This Day In Gay Utah History October 4

October 4th

1889 First District Court Evan Thomas of Sevier County [Utah] was arraigned on an indictment charging him with a crime against nature. He plead not guilty. M M Kellogg was appointed by he court to act as his attorney. Provo Daily Enquirer

E.M. Forster

1913 E.M. Forster finished writing his novel "Maurice" which is about a man coming to terms with his homosexuality. It would not be published until 1971, one year after Forster's death, at the request of the author.

  

1944 Morals Charge Filed William Henry Hoskins, 1832 5th East, was charged with sodomy in a complaint signed Wednesday in city court Hoskins, a junior high school teacher, allegedly  committed the offense with a 14 year old pupil. Salt Lake Telegram

• 17 October 1944 Held on Morals Count William Henry Hoskins, 45, 1832 5th East Tuesday was bound over to Third district court for trial on a sodomy charge after a preliminary hearing before City Judge Karl V. King Salt Lake Telegram
• 31 October 1944 Court Frees Man Charged with Morals Charge Charge of sodomy filed against William Henry Hoskins, 45, 1832 5th east  was dismissed in Third District court by Jury Tuesday upon recommendation of Judge A. H Ellett when it was disclosed at the trial that there were no coraborating winesses to testify that Mr Hoskins committed the crime against the 14 year old boy near the Salt Lake airport No 2,  Aug 25. Salt Lake Telegram

1959 Allen Drury’s Advise and Consent entered the New York Times best-seller list on where it

remained for more than a year. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel told about the downfall of a fictitious Utah senator Brigham Anderson due to this Mormon’s brief homosexual affair while in the military

Janis Joplin

1970 Bisexual singer Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose.

1974 Spencer W. Kimball, Church President, October 4, 1974,"God Will Not Be Mocked", Ensign, Nov. 1974, p. 4 "Every form of homosexuality is sin. Pornography is one of the approaches to that transgression."

1975- Gordon B. Hinckley, Apostle October 1975, "Opposing Evil", Ensign, November 1975, p. 38 Speaking about a young Gay man who had recently visited Hinckley, he said, "We talked of the influences that had put him where he is, of the home from which he came, of associations with other young men, of books and magazines read, of shows seen."

Eldred G. Smith

1979 Eldred Gee Smith was placed on emeritus status by the First Presidency and no new Patriarch was called to replace him. At his death, the office of Patriarch to the Church, which once rivaled that of the President of the Church, will cease to exist. His father was church Patriarch and upon his death the hereditary should have went to Eldred who was 25 years old and unmarried. His cousin Joseph Fielding Smith was chosen instead who was released due to homosexual conduct. Upon his cousins release Smith assumed the position.

Randy Smith

1981 Ethyl (Randy Smith) and Friends for Gay Rights picket Temple Square during the LDS Conference after receiving permission to parade through downtown Salt Lake City. 4 October 1981 Sunday-GAY PROTEST-MARCH About 15 “Friends of Ethyl” braved cold temperatures to march from the Federal Building to Temple Square in protest of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stand on homosexual rights. “Ethyl”, a drag performer whose real name is Randy Smith said one reason for a less than expected turn out was that Gay Protesters “may have stayed home to do their hair and nails.” Mr. Smith said the purpose of the protest was “to show Salt Lake City and the church that there is a Gay community here and it’s growing.” Mr. Smith, an excommunicated Mormon said he went through Brigham Young University’s aversion therapy program and that “it hurt.” “We’d just like them to stop it.  Some kids are having enough problems with dealing with their homosexuality as it is without the church laying a big guilt trip on them,” Mr. Smith said. He said all the Gay community really wants is for the church “to treat us like any other member. We don’t have a disease or a bad habit. It’s a part of us.” The group displaying signs reading, “We are God’s Children”, marched up state street to South Temple and then to Temple Square where they circled the temple block chanting, “2,4,6,8 Gay Is Just As Good As Straight.” Church members leaving the morning session reacted to the Gay protesters mainly with in difference although most conference goers shied away from marchers. Mr. Smith said that based on the Kinsey Report of the 1950’s there are an estimated 70,000 to 80,00 homosexuals living along the Wasatch Front. He added that there are now about 7 Gay bars and numerous Gay Rights organizations in Utah. (10/05/1981 SLTribune B6)

• Marty Pollock She moved to Oklahoma after years of entertaining Salt Lake's Court and was murdered. Shocking when we heard the news. She was awesome. I only know that shortly after moving to Oklahoma, she was stabbed to death. That's all I know at this time.

Michael Aaron

1982 Michael Sowerby (Aaron) and Iris Gonzales are elected co-Presidents of Lesbian and Gay Student Union at the University of Utah.

1983 The AFL-CIO Union voted to support gay rights legislation.

1985- Utah State Prison authorities state that tests showed that a prisoner received several days ago has been exposed to AIDS but does not have the disease yet. Inmate held in isolation in prison’s infirmary.

