October 10th
1949-The periodical Newsweek published a story titled "Queer
People" calling gays perverts and comparing homosexuals to exhibitionists
and sexual sadists. It challenged the idea that homosexuals hurt no one but
themselves.
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Rupert Croft-Cooke
1903-1979 |
1953-British newspaper "The Times" reported that Rupert Croft-Cooke was sentenced to nine months in prison and Joseph Alexander was sentenced to three months after they were accused of homosexual acts by two Royal Navy cooks. Croft-Cooke was a homosexual, which brought him into conflict with the laws of his time. In 1953, at a time when the Home Office was seeking to clamp down on homosexuality, he was sent to prison for six months on conviction for acts of indecency, although the facts were meager Croft-Cooke's secretary and companion Joseph Alexander, had met two Navy cooks, Harold Altoft and Ronald Charles Dennis, in the Fitzroy Tavern near Tottenham Court Road in London, and invited them to spend the weekend at Croft-Cooke's house in Ticehurst, East Sussex. During the weekend, they consumed food and alcohol and had sex with both Croft-Cooke and his assistant. On their way home from the weekend, they got drunk and assaulted two men, one of whom was a policeman. They were arrested and agreed to testify against Croft-Cooke to get immunity from prosecution for the assault charges. The case of Croft-Cooke was discussed by the Committee who produced the Wolfenden report into changing the law on prostitution and homosexuality, specifically by Philip Allen, a civil servant testifying on behalf of the Home Office. Allen described Croft-Cooke and Alexander as attempting to "interfere" with the sailors, who "resisted" the advances. Michael Graham-Harrison, a junior Home Office civil servant, attempted to correct Allen's rhetorical overreaching, noting that the sailors were "picked up in a place frequented by homosexuals" and arguing that he did "not think anybody could believe for a moment that they did not know what they were going for Croft-Cooke wrote about the case in "the Verdict of You All." Croft-Cooke wrote about the case in "the Verdict of You
All."
1979 STONEWALL CLUB OF UTAH was
granted a Business License Number: 726476-0142 Registration Date: 10/10/1979. Te Stonewall Club was a Gay Political Club to discuss the advancement of Gay Rights
1987 In Washington DC 2,000 Gay couples were
united in a mass commitment ceremony in front of the IRS building. That
morning, Rev Troy Perry, founder of Metropolitan
Community Church,
led a worship service at the First Congregational Church in Washington DC,
and the crowd overflowed the church. The same day in Washington DC,
a memorial service was held for Harvey Milk at the Congressional Cemetery at
the burial plot purchased by the Never Forget Foundation to memorialize gay
heroes.
 |
| Mark Lamar |
- "Mark Lamar took a taxi to our hotel
after partying all night at The Lost in Found in Washington DC. I let him in
about 3 a.m. so not to disturb Bruce Barton and Bruce Harmon our sleeping
hosts. Then about 8 a.m. Bruce Barton and I got dressed to attend the worship
service for the Metropolitan Community Church District Conference. Bruce was hugging and greeting people
he knew left and right. At least a hundred people were at the
opening worship service and the theme
of the meeting was Gay Unity. The opening hymn was "When We All
Get to Heaven", which was a rousing, hand
clapping, tambourine clanging, gospel shouting rendition
of the song. I loved it and if I wasn't awake before, i was now. Many
of the people who spoke were people who trekked on foot from
Philadelphia to Washington DC carrying Gay flags
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|
and banners through
communities along the way in Pennsylvania and Maryland. MCC's Christian
Gay fellowship was exciting and vibrant. It was good to renew my spirit and
prepare to dedicate myself for the March on Sunday.
After the service I bought a bottom with the words Gay
Christian on it from the woman who wrote "For these Tears I died"
That MCC song meant a lot to me and it was exciting to meet the Marsha Stevens young
woman who actually wrote it. Anyway Bruce Barton then went off to
breakfast with friends from the conference and I went back
to the room to sleep a little more because I thought Bruce Harmon was
still sleeping in. However he was up by the time I was there so I just laid
down to rest rather really going back to sleep. I figured I'll
sleep when I get back to Salt Lake City but right now there was too
much to do. About 11 a.m after connecting back up with Mark who had gone off with
a bagpipe blowing friend, we all took the hotel shuttle
to the Pentagon station to catch the Metro Rail into the city.
Everywhere you looked there were Gay people wearing
various buttons proclaiming their Gayness and the March. There was a
heighten sense if solidarity, brother and sisterhood we
were on a mission and while it seemed like a gigantic national Gay Pride Day
event it was much, much more than this. I was absolutely right to be
here; to be part of this historic occasion. On the shuttle bus I met
some guys from South Florida and we visited along the way. No one,
absolutely almost no one was having "attitude"
issues. People were friendly, joyful, excited
and everyone was asking each other "Where are you from?"
It was fantastic. Taking the Metro Rail, it was filled to capacity with
Gays and straight people (who were probably
wondering what the hell was going on). Our Florida friends said
they tried driving into DC but there is absolutely no parking anywhere
so they had to come back out to Arlington and take public transit
back in. One of them also told me that a man and his wife looked at my Gay
Christian button and were muttering under their breath about it. The
man was mad and the wife was afraid. What makes them so mad and what do they
fear from me? We are a gentle loving people. Perhaps our sheer numbers
here in DC is what frightens them. We are not invisible today. No one is hiding
anything. Gay couples are openly holding hands and everyone is showing their
pride by proclaiming to the world their sexual orientation
with slogans on tee shirts and buttons galore. When we reached DC our
little contingency got off at the Smithsonian where again
Mark deserted me for a new found friend and he left the three of us
who wanted to look at the sights. However in
the Smithsonian I had an overwhelming feeling that I shouldn't
be there. I didn't travel half way across the country by train to be
a tourist when there were too many Gay events i needed to
attend to waste energy on monuments to past events. I was here to participate
in a living historical event. I heard 350,000 Gays are already here in DC to
tell the world we are never going back again. I think Bruce and Bruce
kind of had the same feelings and we drifted out of the Smithsonian back
out onto the street. Everywhere you looked there were
thousands and thousands of Gay people. It was impressive to this Salt Lake City
man where we are lucking if we can get a couple hundred people to attend Gay
Pride Day. I am sure that straight people must be feeling overwhelmed kind of
how we Gay people feel every day of our lives. At 2:00 p.m. there was scheduled
a mass wedding of Gay couples on Constitution Avenue and Tenth in
front of the IRS building. We weren't sure if we were
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| Bruce Barton |
going to go but when we
saw the wave of humanity surging in that direction we then were swept
up and realized how important it was to be there and witness it and
support it. Along the way on the steps of the IRS building a
gathering of Neo-Nazis and Born Again Christians with large signs and placards
which proclaimed us all sins going to straight to hell, screamed at us saying
that Jesus hated us. The newsmen and camera men were having a field day
with that . Soon Bruce Barton spotted Rev. Troy Perry, founder
of the MCC fellowship facing the Nazis and showing no
fear to them Bruce Barton and I decked out with our
Gay buttons scurried up the steps
behind the Nazis to get a better picture snap shot of Troy
Perry talking to reporters. Most
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| Troy Perry |
of the crowd totally
ignored the Nazis and continued down to
Tenth Avenue where a large platform was staged with sound
equipment. Over the stage was a huge arch of white, black,and
silver balloons filled with helium and the loud
speakers were blaring We Are What we Are from La Cage
Aux Follies. There had to be at least 10,000 people huddled in the
street, others hanging from trees and lamp posts, on the steps and
everywhere people were holding hundreds silver balloons.
