prolong their lives by many years, while at the same time allowing them to be healthier and more energetic.   After a decade of preparing people with the AIDS virus to die, health professionals in Utah and across the nation are preparing them to live longer. ``I don't have a personal understanding of what it's like to have one foot in the grave and think you're going to die at 28 and now to be looking at a future that, while unknown, is pretty good,'' said Andrew Pavia, associate director of the University of Utah's

Andrew Pavia 

AIDS Center.   AIDS is the advanced stage of HIV infection, in which the T-cell (or disease-fighting white blood cell) count falls below 200. A normal person's T-cell count ranges from 800 to1,200 milliliter of blood. AIDS deaths dropped 19 percent between 1995 and 1996, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decrease is due in large part to the three-drug combination, which usually includes one potent protease inhibitor.   Between 150,000 to 180,000 Americans infected with HIV are taking the triple therapy of an estimated 500,000 who have been diagnosed with the virus.   Those under the regimen now must decide whether to go back to work, worry about explaining their long absence and whether they will be qualified or have enough energy to do the same job.  Others wonder how they will pay the large credit-card bills they racked up thinking they were going to die before the balance came due. And since the promising drugs were rushed through the federal approval process 18 months ago, many taking them wonder about the regimen's long-term effectiveness and unknown side effects.   ``We hear this in our therapy groups,'' said Lori Smith, director of client services for the Utah AIDS Foundation. ``There are still some issues of fear and concern. We have a lot of long-term clients who are feeling better than they have felt in years, so the challenge they're experiencing now is: `What will I do with the rest of my life? I didn't plan to live with this disease, I planned to die. Where do I go now?' ''   AIDS activists also fear the public may read too much into the new therapy and it's possible implications for managing the disease as a chronic condition instead of a fatal illness. And they worry people will stop donating to the cause. ``Deaths from AIDS are declining, people are living longer, but we're continuing to see new infections and our caseloads are increasing because we're not losing anybody, which we're thrilled about,'' said Utah AIDS  Foundation

Barbara Shaw

Director Barbara Shaw.    ``But when I hear people say this is a manageable disease, I have to argue this is not a manageable disease. If you take the triple combination of drugs, what you're taking is between 18 and 24 pills a day at a cost of $2,000 a month. That to us is not manageable. These are difficult drugs to take.'' And only about a third of AIDS patients are taking the drugs. Some cannot tolerate the treatment due to its side effects, including headache, nausea and diarrhea. Some refuse the therapy or don't know about it. And there are those who fail to follow the strict regimen of downing 20 or more pills around the clock, not including other medications they take to control pain or complications. If the regimen is not strictly followed, the virus starts to replicate again and becomes resistant to drugs, Pavia said.  And then there are those who simply cannot afford the costs, which can range from $8,000 to more than $16,000 a year. Most insurance companies that cover HIV treatment will pay for the drugs, but many stall approval, Pavia said.   Medicaid covers such treatments, but sometimes patients earn too much through disability payments to qualify. There is the Ryan White CARE Act, funneling federal dollars to states to pay for AIDS treatment. But only those patients who don't qualify for Medicaid are eligible.  Michael McMullen, 44, was diagnosed HIV positive in 1987. He moved to his native Salt Lake City from California three years ago and volunteered for a protease inhibitor study at the University of Utah in 1996.   But he quit the study after four months because of side effects from the protease inhibitor nelfinavir, which left him feeling queasy all the time.   McMullen feels the effects of the disease, though some days are better than others. Last week, he blacked out on a city street. ``I couldn't even pick myself up off the sidewalk,'' he said.   If it were not for the cost, he said, he would try other protease inhibitors. McMullen earns too much in Social Security to apply for Medicaid and too little to afford the drugs while living decently.   ``It's either live poor and take the pills or not take the protease and live the way I'm accustomed,'' he said. ``This is the decision I have made. There's not much I can do about it and I'd rather live a decent life.'' Shaw, the Utah AIDS Foundation director, said she is thrilled the new therapy has given patients such as Johnson new optimism. But she also worries that people will stop protecting themselves, ``thinking even if I get it, there's always this medicine.''   ``We still have to look at this as an epidemic,'' she said. ``It's not going to be stopped anywhere until it's stopped everywhere. And it is still spreading rapidly.''

