October 1st
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| Antinous |
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| Prison at Sugar House |
1892 John Mack who was found guilty of the horrible crime of sodomy was sentenced to
two years in the penitentiary and was taken to Salt Lake last night by Deputy
Gill.Ogden Standard Examiner Short but Important Session page 5
1896 State vs Frank Merrill etal set for Friday October 9 Provo Daily
Enquirer [Tramps accused of raping 18 year old tramp in Spanish Fork.
1906 [Provo] Roy Bland, one of the member of the Mahara Minstrels,
was arrested last night by City Marshal Henry for masquerading as a woman.
Bland left a $10 forfeit which he probably will not call for. He is a female
impersonator and has been in the habit in other towns of carrying the
impersonation farther than his contract requires. He attempted the same thing
here and was arrested by Mr. Henry at the back door of a saloon and all his
protestations that he was a lady did not avail him. He gave a sprinting stunt
which would have been more effective in enabling him to escape from the
guardian of the peace, had he not run into the arms of Officer Olsen, who was
at the end of an alley through which Bland was making his exit. The Salt Lake Herald
pg 8. (Salt Lake City Utah) LeRoy Bland joined W.A. Mahara's Colored Minstrels in 1898 and toured with them several seasons. Best remembered as a female impersonator. He died in Chicago in 1912 about 44 years old Bland and Jones
1956-The Ladder, the
first openly Lesbian periodical in the United States, published its first issue
in San Francisco edited by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin of the Daughters of Bilitis.
1960- Robert Foster’s “A Corner of Winter,” is published in the University of Utah Utah ’s first
nonjudgmental description of same-sex persons in a homoerotic relationship. “He
just said, Lawrence and I are in love and we will probably go away to Paris together. In fact
he was sure. I did not know what to do. I did not feel like running, or being
surprised, or anything. I just felt like saying all right. The two of them
never kissed in front of me or touched. I just walked along with them and they
took me with them most places.” The “A Corner of Winter”story’s author, Robert
Foster, was an undergraduate student who also published poetry about his romantic
love for women. (Fall Issue)
1969 George White and Gary Alinder wrote in the The San Francisco
Free Press “Every homosexual is a potential
revolutionary” Legacy of Gay Liberation
1969 Franklin V Callahan, 34, of 129 26th Street has entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of sodomy in Second District Court. [He
was acquitted of the offense July 17 1970]
Ogden Standard Examiner
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| Tony Adams |
1975 LOW DOWN ON SLC BARS-Salt Lake City is actually a smoking
place in its own way. There are night
clubs, beer bars, motorcycle bars, supper clubs, gay bars, country bars,
intellectual bars, ethnic nooks, disco houses, belly dancing clubs, theater
clubs, athletic bars, and roof top bars.
If your wrists are too supple for violence and you love to dance, The Sun
1 South 400 West is
probably the best place to get drunk and have a good time
in the city. But sometimes they get too exclusive and bar the door to any of
the poor straights who can’t stand dancing next to jocks. (Opening 1975 Utah
Daily Chronicle page 38)
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| The Sun 1 South 400 West |
1975 The GAYZETTE has new editors Executor Editor Gene Patten who
replaced Jim Christensen. Temporary
Editor was Bab de Lay. Previous editor resigned and “left us holding the
bag.”
1975 PERKY’S CLOSES Interview by Babs De Lay. After five years of
dedicated service to the Gay community Perky’s closest her door and sold out.
In an exclusive interview with Perky, she had the following to say about her
bar. “Five years of the bar business is enough for me. It takes a lot of hours
and time to run a bar. I grew up without having a Gay bar to go to. We had to
go out you people’s homes to socialize. When I opened up the bar we had a
fantastic group of girls that were all very grateful to me. We really had a
good time, but there were two groups of girls; the ones who started out with
me, and the younger girls that came out in the past few years. For the older
girls it was harder being Gay. We had to
be cautious about ourselves Originally we couldn’t dance in the bar, but
after a few months the police let us alone. The younger kids have it a lot
easier with the attitudes changing and the new bars. They don’t have the hassles we used to have.
The spirit of the neighborhood bar isn’t felt anymore. I enjoyed both group of
girls. They were in two different ball games. The young ones kept me young. The
whole five years was a really neat experience. The kids were good to me it was
a good living, and we had a lot of great times together. I believe that the
only way to go out is to go out on top.” Perky is planning to spend more time
with her family. She also stated, “I’ve got some pokers in the fire, so I can’t
really say what I plan on doing. Let the young one’s take over. People will always be good to me.” The Gay community regrets the loss of Perky
and her bar. We all wish her well with her future plans. Perky’s is now a
straight bar for your general information.
1975- A Gay Consciousness Raising Group was formed by Paul Larson
as part of the Campus Christian Center. Paul Larson started the Gay
Consciousness Raising Group at University
of Utah
1975 The Club Baths and The Sun have something for fighting
inflation. Each Tuesday night after the bar closes you can get into The Baths
for only $3.00. You must present a card to the Baths that is available at the
Sun every Tuesday night. So far its been a big success with the Sun Staff there
in “full bloom”. Roger Turvey was made
general manager of Club Baths. Ray Andrews, manager since the opening in
December 1972 has been transferred to Club Baths in San Francisco .
1975 Wednesday The Rusty Bell at 996 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake
City held a 1950’s Party to raise building funds for the Grace Christian Church.
1975 Billie Hayes resigned from the assistant directorship of the
Gay Community Service Center of Utah.
1976 The Gay Service Coalition incorporated with the State of Utah.
Ray Henke and Bill Woodbury principle
officers. The Open Door newspaper
publication prints first issue as a
forum for The Gay Service Coalition. The
Coalition’s Mission statement was“ “we are
interested in the gay scene, first, last and always”. Operated the Gay Help
Line 533-0927
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| Ken Kline |
1977- The Gay Community Service board changed the name of their
newspaper The Open Door to the “Rocky Mountain Open Door” with a new editorial
staff consisting of Cam A. Morrison, Ken Kline, and Ray Henke. The Open Door also
began running personal Ads for the first time.
1979- Dr. Wolf Szmuness ended his
Hepatitis B study and blood drive in Manhattan
among the Gay men of Greenwich Village New
York . Wolf Szmuness, a Polish physician trained in
the Soviet Union, was placed in charge of the Hepatitis B vaccine trial at the New York Blood Center
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| Bob Waldrop |
1979- Monday The Lesbian and Gay Student Union at the University of
Utah held “conscious Raising” sessions every Monday at 7:30 P.m. in the Social
Work Building Room 133. Phone Number 322-5010. Group began discussion of
forming a Parents of Gays group.
1980- Bob Edwards began Royal Court of the golden Spike Empire’s of
Utah’s fund raiser for Toys for Tots with a Halloween Fashion show. First event
held at The Rail 363 West South Temple.
SLC , UT
1980- Lee Williams, Chapter Director of Salt Lake Chapter of
Affirmation resigned and moved to San Francisco. Dave Christiansen served as
Affirmation’s Secretary/Treasurer.
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| Wess Jolley |
1981- Wess Jolley elected President of Lesbian and Gay Student Union at U
of U for 2nd term.