The couples getting married where in the middle of this throng, many
in tuxedos wedding dresses, all beautiful people holding roses and
there to celebrate their love. It was exhilarating to watch. The
clear blue autumn sky made the day even more spectacular as
over 2000 Gay couples were there to be wedded. The speakers spoke of one
of the purposes of this March which was to legalize our relationships
and to proclaim to the world we don't have to pattern our
marriages after the Patriarchal system where one partner is dominated
by another in an unequal relationship sanctioned
by the church and state. We are here to proclaim that love is
what makes a family. Rev. Troy Perry said that the Christian
fundamental fagbashers should be ashamed of themselves and we should tell them
so. At that point the crowd of thousands turned around and shook their fingers
at them as they roared "Shame, shame, Shame." The noises was
thunderous. Another speaker said that one way we could
legalize our relationships was to sign power of attorney over
to each
other so that our partners and not our families would make life
decisions for us if we became ill. The battle to free Sharon Kowalski was
a case in point. Anyway when the time came for the ceremony
to begin the spectators were asked to hold hands and form a circle
around those getting married which everyone did. The ceremony
asked the couples to forgive each of the past and everyone was asked
to take a deep breath and let it out symbolic and letting go. Then we were
asked to take one step into the future which we all did, 10,000
people collectively in unison. I was standing by
John Bennett and Bruce Barton and Harmon while participating in the
ceremony. Val Mansfield was married on
.jpg) |
| Val Mansfield |
this occasion to his two
lovers from Kansas City. At the end of the ceremony hundreds
of balloons were released into the blue sky and then unexpectedly
a shower of rice was being thrown up in the air. We were showered by rice being
thrown and it was thrilling. I wanted to keep some of the rice as a
memento of this historic occasion but thought perhaps that just just silly but
the love that poured forth from this place at Tenth and Constitution was
awesome. After the ceremony Bruce Harmon introduced me
to Nancy Wilson and Jean White who are on
the Board of Directors of the MCC Fellowship. Elder White came
all the way from Manchester, England for the occasion
and Bruce Harmon gave her his March on
Washington Button which are getting scarcer and scarcer to find.
I then left with John
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| Chris Brown |
Bennett and Joe to go back to the Skyline Hotel to
get my luggage that I had left in Chris Brown's room. Before leaving I told the
Bruces that I'd meet up with them at 4 pm
in front of the Bookstore Lambda Rising and
from there we would go off to here Rev Troy Perry speak at the First
Congregational Church. That was our plan but it didn't work out that
way. The young LGSU kids I was with were cranky and bitchy and tired from
partying all night and I said to John, "Oh great I can just see it now
...350,000 tired bitchy faggots marching in Washington tomorrow." So i was
pretty much on my own to retrieve my luggage and besides
my luggage, John asked me to take a bag containing the bread that
Mark Lamar had bought for Bruce Barton in NYC. I was just
weighted down but was glad that I had walked all over Salt Lake City
and worked out all summer or I'd had been a hurting
.jpg) |
| John Bennett |
dog. I walked a mile back
to the Metro with my packages and took it to DuPont Circle.
It was after five before surfaced from the subterranean transit and
rode a a long escalator up from the bowls
of the earth to truly an enchanted fairy land. Thousands and thousands
of Gay people were strewn everywhere, holding hands with lavender flowers
tucked behind ears and hunky guys siting on the concrete benches
with their shirts off. There were slender New York Lesbians wearing black
berets, long stringy hair, dark glasses and black leather jackets and slacks.
Elsewhere short and plump lesbians in love wore matching tee shirts. Older
dykes with short cropped silver gray hair were plentiful, some sweet
and smiling at me in my BYU sweat shirt, while others threw baleful glances
in my direction. Of the Gay men there almost everybody
seemed to be traveling with a companion or in groups. Almost all were dressed
in young preppy east coast style. Lots and lots of stone
washed Levi jackets and flight jackets and while there were
some leather men present in the throng I really didn't see much drag
if any at all. Everyone and I mean everyone had on at least
one button and most had several saying anything from "March
on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights" to simple pink triangles
on a black backgrounds. Hundreds of people were working the crowd handing out
leaflets by the hundreds regarding everything
.jpg)
from AIDS Awareness to
"Join the Socialist Workers Party". The overall feeling
of the place was of love, support, commitment, pride and dedication
to never going back. It reminded me very much of the hippie love-in
festivals of the late sixties except that we are so
much better dressed. I managed to find Lambda Rising by the size
of the crowd out front and also with the help of this cute
man from Texas. He said he didn't know anything was going on in DC
and was just in the city on his way to Boston. He was awe struck
because he and his lover were closeted in Texas. Anyway outside the bookstore
there was a line of hundreds trying to get in and I was so late getting here
that I figured that Bruce and Bruce must have left because they needed
to be at the Congregational Church at 6 pm. I waited anyway, just in
case they were in with the mob
inside the bookstore. DuPont Circle I hear is kind of the
Castro District of Washington DC. It’s chic' and filled with rows of
specialty shops up and down the streets. As I was waiting a camera
crew began to film the crowd in front of Lambda Rising
asking people "Where are you from?" When she stuck the
microphone in my face “I shouted Salt Lake City
as enthusiastically as I could. She perked up and
motioned the camera man to point the camera at me and said
could you repeat that? and I smiled brightly and said "Salt Lake City"
with my chest puffed up so my Brigham Young University sweat shirt was
very prominent in the shot. I don't know if I made the
local news but I think I probably did. That was fun. Then riding the escalator
back down to the Metro I passed Chris Brown and Steve Oldroyd going up. I
hollered, "Chris wait for me as I
.jpg) |
| Steve Oldroyd |
raced down the escalator, bags flying
and then back up. The escalator had to be at least four stories long. Connecting
back up with Chris I said If you see Bruce Barton tell him I'm fine and I will
get a way back to Arlington. Since now I knew I was saddled with all this
luggage I decided to go back to the AM Track station and see if they had
lockers to check my baggage in. I did not want to haul it all over this city
because my shoulder is so sore from the shoulder strap as it is. At the train
station there weren't any lockers available but I could check in luggage a
$1.00 per item per day so that's what I did. Trying to find my way back into the
city I was lost on the Metro several times and was worried about catching the
last free shuttle bus back to the Best Western in Arlington. I caught the Metro
out to the National Airport where I waited an hour to catch the last shuttle at
9:30 P.m. I used a lot of the time waiting writing in this journal to try and
keep it current. I want this to feel as fresh as possible and not just vague
recollections later. I therefore didn't get to see much or do much this
evening but that’s the way it goes. I should not have left my things at the
Skyline because it made me waste a lot of my time with logistics. Well live and
learn. When you are spontaneous sometimes things get
.jpg) |
| Bruce Harmon |
screwed up. Fortunately at
Pentagon City I reconnected with Bruce Harmon and Bruce Barton and they
were happy and surprised to see e. I hope I didn't cause them too much worry.
They said Rev. Perry was in fiery form and his talk was absolutely wonderful. I
am sorry I missed it. I haven't heard Rev. Troy Perry preached since November
1971 when I went to the MCC in Los Angeles with some Gay friends back then. It
was fine to be back at the hotel safe and sound. I really kind of wanted to
stay in and rest up for tomorrow but Bruce Harmon suggested we go back into Washington
for dinner and see if we could find an adult video store. So we called a taxi
and while waiting in the lobby I overheard the desk clerk tell this
heterosexual couple that there wasn’t a vacancy. She said in fact there wasn't
a vacancy in the Greater Washington area. She suggested that they try further
south. What an impact we must be making on this city. I am glad I have been
writing Gay $ on all the money I spend. We all piled into a taxi and the fare
back into the city was only $6.50 and we went to this place called the General
Male which was fun. We were looking for souvenirs to take back to Utah. The
large black drag queen behind the counter smirked when she rang up my purchase
saying "Why honey this is the training size". I was mortified. From
the Video Adult store we went to a McDonalds and realized we were in the hooker
district of DC. Pimps and whores were everywhere eating their Big Macs and
slurping up coca colas. I just thought how exciting. Outside one of the
flashing marquees read LIVE GIRLS and Bruce Harmon said “do they really think
anyone is interested in seeing dead girls? At McDonalds we were about the only
whites and definitely were the only "colorful" people. It was a tough
audience to play. Two black pimps stared at us like we were disgusting because
we weren't interested in buying their female merchandise. A we were eating four
young white guys came in and started watching us. So we left and while standing
on a darken corner waiting for the light to change so we could cross this one
dude leans right into us and says "Can you tell us where we can see some
naked girls?" Bruce Barton said use your imagination and I piped up
cheerfully and said “Yeah, down the street there’s a theater with live girls!"