2003 Metro Sports Club in ZCMI Center, “They are sending undercover cops in to lead you on and arrest you!" [Anonymous]

2003 The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire presents: an Imperial Crown Prince and Princess Twisted BBQ Series Don't miss it, the first installment of Irreverent Sunday Summer BBQ parties. Trapp* Patio Wildest Patio in the West! BBQ hosted by The Imperial House $3.00 a plate 4:00pm to 6:00pm Don't miss the  Wild Drag  Competition at 5:00pm! Different Game, and Different BBQ host at each Party! Who will emerge victorious from our over the top Twisted Competitions, will it be... The Imperial's The Royal's The Hoochie's The Vaughn's The Childer's The Cheesecake's The Christie's The Malloy's The Aviary's  Other Organiational teams invited: UGRA WLA The Imperial Rainbow Court of Northern Utah Any one can play, contact Chad or Paris Today! Sunday's this summer with the RCGSE....Guaranteed to be full of fun and totally Irreverent! BUD LIGHT A Proud Sponsor! *the Trapp, a private club for members!!

2004 UTAH GAY NEWSLETTERS AND PAPERS 1975 The Gayzette editor- Babs de Lay 1976-The Gayzette's name to The Salt Lick editor Babs DeLay 1977-1978 The Open Door - Editor Ray Hencke 1978- 1979 The Open Door (Rocky Mountain Open Door), publisher Joseph Dover bought The Open Door for $500 from the board of Trustees of the Gay Service and used the appellation of "R. Spike Joseph". 1979-The Open Door editor- Michael Perry 1979 -1985-The Women Aware Newsletter published anonymously by Lesbians although most noticeable were "Marilyn, Nancy and Terri." 1979-1981-The Open Door editor Rev. Robert Waldrop, pastor of MCC 1981-1982-Gay Community News editor Michael Aaron 1984-1985 The Salt City Source Editor "Shar", and publisher Laura L. Ferreira 1984- 1985-The Up Front a project of Gay Community, a non-profit Utah Corporation incorporated David Nelson Editor 1985- The Community Reporter, published by Gay Community Inc. with Michael Aaron and David Nelson, editor and publisher 1985-The Best Source, published by the Utah Community Services Center and Clinic. Editor "Michelle Cheney " whose real name is Michelle Beauchaine 1986-1987-Triangle Magazine Editor-Scott Dunn 1987- 1990-Triangle Community Digest-Editor & Publisher Satu Servigna 1989-Angles-editor Chad Kellar and Bobby Childers 1990-1993 The Bridge -Publisher and Editor are Alice Hart and Becky Moorman 1990-1991 Queer Fucker's `Zine- Publisher Queer Nation Utah 1991-1995 Womyn's Community News' - publisher and editor Kathy Worthington 1991-1993 The Salt And Sage, publishers Sacred Faeries 1992-1993- Out Front Review publishers Ron Shelby and Randy Richardson 1993-The Pillar of the Mehn's Community, Uranian Publishers-editors Ben Williams; Brandon Creer 1993-1995 The Pillar, Uranian Publishers -Brandon Creer, editor 1993-1997 The Center of Attention, publisher The Utah Stonewall Center 1995-1996 The Pillar, Uranian Publishers- Kim Russo, editor 1995-1997-The Labrys, Publishers Dina and Whitney Hannah 1996-1997 The Pillar , Uranian Publishers -Todd Dayley, editor 1997-2000- The Xchange-Kim Russo editor 1998-Present- The Pillar, Publisher and editor Todd Dayley 2003 Women 4 Women Publisher, Happy Mediums-editor Janice Eberhardt 2004 The Salt Lake City METRO Publisher Michael Aaron Editor Brandon Burt

• Hi Historians, I would like to offer one spelling correction to the Utah Gay Newsletters and Papers. The 2003 publication is correctly spelled Womyn 4 Women. Thank you for keeping our history. Best regards, Janice Janice Eberhardt, editor/publisher Womyn 4 Women