1982- Bob Edwards changed the name of the
Halloween Fashion show to Mr/Miss Golden Spike USA Awards as a fundraiser for
the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire
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| Chuck Whyte |
1982- Chuck Whyte, member of the Royal Court of
the Golden Spike Empire presented his 1st
Annual Unity Show,”I Believe It Can Be Done” a variety performance to unify the
Gay community. Performers were Tina Sinclair, Michael Ball, Jonie Lynn, Marita Gayle, Tracie Ross, Auntie De’ and Annie
Daniels. The event was held at East Room of the Sun
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| Ron Richardson & Lynn Nilsen |
1983- Chuck Whyte presented the 2nd Annual Unity
Show, a variety performance to unify the Gay community
1983- Women Aware Newsletter has new editor,
Terri, who stated that the “purpose of the Women Aware Newsletter was to keep
readers informed about activities, and issues relevant to the Womyn’s’
community as providing a place for womyn to publish creative works.”
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| Dr. Patty Reagan |
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| Duane Dawson |
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| Scott Stites |
1985 The Gay/ Lesbian Alliance a support group for
homosexuals was formed at the Utah State University in Logan. Club goal included “educating the public that
we are normal people” and providing emotional support for homosexuals.
1985- Graham Bell elected President of LGSU and
Richard Rodriguez Vice President for
1985
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| David Nelson & Michael Aaron |
1986- The Lesbian and Gay Student Association of Salt Lake Community College organized. The campus group initially began as a weekly social organization to help people in transition. Lesbian?Gay Student Union. LGSU is a support/rap/social organization for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and others interested of a greater understanding of themselves. Our meetings will be Thursday at 2 pm/ Fall Quarter in Parlor C of the College Center. Come join our discreet open and accepting atmosphere.
1987-The US Senate voted 75-23 to allow the former hospital at
Presidio Army base to be used for a regional AIDS treatment facility in order
to meet the projected needs of San Francisco. President Reagan said if the bill
was passed by the House of Representatives, he would veto it.
1987-ACT-UP disrupted evangelist Pat Robertson's formal
announcement of his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President.
1987 Beau Chaine opens The Aardvark’s at 249 West 400 South “ A west side
“La Cage” experience”
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| Alan Bergin |
1988- Dr. Allen E. Bergin (Psychology, BYU) October 1988, "Questions
and Answers", Ensign, p. 10 "For example, though a person may suffer
from homosexual inclinations that are caused by some combination of biology and
environment, the gospel requires that he or she develop firm self-discipline
and make an energetic effort to change."
1990 - The Bridge publishes its first Issue in Salt Lake City.
Publisher and Editor are Alice Hart and Becky Moorman.
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| Connell "Rocky" ODonovan |
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| Bon Waldrop |
1990- The Stonewall Town Meeting endorsed Bob Waldrop for Utah’s
State Senate District One. Waldrop is committed to women’s reproduction rights,
Gay and Lesbian Concern, and rational liquor laws. He ran under the slogan
Legalize Adulthood in Utah
and on the Libertarian Party ticket.
1990 Monday- HORIZON HOUSE The Horizon Health Center grand opening
held. “The Horizon House a new facility for people with AIDS, intended to
provide a home-like environment for social gatherings, therapy programs and
educational seminars opened Oct. 1 in Salt
Lake City . Horizon House is a non-denominational,
"non-political" project that will be run by volunteers on a
shoe-string budget, according to Dick Dotson, a Salt Lake City businessman who helped
establish the facility. "There can never, ever be paid staff," Mr.
Dotson said. "This is a volunteer organization all the way.". Mr. Dotson saw the need for Horizon House
while working as a volunteer for the Utah Aids Foundation. Some people with
AIDS, he said, wouldn't take advantage of services offered by the foundation
because of its setting. Others were deterred by the foundation's perceived
identity as an organization run by, and for, homosexuals. "The few
{therapy} groups that were in Salt
Lake
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| Torie Osborn |
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| Dallin Oaks |
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| Kelli Peterson |
1995- Kelli Peterson and others form the Gay Straight Alliance Club
at East High School with teacher Camille
Lee as faculty sponsor. Peterson and Lee both attended Candice Gringrich Coming
Out speech at The Stonewall Community
Center and afterwards discussed the possibility of forming a club at the high
school.
1997- The Utah Stonewall Center closes its door at 770 South 300
West SLC
- One of the unfortunately events in the shutting down of the center was the loss of a premier library and the Utah Gay and Lesbian Archives. The concept of a Gay library for
1998 Brigham Young University
Daily Universe 'Gay Utah Democrat' active in party By Ryan Rauzon David Nelson is somewhat of an anomaly
in Utah. Aside from being a registered Democrat, political activist, party
volunteer and professional lobbyist, he's also gay. "Most of my political
experience comes from being gay," Nelson said. He prefers to be known as a
gay
Utah Democrat, in that order.
"We use terms to describe ourselves. It's how we create our individual
identity. Much of what I've accomplished has been because of my involvement
with gay politics," he said. Nelson doesn't limit himself to gay rights,
however. Peter Kauffmann, spokesman with the Democratic National Committee,
said Nelson has been involved in virtually every aspect of the Utah democratic
party. "David is invaluable," Kauffmann said. "He has registered
literally thousands of voters, fought vigorously on non-discriminatory suits,
worked to pass hate-crime laws and lobbied extensively for Democratic
issues." "He embodies what a volunteer should be," Kauffmann
said. The Democratic National Committee
recently honored Nelson with the Lawrence O'Brien Award for achievement, "Created in recognition of
the important contribution of volunteers to the continuing success and vitality
of the party," according to a news release from the committee. Nelson said
he was honored to be recognized for his work in the party. "I believe as a
gay Democrat that this award helps all Democrats recognize the changing face of
our party," he said. But not all registered Democrats agree with Nelson's
views. BYU Professor and Democrat David Magelby declined to comment on Nelson's
work in the party, but said he and Nelson haven't always seen eye to eye.
"We've had our disagreements," Magelby said. However, the director of
the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, Carol Gnade, said Nelson is a
"lone advocate bringing people together." "I've known David for
seven years," Gnade said. "He knows how to work within the democratic process. Not many people can do
what he has done. He doesn't get frustrated or disillusioned; he is determined,
precise, logical and very methodical in the way he gets things done," she
said. Nelson said he will continue to work in the political arena. He is a
public relations consultant, working on Lily Eskelsen's campaign in Utah's 2nd
District race against incumbent Merrill Cook. He is also helping with
Jackie Biskupski's campaign for the Utah
Legislature's House District 30 seat.
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| David Nelson |
- October 5, 1998 Brigham Young University Daily Universe Correction Because of editing errors in Friday's article about gay Utah Democrat David Nelson, the story failed to address his receiving the Lawrence O'Brien Award for achievement from the Democratic National Committee. He was the only Utah Democrat to receive the national award, given "in recognition of the important contribution of volunteers to the continuing success and vitality of the party," according to a news release. In addition, David Magelby, BYU political science professor, told the Daily Universe that he would like to congratulate Nelson in receiving this award.
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| Jim Dabakis |
1998- Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt held an unpublicized 75-minute meeting
with a dozen Gay high school students. The meeting was arranged by Jim Debakis,
a Gay art dealer and former talk show host and a leader of the community center
project.
