This Day In Gay Utah History SEPTEMBER 8th

September 8th

King Richard I Tomb

1157-English king Richard the Lionheart was born. "Richard, [then] duke of Aquitaine, the son of the king of England, remained with Philip, the King of France, who so honored him for so long that they ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England was absolutely astonished and the passionate love between them and marveled at it." Roger of Hoveden, (1174 – 1201), was a 12th-century English chronicler.

1504 Michelangelo unveils his famous statue of David in Florence Italy

1906-In an essay published in the St Louis Medical Review (vol. 54 #10 pp. 213-215) titled "The Problem of Sexual Variants," Dr T.H. Evans claimed that there were two causes for the increase in homosexuality. 1) The decreased need for propagation of the species, and 2) changes in the sexual division of labor had an impact on erotic interest.

1910 V H Hollzinger aged 17 year was arrested in apartment 17 of the Fashion rooms apartment  at 560 West Second South street shortly after midnight charged with the larceny of $25 in gold and a watch worth $20 from Nick Donolis the occupant. During the examination of Hollsinger, it developed that Donolls had assaulted him. The latter was locked up in jail on a charge of sodomy. Salt Lake Herald-Republican. The Hotel was located on the north side of 2nd South in old Greek Town and is still standing.

1913 G.W. Clark, charged with Infamous Crimes Against Nature, was sentence to four years in Utah State prison. His real name was Alfred Matthew Cokell, and was a Canadian citizen. He had consensual sex with an adult male who having testified for the state was allowed to leave town. Clark’s real crime was holding a “union” card.

1944  Ronald Dean, 18, 3087 4th East charged with sodomy had been held over to Third District Court. Salt Lake Telegram

• Ronald Dean, 18, 3087 4^th East charged with sodomy Sentence dates were set for  Sept 16 for Dean. Salt Lake Telegram
• 21 May 1948- Ronald Dean, 22, Salt Lake, sodomy, served 1 year 8 months. parole effective July 15 Salt Lake Telegram

1950 George E. Collingham, sodomy, parole denied. Salt Lake Telegram

1975-US Air Force Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The cover of Time Magazine headlined “I am a Homosexual: The Gay Drive for Acceptance, “with a photograph of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich Jr. in full uniform. A Mormon convert, Matlovich had served three tours of duty in Viet Nam where he received the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and an Air Force Meritorious Service Medal.  Although he had not mentioned his LDS membership in media interviews about his court challenge against the U.S. military’s ban against Gay men and Lesbians, his local LDS leaders excommunicated him in November 1975. “On September 8, 1975, Latter-day Saint Air Force Sgt. Leonard P. Matlovich Jr. appeared on the cover of Time magazine, declaring "I am a Homosexual" to the nation and hurling him into the national spotlight as "poster boy" for Gay rights. In a watershed moment for the Gay rights movement, the Gay Mormon was the first openly Gay person ever to appear on the cover of Time or any other major US news magazine. Matlovich was featured in the magazine because he was suing the US Armed Force for discharging him for being Gay, despite the fact that he had an impeccable record, having served three tours of duty in Vietnam, where he received the Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and an Air Force Meritorious Service Medal. Matlovich, initially raised Catholic, had apparently converted to the LDS Church during his tour of duty in Vietnam. He was ordained a Mormon Priest in 1970 and then an Elder on January 19, 1971 while in Vietnam, by W. Brent Hardy. [Leonard Matlovich Makes Time by Connell O'Donovan] Leonard Matlovich Dear Stonewall History Society and Hugo (of Affirmation): 

• I just had a very intense weekend in San Francisco, doing research in the Leonard Matlovich Collection at the San Francisco History Center in the SF Public Library for one full day. They have about nine linear feet of documents and ephemera that Matlovich had originally donated to the SF Bay Area LGBT Historical Society. Matlovich was the heavily decorated Gay Mormon Air Force Sgt. Who became the first out Gay person to appear on the cover of Time Magazine. It was an incredible "high" reading through all his correspondence (thousands of letters from well-wishers; only two I found were negative!), and holding his Purple Heart in my hands (I cried; I'm such a sap). There were also several files labeled "Latter-Day Saints", which contained his priesthood ordination certificates, his correspondence with the two stake presidencies in Norfolk VA and San Francisco CA, and his disfellowshipment and excommunication letters. He was oddly excommunicated TWICE! Once in Norfolk in 1975 (after the Time article) and then in San Francisco in 1978 (after his appearance on Phil Donahue). And no, he wasn't rebaptized in between! What the hell were they thinking??? One excommunication wasn't enough? He also had a few documents in there from early Affirmation: Gay Mormons United (mostly from the LA chapter and correspondence from Paul Mortensen, chapter director),