Rocky Anderson

2006 Rocky signs national ad backing gay marriages NEW YORK (AP)— Three major gay-rights groups started taking out full-page advertisements this week in 50 newspapers nationwide declaring their determination to keep fighting for same-sex marriage rights despite recent court setbacks. The media campaign will cost $250,000; its organizers said it was the largest-ever purchase of print-advertising space by gay-rights supporters. Roberta Sklar of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said the ads would run in papers around the country, from The New York Times to The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to gay weeklies in Houston, Atlanta and San Diego. The ads feature photographs of five same-sex couples who have been together as long as 53 years and are endorsed by an array of organizations and individuals, including 11 religious leaders and nine mayors. Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson was among those who signed the ad. Signatories of the ads also included the mayors of Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Providence, R.I., Portland, Ore., West Sacramento, Calif., and Palm Springs, Calif. GLAAD's executive director, Neil Giuliano, said the ad campaign was a milestone because of the strong support from straight political and religious leaders. 

2015 I went up to 1st Baptists and met with Dennis McCracken and signed the church agreement for Gay Men Aloud and picked up a key. We signed up for the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6:30 to 8:00. Charles Frost called me this morning about the flyer he was making to “market” the group.  [Journal of Ben Williams]

Jeff Sessions

2017 The Department of Justice argued in a legal brief that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 offers no protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, a position advocacy groups condemned as “shameful” and “politically driven.” DOJ lawyers, arguing under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in which they said the department did not believe the law ― which bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin ― applied to lesbian and gay people. The brief was filed as part of a lawsuit filed by a now-deceased skydiving instructor, Donald Zarda, who said he was fired for his sexual orientation. His lawyers contend the dismissal violated of the act’s Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination. “The sole question here is whether, as a matter of law, Title VII reaches sexual orientation discrimination,” the Justice Department brief says. “It does not, as has been settled for decades. Any efforts to amend Title VII’s scope should be directed to Congress rather than the courts.” It adds: “The essential element of sex discrimination under Title VII is that employees of one sex must be treated worse than similarly situated employees of the other sex, and sexual orientation discrimination simply does not have that effect.”

2018  On Friday, LoveLoud and community leaders celebrated a new building that will house an organization that offers resources to LGBTQ youth. Encircle, a Utah County organization will open centers in Salt Lake City and St. George. The centers will feature programs for youth including support groups and therapy. Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons gave an emotional speech alongside Tyler Glenn from Neon Trees. 

• Encircle LGBTQ family and youth center opening in Salt Lake City by Hannah Knowles, Encircle LGBTQ family and youth center opening in Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY — (KUTV)- With one location already in Provo, Utah, Encircle: LGBTQ Family and Youth Resource Center announced the opening of its second center in Salt Lake City Wednesday evening. Encircle found a beautiful house, now under contract, near the University of Utah and the Trolley Square Trax station that will hopefully become the next safe place where LGBT+ individuals can find understanding, information, and support within their families and communities. Encircle, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was established in 2016 and opened its first center in downtown Provo with the mission to "empower families to sustain the circle of their love, enabling each member to thrive." Created by founder and executive director, Stephenie Larsen, along with her uncle, John Williams, a prominent member of the community, the nonprofit's new house will be dedicated to Williams, in honor of his contributions to both the organization and the Salt Lake community. “We are thrilled to be expanding into Salt Lake City where we can reach more youth and families. Our Provo house is bursting at the seams, with as many as 50 plus visitors a day. We are excited to expand our services to Salt Lake County and impact more lives,” expressed Larsen. The Salt Lake location will offer services to LGBTQ youth, their families and the community—providing a loving space to gather, find support and create meaningful friendships. Encircle also strives to address the loneliness and high rates of suicide experienced among Utah’s sexual and gender minority youth and young adults. Utah continues to have one of the highest suicide rates in the country, with suicide being the leading cause of death for young people in Utah and LGBTQ youth who are three times more likely to commit suicide than their "heterosexual" peers. According to a recent study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in November 2017, the federal government recommended expanding mental healthcare focused on evidence-based methods and implementing prevention programs that focus on helping young people feel connected with their communities, schools, and families. With the recommendations made by the CDC regarding Utah’s youth suicide rate, Utah Department of Human Services’ suicide prevention coordinator proposed that one of the ways Utah could improve efforts in addressing the alarming increase in youth suicide was through “creating more places where lesbian and gay youths can meet up” to strengthen connectedness. Encircle wants to make progress in the prevention of teen suicide in Utah. The LGBTQ family resource center applauds Utah governor’s recently-announced youth suicide task force and looks forward to the contribution. Stated in the press release, Encircle states: Encircle embraces and sustains every LGBTQ+ youth, every family and every community—the organization aims to give LGBTQ youth and their families the space, resources, and community support they need to make healthy decisions about their futures. These services include individual and family therapy, support groups, training for Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs statewide, and much more. If you want to help support the opening of the new SLC center you can donate $10 monthly at www.EncircleTogether.org. Larger donations to help with the purchase price of the John Williams Encircle House in Salt Lake, now under contract, are now being sought.