October 2000 Board of
Trustees of Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah
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| A Dean Byrd |
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| Craig Miller |
- Chad Keller to Craig Miller: I can no longer, nor will I afford the time to be bothered in helping the Alpha-Social-Working-Lesbians create their ultimate Utopia, weeded free of what they and obviously members of the Pride committee feel are acceptable. Best of Luck, obviously the represented AL and her eunuchs know how to do it all, and are free to proceed in a manner which suits the agenda of the elite. Please convey to her and the Center my deepest of Appreciation of calling me a “drunk” at the Merger meeting. This will now be an issue, and will not go away to easily for both her and the Center. It was uncalled for and low brow, if not plainly inappropriate. Odd how I have not made personal attacks of that sort, yet I’m sure it is well justified in some dysfunctional manner. I would have expected that you would have not allowed comment like that to be made; then again you are the silent type. I fear that it was not me that tossed our friendship out the window. I will not be treated like Chaise was treated, so reign her and the others in ASAP. As for my thoughts, It was the pride committee, in a move as dysfunctional as ever that determined where the ideas would be offered and bestowed. Those ideas have been forwarded on to other community organizations That will use them respectfully, and will seek my comments honestly. Many of them are already in the works and will be wonderful fundraisers and Gay Pride Month activities for those organizations. As for anything that I may have had, it met with the shredder last week, to make room for new and better projects which were previously mentioned. As there was no respect or integrity in the previous decision, I felt it was just time to move on. Thanks! CK
2003 SL Tribune Page: D4 Police find stolen car of dead senior
Police have recovered a stolen vehicle belonging to a Salt Lake City man who
was found dead Sept. 24. The body of Leo P. Anderson, 69, was discovered in his
basement apartment near 1200 East and 1900 South by a friend. Officials have
not yet released the cause of Anderson's death but call it suspicious and are
investigating it as a homicide. Officers in Las Vegas found the truck, a green
2000 Mazda, with Salt Lake City resident Ira Eugene Hensley, 40, at the wheel
Sunday night. Hensley was charged with the theft, a second-degree felony, in
3rd District Court on Tuesday, according to court documents. Police detectives
are searching for a link between Anderson and Hensley. Those with information
about how or whether the two knew each other may call Salt Lake City homicide
detectives at 799-3730. Michael N. Westley
- Deseret News 1 Oct 2003 Police look for links in beating death Homicide investigators believe the binding and beating of a man in his Sugar House apartment last week was not a random crime. Salt Lake police are asking the public to help clarify the relationship between Ira Eugene Hensley and Leo P. Anderson, found murdered in his apartment Thursday. Hensley, 40, remains in a Las Vegas jail for investigation of possession of a stolen vehicle, Salt Lake police detective Dwayne Baird said. A Mazda pickup that belonged to Anderson had been missing when police found his body. That pickup was involved in an accident in Las Vegas earlier this week, Baird said. Hensley allegedly "tried to leave the scene of the traffic accident," Baird said. He was caught by Las Vegas police and booked into jail. "We're trying to figure out what the connection is between these two guys. Why would they know each other?" Baird said. Police originally said the motive in the murder was robbery. Besides the truck, investigators do not think any other possessions were taken, Baird said, and now they believe the two men knew each other. Anderson, 69, was a registered sex offender with previous convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor, dealing in harmful materials to a minor and sexual battery. A friend discovered Anderson's body about 3 a.m. Thursday. Anderson had been bound and beaten, although an official cause of death will be determined by the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office, Baird said.
- 10/02/2003 SLTribune Victim's fatal injuries consistent with beating Police have confirmed that Leo P. Anderson, 69, died from injuries consistent with a beating. Anderson's body was discovered in his home on Sept. 24 by a friend. Salt Lake City detectives were sent to Nevada to question Ira Eugene Hensley, 40, who was found in possession of Anderson's truck and detained by police in Las Vegas on Sunday, according to Detective Dwayne Baird of the Salt Lake City police. Investigators fielded several calls Wednesday from individuals with information about the relationship between Anderson and Hensley.
2003 Just 16 days before the first Pink Pistols of Utah
anniversary, group members will join and speak at the premiere gender- and
sexual-minority Southern Utah Pride Celebration. The discussion will be a part
of the day-long celebration on Nov. 8 at 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Springdale Town
Park in Springdale,
Utah, near Zion National Park.
With the recent introduction of a new state-ballot initiative to ban state
concealed-firearm rights at schools, the firearms discussion will engage the
ideas and information of gay political leader David Nelson who also serves as
the founder of PPU. PPU is a group of gender- and sexual-minority firearm
advocates and owners in the state, and supporters of the Pink Pistols idea that
was described nationally in 2000 by writer Jonathan Rauch for the legal, safe
and responsible use of firearms for their self defense and shooting-sport
competition, including those of them who are gay and Lesbian, and that of their
families and friends. The group is the largest such group in the United States
with more than 264 members. David Nelson
Salt Lake City
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| Indigo girls |
2005 Saturday 1st Prince
& Princess Royale 30 Alfredo & Kennedy are hosting "Bringing Back
the Carnival". It is going to be a
carnival type event similar to the way the RCGSE use to do the Carnival, but
with some modifications. All proceeds
will go to benefit the People With AIDS (PWA) Christmas Fund.
2005 PWACU
Living with AIDS Conference. Join PWACU and gain some knowledge and
understanding at this conference Saturday, October 1 – Annual Living With AIDS Conference
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| Kim Russo |
2008 Feature | Gay Bride:
Looking for a legal marriage, Utah same-sex couples are California-bound. By
Carolyn Campbell Salt Lake City Weekly Catherine Healey proposed to Janet Cope
in the couple’s back yard on May 13, 2008. She recalls feeling jittery as she
dropped to one knee, ready to pop the question. “I thought she might say it was
a dumb idea.” Instead, Healey’s partner of 13 years grew quiet and teary.
Moments later, Cope said, “Yes, yes, yes.” Before their summer wedding in San Francisco,
Healey, 41, and Cope, 43, joked that they planned to register for wedding gifts
at Home Depot. Reflecting more seriously, they say if they were to create an
actual gift registry, it would invite well-wishers to donate to either the Utah
AIDS Foundation or the Humane Society. Martha Amundsen and Lisa Altman feel
that posting their wedding announcement in The Salt Lake Tribune put a human
face on the contentious concept of same-sex marriage. They say their legal
marriage performed in California hasn’t inherently changed their relationship,
but “it gives it dignity and respect,” Amundsen says. “Our being visible
allowed people to start conversations about it.” Once the paid announcement hit print, the pair
received “tons of e-mails” along with phone calls and letters. “They were all
nice. People who are upset aren’t saying they are upset to me,” Amundsen says. Dressed in matching champagne-hued silk tunics
and pants, Amundsen and Altman, both 42, were legally married on June 27, 2008.
Their ceremony coincided with Gay Pride weekend. The San Francisco City Hall
was “a buzz of energy and excitement with 300 couples getting married that day,”
Amundsen recalls. “Because the rotunda is so huge, they could have many
ceremonies going on in different places. Whenever one ended, people cheered and
hollered.” Healey and Cope traveled to
San Francisco on Aug. 13, where Healey’s aunt witnessed their ceremony.
Healey’s sister wanted to throw a wedding shower, but Healey invited her to
just bring a side dish to a celebratory barbecue in Utah later in the fall.
Cope says that the reality that she was able to look Healey in the eye and say,
“I do,” was “validating and heartfelt, and brings together where we have been
for 13 years.” The issue of same-sex
marriage centers on concepts as basic and lasting as the desire to find a
partner for life, the hope of building a joint future with emotional and
economic security and the longing to create a family—just as generations of
heterosexuals have always done. While opponents feel that the very idea of gay
marriage violates the basic definition of marriage as a union between a man and
a woman and is both legally and morally wrong, proponents say the opportunity
for gay couples to marry legally is a fundamental right, denied for too long.