Chuck Whyte

1986 -Chuck Whyte  presented Unity V “The Quest” The annual Unity Show acts as catalyst for organizing a forum for Gay and Lesbian leaders and activists to address a large audience. Greg Garcia, a founder of the Wasatch Motorcycle Club challenges the

Greg Garcia

community to work together.  Unity V was held at Backstreet. Garcia stated in part, “ I, as master of the Wasatch Leathermen, invite the heads of all Gay and Lesbian bars, organizations, and groups to join me in a meeting to begin the vital exchange of aid and information. …Brothers and Sisters we face the most dire crisis in our long history. Through unity we can find hope. Through unity we will fight oppression from within and without.”

1987 Members of the Wasatch Leathermen are attacked in front of the In-Between, a gay bar at 579 W. 200 South.

Graham Chapman

1989 Graham Chapman, co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus, died of throat cancer at the age of 48. Chapman came out as a Gay man in his book "A Liar's Autobiography." He was survived by his lover of 23 years, David Sherlock, and John Tomiczek, who the couple adopted as a teenager in 1971.

Wendy Weaver

1998- Attorneys for embattled Spanish Fork teacher Wendy Weaver asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against her by a group that claims she is morally unfit to teach school in the Nebo School District because she is a Lesbian.

1998 The Associated Press Gay Political Hopeful Faces Fire By Mike Carter SALT LAKE CITY -- To Jackie Biskupski, her

Jackie Biskupski

run for the Utah Legislature is about taxes, crime and growth in the sprawling suburban district she wants to represent. For almost everyone else, it's about her sexuality. Biskupski, 32, is the first openly gay candidate to run for Utah's staunchly conservative, overwhelmingly Mormon Legislature. Her candidacy has drawn fire from both the far right, which accuses her of living an "immoral and illegal lifestyle," and some homosexual activists who feel she's turned her back on her own. "I want to talk about the issues and everybody else wants to talk about this," said Biskupski, a Democrat and insurance adjuster who once wanted to be a police officer. "I'm not trying to hide anything. I just want people to see me as something other than a gay candidate." That's unlikely. Her Republican opponent talks about "hidden agendas." The conservative Utah Eagle Forum, which helped "out" Biskupski during her unsuccessful race for a seat on the Salt Lake City Council last year, plans a similar campaign in coming weeks.

Gayle Ruzicka

"Once we found out about it, we helped get the word out she was living a homosexual lifestyle," said Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka. "Why wouldn't we? It is certainly our business when a candidate is committing sodomy and living a blatantly immoral lifestyle." The right-wing attacks mirror problems faced by other homosexual candidates around the country. Three lesbians, all Democrats, have won primary races for Congress this year in California, Washington and Wisconsin. A fourth lost in Massachusetts. All were, to one degree or another, targeted by the Christian right. But Biskupski faces an additional burden. She's being criticized from within the homosexual community, which fractured when Biskupski defeated lesbian activist Claudia O'Grady in a 1997 city council primary. For O'Grady's supporters, Biskupski seemed reluctant to address the issue in public and simply wasn't "gay enough." "It caused a lot of dissension. There were and continue to be hard feelings," said David Nelson, chairman of the Utah Democrats' gay and lesbian caucus. "It split the gay vote and certainly played a big factor in Jackie's loss." O'Grady declined to endorse Biskupski in the  general election, which Biskupski lost by 43 votes to a moderate. “After talking to my campaign workers, what it came down to was the manner in which she chose to use, or not use, her lesbianism," O'Grady said. "Did it suit her at this moment? Fine. Did it not suit her at this moment? Fine again." O'Grady, Nelson and others agree Biskupski is far more at ease with the topic in this race. In some ways, it has played to her advantage. "I think people are saddened when someone like Gayle Ruzicka comes along and wants to drive a wedge into a district where there are a lot of minorities, a lot of elderly and a lot of discrimination," Biskupski said. "That hurts the community far more than anything I'm capable of doing." District 30, about 2 miles southeast of the city center, comprises mostly working-class neighborhoods. The seat has been held for 12 years by Rep. Gene Davis, one of the most liberal Democrats in the Utah House, and Biskupski, a member of the county Democratic Party executive committee, is favored to win regardless of the controversy. Her moderate Republican opponent is Bryan Irving, a contractor with no political experience. Irving, 33, insists he hasn't made an issue of Biskupski's homosexuality -- a claim Biskupski scoffs at -- and denies any connection to Ruzicka. "I will say that I believe in traditional family values. I think homosexuality is a choice and that it causes confusion and is destructive," said Irving, a Mormon and father of four who lives a block down the street from Biskupski. Attention to the issue seems to have created some backlash to the Eagle Forum's attacks. "I think it's just the person. I don't think that stuff is anybody's business, do you?" said Quma Anderson, an 88-year-old lifelong Democrat. "I just don't see how it concerns (Ruzicka)," said 20-year-old Rebecca Roberts, who says she leans Republican. "I can't see how it makes a difference." Others in the district, however, like Robert Waite, find the whole issue unsettling. "I guess I'd lean toward voting for someone a little more traditional," he said. Biskupski acknowledges the issue is likely not to go away even if she's elected to the 75-member Utah House, where she would join a band of Democrats now outnumbered by Republicans 55-20. The Utah Legislature as a whole has not been friendly to homosexual issues. In 1996, state senators of both parties held an illegal closed caucus to discuss homosexual student clubs in high schools. Lawmakers came close to banning all clubs -- including the chess club and Future Farmers of America -- to prevent gay students from meeting. The previous year, lawmakers passed a last-minute bill strengthening Utah's law against same-sex marriage. Biskupski insists she has no intention of  going near any of those issues. "I believe I'll be able to get along. I'm a good consensus builder," she said. "I don't think people feel  threatened by me."