  

  Paul Mortensen

  which was really cool to see. Of course I copied all the LDS files to put into my own collection. Besides the records on his various church courts, the most important thing I found in there was a first edition (1970) of "Hope for Transgressors", an anti-Gay pamphlet

  

  Connell O'Donovan

  published by the LDS Church. I had been told that this was an early version of Kimball's "Letter to a Friend", but actually it's not! It's similar to it (with some identical wording), but while "Letter to a Friend" was addressed directly to Gay Mormons, "Hope for Transgressors" was written for church leaders who were "helping" Gay Mormons. I will be scanning my xerox of this important pamphlet and putting it on my web site soon. Anyway, below is a brief article I wrote about "Mat", incorporating all the new information I got this weekend. My hero! Connell O'Donovan Santa Cruz

David Chipman

1979 "'Mormon Militia' of Morality - Attorney Challenging Arrest by Y. Campus Police", Salt Lake Tribune, September 8, 1979; David Chipman’s arrest. Attorney Ron Stanger challenged BYU's authorization to arrest off campus. David Chipman responded to a letter posted in the Open Door a Gay newspaper about forming a Gay underground group at BYU. He met John Neumann on campus and went driving in Chipman's car. Chipman was unaware that Neumann was wired and also had an unmarked car with BYU security officers following them. 30 miles down the road, off-campus and in another county, Chipman stopped the car and started to chat with Neumann. At one point, Chipman apparently touched Neumann in a "friendly manner" and Neumann screamed into his hidden microphone, "He touched me! Chipman appealed his conviction to the Utah State Supreme Court, where BYU President Dallin Oaks had a seat as a Supreme Court Judge.He also refused to dismiss himself from the case for conflict of interest.The State Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision. Chipman, financially ruined from court costs and mentally exhausted gave up his fight against a corrupt legal system and paid his $500 for the Class C Misdemeanor.

1983-In San Francisco, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that homosexuals cannot be refused entry into the US solely on the basis of their sexuality.

Becky Moss

1987- Salt Lake Affirmation discussed Gay Dating Etiquette or Who pays

1988 At Gay Fathers, Becky Moss spoke to the group about Lesbian issues. Matt Wilson and John Bush revitalized the group.

Liberty Park

1990 Saturday What a long but enchanting, magick filled day! Ruth Hoppe's "Say Yes to Life" Celebration was held at Liberty Park from 11a.m. to 9 p.m.  Carla Gourdin wanted me to cut the flowers in her garden so we could help her make a floral spiral at the park.  I took Mike Pipkim and Rocky O'Donovan with Bobbie Smith in my van. We all dressed in our Faerie drag. At Liberty Park we set up camp beneath some large shade Elm trees.  Though out the day we were joined by Carla Gourdain, Kathryn Warner, Gail Scott, Kendra Souter, and Walt Larabee. It was really a fun day, with live New Age music, a drumming circle, Sufi dancing, and free food. Lots of colorful people.  It was really warm today, in the 90's.  Mike Pipkim volunteered to work most of the day in a food booth and that was so good to see him giving service and being of service. He can be such a sweet gentle giant. Rocky brought some sage smudge sticks and we gave people some Faerie blessings with the smoke.  At the end of the day, we all did a spiral dance to the chanting and drumming of Native Americans. I was exhausted but my spirit rejoiced.  The celebration was so nurturing to my soul.  I gave Walt Larabee my blue scarf that I had worn all summer ever since that powerful Mobiles gave it to me last Memorial Day at Moab, Utah.  I also gave Gail Scott a bat pin and a Faerie scarf to be playful with.  Gail is so funny! She makes me laugh all the time. For her Faerie name she is calling herself "Sky Rat" because her totem is a bat.  I missed Debbie Rosenberg today but she had to work late and couldn't make it today.  We helped Carla make a giant spiral of flowers on the lawn near the celebration.  It was a beautiful piece of art. How wonderful it was to see Sacred Faeries dancing in the light. The Goddess and her son embracing all in their gentle loving arms. The earth is my body. I must take care of her. The air is my breathe. I must take care of it. Fire is my spirit. I must take care of it. Water is my Blood. I must take care of it. The Earth, the water, the fire the air! Return! return! return! return! (Journal of Ben Williams)