The couples in this story feel that pursuing a legal marriage validates the
sincere, authentic relationships they have forged with their significant
others. From their perspective, this is a logical step forward in their lives. And, like thousands of others across the
United States, these couples have headed to California, or plan to go there,
for a legal marriage ceremony. Their wedding plans unfolded against the
backdrop of Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution (as Utahns
did in 2004) to read that marriage is legal only between a man and a woman.
California voters will decide on Nov. 4. Were the Election Day measure to pass,
it would nullify a May 15, 2008, decision of the California Supreme Court that
struck down all previous prohibitions against same-sex marriage. The court on
that day ordered the state to start recognizing same-sex marriages on June 17. Since that day, a steady stream of gay
couples, whose unions would not be recognized in most other states, has married
in California. UCLA’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public
Policy projects that about half of California’s more than 100,000 gay and
lesbian couples will wed during the next three years and that 68,000
out-of-state couples will travel to California to marry. Fervent support for Proposition 8 has poured
into California from across the country. The Roman Catholic Church is officially
opposed to same-sex marriage as are most evangelical Christian sects and
conservative Protestant denominations. Among the most vested opponents to
same-sex marriage is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From its
world headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City, church leaders have said the
church’s position on marriage between a man and a woman is “unequivocal.” The church is directing proponents of
Proposition 8 to the Web site ProtectMarriage.com According to the site,
Mormons worldwide have kicked in about $5 million in fighting same-sex marriage
in California. The orchestrated LDS Church effort was enough to outrage Bruce
Bastian, co-founder of WordPerfect, who lives in Orem. A gay philanthropist and
ex-Mormon whose foundation strongly supports human rights and arts
organizations, Bastian recently donated $1 million to fight Proposition 8. “The
LDS Church has no business [sticking] their big nose in something that’s a
legal matter, not a religious matter,” Bastian told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Meanwhile, as the political and culture wars about same-sex unions go on, many
Utah gay and lesbian couples are taking advantage of a legal leg-up while they
can. Feature | Gay Bride:
Looking for a legal marriage, Utah same-sex couples are California-bound. The Dating and Mating Game Before a mutual friend introduced Catherine
Healey and Janet Cope at a Sunday breakfast, Healey had just come off a short
and fiery relationship that ended badly. She planned to stay single, continue
her career as a police dispatcher and finish her master’s degree. To Healey’s
surprise, Cope approached her at a birthday party and whispered, “Girl, you are
making me crazy,” before walking away. Healey phoned Cope that night inviting
her to meet for coffee the next day, where she presented her with a
long-stemmed pink rose. Their date lasted from 11 a.m. until after they watched
the sunset that night. They talked for hours about a variety of topics,
including how they each wanted to be moms and the ways they might accomplish parenthood.
“We talked about adoption and foreign adoption,” Healey remembers. “That day
kind of sealed the deal.” Cope’s relationship with her current partner was
dissolving. Their home was for sale. She and Healey both eventually moved in
with a group of friends. Two months after they met, they traveled to Maui for a
trip they now consider to be their honeymoon. Altman and Amundsen, both
corporate lawyers in Salt Lake County, met in a professional setting. Altman
was serving as moral support for a lawsuit involving Amundsen’s client. After
corresponding online and dating for a year, Altman sold her Victorian-era home
in the Avenues neighborhood and moved into Amundsen’s Sugar House home. Today,
the couple is out of the closet at all social and professional occasions.
Still, Altman says, “Every day of the year, every hour of the day, you still
have to come out. By knowing us, people will know that this supposedly ‘gay
agenda’ means going to work every day, paying your taxes and washing the dogs.
Just living our lives like any other couple wants to live theirs.” State Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, and
his partner Mark Barr, plan to marry in California in the future. They will
then hold a reception in Utah. “For us Utah couples, being able to marry legally
in California is a symbolic display of recognition that demonstrates our
relationships are on equal footing with other heterosexual relationships,”
McCoy says. “The ability to marry demonstrates a respect and appreciation for
same-sex relationships even if they aren’t recognized under the law in Utah.
That begins the process of recognition that is the first step down the road to
ultimate acceptance.” Amundsen and
Altman feel they share “a lot of sameness.” They are both successful in their
law practices and share “an odd sense of humor where we find the same sort of
things funny that no one else would even see as humorous.” Altman says she is
more uptight; Amundsen more laid back. “I’m the one who paints the borders
while Martha does the middle,” Altman says. Like the majority of straight
couples heading toward marriage, the issue of children—especially how to
actually produce them—weighs heavily on many gay couples. Four years into her
relationship with Cope, Healey underwent two artificial inseminations without
getting pregnant. “We decided we needed a dad,” Cope says. “We wanted the child
to have an active relationship with his father.” For three years, as they
talked with and considered specific fatherhood candidates, they asked
themselves what each person’s dedication to the relationship would be. “It
actually became almost stressful,” Cope recalls. As their friend, Bob Elton, watered his garden
and prepared for a barbecue one summer evening, he told Cope and Healey that
being a father was something he had dreamed about his whole life. The
54-year-old gay man who rode in rodeos and worked for Utah Valley Hospital as a
radiology director had tears in his eyes as he said, “I would love to be a
dad.” That emotional moment was in stark contrast to the hectic schedule that
followed. There were repeated efforts at artificial insemination, using Elton’s
donated sperm, at University Hospital. “I got discouraged a lot—every time I
took a pregnancy test and the results were negative,” Cope recalls. Finally,
after three years of medical intervention, Cope became pregnant. Not long after
the relationship of Healey, Cope and Elton began, Michael Tragakis met Robert
Elton at a dance. Tragakis, a psychologist, felt the part-time rodeo cowboy was
accomplished and impressive. When Tragakis and Elton began a relationship,
Elton, Cope and Healey were already pursuing parenthood. “They had it all
figured out. For me, it was a little bit bewildering and mystifying—but
exciting,” Tragakis says. Before he met Elton, Tragakis had written off having
children. When he came out as gay in college, he felt “a little bit of a
grieving process” with the understanding that he would never be a father. After
college, he spent a year volunteering at a Mexican orphanage, partly to spend
time with children because he felt sure he would never have his own. Cope and Elton’s son, Alexander Robert Elton,
was born in February 2001. But tragedy struck just three months later, when
Elton died in a horseback-riding accident. At the cemetery after the funeral,
Tragakis, who had been Elton’s partner for eight months, lifted Cope’s and
Healey’s spirits by saying, “I want to be part of Alex’s life if that is all
right with you.” Tragakis, 38, recalls
that “When Bob was there, I felt like I was going to be kind of a side figure,
a helper to Bob. But after he died, it became clear to me that I wanted to step
in as central father figure. Part of it was my love for Bob, part of it was for
his son, Alex, and part of it was for me, in my heart. “When Alex was born, that innate love you have
for a baby made it no longer a question.” He says he felt very lucky in the
situation, and that “while all parents have their struggles and ups and downs,
this was a real blessing for me.” To
distinguish between Alex’s two fathers, Cope and Healey refer to Elton as
“Daddy Bob” and to Tragakis as “Papa.” Cope says of their son’s biological
father, “it’s like his presence never left us. Bob really wanted three or more
kids–‘a quiverful of arrows.’” Cope,
Healey and Tragakis settled into a co-parenting arrangement that resembled that
of many divorced straight couples. Alex alternates between their two homes in
Salt Lake City and the Millcreek area in Salt Lake County. “I really love Cathy
and Janet and feel we all have a positive commitment to parenting,” Tragakis
says. A year after Alex’s birth, he recalls the three of them were sitting
together when the two women asked him about the possibility of having another
child. “My initial reaction was real excitement, but I don’t think I gave my
answer right then.” Later, Tragakis polled his own parents and friends on the
topic. He had previously wondered about the possibility of having a biological
child during Healey’s pregnancy “when it was a huge deal and so exciting, and
we wanted to make sure everything went well.” All three soon agreed it would be great if
Alex had a brother or sister. They decided to pursue artificial insemination
using Tragakis’ sperm. Tragakis found his initial experience in having his
sperm tested, “very daunting for a male—gay or otherwise. You get this report
on your sperm, what shape they are in and how fast they move. I thought, ‘I
hope my guys can work.’ You give one sample, then they freeze that, then you
give another sample six months later, and they use the frozen one.” When neither of the first two tries was a
success, for the third attempt, Cope used a syringe to inseminate Healey at
home. “I’m a nurse—I can do what they do,” she says. At the beginning of her
second pregnancy, Healey soon became violently ill, “sicker than I have ever
been in my life.” Three months later, Cope and Tragakis accompanied her to an
ultrasound appointment. Healey was carrying twins. “I was flabbergasted,”
Tragakis says. “It was so seriously out of the realm of anything I ever
imagined.” Cope and Tragakis were at the courthouse pursuing guardianship
papers five months later when Healey summoned them to the delivery room.