1999 The Daily Utah Chronicle Monday, October 04, 1999 U Group Joins LDS Conference Protest SCOTT LEWIS Chronicle News Writer Gay and lesbian rights activists gathered outside the south gates of Temple Square, creating a sea of signs and messages as LDS General Conference attendees filed in and out of Sunday's speeches held at the Tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Utahns for Fairness organized the "silent protest" against the LDS Church. Many University of Utah students joined their efforts, including  members of the Lesbian and Gay Student Union. An estimated 150 people avoided blocking the crosswalk and the gates on South Temple, as out of uniform police officers looked on. "We are calling on the LDS Church to cease its involvement in gay hatred politics," said Jared Wood, president of Utahns for Fairness. "We want them to stop spreading hate about gay and lesbian relationships." Wood's organization formed in June after reports emerged about the LDS Church's political support of the Knight Initiative in California that would ban all nontraditional marriages. It was difficult to find a protester who wasn't holding a sign as organizers kept tight control of the demonstration. The organizers of the demonstration explained rules of the silent protest at the beginning, and then stamped everyone’s hand who agreed to follow them. Participants were not allowed to argue with pedestrians or conference participants nor engage them in debate. But calm arguments erupted along the picketer's line and four counter protesters across the street continually denounced the demonstrator's "intolerance." Wood said they chose General Conference, held every fall and spring, as a good time to demonstrate because the first things he ever learned about gays lesbians came from watching the conferences as a boy. "We want to make sure that people see we're not a whole bunch of freaks; we just want the same rights they enjoy," said Rosemary Russo, a sophomore at the U studying psychology. "I don't think they really see that they have no control over what their church administrators are doing with their money," she added. LDS Church officials have shown strong support for the Knight ballot initiative in California. They have also donated up to $1.1 million against same sex marriage proposals in Alaska and Hawaii in the past. North America West Area Authority Elder Douglas Callister called on LDS Church members to use their time and resources to ensure a successful vote in a letter to local church leaders in California. "There is no justification to redefine what marriage is. Such is not outright, and those who try will find themselves answerable to God himself, “said LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in his speech at the priesthood session of conference on Saturday. According to Hinckley, the issue has nothing to do with civil rights. "The money being used in California has been donated to the coalition by individual members of the church," he added. "As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gays and lesbians." U student Will Reyes justified the protest saying the church is being hypocritical in its stand on gay marriages. "LDS doctrine teaches love and equality, but when it comes down to [the church’s] actions, that's not what it has shown," said Reyes Scott Morgan, co president of LGSU, said its members were told to come to the protest if they wanted, but the group  wasn't officially an organizer. "A lot of the time people are afraid to question [LDS] church authorities, “said Morgan. "I would like to have the right to marry a lifelong companion." "They use some of the same reasons to oppose homosexual marriage as people did when they opposed interracial marriage," he added. Most of the conference visitors seemed unaffected by the protest and, although there were no altercations between them and the demonstrators, many stopped to read the sometimes long messages written on the picketer's signs. "If they want to protest they can, but I feel a bit sad that they think they need to do it," said Bryan Skelton, in town from Hull, England, to attend the semiannual conference. "It's a signal that they don't feel accepted and they have to do this to feel better. It's a pity they feel so threatened by something good," added Skelton. "To their credit, though, they are well behaved." Across the street, Sandra Rodriguez played loud antigay music and apologized to the conference attendees for "having to protest the protesters." "They are misinterpreting tolerance," said her husband Jonus, as Rodriguez continued lobbying. "They are the ones not showing tolerance." But the only noise coming out of the gay rights protesters were the loud cheers heard every time a sympathizer passing by honked this or her horn in support. Russo said she hoped the protesters' signs would make people think critically about the LDS church's actions. "Maybe they will actually see we're real people, and then think about whether or not what [their church] is doing is right," she said. "I want a lot of people to know that we're not just going to sit back. We are going to fight for our civil rights," said Spencer Sim, a sophomore at the U studying film. Wood, a recent graduate of the U, said organizers formed Utahns for Fairness in response to LDS Church members' involvement in the antigay marriage initiative. Kersten Swinyard also contributed to this article.