1992-A fundamentalist minister and two of his followers were sentenced to eighteen days in jail for protesting outside a church where President Bill Clinton attends services. They had been arrested for trespassing and harassing the congregation by shouting, "Do you want your son to marry a queer? Do you want your daughter to marry a lesbian?"

Phillip Austin on left

1994 2 MORE MEN SAY WSU DIRECTOR PROPOSITIONED THEM Byline: By Tom Quinn SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE  (Page: B3)    OGDEN -- The trial of a Weber State University administrator accused of seeking sex at gunpoint from a Davis County man started Wednesday with a surprise prosecution claim that two other men also had been sexually approached by the defendant. Phillip O. Austin, 43, is charged with first-degree aggravated kidnapping for allegedly pointing a gun at Colby Clifford, 20, and soliciting oral sex while the victim was a captive in Austin's car March 12.  Austin, director of academic advisement at WSU, is free on $20,000 bail and was suspended with pay from his university job pending the outcome of the allegations. At a suppression hearing Wednesday morning preceding the trial, defense lawyer Don Hughes asked 2nd District Judge Stanton Taylor to disallow the testimony of two men who claim they had been offered rides by Austin and propositioned for oral sex on separate occasions. Weber County Deputy Prosecutor Bill Daines said their testimony would show Austin's pattern of behavior and would bolster Clifford's testimony as to what happened. Hughes countered that neither of the potential witnesses were threatened, detained, or saw a gun and therefore their experiences with the defendant were not germane to the case on trial. Taylor said he would take the motion to suppress under advisement. Clifford, who since has joined the U.S. Navy and had to fly back to Ogden for the trial, was the state's first witness. He testified before the three-man, five-woman jury that Austin offered him a ride at a Clearfield bus stop after asking directions to Ogden's McKay-Dee Hospital.    Austin lives in an apartment adjacent to the hospital, according to Daines. Clifford said the conversation in the car quickly changed from idle talk when Austin said: ``I am a gay man. Does that bother you?'' Clifford said it did not bother him, but that he himself was not gay. Clifford testified that Austin then asked if he could perform a sex act on him. He said no and asked to be let out of the car, he said. According to Clifford, Austin then displayed a .38-caliber pistol, and pointing it at him said, ``We're going to my place.'' The testimony ended at that point and the court recessed until today. Obituary 1994 Ogden Judge refused to overturn conviction 2000 Appeal Court Overturned Conviction after spending 2 years in jail