Zachary and Avery, a boy and a girl, were premature, born in December 2003.
They weighed 3 pounds, 13 ounces and 3 pounds, 3 ounces respectively. Born with
underdeveloped lungs, Avery spent the first four months of her life in the
hospital. “She was more wire and tube
than baby. We almost lost her,” Tragakis says. Following that initial siege,
Avery has continued to experience health problems, but the family has settled
into a comfortable joint-custody mode. How They Make It Work All three children
sleep at Tragakis’s house on Wednesday and Friday nights. He stays home with
them on Thursdays during the day, and on weekend days, too. “Sometimes, when
Cathy and I are home, we will do three-kid days,” he says. And sometimes they
spread the three kids around so the parents can have one-on-one time with each.
“With three adults trying to make decisions, there are a lot of e-mails,”
Healey says. “The kids try Mommy, then Mama, then Daddy.” Alex has four sets of
grandparents and the twins have three. The nontraditional relationship can
occasionally raise questions of logic. “They would only let me list two parents
on our Hogle Zoo pass, even after I explained that we are a three-parent
family,” Healey says. Before Cope’s guardianship was complete, she couldn’t
visit her own children in the hospital without Healey or Tragakis. They say
that establishing the legal documents to protect their family financially and
medically, such as durable health care and durable power of attorney–have cost
a fortune, but they were worth it. Now that 7-year-old Alex is in school,
Tragakis says, “It really is clear that although gay parenting is more common,
it is still alternate. Part of me feels some worry and fear about what it will
be like for these kids to grow up.” He says he hears stories from Alex at
school, “and there is already a real pressure to have a certain kind of family
that is the majority with one mom and one dad in one house. He’ll say ‘I wish
you guys lived in the same house’ without fully understanding that Cathy and
Janet are in the relationship, and I am not. There is a complexity to it that
they will have to negotiate–but I don’t think it’s harmful.” Tragakis’ partner, John Apel, is 55 and works
as a psychiatric nurse. He was previously married to a woman. His two children
are in their 20s. “John’s relationship with my young children is something that
is developing for him,” Tragakis says, “because he has done this before and
felt good about the fact that he had raised his children.” Tragakis, Apel and
the children recently traveled to Massachusetts to visit Tragakis’ family. “My
two brothers are both straight and married,” Tragakis says. “This visit was the
first time I felt I had my place at the table—with a great romantic
relationship and three beautiful kids.” Tragakis
hopes his current relationship will also proceed to a legal marriage. “By the
time I came out of the closet in college, I had only experienced a little bit
of being heterosexual, because of social pressure. I’ve never had a marriage,
which a lot of people have by age 23. Now, I get a little starry-eyed at the
idea, and I would like to get married to my partner.” Cope and Healey took the
extra step of marriage in spite of an overwhelming opposition to their
relationship in Utah. “They say marriage is for straight people, and we’re not
straight,” Healey says. “But you grow up your whole life being excited to marry
the person you love. Then, if you are gay, it’s suddenly, ‘No, you can’t.’ Now
I can say, ‘This is my wife, Janet,’ in California. In Utah, she’s my
roommate.” They hoped to hold out to
marry in Utah, “But now, we just hope that we are alive long enough to renew
our vows here. We may be using walkers, but we’ll be first in line.” While these couples are committed to the idea
of legal same-sex marriage, the vast majority of Utah voters decided otherwise,
by amending the state Constitution to drive that point home. “The law in Utah,
which is based on the Constitution, states that marriage is only between a man
and a woman,” says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “If a [same-sex]
couple goes to California to marry, and then comes back here, should they sue
for the state to recognize their marriage here, we would have to defend the
Constitution and say that the state would not recognize that marriage.” Some constitutional scholars, however, argue
that the U.S. Constitution requires states to recognize legal contracts from
other states under its “fair faith and credit” clause. In the case of a
marriage—a legal contract—performed in California, Utah might be legally bound
to recognize those unions. Earlier this year, Shurtleff petitioned the California
Supreme Court, requesting the state wait until after the Nov. 4 election to
legalize the marriages. The court denied the petition. On Aug. 4, California
Attorney General Jerry Brown released a statement that the thousands of gay and
lesbian weddings conducted since the state Supreme Court legalized the unions
on May 15 will probably remain valid (in California). With so many legal
theories and educated guesses swirling around the issue, it’s difficult to know
how the marriages will eventually be viewed under the law. But legal
interpretation of their relationship hasn’t deterred many couples, including
lawyers Martha Amundsen and Lisa Altman. “Our relationship on a personal level
will not be affected whatsoever,” Amundsen says. “We are committed to each
other and will continue to live as any married couple lives as we have before
we were legally married. And we’ll continue to do so regardless of the outcome
of Proposition 8.” In his life beyond the Legislature, 38-year-old Scott McCoy
is also an attorney. “I hope someday the state of Utah will recognize [same-sex
marriage],” he says, adding that the people who marry in California today will
go back to their home states. “They will live their lives, and in the course of
living their lives, life will happen to them. Some of those relationships will
break up. Some will suffer tragedy and one of the partners will become
incapacitated or die.” Then the law in those respective states will have to
deal with the situation. “Same-sex marriage is not an issue that Utah is going
to be able to hide from forever,” McCoy says. There are real-life issues the
state of Utah will be forced to deal with eventually. “A resident California
couple will be driving across Utah and get in a car accident. One of them dies
and there has to be a distribution of that property. The Utah courts will have
to decide whether to treat them as legal strangers or treat them as if they are
married. These legal questions will slowly but surely have to be dealt with.
“In a way,” he says, “Utah has tried to build a sandbag wall as high and strong
as possible—but I don’t think it is going to be able to keep back the flood.”