1999 By LORETTA PARK Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau SALT LAKE CITY -- "Mormons, stop teaching your children to hate," and "A man can be a mother, a lesbian can have a wife," were among about 50 signs held up outside of Temple Square Sunday. Utahns for Fairness, a gay- rights group, gathered about 100 demonstrators for the silent protest between the morning and afternoon sessions of the169th Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Across the street, a second smaller group demonstrated against the gay rights group. Most conference-goers, however, ignored or were oblivious to both demonstrations. Jared Wood, spokesman for Utahns for Fairness, said the demonstration was planned six weeks ago in response to the church's support for the California Knight Initiative that would only allow marriages between men and women."We want LDS Church officials to cease political involvement in issues that prevent equal treatment for lesbians and gays under the law," Wood said. Elder John B. Dickson of the Quorum of the Seventy said in an interview, “Everybody has the right to protest. It's their First Amendment right, same as we have the First Amendment right to speak out on issues we believe to be morally wrong."Dickson is the president over the North American West Area, which includes California and Hawaii. He said once church members were asked to get involved in getting the California Knight Initiative on the ballot, many donated their time or money. In Alaska and Hawaii, church members raised $1.1 million in a campaign to block same-sex marriages in those states."We do not apologize for our members' rights to express themselves," Dickson said. Eva Fattah of Kaysville was one of the protesters at the demonstration."The message I'm sending goes to the maladjusted religious people of Utah. Parents must support their children," she said. Shannon Strickland of Salt Lake City came and stood away from the demonstrators. He does not support the protesters, even though he was ex-communicated from the church because of homosexual activities."I'm working my way back into the church. I uphold President Gordon B. Hinckley as prophet, seer and revelator and I support the church's stand on family values," Strickland said. Elder Russell M. Ballard warned members in the Sunday morning session about those who advocate same sex marriages."False prophets and false teachers are also those who attempt to change the God-given and scripturally-based doctrines that protect the sanctity of marriage, the divine nature of the family, and the essential doctrine of personal morality," Ballard said. Across the street, a non-LDS group, America Forever Foundation protested the quiet gay rights demonstration with loud music and large posters. These protesters claimed the gay rights' beliefs will victimize children. Sandra Rodriguez said they did not learn of the gay rights protest until Wednesday night and were unable to get many members to attend Sunday's demonstration. About 10 people came to demonstrate against the gay rights group. You can reach reporter Loretta Park at 776-4951 or lpark@standard.net

1999  Monday  SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, Gay-Rights Protesters Decry LDS Stand BY JUDY FAHYS, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE     Love and family might have unified people in another time or place.     But, as principles, they only deepened a divide Sunday between gay-rights protesters outside Temple Square and throngs of Mormon conference-goers who could not avoid walking past the demonstration during a lunch break.     The rift was as clear-cut as the contrast between the people involved: those embracing the love and family prescribed by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints and those who hold that gays and lesbians live the same values, just differently.   About 150 protesters lined the parking strip at Temple Square's south gates, many of them wearing sunglasses, logo T-shirts and shorts. They stood quietly and let their posters do the talking.    "Keep Your Bigotry to Yourself," said one. "America Equals Equality." "Your Church Spent $1.5 million on Our Oppression."     Kathy Worthington, a former Mormon who helped organize the protest, tried to hand out explanatory flyers to passers-by.    "It's hard to get them even to take it," she said. "They're taught not to question, not to ask."    Passing without comment were thousands wearing Sunday-best floral prints and dark suits. Many looked away from the signs and clutched Bibles, babies or lawn blankets.   A 79-year-old conference-goer was an exception. He paused thoughtfully as he read each poster. Still, he was not swayed. "In this life, there are certain things that are right and some things that are wrong."   It was actually LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley who pushed the gay-marriage controversy to the forefront of this weekend's conference. He told men gathered for a priesthood meeting on Saturday that the church would continue its efforts on behalf of a California ballot measure to prevent same-sex marriages in other states from being recognized in that state. Best known as "the Knight Initiative" for the name of its sponsor in the state assembly, the measure will appear on the ballot next March 7.  LDS leaders in California have asked members to give money to help the initiative pass. Although their efforts have helped raise more than $1 million for the cause, some faithful don't like church leaders pushing them to become politically involved and some fear retaliation for not contributing. But Sunday's conference crowd turned up few critics of the church's involvement. Even Shannon Strickland stood by Hinckley's and the Church's statements about same-sex marriage.    "I don't stand by what these people [the protesters] are doing," said the Salt Lake City Mormon, who was excommunicated for his homosexuality. " . . . they [church leaders] will prevail."  John B. Dickson, a member of the church's Quorum of the Seventy who supervises 800,000 members in the Western United States, reasserted the church's view that it has an obligation to be involved in some political issues, such as same-sex marriage. While homosexuality occurs in every culture, Mormons believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God, he said. "It's a moral issue to us," he added. "God never intended a man would marry a man or a woman would marry a woman."    Dickson had little to say when asked if he thought the church might accept same-sex marriage as part of a change in its views about marriage, as it did once more than a century ago when leaders decided to forsake the practice of plural marriage.   "As far as we are concerned, it is not really relevant to the situation in California," he said. In fact, Sunday's gay- rights protest seemed only to underscore the church's opposition to same-sex marriage. It's just strengthening our faith and beliefs," said Brad Weech of Mesa, Ariz. "I don't think they [the protestors] are educating or persuading anyone."    Protestors were not surprised with the reaction, but they did wish for greater acceptance within the church and its faithful for their way of thinking.     "I feel betrayed by my church," said Denver Smith, whose poster insisted "Hate is Not a Family Value." "I'm gay, and I love the church, but what can you do? " he said.