Kathryn Warner

1995 Carla Eskelsen practices her guitar at the Triad Center in Salt Lake City in anticipation of her performance at All Women's Eve Saturday.  Performers in All Women's Eve share a laugh during a planning session for the even Mixture of Art and Energy Will Fill the Triad Center Celebrating Women With Art, Energy Byline: By Nancy Melich Page: E1  THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Women together in support of women. Not an unusual idea. Especially this month. Today in China, the the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum on Women concludes its 10-day conference. Organizers boast that more than 35,000 women participated. Next Friday in Beijing, an estimated 30,000 women representing 185 countries at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women will leave for their respective homelands.  On a much smaller scale, but with similar intent, All Women's Eve opens its doors this Saturday at the outdoor Triad Center, 300 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Producers encourage all women, men and children who ``value the feminine and are dedicated to the universal concerns of women'' to come and spend a few hours -- or, better still, the entire day. The ``celebration,'' as the founders are fond of calling the 11 a.m.-to-11 p.m. event, will feature music performed and written by Utah women, poetry readings, comedy routines, art and folk crafts and candlelight readings. Tickets are $7 in advance at A Woman's Place bookstores or $10 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. Seniors are half-price. Participants are encouraged to bring picnics and blankets. Area restaurants will be open. This is the first year that Eve has left the environs of the Wasatch foothills and entered the city. The move is an attempt to be more inclusive. In '92 and '93, the festival filled the amphitheater at Pioneer Trail State Park and attracted a largely female audience. Organizer Karen Crist, a psychotherapist, feminist and founder of the Mormon Women's Forum, said in her capacity as a social worker ``I find that many problems in our society are caused by devaluing women.'' She believes that if more people celebrated rather than denigrated women, there would be less domestic violence, fewer rapes, fewer kidnappings. The idea for All Women's Eve began during a conversation in '91 in the Crist living room. Several friends were sharing their concerns about ``the continuing holocaust of women.'' The group wanted to find a way to honor historical women who had suffered abuse as well as those who continue in situations of violence. Should it be a two-hour event with music and poetry or a day-long celebration encompassing a variety of disciplines? They decided on the latter.  All the organizers, which included wives, mothers, writers and a variety of professionals, considered themselves feminists. Crist said the event both years ``provided a great deal of healing energy for all of us.'' Back After a Break: After a year hiatus in '94, the festival is back, with Crist and 11 other women serving as volunteer organizers. ``There is a certain magic that happens when women gather,'' said Crist. ``That is why I'm involved again. I want to share the magic with other women as well as supportive men and children.''   A slide presentation with music that was considered one of the highlights of previous festivals, returns this year. ``I Am Your Sister, Images of Women'' by Kate Call and Jan Cook, chronicles women roles and situations throughout history. A reader's theater directed by Karen Nielsen features readings by Rebecca Folsom, Emelia Graehl, Marie Larimer and Faith Partee. A drum circle will be led by Deborah Hunt with a visualization conducted by Becky Moss. An ``Expression Wall'' to write thoughts or sketch observations will be available plus an open microphone to tell it like it is or how it ought to be. Those attending are encouraged to bring drums, chimes, rattles and other musical instruments to participate in the closing ceremony at dusk. Since the Beginning: Entertainment director Gail Scott, who has been with Eve since the beginning, said the participating musicians have all volunteered their time. ``It is going to be one helluva day that I am sure will bring everyone closer. We all need to be healed and we need everyone's energy to do it. I am most appreciative of these performers who have agreed to come, without pay, to help us celebrate.''    Among the 20 musicians featured will be: -- Rosina, a harmonica player with a focus on  Latina music.  -- Le Thomas, described by Scott, as an excellent songwriter who plays 12-string guitar. ``She has a Joan Baez style and voice.''    -- Songwriter Cori Connors, whose music has been recorded by Linda Ronstadt and Chris LeDoux.  -- Peggy Rose, ``a woman in her late 60s who is beginning a career as a jazz and blues singer.'' -- Wendy Bradshaw, a singer and songwriter of pop and rap music.  -- Folk, blues, rock and country singer J. Nelson Ramsey, who performs throughout the state and will be on the lineup of the first annual Helper Festival Sept. 15-17.  -- Nancy Hanson, a singer, songwriter who won fourth place in the 1995 Troubadour contest at the Telluride Music Festival and the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival.  -- Hazel and the Dust Bunnies, a rock 'n' roll band featuring Elaine and Carolyn Toronto and Elaine Jarvik. -- Blues singer Megan Peters, ``with her Janis Joplin style of performing'' -- Chris Zemen, making her solo debut.  -- Kathryn Warner, a singer, songwriter who performs folk ``and some goddess music'' and has toured extensively throughout the U.S.    Volunteers still are needed, said Crist. Those assisting will receive free admission. For further information, call 297-2197.  At Triad Center All Women's Eve runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Triad Center, 300 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $7 in advance at A Woman's Place bookstores or $10 at the door. Children 12 and under are free. Seniors are half-price. Participants are encouraged to bring picnics and blankets. Here's the schedule: 11:10 a.m. -- Opening Ceremony – Deborah Hunt, drumming 11:30 a.m. -- Marion Nash, reading Noon -- Hazel and the Dust Bunnies (Carolyn Toronto, Elaine Toronto, Elaine Jarvik), music 12:30 p.m. -- Carla Eskelsen, music 1 p.m. -- Becky Elmer, music 1:20 p.m. -- Jennifer Tonge, reading 1:30 p.m. -- Debbie Arinelo, music  2 p.m. -- Rosina, music  2:30 p.m. -- Peggy Rose, music  2:50 p.m. -- Jennifer Bayler, reading 3 p.m. -- Le Thomas, music 3:30 p.m. -- Cori Connors and Merlynn Schofield, music 4 p.m. -- Wendy Bradshaw, music 4:20 p.m. -- Patricia Meek, reading 4:30 p.m. -- Kris Zeman, music 5 p.m. -- Anna Vogt, reading 5:30 p.m. -- Award Presentation 5:55 p.m. -- Megan Peters, music 6:35 p.m. -- Nancy Hanson, music 7:10 p.m. -- J. Nelson Ramsey, music    7:45 p.m. -- (Semi) Sweet Loretta, music 8:25 p.m. -- Kathryn Warner, music 9 p.m. -- Celebration -- drumming circle, readers' theater, visualization and slide presentation, ``I Am Your Sister: Images of Women''