.jpg) |
| Jeremy Yamshiro & David Alder |
- I bought a ticket already at Mark
Swonson's table but hope to see you there.
 |
| Troy Williams |
 |
| Gayle Ruzicka |
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| Sister Dottie S. Dixon |
time with revulsion. “I owe a lot of my
education to her. We worked on so many projects, it was a blur. Abortion was a
big issue then. I found myself swerving to the other side.” Williams met with
Utah conservative demigod Cleon Skousen, but he also attended Sunstone, the
conference of Mormon intellectuals, and visited polygamist fundamentalist
churches. He was bouncing back and forth between Eugene and Provo hating his
job as a real-estate appraiser. By 1998, Williams had come out to himself and
was attending the University of Utah, where he would earn degrees in
anthropology and filmmaking. He also was losing his religion. Within a year of
coming out, the zealous returned missionary formally resigned from the LDS
Church. “It’s like peeling an onion,” he says. “I held onto the Gold Plates.
Then I held onto Jesus. Then God. Each thing starts to fall away.” Being saved-
By the turn of the new millennium, Williams felt he was a new person, “saved”
by his gayness. “Being gay rescued me from the Mormon church, from
conservatism, from the Eagle Forum,” he says, laughing. “It saved me from
living in the suburbs.” Ruzicka learned of her protégé’s new life through a
2008 guest opinion article he wrote in The Salt Lake Tribune in which Williams
“praised” her and Buttars for energizing Utah’s gay-rights movement. “The
simple truth is that every minority group needs a cranky xenophile on the Hill,
and Buttars knows how to get the job done,” he wrote. “Utah’s lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender population has never been better-organized, funded and
effectively trained in political action.” “I thought, ‘Wow!’ ” Ruzicka
remembers. “I knew he was leaning toward making some changes in his life, but I
didn’t know he had any enmity towards me.” Ruzicka says she holds Williams
dear. “You don’t quit caring for someone because they’ve made some lifestyle
changes and says some angry things about you.” And Williams still holds Ruzicka
in the highest regard, at least as a formidable opponent. “Gayle is brilliant
at what she does. She is a refining element for feminism and gay-rights
activists — she’s actually doing the Good Work. Without her aggressive
demonizing of queers, feminists, liberals, we would be more lazy about our
work.” Another milestone came when Ruzicka described Williams in an Eagle Forum
alert as a “militant homosexual.” He delights in arguing issues with his former
mentor when he bumps into her at rallies and protests. “I like to provoke and
have fun with her,” he says. “It’s a friendly thing. She always says, ‘I love
you, Troy’ when it’s over.” Clashes from within- Williams’ ongoing development
as an activist has also led to clashes with older and more conservative leaders
in Utah’s gay community. In particular, Williams and other young activists
question what they see as their elders’ obsession with being accepted by the
LDS Church or at least reaching an accommodation. Williams fears that marriage
equality, repealing the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and
negotiations with the LDS Church are really about gay men trying to regain the
traditional male privilege they lost when they came out publicly as
homosexuals. “[Mormon gays] give up even more,” Williams says. “You are giving
up your promised godhood. All of a sudden, because of this quirk of nature,
you’ve lost it all.” Williams, himself, would settle for indifference from the
LDS Church. “All I want is for the Mormon church to back off and get the hell
out of politics,” he says. “I don’t want a temple marriage. I just want to live
and let live. I will stand in opposition to anyone trying
 |
| Michael Wesley |
to take away
[Mormons’] civil liberties. Let me have mine.” Activist Michael Westley, a
former Salt Lake Tribune reporter raised as a Catholic in Utah, knows this gay
Mormon conflict well. “The indoctrination into the LDS Church runs very deep.
And many of its gay members, when they find they are not inside that circle
anymore, yearn for it. That yearning is a very big piece of being a gay Mormon.
How do you turn that off?” Taking up the torch, to burn the bridges down- Longtime
gay activist Jim Dabakis, who is involved in ongoing meetings with
representatives of the church, counts Williams at the forefront of Utah’s
“young turks.” Troy is “pure energy. That’s why they call him the gay mayor of
Salt Lake City.” Dabakis adds: “These guys are young and impatient and pushy
and much
.jpg) |
| Jim Dabakis |
more media savvy than we ever were. In the ’70s, we would take fliers
for early Mormon gay groups and put them on windshields at [LDS Church]
Conference, then run away. That was our kind of activism. They are more
sophisticated. They are not only picking up the torch from us — they are
burning down the building.” Though Williams’ extreme politics irritate some
gays and lesbians — he admits having had his share of clashes with other gay
leaders — the Utah community seems determined to live up to the unity for which
it won praise in a recent Out magazine article. “The groups here in SLC are
putting into action what many of the national organizations haven’t even
figured out yet — that the infighting must stop and coordination and
cooperation must begin,” wrote Dustin Lance Black. The national spotlight:
What’s next? Nobody, it seems, has anything bad to say on the record about
Williams.
.jpg) |
| Steven Fales |
The rare exception is actor/activist/former Mormon missionary Steven
Fales, who recently referred to Williams as “big fish-little pond Brother
Williams.” The comment followed Williams’ dismissal of Fales’ autobiographical
play “Missionary Position” as “cutting-edge 20 years ago.” Dabakis says the
more venerable gay and lesbian leaders wholly support the younger activists as
an important part of getting the church’s support for local anti-discrimination
laws that have been passed in the past year. “It makes the establishment much
more comfortable in dealing with us when they see these other guys out there.” “There
are those [among young activists] who would see us as sellouts,” Dabakis says.
“But I sense a wonderful chemistry and a willingness to work together.” Williams agrees: “In politics, you need
people who are rattling the cages and people who are building bridges. I’ve
always been better at burning bridges.” Westley says nearly everyone agrees
Williams’ turn in the national spotlight is deserved. “It’s great for all of us
that Troy is getting attention. He has integrity for what he does and he
shares. He shows up. Who cares whose name is on it?” Williams won’t discuss
future projects, though he is energetically pursuing several, including a screenplay.
“I’ll be dissecting the Mormon experience — hopefully, in smart ways.” Right
now, he’s coming off a recent triumphant trip to the Toronto Film Festival and
the premiere of “Tabloid,” a documentary film by award-winning filmmaker Errol
Morris of “Thin Blue Line.” Tabloid” chronicles the strange days of Joyce McKinney, who shocked
Mormons and delighted scandal newspapers around the world in the 1980s when she
kidnapped a Mormon missionary in England and held him as a “sex slave.”