4 October 1999 Monday KSL TV (Utah NBC Affiliate) story on the Protest at Conference A polite protest took place outside Temple Square Sunday. News Specialist Pamela Davis has that story. As protests go, this one was sizeable -- about 100 demonstrators, maybe more. Their chief complaint is that the LDS Church is using its influence and money to support political issues that they say are anti-gay. The demonstrators' strategy was to "stand silently and smile." Politeness was the hallmark of this protest. People leaving Temple Square after the Sunday  morning Conference session noticed the long line of signs -- but for the most part, passed quietly by.  Kendall Roberg/LDS Church Member: IF THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, THAT'S OK. Bree Anne Barker/LDS Church Member: I JUST DON'T KNOW WHY THEY THINK WE HATE THEM. 'CAUSE WE DON'T. Nick Consolo/LDS Church Member: IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE GIVING OUT A BUNCH OF PROPAGANDA TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE CHURCH. Groups like this are opposed to the LDS Church's support of the Knight Initiative in California, a proposed law which would only allow marriages between men and women. Darin Hobbs/Protestor: WE DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO INVOLVE ITSELF IN OTHER STATES' BALLOT INITIATIVES THAT WE PERCEIVE AS REPRESENTING AN ANTI-GAY BIAS. Elder John Dickson/Quorum of the Seventy: WE HAVE URGED MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA TO HELP SUPPORT THIS BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANT NATURE, THE MORAL NATURE OF THE ISSUE. President Hinckley addressed the issue on Saturday.

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley: "SOME PORTRAY LEGALIZATION OF SO-CALLED  same-SEX MARRIAGE AS A CIVIL RIGHT. THIS ISSUE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. FOR MEN TO MARRY MEN, OR WOMEN TO MARRY WOMEN, IS A MORAL WRONG."

President Hinckley also said church members in California have joined a coalition, and any money  contributed to the cause is from individuals. Protestors said their main goal was visibility, and placing themselves in this high-profile spot gave them the best chance at having their signs read and their message understood.

Krystal Hansen/LDS Church Member: I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE, EVER. I'VE NOT COME DOWN TO THE CONFERENCE ON SUNDAY, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE. IT'S LIKE AN EYE OPENER TO MYSELF BECAUSE I DONT KNOW, IT'S DIFFERENT.

2000  Thanks to the moderator for letting me join this list.  I know this post isn't BYU related, so apologies in advance if being off topic is bothersome. The following two paragraphs are from Lee Mortensen, the Utah Valley State College Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance's faculty sponsor.  In previous semesters our membership has gone down and our club is presently at risk of loosing official status.  If you can attend, please do. –Jaron "I have scheduled our first club meeting for October 4th, 7PM in SC215.  Please come and bring your friends!  (SC215 is in the UVSC student center, upstairs from the bookstore, the room by the College Times office; there is visitor parking on both the north and south ends of campus now).  RECHARTERING: Anyone can be a member of our club, but chartering  means getting 6 UVSC STUDENTS to sign the recharter form.  It also means having a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary, which needs to be voted on during our first meeting.  If we are not chartered, we will lose our funds, our web site, and any official club status we have enjoyed for the last 5 years."

2003 An ex-Mormon and the top gay Australian comedian is coming to SLC to perform at the Affirmation Conference and Coming Out Pride day celebration (see www.Affirmation.org). A documentary for Australian PBS of the trip is being shot while she is over here. Thursday morning we will be up at the U of U archives with Stan Larson explaining the total gay collection up there. I know you teach during that time, but is there anyway you or another rep. from the Stonewall History association could make it? I'll be glad to represent and plug both Affirmation and the Stonewall History association, but I think you Ben NEED to be there considering all the selfless work you've done. After all Ben, most of what's up there is because of you. You deserve some payback my friend. Take care and hugs, Jay Bell