Luci Malin

1996  Luci Malin encourages girls to enter sciences.    Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune Former Head Start parent Marie Augustine runs the S.L. program now.  Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune Physician assistant Maggie Snyder dedicates herself to AIDS patients.  Busath Photography Carol Dunlap empowers employees.  Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune  Karen Shepherd is an activist outside Congress now. Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune Tomiye Ishimatsu teaches Japanese sewing art of bunka at an elder-care center. Women Who Make The Difference YWCA Honors 6 Who Lead From Behind the Scenes Byline: BY JOAN O'BRIEN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE    A leader does not necessarily have to be out front. The six winners of this year's

Maggie Snyder

YWCA Outstanding Achievement Awards describe themselves as ``behind-the-scenes'' players. But even from behind the scenes, these Utah women have earned recognition for their professional achievements, personal growth, support of other women and triumph over adversity. They may lead by example or inspiration. They may lead by doing what is right. Some lead by nurturing. Many, including some of this year's award winners, would not proclaim themselves ``leaders.'' Physician assistant Maggie Snyder, recognized this year for her work with AIDS patients, defines a leader as ``somebody who does something, who tries to make the world a better place.''    Reclamation specialist Luci Malin, another award recipient, agrees.  ``Mainly leadership is taking action,'' she says. ``A lot of people whine and moan about the condition of things, but they don't do anything.''  Former U.S. Rep. Karen Shepherd, another honoree this year, says leaders can effect change as easily from behind the scenes as from the eye of the hurricane -- where she was during  her term in Congress. Although ``leadership'' cannot be defined easily, the women who selected this year's winners recognize the quality. They were last year's honorees.  Utah Attorney General Jan Graham, Bryant Intermediate School Principal Joyce Gray, University of Utah professor Reba Keele, former television marketing manager Diane McCall Lennon, Salt Lake Rape Recovery Center executive director Abby Trujillo Maestas and KRCL program director Donna Land Maldonado considered 45 nominations before naming this year's winners. For Keele, the common denominator among those honored is courage: ``people who have done very hard stuff for other women at cost to themselves, but without loss of integrity.'' These women's accomplishments in education, medicine, business, government and human services will be recognized Friday at the YWCA's annual Leader Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sue Bender, author of the best-selling Plain and Simple and Everyday Sacred, will deliver the keynote at the gathering in the Salt Lake City Marriott Hotel.  For eight years, the YWCA has singled out female leaders for recognition at the Leader Luncheon. It provides Utah businesses and organizations an opportunity to honor their own. For information about reservations for the event, call the YWCA a Page: J1 Keywords: Awards, Women's Issues, UT Caption: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune

Maggie Snyder

1996  Maggie Snyder:Extending Compassionate AIDS Care   Carol M. ``Maggie'' Snyder does not have a ready response when people ask how she copes in her work with AIDS patients.  ``I'd like to have a fancy answer, but it's basically one day at a time,'' she says of her career as a physician assistant at University Hospital's division of infectious diseases. After nearly a decade of caring for people with AIDS, Snyder has found that the medical part of her job is easy compared with the emotional challenges. More than 15 years after the AIDS epidemic began, its victims still encounter ostracism, suspicion, intimate questions.  And that is in addition to dealing with the diagnosis of a terminal illness. How her patients react has changed the way Snyder views life and death, family and friends. ``People have taught me that some things just aren't important -- not status or success,'' she says. ``It's having support of family and friends, and the enjoyment of simple pleasures – a sunset or the smell of rain.'' Snyder talks as though she is the sole beneficiary in her work with AIDS patients. It is up to other people to talk of the care she provides, the good she does.   ``She's been a wonderful care-giver,'' says physician Kristen Ries, who treats hundreds of AIDS patients at University Hospital and who nominated Snyder for the YWCA's Outstanding Achievement Award in 