Williams appears in the film to explain Mormonism to a worldwide audience. “This
has been the best year of my life,” Williams says of his involvement in
“Tabloid,” the cameo on “The Colbert Report” and that prominent mention in the
Out article written by Black, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “Milk,” who
compared Williams to international AIDS activist Cleve Jones. Reaching across
with Sister Dottie- But what might become the most enduring legacy of Williams
is his work with
.jpg) |
| Charles Frost |
Charles Lynn Frost in creating Sister Dottie of Spanish Fork,
a star of radio, YouTube video, then stage. The satirical concept is based on
Frost’s own Mormon mother. Sister Dottie, who tenaciously clings to her LDS
religion and her gay son, was first embraced by the gay community as pure Utah
camp. Then, Frost and Williams noticed a change in the audiences at their
follow-up play, “The Passion of Sister Dottie.” “I was looking out on rows and
rows of middle-aged women who looked just like Dottie,” Frost remembers. “I
think it’s because Dottie says, ‘I don’t have to throw my gay child out because
of my religion.’ ” Few members of Williams’ family have completely accepted his
homosexuality, especially because it put him at odds with their church. His
parents adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” denial that remained a wedge in their
relationship. But shortly before his mother died late last year from breast
cancer, something had changed. “She told me the gay stuff just didn’t matter to
her,” Williams recounts. “She just worried that my life could be endangered
because I was gay.” Oddly for Williams, who espouses a confrontational “queer
politics,” the character of Sister Dottie is an attempt to reach out
compassionately to the Mormon community, who have historically claimed the
biblical label as a “peculiar people.” “I’ve been hard on the church,” Williams
says. “Dottie was my attempt to reach across. I want Mormons to see their own
queerness, their own strangeness. ‘Queer’ and ‘peculiar’ have the same
dictionary meaning.” Turning the dial Tune into Troy Wiliams’ show, Radioactive, which airs at 6
p.m. daily on KRCL.
2011 Moab, Utah held its first Pride Festival. Salt Lake Tribune Amy Stocks, 34,
remembers how "isolated" she felt as a lesbian teen in Moab in the mid-1990s. Now, she hopes to show gay and transgender youths in her small Utah town that they are not alone. In fact, there are quite a few grown-ups — both gay and straight — who are throwing a big party to celebrate Moab's diversity. On Oct. 1, Moab will hold its first gay pride festival. The Utah Pride Festival in Salt Lake City now draws upward of 20,000 attendees each year, but festivals outside of the capital have been slow to take root in the Beehive State. The Southern Utah Pride Festival ran for six years in Springdale, outside of Zion National Park, but has been defunct for the past few years. Stocks and Ali Lingel, who are co-founders of Moab Pride, hope to make their redrock festival an annual event. As an affiliate of the Utah Pride Center, they have the support of the organizers of Salt Lake City's massive fest. Eventually, Stocks and Lingel want to open a resource center in Moab for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youths. "There's really nowhere for gay teenagers in Moab to turn to," Stocks said. She hopes the festival will show LGBT individuals in Moab and surrounding areas — both young and old — that there is a "huge community of support." Last year, both Moab and Grand County passed ordinances that prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. "I think it says we're a very welcoming community," said Moab Mayor David Sakrison. "I welcome [the pride festival]. I think it celebrates our diversity." On Oct. 1, the festival begins with a "visibility march" from Swanny Park down Moab's Center Street. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes, and Lingel, 24, thinks many will. "People in Moab love dressing up. It's one of the things I love about this town," said Lingel, who moved to Moab a year ago from Seattle. "We're hoping to come out with noise makers and costumes." Sister Dottie S. Dixon, a fictional Mormon mom of a gay son played by actor Charles Lynn Frost, has been named grand marshal of the festival, which runs from 2 to 7:30 p.m. at Old City Park. The free event is funded by private donations and sponsors. There will be live music from bands Marinade, Sister Wives, and The Vision and activities such as painting, horse shoes, frisbee golf and a children's area. "We are making it extremely family-friendly. We realize it is southern Utah so you can't get too eccentric with what you put out there," Stocks said. "I'm hoping a lot of the Moab community shows up." Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Utah Pride Center, said the Moab Pride volunteers, including Helene Rohr and Sallie Hodges, have helped strengthen the center's statewide network. Larabee sees Moab Pride offering support in a variety of ways in the future, from helping families accept LGBT youths to providing sensitivity training to businesses. "They'll easily build a foundation for a festival next year," Larabee said. "Everyone comments on their enthusiasm and vision for what's possible in the Moab area." Plans are in the works, too, she said, for the return of the Springdale festival in 2012. The idea for the Moab festival grew from a joke on Stocks' Facebook page. She posted a video from "The Onion," a satirical news source, of a small town throwing a pride festival for its only gay resident and asked "When's my pride festival?" But she was overwhelmed by the number of people who thought it was a great idea. "It just kind of exploded from there," Stocks laughed.
2016 Moab Pride Parade held.Pride Parade starts at 12pm. Line up at 11:30a. We are visible, we are here, we are equal, we are family! Festival grounds open at noon as well, and we'll have entertainers, singers, vendors, great food and lots of fun! The Moab Times-Independent article The Moab Pride festival returns to town for the sixth year this weekend with music, poetry and, of course, the annual Saturday march and celebration. The event’s theme this year is “Explore the Rainbow,” and organizers say the festival is a unique, grassroots event that welcomes all people, regardless of sexuality, gender and race. “It’s about inclusion, not exclusion,” said Moab Pride organizer Zac Alexander. “We want kids, families, everybody to come.” Alexander said Moab Pride’s diverse events span a full week this year, from Sept. 26 through Oct. 1, across many venues in and around Moab. “Having [Moab Pride] span the week going to all these different places, if there is someone in town who is not ‘out’ it’s reaching them to come out,” Alexander said. “ ... There could be people that work at in rafting, at [a ranch], who haven’t been able to connect with anyone.” The festival will host several evening celebrations — a “Disco Party” at Gravel Pit Lanes on Sept. 29, the “Orange Party” at Club Rio on Sept. 30, and an “After-Party and Amateur Drag Show” at Club Rio on the evening of Oct. 1. Alexander said that although the parties are fun, the festival isn’t all about the nightlife. For the last six years, Moab Pride has worked to raise funds for a LGBTQ resource center to provide year-round services to residents of Moab and surrounding communities. “That’s one of our goals, is to start a brick and mortar place for people to go to. This isn’t just a fun party,” Alexander said. “I’ve gotten questions – ‘is there anybody I can talk to?’ So it’s trying to save the money so that we can start a brick and mortar place where people can go.” He said that while same-sex couples can now legally marry in the U.S., there are still many more issues to address within the LGBTQ community. “We’re equal but there’s so much to do,” Alexander said. “We’re not done yet.” This year, Moab Pride will feature a new event, the “Spit Love Poetry Slam,” which is billed as a “queer poetry competition” beginning Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC), 111 East 100 North. Moab resident Cali Bulmash organized the slam, and said she is working to make the local gay community more visible. “I’m doing this work because queer visibility is important, because we are still in a rural Utah town,” Bulmash said. “[I do this] for those selfish reasons to foster my own community that sustains me, but also I know there’s going to be high school students at that slam, where poets are just spitting their hearts, totally normalizing queer experiences in the world. I wish I had that as a teenager.” Prior to the poetry competition, Spit Love’s emcee, spoken word performer and national poetry slam prize winner Regie Cabico, will host a spoken word workshop, “High Wattage: Elements of the Slam Poem,” at the MARC from 3 to 5 p.m. Cabico will also perform Friday evening, along with other Colorado Plateau poets, at the MARC. Both Moab Pride poetry events are free of charge, but a $5 to $10 donation is suggested. “He’s a phenomenal poet coming all the way from Washington D.C. to share the experience that is Reggie Cabico on a stage with Moab, Utah,” Bulmash said. “There’s nothing like it.” Also taking place this weekend, is the festival’s annual “visibility march” on Saturday, Oct. 1. Participants in the march, which travels through downtown, will line up at 11:30 a.m. for a noon start from the Moab Valley Multicultural Center, 156 North 100 West. Following the march, a “free and family friendly” festival, featuring entertainment by Slim Pickins, the Fiery Furnace Marching Band, Elytra, and Shea Freedom will be held at the center’s grounds. Alexander said it’s been a huge effort on the part of Moab Pride’s volunteers to make this year’s festival come together, all with the goal of changing assumptions about the gay community. “It’s breaking down those misinformation barriers, the stereotype barriers, the personal barriers that people set up,” Alexander said. “It’s about educating the community ... We’re here and we’re inclusive enough to include your family. [Coming to Moab Pride] doesn’t mean that you’re gay, or your kids are gay or your brother and sister are gay, it just means that you are supportive of another way of life.”