2003 Saturday Utah's First Ever Alternative Women's Health Fair Salt Lake City Main Library Health care info & services for LBT women, alternative medicine, live entertainment, food, low-income resources, free stuff & more! Don't Forget - This Saturday - Oct. 4th at the Downtown City Library Alternative Women's Wellness Fair  11:00 am - 3:00 pm * Drawing to win prizes from: Cahoots, Sam Wellar Books, Wild Oats, Virgin  megastores, Water & Wellness Center, Stonewall Coffee & Salt Lake Roasting Co. * Live entertainment by Debi Graham at 12:30 & Becky Elmer at 1:30. * Free services such as chair massages, Reiki Demonstrations, Bone Density and  blood pressure screenings. * Free snacks & grab bags.  * Tons of information on health issues for lesbian, bisexual and trans women! * Low income access presentation at 11:00 am in the auditorium. * See the movie "Cancer in Two Voices" at 2:15 in the auditorium. ITS ALL FREE & EVERYONE IS WELCOME!  DONT MISS IT! Jennifer Nuttall Director of Adult Programs Gay and Lesbian Community Center 801-539-8800 ext. 13

•  2003 Fair to focus on health needs of women who aren't heterosexual By Carey Hamilton The Salt Lake Tribune  Broaching the subject of sexuality with a doctor can be embarrassing, especially for those who are gay. For that reason -- and others -- lesbians and bisexual and transgender women don't see health-care providers as regularly as heterosexual women and often avoid discussions about their sexuality if they do see a

  

  Jennifer Nuttell

  physician, according to experts. "We have to empower lesbians because it's important for them to disclose their sexuality," said Jennifer Nuttall, the director of adult programs for the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Utah in Salt Lake City. To help them, the group will hold a fist-ever wellness fair for lesbians and bisexual and transgender women at the downtown Salt Lake City Main Library on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. "The goal of the health fair is to have a place where lesbian, bisexual and transgender women feel comfortable and for service providers to show they are gay-friendly," Nuttall said. Health-care professionals and other volunteers will offer free vouchers for Pap smears, mammograms and testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Women can find information about domestic violence, nutrition and diet, cardiovascular health, artificial insemination, pregnancy, depression, substance abuse and safer sex. Women who don't have children are at higher risk for breast cancer, and those who have had sex with men can be at higher risk for cervical cancer. "A lot of lesbians don't go to OB-GYNs because they don't

  

  Maggie Snyder

  think they're at risk because they don't have sex with men," said Maggie Snyder, a board member for the center and a physicians assistant. "But if you've ever had sex with a man, you can contract human papilloma virus [HPV] and get an outbreak on your cervix and not know it." HPV is a precursor for cervical cancer. Health professionals also say lesbians are more prone to suffer from depression and addictions. "I believe they are at higher risk for depression and anxiety because of the world we live in, and what also goes along with that is substance use and abuse," Snyder said. " Our world is becoming more aware of gay issues, but it still has a ways to go. There are a fair amount of people who aren't knowledgeable and don't want to be." In the future, the center plans to hold workshops to help make doctors more aware of lesbian health issues and how to overcome any stereotypes. "Some lesbians may not even access health care because of the fear of discrimination," Nuttall said.

 2003 Eight grandchildren of Ernest Hemingway have settled a dispute over the $7.5 million estate of the writer's transsexual child, Gloria, averting a ruling from a judge on whether the heir, whose birth name was Gregory, died a man or a woman. Lawyers from both sides disclosed the settlement Friday. The details were confidential. The dispute was between the grandchildren and Gloria Hemingway's widow, Ida, and stemmed from her assertion that she was entitled to the estate because she had remarried Hemingway in 1997, after Hemingway underwent sex-change surgery and began going by the name Gloria. The grandchildren contested the validity of the marriage, since Florida law does not recognize same-sex marriage.