I was just trying to be friendly. Bruce Harmon looks at me me like have I lost
my mid and when they walked ahead of us and turned down an ally, Bruce said to
me "Don't you know they were queer baiting us?" I really
didn't. I just thought they were horny straight guys. Bruce Harmon advised us
not to continue down the street because they could jump us from the Alley so we
crossed the street and hailed a taxi. We weren't robbed by the queer baiters
but the taxi driver might as well have put a gun to our head because he charged
us $16.00 for the same fare that cost us only $6 coming into the city. Bruce
asked me if I tipped him and I said "Hell no. He included his tip in his
fare." Oh well. What can you do and we finally were safely home. Bruce
Barton told me a story about this woman I met today at the wedding, Elder White
from England. She had been tortured by the Chinese Communists for being a Christian, raped and humiliated, yet she has a
testimony of God’s love that is unshakable After hearing tales like that our oppression
in the Salt Lake City sometimes seems pretty petty. We all went to bed at
midnight anxiously anticipating tomorrows March on the Capital of the Unites
States. I don't know how many people will be there. I don't know what will
happen. But I am here and I am not alone. Today I saw a family of Asian
tourists and their teenage son had on a March on Washington tee shirt sport a
huge Pink Triangle. I had to laugh because I am sure they didn't know what it said
only that it was a colorful souvenir of their visit to Washington. (Journal of Ben Williams)
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| Jean White |
The Rev Elder Jean White (died 8 November 2010) was the
founding pastor within the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in London. She received her training as a State Registered Nurse at the
London Teaching Hospital, Whitechapel, London. Later she received training as a
Midwife in Bristol and at the Elsie Ingles School of Midwifery in Edinburgh,
Scotland and undertook a course in Tropical Diseases at the Hospital for
Tropical Diseases in Liverpool In 1963-64, White studied at the
International Bible Training Institute in Burgess Hill, Sussex, and in
Stockholm, Sweden. In 1964 she went as a medical missionary to Macao. She
served as a missionary in Asia from 1964-70. Three of those years were spent
under “compound arrest” in the “no-man’s area”, between Macao and the mainland
of China, during the Red Guard uprising. As founding pastor of the MCC, White served on the
denomination's Board of Elders and served the original Metropolitan Community
Church of London for many years. She worked as director of World Church
Extension of the denomination. She was pastor of MCC, South London, at the time
of her death aged 69, following a battle with pancreatic
cancer. She is survived by her long-time partner, Mary Smail, an
accomplished church musician and MCC lay leader.
1993-Sunday The Utah Quilt
was on display at the State Capitol. The Utah Quilt was formed in 1992
as an AIDS-awareness program of the Horizon House Project. A number of panels
of the Utah Quilt --those not designated to remain in the state for educational
purposes – were included in the NAMES Project display at the Salt Palace and
then became part of the international quilt.AIDS (10/03/93
Page: SLTribune)
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| James Dabakis |
1994 Utah Gov.
Mike Leavitt holds an unpublicized 75-minute meeting with a dozen Gay high
school students, arranged by Jim Dabakis to tell the governor how scared they are by harrassment at school.
1995-The US
Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in the case of Romer v Evans,
Colorado's Amendment 2 which would have banned all gay rights laws in Colorado.
 |
| Gayle Ruzicka |
1996 Gayle Ruzicka of
the Utah Eagle Forum and Clayton Vetter, the Skyline High debate coach who has
acknowledged he is homosexual, spar over the ``gay agenda'' in Utah schools. Gay Agenda In Schools Is Debated; Panel:
It's Either About Respect or Recruitment; Gay Agenda In Schools Is Debated
Byline: BY KATHERINE KAPOS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Yes, Utah, there is a gay agenda in public education.
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| Clayton Vetter |
But it is not about recruiting teen-agers to become homosexuals and lesbians.
Rather, the message is respect, according to one Utah teacher asked to discuss the question
during a special panel debate Wednesday evening. ``The question really should be: Do you think
respect should be taught at school? Do you think children should be safe at
school? Or shouldn't all families be celebrated?'' said Clayton Vetter, the Skyline High School debate coach who announced
his homosexuality earlier this year. ``If that is what we are talking about,
then yes, there is an agenda,'' he said. ``I want children to be reinforced for
who they are. I don't want them to live in secrecy. I don't want them to lie,''
he said.In Utah, the gay and lesbian issue came to the forefront early this
year when students at East High School wanted to form a gay-straight alliance.
The Salt Lake City School Board decided to ban all clubs not related to
academic courses rather than allow the club to form. The Legislature answered
with a law prohibiting teachers from promoting any illegal activity. The issue still seems to draw interest as
more than 150 people crowded into a hall at Salt Lake City's First Unitarian church to
hear the debate. Respect for others was
the theme that echoed throughout the 90-minute discussion. Daryl Barrett, a
member of the Utah State School Board said gays and lesbians probably do have
an agenda, like every other group from the PTA to the Utah Education
Association to Republicans and Democrats. What everyone must realize, Barrett said, is that ``no one agenda should
drive policy, but all should be part of the debate.'' She said Utah's elected bodies,
from the Legislature to state and local school boards, need to be more diverse
so that all views are represented.
Under state law educators must not teach the acceptance or advocacy of
homosexuality. But Barrett said that
does not mean teachers and administrators should just dismiss students who ask
questions about homosexuality or ignore derogatory comments they hear in the
hallways and on playgrounds. ``Those incidences should be used as an
opportunity to teach and learn respect for all people,'' she said, adding that
it can be done within the
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| Deb Burrington |
parameters of state law. And teaching tolerance is not enough,
according to panelist Debra Burrington, a University of Utah
professor and a lesbian. ``I don't want to be tolerated, I want to be
respected,'' she said. But Gayle Ruzicka, with the conservative Utah Eagle
Forum, and the fourth member of the panel, said there is a difference between
teaching respect and teaching children to accept an ``immoral behavior.'' ``It
sends a message that it is OK to be homosexual. That is not right,'' she said.
Ruzicka said if schools are talking about acceptance of homosexuality it is
contrary to what many parents are teaching their children at home. ``I expect
public schools to uphold my values. You can't. You don't. You shouldn't teach
that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle,'' she said. Activities for Gay
and Lesbian Awareness Week continue today with a keynote address by Scot
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| Scot Nakagawa |
Nakagawa, former field director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force. Nakagawa will discuss ``The
Political and Religious Extreme, at 11 a.m. in the U.'s Olpin Student
Union Building.
Nakagawa was supposed to be part of Wednesday's panel, but a minor traffic
accident kept him from the event. He was not injured. Friday, the Utah Stonewall
Center will sponsor the National
Coming Out Day program at 6:30 p.m. at Sugar
House Park,
2100 South and 1300 East in Salt Lake
City. ``It's
Elementary,'' a documentary on gay and lesbian programs being taught in schools
around the country, will be shown at 9 p.m. in Orson Spencer Hall Auditorium at
the U.Page: B1 Caption: Jump Page B3: Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune
1997- Delta Lambda Sappho Union, the Lambda student organization of
Weber State University held second annual Rainbow Ball. Event kicked off
Homecoming week at WSU.
.jpg) |
| Matthew Shepard |
1998 4 charged in beating and burning of gay student in Wyoming New
York Times News Service Published: At
first, the passing bicyclist thought the crumpled form lashed to a ranch fence
was a scarecrow. But when he stopped, he found the burned, battered and nearly
lifeless body of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student who had been
tied to the fence 18 hours earlier. On Friday, the 22-year-old University of
Wyoming student was in a coma in critical condition. At Albany County
Courthouse, Russell Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, 22, were arraigned on
charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and attempted first-degree murder.