2017
2011 Moab, Utah held its first Pride Festival. Salt Lake Tribune Amy Stocks, 34,
2016 Moab Pride Parade held.Pride Parade starts at 12pm. Line up at 11:30a. We are visible, we are here, we are equal, we are family! Festival grounds open at noon as well, and we'll have entertainers, singers, vendors, great food and lots of fun! The Moab Times-Independent article The Moab Pride festival returns to town for the sixth year this weekend with music, poetry and, of course, the annual Saturday march and celebration. The event’s theme this year is “Explore the Rainbow,” and organizers say the festival is a unique, grassroots event that welcomes all people, regardless of sexuality, gender and race. “It’s about inclusion, not exclusion,” said Moab Pride organizer Zac Alexander. “We want kids, families, everybody to come.” Alexander said Moab Pride’s diverse events span a full week this year, from Sept. 26 through Oct. 1, across many venues in and around Moab. “Having [Moab Pride] span the week going to all these different places, if there is someone in town who is not ‘out’ it’s reaching them to come out,” Alexander said. “ ... There could be people that work at in rafting, at [a ranch], who haven’t been able to connect with anyone.” The festival will host several evening celebrations — a “Disco Party” at Gravel Pit Lanes on Sept. 29, the “Orange Party” at Club Rio on Sept. 30, and an “After-Party and Amateur Drag Show” at Club Rio on the evening of Oct. 1. Alexander said that although the parties are fun, the festival isn’t all about the nightlife. For the last six years, Moab Pride has worked to raise funds for a LGBTQ resource center to provide year-round services to residents of Moab and surrounding communities. “That’s one of our goals, is to start a brick and mortar place for people to go to. This isn’t just a fun party,” Alexander said. “I’ve gotten questions – ‘is there anybody I can talk to?’ So it’s trying to save the money so that we can start a brick and mortar place where people can go.” He said that while same-sex couples can now legally marry in the U.S., there are still many more issues to address within the LGBTQ community. “We’re equal but there’s so much to do,” Alexander said. “We’re not done yet.” This year, Moab Pride will feature a new event, the “Spit Love Poetry Slam,” which is billed as a “queer poetry competition” beginning Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC), 111 East 100 North. Moab resident Cali Bulmash organized the slam, and said she is working to make the local gay community more visible. “I’m doing this work because queer visibility is important, because we are still in a rural Utah town,” Bulmash said. “[I do this] for those selfish reasons to foster my own community that sustains me, but also I know there’s going to be high school students at that slam, where poets are just spitting their hearts, totally normalizing queer experiences in the world. I wish I had that as a teenager.” Prior to the poetry competition, Spit Love’s emcee, spoken word performer and national poetry slam prize winner Regie Cabico, will host a spoken word workshop, “High Wattage: Elements of the Slam Poem,” at the MARC from 3 to 5 p.m. Cabico will also perform Friday evening, along with other Colorado Plateau poets, at the MARC. Both Moab Pride poetry events are free of charge, but a $5 to $10 donation is suggested. “He’s a phenomenal poet coming all the way from Washington D.C. to share the experience that is Reggie Cabico on a stage with Moab, Utah,” Bulmash said. “There’s nothing like it.” Also taking place this weekend, is the festival’s annual “visibility march” on Saturday, Oct. 1. Participants in the march, which travels through downtown, will line up at 11:30 a.m. for a noon start from the Moab Valley Multicultural Center, 156 North 100 West. Following the march, a “free and family friendly” festival, featuring entertainment by Slim Pickins, the Fiery Furnace Marching Band, Elytra, and Shea Freedom will be held at the center’s grounds. Alexander said it’s been a huge effort on the part of Moab Pride’s volunteers to make this year’s festival come together, all with the goal of changing assumptions about the gay community. “It’s breaking down those misinformation barriers, the stereotype barriers, the personal barriers that people set up,” Alexander said. “It’s about educating the community ... We’re here and we’re inclusive enough to include your family. [Coming to Moab Pride] doesn’t mean that you’re gay, or your kids are gay or your brother and sister are gay, it just means that you are supportive of another way of life.”
2017
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| Cameron Robinson & Bobby Eardley |
On the night of October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a
crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas
Strip in Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 851 injured. On Sunday, boyfriends
Cameron Robinson and Bobby Eardley drove from their St. George home to a music
festival in Las Vegas. It was a drive Robinson knew very well, as he commuted
to his job as management analyst for the City of Las Vegas every working day
since they became a couple in 2014. Sunday night, Eardley would watch his
boyfriend die before his eyes from a gunshot wound to the neck, shot by a man
400 yards away on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel. Eardley would also
be rushed to the hospital as he was bleeding from shrapnel in his lower back.
In all, at least 59 people were killed and over 500 injured by the shooter. Eardley
is now back home now with his three children from an earlier marriage. He
didn’t feel up to talking with QSaltLake about his ordeal. He just wants to
come to terms with his new life without the love of his life. Eardley’s mother,
Joyce, told the New York Daily News that Robinson “loved life” and was like a
second father to her three young grandchildren. “He loved people and to serve
people — he was a character, he had us all laughing. We could be in the dumps
and then he’d have us all in laughter,” she told the News. “A great loss of a
great man.” Robinson’s sister, Meghan Ervin, wrote on Facebook that she was
able to go to Vegas and take care of her brother’s remains through the Eardley
family. “Today to go say goodbye to you! I was never supposed to say goodbye to
you, little brother … you were supposed to take over the world,” she wrote. Robinson was raised in Henderson, Nevada, graduating from
Basic High School. He received an MBA in 2015 after graduating from Nevada
State College in business administration and management. For the past four
years, he has worked for the City of Las Vegas most recently as a management
analyst. He also worked as a floral designer for the past nine years. Robinson
and Eardley were both runners, participating in several marathons in Southern
Utah and surrounding states. Elizabeth Eldredge remembered Robinson on
Facebook. Cameron Robinson following Elizabeth Eldredge in the final stretch of
the Grand Teton Half Marathon “You’ll never know just how much you cheered me
up by meeting me at the bottom of that last long hill in the Grand Teton [Half
Marathon] and bringing us all home to the finish … together. You rocked that
run! You’ll stay in my heart forever,” she wrote. “And to Bobby — I’m sending
you love and light in this tragic and life-changing time. I hope you recover,
as I know the emotional scars will last long beyond the physical. Hugs and hope
as we all struggle to make sense of this devastating, and untimely, loss.” Bobby
Eardley has worked at Ken Garff St. George since 1999 and is now a parts
manager. He enjoys fishing and hunting, according to his Facebook profile. The
family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Robinson’s funeral expenses and
Eardley’s hospital expenses.
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ReplyDeleteI’d really would like to do Kelli Petersen, and I’m a straight white guy. As far as I’m concerned, she’s a cunt and deserves to be fucked. And if you remove this comment, I’m going to put this in my own blog.
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