2003 Where have all the Mormon feminists gone? No banners proclaiming "Mormons for ERA" will be soaring over the LDS General Conference this weekend as they did in the 1970s. No Mormon women will be picketing the semi-annual meeting or praying to their Mother in Heaven over wardhouse pulpits, as they did in the 1980s. None will be speaking out on women's rights on the steps of the state Capitol or on TV, getting themselves fired from Brigham Young University or excommunicated from the church as they did in the 1990s. In other words, Mormon feminists are awfully quiet. The Mormon Women's Forum, established in Salt Lake City in 1988, can scarcely draw a crowd to its annual fall conference. Exponent II, the Boston-based quarterly for Mormon women, which led its readers "gently, gently towards feminism," is still publishing nearly 30 years after it was launched. But it is more likely to take up issues of grief, aging and being single in a married church than the question of priesthood power.     These days, Mormons feminists are less likely to publicly cut their ties to the church than to quietly slip into inactivity or simply go underground, nursing their concerns in private. Feminism as a movement within Mormonism "is dead or dying with our generation," says Claudia Bushman, an LDS historian who teaches at Columbia University. "Feminism is such a potent word, it's been expunged from our vocabulary." But does that mean there are no independent, free-thinking women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Or that all women's issues have been resolved? Or that they no longer care about the questions that remain in a church which excludes women from its top offices?     The answer to all three is no, says Jill Derr, managing director of BYU's Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History.  Young Mormon women today "take equality between men and women on a personal and professional level as a given," she says. "It's not even a question." Young scholars are more well-rounded, more disciplined and less scarred by the experience of overt discrimination, Derr says. They expect to balance family and career and presume the church's approval.     "They did not live through the polarizing era that was such a marked part of our lives," she says. "They can look at our history through a more nuanced, complex lens." It may be just the term "feminism" that makes people wince. For some, it carries too many negative connotations derived from past battles and is synonymous with a confrontational style or hostility to motherhood. Or they feel it has been co-opted by those who define it solely in terms of reproductive rights or competition with men. One BYU professor says "feminism" has been dropped from women's studies discourse almost entirely, replaced by the more neutral term "gender." Besides, the church has changed a lot since the 1970s. Issues that electrified earlier activists have slowly declined or disappeared, Bushman says. Female participation and visibility in the church are on the rise. At this weekend's conference, at least one woman will likely speak in nearly every session (except tonight's priesthood session, open only to men). Women can preach and pray over ward pulpits as often and as prominently as men. They sit on ward councils, serve as presidents of women's organizations such as Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary. They officiate at some women-only temple ceremonies. More and more of them are serving full-time missions for the church, becoming just as well-versed in Mormon scriptures as their male counterparts.     On the home front, the church has stopped pushing big families and talking about birth control. Mormon leaders still see the nurturing of children as the most important thing a woman can do, but are more sensitive to the needs of working women. They encourage couples to make family decisions prayerfully, based on individual situations, not on a universal mandate. Last summer the Smith Institute hired Bushman to direct a seminar for graduate students on LDS women in the 20th century. Organizers had to choose qualified fellows from among dozens of applicants. They settled on eight women from Harvard, Yale, Brown, the University of Utah, Claremont College and BYU. Some were married with children, some without children, some single. At least half had served LDS missions. "They were all very ambitious, very able and very devoted to the church," Bushman says. "When I was that age, you could not have assembled a group like that." They spent eight weeks in Provo, researching topics ranging from LDS participation in the National Council of Women from 1888-1987, the history of the church's stance on birth control, rifts among LDS women created by the Equal Rights Amendment, and the relationship between patriarchy and contentment.  "We tend to tell our story by jumping from event to event, mostly negative," Bushman says. "We wanted a better way of looking at it." Back to the future: Whenever Derr goes to academic conferences, she encounters people who say, "I know the history of Mormon women. They had a lot of power. Now they've lost it." That's not the way she sees it. But there's no question that the institutional roles of LDS women fluctuated throughout the faith's 163-year history. In the 19th century, many Mormon women did feel a stronger sense of their partnership with the priesthood. They were outspoken leaders of their own female organizations, especially the Relief Society. Ironically, polygamy and the church's outsider status in America gave Mormon women some freedom from the reigning Victorian ideals of domestic life. Leaders like Eliza Snow spoke openly of their spiritual powers and being the offspring of heavenly parents -- one of them God the Mother. Mormon women were early suffragettes, forming alliances with national leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who spoke in Utah. They were the first in the nation to vote and among the first to pursue professional careers in medicine, business and law. State Sen. Martha Hughes Cannon was the first U.S. woman to be elected to a legislature. These women owned their own buildings, organized a hospital and published a newspaper, Woman's Exponent, which was edited by Emmeline B. Wells, a plural wife and mother of five daughters, from 1877 to 1914. In the newspaper, Wells and women like her promoted female education and careers. But when the church gave up polygamy in order to gain national acceptance, its women struggled to maintain their independence. "The image of Mormon women as docile homemakers, a la June Cleaver serving Jell-O to a smiling family in a 1950s sitcom, is just one of the many things Mormonism adopted from conservative American culture," wrote Margaret Toscano, who was excommunicated on Nov. 20, 2000, for her feminist heresies. Perhaps the biggest loss to Mormon women in the early 20th century was the spiritual gifts they had enjoyed, including blessing the sick, a rite now performed only by men.     Then came the 1970s movement to add an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which the LDS Church helped to defeat. Some Mormon women were for the amendment and some against it, and that conflict erupted bitterly in 1977 at a meeting of the International Women's Year in Salt Lake City. Organizers planned for 3,000 women, but 10,000 showed up after getting marching orders from church headquarters. The nearly hysterical mob voted down every proposal. Next came activist Sonia Johnson, who sparred with U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch over the ERA in Senate Committee hearings and exposed the LDS Church's behind-the-scenes opposition to the amendment. She was excommunicated in December 1979, and her case became a cautionary tale to Mormon feminists everywhere. In the 1980s, women again began talking among themselves about a Heavenly Mother -- a concept that for decades had lost its potency -- and some acknowledged praying to her. Church leaders swiftly condemned any public display of devotion to her. And women speculated about the possibility of being ordained to what has always been a male-only priesthood.     "There doesn't appear to be much interest in the priesthood question anymore," says Nancy Dredge, editor of Exponent II. "It's been talked to death."  Derr says young Mormon women still want to explore their relationship to the priesthood, but they raise the issue with family and in private settings. "The questions haven't changed," she says. "Just the venues for discussing them."  Woman vs. woman: One issue that still percolates in the church -- as it does in the rest of American society -- is the importance of having a full-time career versus staying at home with the kids. On Feb. 22, 1987, LDS Church President Ezra Taft Benson sounded the battle cry with his speech, "To the Mothers in Zion." He told Mormon women in no uncertain terms not to postpone having children or curtail the number of children for "personal or selfish reasons." He also said unequivocally that mothers belong in the home, not the workplace. The speech had an immediate and overwhelming impact: D ozens if not hundreds of Mormon women quit their jobs, believing that was what their prophet wanted, while others felt guilty for ignoring that mandate. And the church tried to implement institutional policies that would enforce women's role. For a long time, women were forbidden to teach at LDS Institutes of Religion, but now they can be hired -- as long as they have no children under 18. Nor can women with children under 18 be temple workers to assist with rituals, but they can volunteer in the laundry.    Since ascending to the LDS presidency in 1995, however, Gordon B. Hinckley has presented a more variegated stance. The work of raising a family should be tantamount in a woman's life, he says, but it is up to individual women (with their spouses) to decide when and how best to accomplish that. Education is important for women and so is self-respect. Simple ideas, maybe, but in a Mormon context almost revolutionary. Last spring Hinckley told the church's 12- to 18-year-old girls to "study your options. Pray to the Lord earnestly for direction. Then pursue your course with resolution. The whole gamut of human endeavor is now open to women." He described meeting an LDS nurse who was raising three children while working. "There is such a demand for people with her skills that she can do almost anything she pleases," 93-year-old leader said. "She is the kind of woman of whom you might dream as you look to the future." Of Hinckley's speech and emphasis, Bushman says, "That's the new model. I like it."   Emphasis on education, formal or self-selected, seems to be working.    Thousands attend BYU's annual three-day Women's Conference each spring, where many of the speakers are female scholars, writers and thinkers. And now Deseret Book, the church's publishing arm, is taking some of its writers to one-day seminars for women across the country. So far they've been filling gymnasiums and stadiums in cities from San Diego to Orlando, Fla.. The number of women faculty at BYU has steadily risen from 13 percent in 1983 to more than 20 percent today, says spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins. More Mormon women are graduating from college and professional schools than ever. Elizabeth Harmmer-Dionne, a Boston attorney and mother of three young children, is one such woman. Harmmer-Dionne graduated from Wellsley College where she says she constantly got the standard question: How can you be in that patriarchal church?     Her reply was her life, she says. "A lot of what I am, I owe to the church. If feminism is empowerment, so is the gospel." In her Cambridge ward, Harmmer-Dionne sees a lot of female graduate students. Many of them feel a strong sense of mission about their careers. "It comes out of their sense of personal revelation," she says. "That is the quiet story of feminism no one notices."