2018 Governor declares ‘LoveLoud Day in Utah’ ahead of weekend festival celebrating LGBT youths By Benjamin Wood The second LoveLoud Festival failed to earn an endorsement from LDS Church leaders, as it did for its inaugural event in Orem last year. But on Friday, festival organizers celebrated support and recognition from Utah state government. At a kickoff for the event — to be held Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City — Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox read from a formal proclamation denouncing bullying and intimidation, acknowledging the state’s high youth suicide rate, and naming July 28, 2018, as “LoveLoud Day in Utah.” “The LoveLoud Foundation offers hope and resilience to young people by letting them know that they are not alone,” the proclamation states, “and fosters a culture of hope, unconditional love, understanding, respect, acceptance, and inclusion.” Cox, who is among the festival’s scheduled speakers, said Gov. Gary Herbert regularly issues proclamations that are routine and procedural. But the “LoveLoud Day in Utah” declaration, Cox said, is the result of close attention and sincere effort by the governor and his staff. “You’re not different and we love you anyway,” Cox said. “We love you, period. Full stop, end of story.” The kickoff celebration was held at the future Salt Lake City home of Encircle, a support center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths that began in Provo and one of the LGBT organizations supported by LoveLoud proceeds. Dan Reynolds, frontman of the rock band Imagine Dragons and founder of the LoveLoud Foundation, became emotional as Cox read the governor’s proclamation and later as he thanked attendees for their support and interest in the event. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reynolds said it is not his intention that a “white, privileged, straight man” like himself be the center of a discussion around supporting LGBT youths. He said he instead hopes the LoveLoud spotlight can shift to organizations like Encircle and to the individuals who have experienced trauma and isolation due to their sexual orientation. “I was always taught at church and my home, above all follow your heart,” Reynolds said. “Above all, follow your heart.” Last year, the LDS Church released a statement naming LoveLoud and applauding the festival for its mission of preventing teen suicide and promoting tolerance and respect. Utah’s rate of teen suicide is among the highest in the nation, which some attribute in part to teachings by the LDS Church that it is a sin to act outside of traditional heterosexual relationships. Ahead of this year’s event, the church released a statement that decried suicide, bullying and homelessness generally, without specifically referring to LoveLoud.

Stephenie Larsen, founder and CEO of Encircle, said Friday that a person should not be limited or defined by their sexuality. The goal of LoveLoud, Encircle and other LGBT support groups, she said, is equality for all in Utah. “We choose no sides,” she said, “only love.” Encircle’s Salt Lake City location, at 331 S. 600 East, will be the organization’s second, with plans to expand to a new location in St. George. The locations have the appearance of a residential property, which Larsen said is intentional to be and feel like a home that LGBT youths can go to as needed. “The goal of Encircle is to one day be obsolete,” Larsen said. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one day there was no need for houses like this?” The LoveLoud Festival opens at 2 p.m. Saturday, with performances beginning at 3:30 p.m. The event is scheduled to include musical performances by Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees frontman Tyler Glenn, EDM star Zedd, and Lincoln Park’s Mike Shinoda, among other acts, as well as remarks by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Lt. Gov. Cox, and Steve and Barb Young.