Dr. Ries and Maggie Snyder

medicine. ``She saved me from drowning.''  Ries had trouble finding another physician to help with her crushing caseload. So she approached Snyder at Holy Cross Hospital about a decade ago ``because she was such a good nurse. I said, `How would you like to go to P.A. school?' And she did.'' After Snyder became a certified physician assistant, she joined Ries in caring for those suffering the physical and emotional trauma of acquired immune-deficiency syndrome. After the sale of Holy Cross, they moved together to University Hospital.  ``We work very much as a team,'' says Ries, who acknowledges she can't say enough good things about Snyder. ``She's a great support to people and she really is a role model to other nurses and P.A.s in her care-giving.''  In response to such praise, Snyder jokes that Ries is brainwashed.    Growing up in Houston, Snyder knew at a young age that she would become a nurse. Raised by her father with a limited income, she was drawn to the economic security of a nursing career. But it also fit well with her commitment to public service. She got that, she says, from her father.  ``My father was very generous to the down and out. He was always taking in a family that didn't have a place to stay till they got on their feet,'' she says. ``He didn't do a lot for acknowledgment -- he just did things. . . . He put his money where his mouth is.'' Ries says the same thing about Snyder: `She always follows up and puts her money where her mouth is. If she says she's going to do something, she does it. . . . One of the things I admire in her is she absolutely believes in giving back to society.''    One of the ways Snyder does that, besides her long hours of care-giving, is by quietly paying the rent for teens at Salt Lake City's Stonewall Center.     ``I'm not much of a flag-waver. I don't do it for acknowledgment,'' Snyder says of her

donation. ``But somewhere along the line growing up, I was taught that you give back to society.''   Snyder's move to Utah was almost accidental. As Houston grew too big for her, she pulled out a map to find another home in the West, a place where she could indulge her love of the outdoors. She picked Salt Lake City. Despite her 12-hour days and the emotional intensity of her work, Snyder manages to keep things in perspective, Ries says.   ``She's just so good with people. I don't know how to explain it.''  Snyder explains her work with AIDS patients this way: ``I see myself as a partner in someone's journey down a path. There's a point when I have to step aside and let them continue that journey.'' SL Tribune  Page: J2 

1997- Wasatch Mountain Bears held game night at Coffee Gardens. Kevin [Warren] O’Sheridan resigned at Vice President. Brad Townsend is President of the organization.

 2003 Hi David, Just for my own edification. what else would you have liked Mayor Anderson to accomplish in the area of gay/lesbian/etc. policy changes? As a quasi-City employee, I'm pleased with his anti-discrimination executive order in spite of a divided City Council. Melissa Sillitoe South Salt Lake

• Hello and thank you for your message, Melissa. My message was more about the limit of mayoral jurisdiction about matters which are important to us than whether Mayor Anderson or another mayor could do more than he has. My concern about Mayor Anderson's non-discrimination executive order has always been that, despite my advice to his staffers that he do otherwise, he included a city-funded grievance process as part of the order. This would let city-government employees who believe they'd been disadvantaged by workplace discrimination to apply for a consideration of their complaint by city Office of Personnel staffers. While this process is afforded by other governments in their various employment protections, I believe that including it in this order jeopardizes the order itself by providing for the expenditure of city-government funds for a policy which council members had not only not adopted, but opposed in similar proposed legislation. Council members could arguably and constitutionally adopt legislation which amends the order to repeal all but the title. Without a severability rule being included in the order which would legally separate the enumerated protections from their enforcement and grievance process, the whole order would be considered equally obligated for expenditures which weren't authorized by council members. Beyond that concern, I believe there are several ways for Mayor Anderson or another mayor to continue to expand the equal opportunity and protections he created with the order and appointment of gender- and sexual-minority staffers. 1. Add a severability rule, a gender-orientation classification and a city-services provision among the enumerated protections of the order, 2. Appoint gender- and sexual-minority staffers to supervisorial administration levels, especially at the city Office of Community and Economic Development, 3. Create and appoint a city Civil Rights Commission to promote similar protections by city-government agencies and private employers, especially those who are city-government contract providers, 4. Adopt a hate-crime executive order which would require city-government staffers, especially those who are emergency-services providers, to accommodate record and publish hate-crime statistics and referral to city-government or private assistance agencies, and 5. Request every city-government office adopt similar non-discrimination and hate-crime policies. These are just five ways that a mayor could take the next step and put some bite into the order and appointments. I'm sure someone who's actually campaigning to be elected mayor might have more ideas than just these. Meanwhile, I hope that gender- and sexual-minority Salt Lakers look beyond what Mayor Anderson has done and expect more ... from him or his replacement. David Nelson Salt Lake City