Two women described as friends of the men, Kristen Leann Price, 18, and
Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, have been charged as accessories after the fact to
attempted first-degree murder.Shepard's friends said that he did not know his
alleged tormentors. Laramie police say the primary motive was robbery, although
court papers filed Friday indicate Shepard's homosexuality may also have been a
factor. Shepard's friends call the attack a hate crime. "He was very open
about his sexuality," Tina LaBrie, an anthropology student here, said of
her friend. "I admired him for that, because it is very courageous to be
yourself even when others disagree." A few hours before he was beaten,
Shepard, a slight 5-foot, 2-inch man who wore braces on his teeth, had attended
a meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Association, said Walter
Boulden, a friend of Shepard's. "He was sitting at the bar, having a beer,
when two men came up and talked to him," Boulden, a 46-year-old university
lecturer of social work here, said Friday between tears. "He indicated he
was gay, and they said they were gay, too." "Now, he is in a
coma," continued Boulden, who visited his friend at a hospital in Fort
Collins, Colo., on Thursday. "I don't think anybody expects him to pull
through." Shepard, who spoke Arabic and German, studied at a boarding
school in Switzerland before moving back to the United States to attend the
University of Wyoming, the alma mater of his father, an oil rig safety
inspector in Saudi Arabia. Matthew Shepard was born in Casper, the capital of
Wyoming's oil belt, and spent much of his youth there. Calvin Rerucha, the
county attorney, charged in court documents that McKinney and Henderson posed
as homosexuals and lured Shepard out to McKinney's pickup truck.
 |
| Pete Suazo |
1998 -10th
Annual Living With AIDS Conference held Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake,
is keynote speaker at the 10th Annual Living With AIDS Conference.
1999-The Washington Post reported that a Harvard University
research team conducted a study which demonstrated that gay men and lesbians
are better than heterosexuals at identifying other gay men and lesbians.
2002 A Word on Gay Rights Debate
U/U By John Morley Regular readers of The Chronicle's opinion page are familiar
by now with the debate about Coming Out Week and rainbow flags on campus. As
with most hot-button issues, the arguments about administrative support for gay
rights have been heated on both sides.
Unlike other contentious issues, however, the discussion about Coming
Out Week has become astonishingly bitter. Supporters of gay rights have let
personal attacks take the place of logical argument. As someone who believes in
the importance of democratic debate, I find this trend disturbing. The
anger-filled language of gay rights advocates has become a form of rhetorical
intimidation that silences discussion. I think the university has a strong
precedent of supporting progressive ideology and I don't see anything
inappropriate in the university doing so. Also, I believe in the substance of
the gay rights message. However, somewhere in the fog of combat, gay rights
advocates seem to have forgotten the importance of clear arguments. For
instance, conservatives have been drawing an analogy between homosexuality and
religion. But few liberals have really stopped to probe the strength of this
analogy. It's important to ask whether religion really can be compared to
homosexuality and whether the administration has an obligation to treat the two
beliefs the same. Unfortunately, this question hasn't really been raised.
Instead, supporters of gay rights have resorted to using highly charged words
with a lot of emotional baggage. They've dismissed conservatives as hate-filled
"bigots." But in an increasingly multi-culturalist America, such
words carry enormous power. They ought to be used with extreme care. The gay
rights message has a strong foundation in America's tradition of liberal
rights. It's unfortunate that such a powerful and socially meaningful movement
has resorted to name-calling for its logical defence.
 |
| Charles Milne |
2002- 'Straight Pride' Fliers Posted Anonymously By Sheena
McFarland In the days following university Pride Week posters depicting
"Straight Pride" were posted up and taken down before much of the
student body noticed them. But the message still reverberated through the U's
gay community. "To me this speaks of homophobia and the fear of the
unknown," said Charles Milne, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual
Transgender Resource Center. Chris Kannon, a work-study student at the center
said he thought it was more of a reaction to the unknown. "I don't think
it was necessarily fear, but it is a response to the discomfort people feel
about homosexuality," he said. But the fliers' makers said it was a only a
joke. "We are not trying to make any kind of political or otherwise
statement. When I first saw the 'University Pride' posters, I was surprised and
came up with the Straight Pride flyers as the average joe's version," the
organizers, who would not identify themselves, said via email. "People
take things too seriously and the flyers were meant to bring light to the whole
subject." The fliers—sporting male and
female stick figures holding hands in front of a "U" with the words
"straight pride" went unnoticed by many because the janitorial staff
tore down the signs because they didn't have the necessary date stamp on them.
However, the fliers' makers had other explanations for why they thought they
were torn down. "Most of [the fliers] did not survive their first day of
proclamation, whether this is due to humorless officials, gay supremacists or
gusts of air—we are left to ponder," they said. The organizers did place
the email address straightpride@mail.com at the bottom of the fliers, but they
listed no names or sponsoring group.
2003 Dear Community: The Executive Board (Ben Williams, Mark
Swonson, and Chuck Whyte) of Utah Stonewall Historical Society unfortunately had to cancel The Milestone
Awards a week before they were to be presented. We know this is disappointing to many
who were looking forward to honoring Joe Redburn, Luci Malin, Becky Moss,
Stephen Holbrook, RCGSE, and posthumously David Sharpton who founded PWACU.
Each of these individuals and organization has given so much to our community.
The USHS Nominating Committee and USHS Board thought it would be only proper to
give TheMilestone Award & Banquet in their honor. For whatever reason,
there wasn't much response to our ads that generated enough ticket sales prior
to this event. Yes, we the Executive Board take full responsibility for
canceling this event. This was a wonderful idea and vision for all our
community to share in honoring The Milestone Award recipients. Unfortunately,
others in our community didn't see the vision what placed before their eyes. We
were hoping to make this annual event but we need more bodies to participate at
USHS as well as members to volunteer for such a big event. So at this time this
vision is on hold until more people are willing to come forth to honor those
who are part of Lamda History. Many hours
where spent in preparing for The Milestone Awards & Banquet as well as some
sponsors who donated much of their time, money, and energy for this event.
These men and women of our community should be recognized for their
participation even though this event never to place: Michael Aaron Jim Dubakis
Pillar-Todd Dailey, John Saltas-City Weekly Monaco Hotel RCGSE Sheraton
Hotel-Bob Childers, Eric Marcus-Author & Lecture Also, a special thanks to
a wonderful man who has given much to our community over the past 20 years for
his dedication, caring, and visionary ideas that have lifted our community to
new highs. The USHS Executive Board and Board Members give a special "Thanks"
to Chad Keller for his work on The Milestone Award and Banquet. Chad, we wish
you well in all that you do and we are proud to call you a "Friend"
from USHS Executive Board. Utah Stonewall Historical Society Chair-Ben Williams
Treasure-Chuck Whyte Secretary-Mark Swonson
 |
| Heidi Ho and Mark Thrash |
2003 Dear Community, Requiem - an AIDS Memorial installation at
Memory Grove served as
the kick-off for the 19th Annual AIDS Awareness
Week. The temporary memorial served as
the first reminder of why we have this week each year. There are 4237 red markers that signify the
number of HIV infections, AIDS cases and deaths in Utah since 1983 - when
statistical data began to be recorded. Markers have been installed in the shape
of a red ribbon and illuminated so the memorial is visible from an astounding
arial view each night. Please take a moment to go to Memory Grove and
experience this first ever Utah AIDS Memorial.
Not only is this a monumental moment in our history - but we often times
need to be reminded of the "awareness" that is missed in the midst.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the 19th Annual AIDS Awareness week!!! Mark Thrash Emperor 28 The final
weekend of the 19th Annual AIDS Awareness Week is here. There are still many creative and exciting
events to attend... something for everyone!
2003 FRIDAY - OCTOBER 10 Threads of the Red Ribbon - independently
produced play about the experience of being gay and/or HIV/affected in
Utah. Run time: 1 hr 15 mins. Gay and
Lesbian Community Center Black Box Theatre, 7:30 PM - Tickets are $7.00100% RAW
MALE - All Male Date Auction, Club Splash* - 11:00 PM. Dinner for two auctioned with one of Utah's
sexiest men and featuring special guest, Exclusive Falcon Porn Star Anthony
Shaw for auction - bring your coins for this one girls!
2003 Affirmation National Conference Charting New Courses by Duane
Jennings, Conference
.jpg) |
| Duane Jennings & Brian Bennington |
Chair Join us October 10-12 (Columbus Day Weekend) as we
gather for our annual conference to be held in the heart of Mormondom.