2003 Community Leadership Forum met at MCC. Director

Bobby Childers

Bobby Childers

2005 September 8-11- 2nd Annual Gay Wendover Weekend Take the bus out, gamble, party, and have a Gay Weekend at Gay Wendover. Salt Lake Metro is pleased to announce the second annual GAY WENDOVER WEEKEND September 8-11 This year, the event is sponsored by Wendover Nugget hotel and casino. The dance club, complete with extravagant lighting and fantastic sound system, is ours the entire weekend. Many events are planned, including a pool party, black out dance with flourescent body paints, Mr/Ms Gay Wendover contest with contestants in whipped cream bikinis, and a special movie night showing "Eating Out," winner of many, many gay film festivals. Four Fabulous Fun Buses will head out through the weekend. Wendover Nugget is offering 30% off their regular room rates! We will also be at

the "How Gay Is That" game show at Club Try-Angles on Saturday night if you have further questions or want to buy tickets. Hope to see you all there! -Michael Aaron

Professor Wintemute

2005 Thursday  - "There's Light at the End of the Tunnel!  Good News About GLBT Equality from Canada , Europe , South Africa and Australia " - Center Space ( 7-8:30pm ).  In from London to speak at BYU, Professor of Human Rights Law Robert Wintemute makes a stop at the Center to discuss GLBT Rights and Marriage from an international perspective. Light refreshments will be served. Everyone welcome for this lively interactive discussion. Robert Wintemute is the Director of the LLB in English and French Law (Anglo-French Programme), School of Law , King's College London

2006 Friday Plan-B Theatre Company presents:  Plan-B's MIASMA Friday, September 8 to Sunday, September 24  (mi az' me), n. 1. Noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter. 2. A dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike atmosphere. A world premiere glimpse inside the corruption of the beef industry, family, and sexuality by Eric Samuelsen. Developed from The Butcher, The Begger and the Bedtime Buddy, part of SLAM '04.  Location:  Studio Theatre Rose Wagner Center 138 West Broadway Salt Lake City UT

Ronald Bernier

2008  Ronald John Bernier 1959 ~ 2008 Ronald John Bernier died 8 September 2008 as a result of long-term illness and depression. He was born 6 January 1959 in Putnam, CT.  t He grew up in Plainfield and graduated from Plainfield High School in 1977. Ron attended American University in Washington, DC, studying History, and also worked at the National Archives from 1978-79. In that year he began his long-time association with the probate industry, helping to find countless "missing heirs" and reuniting families that had lost touch with each other. He worked for the American Archives Association of Washington, DC (and later Bethesda, MD) from 1979 until the firm closed in 1993. Ron moved to Sacramento, CA to continue this work and in October 1995 founded his own firm, National Estate Services. He lived briefly in San Francisco and Oakland, CA before moving to Salt Lake City on 22 September 1996. In addition to his probate company, Ron co-founded Genealogical Resource Institute in 1998, helping people trace their ancestry. In June 2007 he also became Research Manager with American German Heir Search, based in FL. Ron learned that he was HIV positive on 31 August 1988 and lived with that disease for 20 years, through many illnesses and much suffering. He served on the Board of Trustees of PWACU (People with AIDS Coalition of Utah) from 2000-2005 and was its Secretary in 2004. Ron is survived by  many friends in CT, the DC area, CA and UT, who will miss his quick wit and amazing sense of humor, as well as his deep love for them. There is less laughter in the world because of his passing. Ron will be buried alongside his parents in St. John's Cemetery in Plainfield. A celebration of his life will occur on Friday, 3 October at 11:30 a.m. at the Plaza Hotel on South Temple, in the APG meeting room. All of his friends are warmly invited to attend. Published in Salt Lake Tribune on Oct. 1, 2008