"Charting New Courses" is this year's theme. We will discuss the
unique issues facing GLTBI people from Mormon backgrounds and celebrate both
aspects of our dual identity-Peculiar/Queer and Mormon. The conference will be
held at the Guesthouse on the University of Utah Campus in Salt Lake City.
- Friday
The Friday opening, at 6:00 pm, will include entertainment, a few serious
words, and how could any Mormon related event be complete without
refreshments! The serious part of our opening event will be a look back at
our past and the challenges we face in our future. The opening will also
include entertainment, and we'll be learning some Latino steps by members
of the Mexico City chapter. Playwright/actor Steven Fales will read
.jpg) |
| Steven Fales |
selections from his new one-man show in progress, Cult!, which explores
his obsession with cults of all shapes and sizes in our cult-saturated
society. Alternately lighthearted and tender, with satire both mischievous
and biting, Fales examines the way we so easily offer our allegiances to
others, allowing them to define who and what we are, when the real secrets
are already within our grasp--and much simpler than we've ever imagined.
Don't Forget Your Swimsuit & Towel! For those who aren't into the
bar/club scene, Friday evening, after the Open Social and presentation of
"Cult," at the Officers Club, Wasatch chapter members Kevin and
Steve are hosting a reception at their new home in Federal Heights--at
walking distance from the Guest House. There will be hors d'oeuvres,
music, videos--and they have an enclosed heated swimming pool. So those
who wish, bring your swim suite and towel. We'll also have a few cars to
shuttle over those who don't bring their walking shoes. Festivities will
start approximately 9:00 pm and run until 1:00 am'ish (whenever). We'll
have maps at the Opening Social and a phone number if you get lost.
- Saturday
Plenary Session: "Blessing" (Saturday, 8:30 - 9:20 a.m., in the
Officers Club) A short film will be shown, followed by a panel discussion
and/or question and answer period. This film explores the excruciatingly
complex tension between "worthiness" and "unconditional
love," taking a hard look at the idea of "exclusion," and
its consequences. In dealing with an issue as volatile and
emotionally-charged as Mormonism and homosexuality, this film seeks to
raise questions rather than supply answers. The panel
 |
| David Hardy and family |
will comprise of the
director, Stephen Williams, and David & Carlie Hardy of Family
Fellowship who helped with the underwriting of the film. Workshops
(Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., in the hotel) Saturday morning we will
also enjoy a number of workshops on a variety of topics relating to the
gay Mormon experience: Women Women's sexuality and spirituality: Sara
Jordan How to better meet the needs of women: Alyson Bolles Spirituality
Working within the LDS Framework: Clay
.jpg) |
| Clay Essig |
Essig & Russ Gorringe Religious
Alternatives for Gay & Lesbian Mormons: Lee Shaw (Episcopal Minister),
Dee Bradshaw (MCC minister), Bob McIntire (Bishop in the Restoration
Church), Maureen Duffy-Boose (Ordained Pagan Priestess) Relationships
Long-term Male Relationships, Part 2--Charity Never Faileth: Kraig &
Chris Family Planning for Gay and Lesbian Mormons Youth LDS Young Adults,
Part 2: Aaron Cloward, Erik Kruse, Micah Bisson. LGBTQ Youth and Adult Support: Jed
Brubaker, Affirmation Youth Services Coordinator Miscellaneous Progress in the Mexican Chapter
(bilingual panel): Hugo Salinas and the Mexican Chapter The Disciplining of Presiding Patriarch
Joseph F. Smith: Gary James Bergera
Transgender Issues: Sean Dennison (Unitarian Minister), Dominique
Storni, Rebecca Nay (Affirmation's Transgender Concerns Coordinator) The
Handkerchief Project: Steve Dunn & James Cartwright Saturday
Afternoon: Free Time! Lunch on Saturday will not be provided, but places
for lunch, including the Heritage Commons, are located near the Guest
House. Gamofites (Gay Mormon Fathers) will gather for lunch at 1:15 pm at
the Heritage Commons. The afternoon
has been set apart as free time. Information will be available for groups
interested in touring Temple Square, the Family History Library, and the
City Cemetery. Sue-Ann Post Banquet
with Sue-Ann Post (Saturday, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Officers Club) Affirmation
is pleased and excited to announce that international writer and comedian
Sue-Ann Post will share her talents and thoughts at the Saturday Night
Awards Banquet. Sue-Ann or Posty, is a comic with a past. She has left
church activity (the Mormon one), she has come out (she's gay) and she's
told everyone about it. Since Sue-Ann launched onto the scene with her
multi award winning solo show, A Bit Of A Post-Script, she has been
creating her own brand of information charged comedy that has shocked and
delighted audiences around Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Posty is
possibly the only comic to perform for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi
Gras and the World Council of Churches in the same week--and she was
cheered at both events! Her autobiography, "A Bit of a
Postscript," is available through Penguin Books. Rainbow Ball with
the Saliva Sisters (Saturday, 9:00
pm - 12:00 am, Student Union) From the banquet we will be traveling down
to lower campus and joining the LGBT campus community for the Rainbow Ball
and entertainment to be held at the Student Union. Affirmation is in for a
treat as the Saliva Sisters make a repeat performance at their third
Affirmation Conference (previous conferences were 1997 in Salt Lake and
1998 in Portland, Oregon). The Saliva Sisters are an unnatural act. Who
would have supposed a girl group singing parody songs about fiber, bidets,
and bras would have survived, let alone flourished, in Utah? Well, they
have. In fact, they've become an institution. In 20-something years of
melody, mirth and mucous, they have performed for groups as varied as the
Western Republican Governors and the Gay Rodeo. As their performance list
attests, they also get around. People who have seen them in their natural
habitat import them to parties, conferences and cheap motels all over the
country.
- Sunday
Music, Devotional, Luncheon Sunday morning there will be an excursion to
Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle on the LDS Temple complex and
the annual Affirmation Sunday Devotional. This will be followed up with
the traditional Sunday Closing Luncheon. But conference participants are
highly encouraged to extend their weekend through Monday. For a few lucky
ones, Monday will be a day off from work as it is Columbus Day Weekend.
The extended conference activities include the following: "THIS Obedience" THIS Obedience," Soul Force, &
Faith in Action (2:30 - 4:30, Social & Behavioral Science Auditorium)
Moderated by Duane Jennings with Clay Essig, Carlie and David Hardy, and
others, this panel will focus on matters of education and activism. The
purpose of "Soul Force," much like the actions of Gandhi in
India and Martin Luther King Jr., in the United States, is to put in motion
people of faith to address the issues of discrimination and injustice. We
will screen part of the documentary "THIS Obedience" and discuss
discussion that have taken place the past 4 years on educating our LDS
tradition - moving hearts, saving lives, building families and improving
our communities . 'THIS Obedience' is an emotional journey through one of
the most contentious justice issues of our time. In an act of
"ecclesiastical disobedience," a Lutheran congregation in
Minnesota ordains the Rev. Anita C. Hill, a lesbian pastor in a committed
relationship, who refuses the requirement of celibacy for gay clergy. See
www.thisobedience.com for additional information. Susan Randall Family
Fellowship Forum: Voices in Exile (5:00 pm, Social & Behavioral Science
Auditorium) Sunday Evening Affirmation is cosponsoring the quarterly
Family Fellowship Forum. Family Fellowship is an organization dedicated to
strengthening LDS families with gay and lesbian members. We will screen a
video produced and directed by Susan Randall, Assistant Director,
University Television Productions, Boise State University, entitled
"Voices in Exile - Stories of Lesbians Mormons." Susan will be
here for the screening and will participate in a panel discussion
following the film. The video features interviews with several Mormon
lesbian couples, all with compelling stories and interesting perspectives.
After Conference Party at Club Splash If you are 21+, join us Sunday
evening at Club Splash in downtown Salt Lake. The inside is smoke-free!
The party will start around 7:00 pm, Sunday evening after the Family
Fellowship Forum at 404 South West Temple.