2008 SLQ Magazine Equality Utah’s annual Allies Dinner has been raising money for the campaigns of fair minded Utah politicians and honoring the allies – gay and straight – of the state’s queer community since the beginning of the new millennium. And nobody knows more about its work than Michael Mitchell, the grass roots gay rights group’s first executive director who founded the first dinner in 2001. “[At the time] there were other events that were aimed at the gay community, like Oscar night and the ACLU dinner, but never one for specifically for the gay community – working for our rights. So we wanted to do something like that,” he said. And despite some people’s fears that such an evening wouldn’t draw good attendance or would take money away from other events, Mitchell and his staff decided to “just give it a go and see what happens.” Even in the face of criticism that gays “wouldn’t show up to see non-gay people” if straight allies were involved. “We said we can’t get our work done unless we have allies,” Mitchell said. And so began the dinner’s Allies Awards, which honor Utahns who fight for gay rights regardless of their sexual orientations. Mitchell credited the dinner’s goal of inclusion with its success.  “It’s a great place to bring your mom and dad, and they won’t be offended, and they’ll meet wonderful and beautiful people and see how great the community is,” he said. “The challenge of setting up a new event is like setting up any new thing – you have to convince people that this is the place to be and to do that, you have to find the right people to tell their friends,” said Mitchell, who had created special events in New York but had never before launched one in Utah. To spread the word about the dinner he approached people with “big circles of friends” and asked them to serve as table captains “which is something every dinner does and that’s how you get every table filled.” Equality Utah’s board members were also key to making the first dinner a success. Many of them, Mitchell said, had experience in planning such dinners and were willing to help with tasks like mailing out invitations – which Mitchell himself designed for “the first couple of years.” At the 2001 dinner, Equality Utah (which had only recently changed its name from Unity Utah) honored local philanthropist Bruce Bastian and then Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Andrew Tobias, who under the name John Reid authored the 1973 gay memoir The Best Little Boy in the World, was also the inaugural keynote speaker. “That of course brought out a lot of people,” Mitchell remembered. Much to Mitchell’s surprise the dinner made money during its first year – a rarity, he said, for first-time events. During his term at Equality Utah’s helm, which lasted until the spring of 2005, Mitchell planned three more dinners all of which grew in creativity. In 2002 an Equality Utah board member began the tradition of auctioning off each table’s unique centerpiece. And during the height of the Don’t Amend Campaign, Equality Utah’s 2004 campaign to keep an amendment banning gay marriage out of Utah’s constitution, so many people wanted to come that they had to turn people away. “We kept adding so many more tables that I think we exasperated the folks at the Hilton that year. We ran out of centerpieces and everything,” Mitchell laughed. “But they wanted to be there and pay money, and they didn’t care.” Mitchell was in the middle of planning for 2005’s dinner when the American Civil Liberties Union offered him a job at their national headquarters in New York City — a job he accepted. Today he works for the Equality Federation, a national group that assists gay rights groups in every state. He has since returned to Utah to attend the 2005 and 2006 Allies Dinners and has been impressed with their growth. “It was so much bigger,” he said. “There were 1000 people there [in 2006], which was amazing. The production values were things I could only dream about that first year [when it] was a dinner in a small Utah hotel ballroom. Now it’s a huge dinner that is the envy of a lot of organizations around the country.”

Michael Mitchell

“It’s important to note that this event with Equality Utah PAC has become one of the most effective statewide LGBT PACs in the country,” Mitchell added. Although Mitchell won’t be able to attend this year’s dinner, he said his heart is always “in Utah when they’re doing the event.” “There are always people in the room that it’s their first big gay event and it means so much to them,” he said. “To see the looks on their faces when they’re in this beautiful and empowering space, to see people being inclusive … that’s life changing for gay people and non-gay people.”