- Conference
Will Kick Off with Leadership Meeting Dear Friends: The leadership meeting
for the 2003 Affirmation Conference will take place on Friday, October 10,
from 2:00-5:00 pm at East Room of the Officers Club, south of the
University of Utah Guest House in Salt Lake City. We encourage chapter and
group representatives to schedule their flights so that they can attend
this important event. Even though the meeting is open to all Affirmation
members, we are asking every chapter to make sure they are represented in
the meeting. For more information about the conference, please visit us at
www.affirmation.org. Sincerely, Scott MacKay, Olin Thomas, Darren Holman,
& Hugo Salinas Affirmation's Executive Committee
.jpg) |
| Bruce Bastian |
2004 Subject: Word Perfect
co-founder now champions Gay rights
"Don't Amend": Bastian's personal life and his political
sensibilities seemingly have changed 180 degrees By Rebecca Walsh The Salt Lake
Tribune The conversation was brief when Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson
first met Bruce Bastian. Eight years ago, Anderson was running for Congress and
advocating gay-marriage rights. Bastian told the political hopeful he was too
liberal. "There weren't a whole lot of people who discussed gay marriage
at the time," Anderson says. "It was a very short conversation."
The two didn't talk again until Anderson was running for mayor in 1999 and the
candidate became one of Bastian's causes, collecting $15,000 that year and
another $22,500 last year in campaign funds. Perhaps the normally reclusive
Bastian's name on Anderson's financial disclosure forms was a political coming
out of sorts, because the WordPerfect co-founder and philanthropist hasn't
stopped there. He joined the board of the national gay-rights group Human
Rights Campaign a year ago and has contributed half the Don't Amend Alliance's
budget for fighting Utah's proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage.
He was grand marshal of the Utah Pride Day parade this year. In a way, Bastian
has come full circle from that 1996 meeting with Anderson. Local and national
politics have forced him out of a self-imposed exile. Now, rather than avoiding
the debate over gay marriage, Bastian has plunged himself into its fiery
core."Those who support [constitutional amendments] to define marriage are
saying that they are entitled to certain laws and legal benefits and
protections because they sleep with the right person and I sleep with the wrong
person," he says. "It's wrong." Twenty years ago, even five
years ago, it would have been unthinkable for the 56-year-old Bastian to say
that in a newspaper article. But along with his political sensibilities, his
personal and public life has turned 180 degrees. The son of a Twin Falls,
Idaho, farmer and grocer he prefers to call a musician, Bastian was the fifth
of six children. Separated from his siblings by a span of years, Bastian was
nerdy and quiet. He mastered the clarinet and saxophone and, despite his
reserve, was elected student body vice president in high school. He enrolled at
Brigham Young University and decided to major in math. But the choice of study
didn't quite fit. After a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Italy, Bastian returned to BYU and studied music. At 28, he married a
girl from Canada, his "best
friend" Melanie, and started a family. For five years, Bastian directed
the university marching band as a graduate student. But when he was passed over
for the faculty job of band leader, fate stepped in. Bastian switched the
emphasis of his master's degree from music to computer science, met professor
Alan Ashton and designed a precocious word processing program that became
WordPerfect Corp. Now, it all seems so prescribed to him. The "right"
thing to do - four kids and a house in the Utah County suburbs. He had known he
was gay since high school, but had never followed through on his feelings.
Then, on one of his business trips, he fell in love with a man. "I don't
think straight people can begin to imagine the inner turmoil and fear at this
moment in a gay person's life," Bastian says. "All your dreams,
plans, everything falls apart. The whole foundation of your life crumbles. You
can stay the course or follow your heart and go to where every human being
dreams of going – to happiness ever after." It was 1984, at the height of
the AIDS scare in America. His children would be harassed, his social network
destroyed. Still, Bastian came out to his wife. They continued to live together
for several more years; he spent much of his time on WordPerfect business
trips. Eventually, he moved out and they divorced in the mid-1990s. It was the
worst-kept secret in the family. His older sister, Constance Embree, was
terrified when she found out her baby brother is gay. "He's my brother,
and he hasn't changed," she says. "I just worry about the rest of the
world." Bastian got hate mail from his employees. His four sons were teased
at school. His closely guarded privacy was his attempt to protect them from
publicity during the brutal high school years. When his youngest son graduated,
Bastian's political isolation ended. The sale of WordPerfect to Novell in 1994
made Bastian and Ashton multimillionaires. And for more than a decade, Bastian
quietly bankrolled Utah's cultural arts - $1.3 million in cash and in-kind donations
to Ballet West and another $1.3 million to buy pianos for the University of
Utah Music Department. "We have been able to achieve some special ballets
and programs that we otherwise wouldn't be able to do if we didn't have his support,"
says Johann Jacobs, Ballet West executive director. "He is extremely
generous in using his money to make the community a better place. He does
whatever it takes to stick to his commitments." Somewhere along the way,
philanthropy transitioned to activism. Bastian has reduced his donations to the
arts to dedicate more resources to what he considers a battle over fundamental
human rights. Besides donations to candidates, he has given Human Rights Campaign
more than $1 million in just over two years. And he set up the Alliance's
office with donated computers with WordPerfect software and $315,000. This
election year, he travels the country for the campaign. "He has a profound
commitment to equality and fairness for all Americans - including gay
Americans," says Cheryl Jacques, campaign president. "Where he sees
injustice, he devotes himself to reversing it." Bastian is driven by an
image of his lonely adolescence. "As a gay person, you grow up hating
yourself. No matter how much you accomplish in life, you will be a failure
because you are gay," he says. "I'm doing this for the kid in Idaho,
growing up on a farm. I don't want him to go through the s--- I went
through." He left the Mormon church years ago and asked church leaders to remove
his name from church rolls. Religious arguments against gay marriage frustrate
him. He has more use for the Golden Rule. "The sanctity of your marriage
depends on you," he says. "If the value of your marriage depends on
what anyone else is doing, you need to re-evaluate your marriage." Bastian
hopes cooler heads - and more rational arguments – will prevail on Nov. 2. Uncomfortable
with the label "activist," Bastian at times wants to return to quiet
anonymity. Despite being surrounded by marble and groomed gardens and five
full-time staff in the custom, 30,000-square- foot home he built in the Orem
foothills, he often wishes he was in his cramped London apartment. "I'm
just Bruce in London. And people know I'm gay and who cares? It's not
important," he says. "I like to be a regular guy." Periodically,
he thinks about leaving Utah once and for all. If he could drop his house in
the hills of Tuscany or take his schnauzers Max and Lucas to England, he says,
he would do it "in a heartbeat." But then his children and
grandchildren live here. He feels as though he is just getting to know them. So
he stays in a conservative community that has marginalized him and his ilk,
still hoping that someday things will change. Anderson worries about the day
Bastian might leave. "Most bigotry toward gays and lesbians comes from
treating the other as an abstraction rather than a human being," he says. "We
need to be able to put a face on the other to understand that they are entitled
to the same kinds of rights and dignity as anybody else. "Bruce is an
important face," Anderson adds. "I don't think most people who oppose
equal rights for gays and lesbians can get to know Bruce and come away with
those same negative feelings."
.jpg) |
| Rocky Anderson |
2005 Rocky added to GLBT
top 10 list Advocacy: The mayor's order extending benefits to gays prompted the
honor By Jacob Santini The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky
Anderson has been added to a Top 10 list that includes the Rev. Al Sharpton, a
Grammy award-winning artist and an actress on "The West Wing." The list honors the most outspoken and
influential leaders around the globe who are straight but advocate for the gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community. Anderson was
added to the list - it includes singer Kanye West and actress Kristin Chenoweth
- because of his executive order extending health and dental benefits to Salt Lake City's
unmarried employees' partners, whether they are heterosexual or gay. "It
speaks well for this community," Anderson said. "We've made a lot of
progress in Salt Lake City." Anderson said he is proud to stand up
"not only as a politician but a straight person" for equality for his
city employees. The Human Rights
Campaign Foundation wanted to "point out the straight folks that are
taking a stand for our community," said Michael Cole spokesman for the
foundation. The foundation is the country's largest advocacy group representing
the GLBT community with about 600,000 members. The Top 10 list coincides with
the National Coming Out Day, which is celebrated Tuesday. The mayor issued an
executive order last month and wants to start offering benefits as soon as Nov.
1. Salt Lake City faces a legal fight as officials from the Public Employees Health
Plan have asked a judge to determine if domestic-partner benefits are
legal. And it is Anderson's stand in
conservative Utah - a state that in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment
defining marriage as only between a man and a woman - that landed him on the
list, Cole said. Anderson
"wants the GLBT community of Salt
Lake to be part of the greater
community," Cole said from Washington,
D.C.
-Sides swap views on gay-marriage amendment Flip-flop: Rocky Anderson's
domestic-partner order has everyone wondering how the measure applies By
Rebecca Walsh and Heather May The Salt Lake Tribune In the glare of an election
battle, politicians will say just about anything to get themselves - or their
pet causes - approved by voters. Words
like "Read my lips" become a slogan to assuage voters' fears. In the
case of Utah's
marriage amendment, "It's simple. It's just right," was the motto of
Amendment 3 supporters. And more than 60 percent of Utah voters agreed, changing
the state constitution to block gay marriage.
But now that the constitution has been amended, Salt Lake City Mayor
Rocky Anderson has tested that slogan with an executive order granting medical
benefits to unmarried city employees - gay or otherwise - in committed
relationships. Suddenly the debate about the amendment has changed. Supporters
who calmly told voters the amendment would not block government or business
from providing limited benefits to gays and lesbians now say the mayor's plan
is unconstitutional. And amendment critics who warned of such legal
consequences now argue the law does not do what they had predicted. Salt Lake
City Rep. Jackie Biskupski, who warned Utahns about Amendment 3 in a voter
information pamphlet, acknowledges arguments on both sides have changed. "Now we flip because we're trying to
test the law. We all need to know what the amendment really did,"
Biskupski said. "Until it's interpreted, nobody knows for sure. You have
this weird place to be in. I don't think anybody believes the constitutional
amendment language is clear." Two groups have sued over Anderson's
executive order. Attorneys for Public Employees Health Program, the government
insurer that would have to provide the medical benefits to city employees and their
partners, has asked the courts to clarify the law. And an Arizona Christian
group has sued to declare the mayor's policy illegal. Whatever the judges decide, the mayor's
policy has forced both sides to shift strategies. At this time last year,
Amendment 3 supporters were doing their best to counter claims that the
amendment language would hurt Utah's nontraditional families. The legislative
sponsor of the amendment, Draper Rep. LaVar Christensen, was the initial
spokesman for supporters but was replaced by Monte Stewart, a soft-spoken
attorney with a kinder, gentler approach. Both Stewart and Christensen argued
the proposed law would not block contract-based rights for gays and lesbians,
such as hospital visitation, inheritance and end-of-life decision-making.
Stewart went further, pledging that public employers, like the University of
Utah, would not be stopped from providing medical benefits to unmarried
partners. "Amendment 3 prohibits
only arrangements that walk, talk and act like a marriage, and an insurance
benefits program for dependents doesn't," Stewart wrote in a Salt Lake
Tribune guest editorial last May.
Stewart, who now works for the Utah County-based Marriage Law
Foundation, still stands by that interpretation. But Anderson's policy has revealed a schism
in the ranks of Amendment 3 supporters. Christensen has dismissed statements
that counter his own as "fringe arguments." At the same time, the
conservative Republican has refined his own debate. Last year, he focused his
arguments on "independent rights" that can be preserved by private
contracts, such as powers of attorney and inheritance. Anything more could rise
to the level of rights reserved for married couples, he said. Now, Christensen
says medical benefits are not necessarily limited exclusively to legal spouses,
but when the mayor's policy awards them based on a "domestic
partnership," that violates the amendment. He supports the Alliance
Defense Fund's lawsuit against the city. But he also says a different plan
being drafted by City Council staff (which would extend benefits to employees'
roommates, parents, siblings and unmarried partners) would likely be legal. And
he believes the University of Utah's benefits program does not violate the
state constitution. "The glaring problem with the mayor's proposal is
[that] the linchpin of his plan is the creation of a domestic partner status
and the registry to go with it," Christensen said. "He's more intent
on creating a substitute for marriage in the form of domestic partners than in
simply accomplishing what he says is the goal, which is to expand health
[insurance]." If Amendment 3
proponents' views have taken a sharp right turn, amendment opponents' argument
that the law "goes too far" seems to have shifted into reverse. By
supporting Anderson's policy, Democratic Salt Lake City Sen. Scott McCoy says
he is testing the promises of the amendment's supporters. McCoy says he did not
debate the legality of the U.'s plan for fear of making it a target. Instead,
he tried to argue the potentially broad implications of the amendment. "We were walking a fine line ourselves.
During the campaign, we were trying to warn people of a possible interpretation
of the amendment that was very wide and very hurtful or dangerous," McCoy
said. "Our warnings are coming true."
A similar scenario is playing out in many of the other 10 states that
adopted gay marriage bans in the last election. Carrie Evans, legislative
director for the Washington D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign, said many of the
amendments used broad, undefined language rather than simply defining marriage
as the union of a man and a woman. As a result, both Ohio and Michigan have
denied domestic partner health benefits or domestic violence protections for
unmarried couples. Evans said amendment proponents' ultimate goal was to block such benefits - while
telling voters something else.
"They're saying what they think the voters want to hear: This is
about marriage and it's not about anything more than that." Amendment opponents tried to warn voters,
but the debate was confusing, Evans added.
"The architects of the amendments fully intended this was the end
goal. They're really going after domestic partner benefits and other
things," Evans said. But "we didn't really have any evidence of that
[during the campaigns]. "We could
talk from a legal interpretive standpoint. It was really hard not to sound like
Chicken Little." Other amendment critics say both sides got caught up in
dissecting the second section of Utah's amendment, obscuring the amendment's
larger discriminatory goals, and confusing voters. "It was easier and simpler for
us," said Dani Eyer, director of American Civil Liberties Union of Utah.
"It's an attempt to legislate discrimination. The skirmishing over part 2
was irrelevant." Whatever the larger goals of the amendment's writers, the
courts will have to determine what the amendment actually does. As a team of
legislative attorneys and analysts wrote in the 2004 voter guide: The scope of the law "may be more
precisely defined by Utah courts as they interpret the provision in the context
of lawsuits that arise."
- Then
& Now (with attorneys Bill
Duncan and Richard Wilkins in "The True Legal Effect of Amendment
3" by Yes for Marriage, Sept. 8, 2004. THEN: "It cannot be plausibly
argued that extending one or two benefits to unmarried couples treats
those couples as legally equivalent to married couples. This same analysis
would apply to a local city's decision to offer some minor benefits like
health insurance coverage to someone designated by a public employee even
if the employee is not married to that person. "The amendment would have no
effect on a legislative decision to extend identified benefits to
unmarried persons."
- From
NOW: "Amendment 3 prohibits only arrangements that walk, talk and act
like a marriage, and an insurance benefits program for dependents
doesn't." (From his guest
editorial in The Salt Lake Tribune on May 1, 2005. LaVar Christensen (Christensen, the amendment sponsor
and GOP state representative from Draper, and West Jordan Republican Rep.
Chris Buttars in the Utah Voter Guide, October 2004)
- THEN: "This amendment does not deny
any existing rights under Utah law. Despite the opponents' contentions,
'sexual orientation' is not comparable to race, religion or ethnicity. If
needed, their concerns can be separately addressed without sanctioning and
giving blanket marriage status to same-sex couples."
- THEN:
"It leaves the Legislature free to specifically legislate on a
case-by-case basis with great compassion and fairness for any individual
grievances that may arise."
(On KUED's "Civic Dialogue" in 2004)
- NOW:
The mayor is "trying to create his own marriage and divorce laws
within the city limits."
"This proposed action violates public policy as found in our
statutes." (In a Salt Lake Tribune article Sept. 22, 2005, and in an
interview with a reporter) (The argument against Amendment 3 in the voter
guide, written by Biskupski, Salt Lake City Democratic Rep., Dr. and Mrs.
Gary Watts and University of Utah law professor Terry Kogan.)
- THEN:
Amendment 3, "means that same-sex couples in committed, long-term
relationships can never receive any of the more than 1,000 legal rights
and protections provided to married couples. We're not just talking about
tax benefits and inheritance rights. We're talking basic rights, such as
the ability to visit one's partner in the hospital or make medical
decisions in an emergency. The amendment would also deny same-sex couples
health insurance benefits currently offered by many prominent Utah
employers." Scott McCoy
(State Sen., D-Salt
Lake City
and director of the Don't Amend Alliance, on KUED's "Civic
Dialogue.")
- THEN:
"The amendment goes much further than a simple definition of marriage
and actually denies basic rights and legal protections to a whole host of
nontraditional families in Utah." (On SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson's
policy in an Oct. 7, 2005 Salt Lake Tribune article)
- NOW: A
registry "doesn't do anything close to a marriage or a civil union.
[Opponents] use Amendment 3 as if it were a referendum on anything gay.
That's a misuse and misinterpretation of Amendment 3. Amendment 3
supposedly was just about marriage and civil unions."
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| Jeremy Yamashiro & David Alder |
2009 From: David Alder Subject:
Your interview... To: "Ben Williams" cc: "Jeremy
Yamashiro" Date: Monday, October 12, 2009, 2:30 PM Ben, When might you be
free to do your own interview as part of the project? Would you be free this Saturday morning
between 8AM and Noon (starting no later than 10am)? If you need other options,
we have the following times available on Monday and Tuesday next week: Monday,
October 19th 8AM-9PM (Any time) Tuesday, October 20th 3PM-6PM (starting no
later than 4pm) Looking forward to hearing your perspective! -- David
Alder & Jeremy Yamashiro The Queer Oral History Project Salt Lake City,
Utah 84103
- Ben Williams wrote:
saturday should work how about 9:30
where?
- David
Alder Subject: Re: Your interview... We could do it at the pride center,
at your home (we'd need your address), or we could find some quiet corner
of the downtown library to have the interview. Which would you prefer? D
- Ben Williams wrote: How about the downtown library... what do you want
me to focus on? With 40 years of
being gay that's a lot of territory.
- From: David
Alder Subject: Re: Your interview...To: " Ben Williams" Cc:
"Jeremy Yamashiro" Library would be great! We'll probably take one of the study
desks on the north side of the library.
But let's meet at the Roasting Co in the library and find our
location nearby. As for what to discuss, I think it'd be great to hear
more about your path as an educator.
With all the pressure that Anita Bryant and others were putting
upon gay educators both in and out of the closet, I think it'd be a
fascinating thing to learn how you were able to remain in the profession,
given the hostilities about you. We can develop additional narrative
threads down the road with secondary interviews. Thoughts? Jeremy? What do you think of this as a starting
point? David
- From:
David Alder Subject: Re: Your interview...To: "Ben Williams" Date: Tuesday,
October 20, 2009, Ben, I'm terribly embarrassed by how I felt I was
behaving on Saturday. I felt that
due to my lack of preparation, I missed out on hearing your story, which
is something I was looking forward to hearing. We are definitely looking
forward to more interviews with you!
If a similar Saturday time/location works for you, we'd be happy to
set that up again (and potentially make it a regular occurrence for the
sake of simplicity in planning and logistics). Would that work for you? Hit
us back as soon as you can. We can
start as soon as this Saturday. D
- Ben Williams"
To: "David Alder" same time same place same bat station (don't forget the permit)
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| Ben Williams |
- Note- After the
interview by Jeremy, David who was film realized he had no film in his camera
and Library security said we had to have a permit to film at the library. No
follow up interview ever took place.
2014 Restore Our Humanity Join us in a rally at Washington Square to celebrate and reflect on our victory and our future successes. We plan to take some time and honor and remember our friends, family members, our allies and loved ones who have passed before us and not get to see this day. We have won a long battle, let's celebrate. "The Restore Our Humanity Rally to honor those
who did not live to see this day. It was sparsely attended probably 100 people but Sim Gill talked
from the heart and Michael Aaron Green gave a rousing speech on how one persons
decision to come out can affect a community...Mark Lawrence called a few youth
to come up and said its time to pass the baton to them that we old people are
tired...at the end glow sticks were passed out instead of candles as Becky
Moss, David Andreason, Connell O'Donovan, Michael Aaron , Valerie Larabee, Mark
Lawrence, another fellow named Bob Tuttle read off names of those from our
community who did not leave to see this day...I started off and I remarked that
as I was complying this list and reading through the obituaries that I saw a
lot of long time companion, life mates, special friend but never husband or
wife...I said because of Mark we now can say husband or wife.
· Bob
Henline -Not as big of a crowd as we'd hoped for tonight, but a powerful and
moving tribute to those who came before us in the fight for equality. Thank you
to everyone who attended and paid their respects. Special thanks to Michael
Aaron Green, Becky Moss, Ben Edgar Williams, David Andreason, Connell
O'Donovan, Bob Tuttle, and Valerie Larrabee for helping honor those who didn't
live to this this milestone. Also thanks to Charles Stormont, Sim Gill, Jolene
Mewing and Colleen Mewing, and of course, Mark Lawrence.
· Mark
Lawrence It was a beautiful crowd and thanks to Charles Stormont , Sim Gill,
Valarie Larrabee and all those who participated . I think we have closure and
now we can move forward.
· Colleen
Mewing We are so proud to have been a part of Humanity Restored! We shall
always be grateful for all that Restore Our Humanity has done to bring marriage
equality to Utah!
 |
| Michael & Nicolas Valdez |
2014 State issues first foster parent license to
gay spouses by Cristina Flores Friday,October 10th 2014 (KUTV) Michael and
Nicholas Valdez were married in Salt Lake County in December but already they
are growing their family by fostering two girls who they hope to adopt in the
next few months. "We are loving. We can do everything a mom and dad can do,"
said Michael.{ } The day after same sex marriage became legal in Utah, the
couple received their joint foster parent license from the state of Utah. DCFS
spokesperson Liz Sollis said they are the first same sex spouses in Utah to be
licensed. The girls, ages three and one, arrived in the
Valdez' home a month ago. That's because Nick applied for a foster care license
as a single person.{ } The girls are his great nieces. Their mother, who couldn't care for them,
asked Nick to do so – he was glad to accept. "I wanted to be a father since I was
18," he said. Even though they
couldn't be co-foster parents at the time, Michael went through the training
anyway hoping someday things would change. That day came on October 6th when
same sex marriage became the law in Utah. "We bonded immediately,"
said Michael of the moment the girls showed up in their home. Now, the men are hoping to adopt the girls by
early next year. "My life is much
happier," said Nick. Mike Hamblin, Director of Recruitment for the Utah
Foster Care Foundation, which trains and supports foster parents, said with
more married, same sex couples, the pool of potential foster parents will
likely grow. "Anything that
increases the pool of foster parents benefits the kids and adds to the
resources that are there for kids in need of placement," Hamblin said. Currently there are 2,700 kids in foster care
in Utah, while there are only 1,300 foster families. Just like there are kids
moving in and out of foster care, foster families come and go too.
2017 When
we formed Gay Men Aloud two years ago, our goal was to have a group that
provided educational, social and service opportunities for mature gay men. We
hope you have found these opportunities by attending GMA meetings and
activities. After
much consideration, we have decided to dissolve GMA at this time. Current
leadership can no longer work alone in financing and organizing events in order
to maintain GMA. We hope you understand. We also hope you can find another group to
fill the needs GMA previously met for you. Men Who Move is a fantastic group;
which provides many social, physical and service activities for our community. We
have enjoyed rubbing shoulders with each of you and look forward to our
continued friendships. Kent Scadlock and Dennis J Lee co facillitators
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1997- Delta Lambda Sappho Union, the Lambda student organization of
Weber State University held second annual Rainbow Ball. Event kicked off
Homecoming week at WSU. .jpg)
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