Laura Gray

2008 Utah gay rights activist moving to England  Sheena McFarland - The Salt Lake Tribune Saturday, October 4, 2008  Lawyer Laura Milliken Gray, packs up her house in Salt Lake City, Utah on Sept. 24, 2008 as she gets ready to leave to be with her wife in England. Laura has fought for years for gay rights at the Legislature. With her leaving, others plan to take her place. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Francisco Kjolseth) ** Before the gay rights movement found its footing in Utah, it found its voice in Laura Milliken Gray. In 1996, she opened her own law practice, and within a year was fighting alongside students at East High School for a Gay-Straight Alliance club. A few years later -- after conservatives found out she had helped same-sex couples to adopt -- she fought alongside Rep. Jackie Biskupski, then Utah's only openly gay legislator, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop a ban on unmarried Utahns adopting. She also was on the periphery of the Amendment 3 debate, trying -- though again unsuccessfully -- to stop the state from blocking gay marriage in its Constitution. But while Gray has fought for other's families, she now is leaving the country to stand up for her own. She is leaving to join her wife, Agnieszka Lesiewicz. The two married last May in England, but they couldn't get a visa for Lesiewicz to come to the United States. Gray can get one for Britain under its civil partnership status there. "We've been doing a long-distance relationship for three years, and when she couldn't come here, that was the final straw," Gray said, recounting their courtship in settings such as Picadilly Circus, Covent Garden and SoHo. She doesn't plan to stop fighting for what she sees as right. She's starting by taking a one-semester course on international human rights law at the London School of Economics. "When you get that kind of work into your blood, it seems that's who you are no matter where you are," she said. But she realizes she'll be leaving behind many battles still to be fought here in Utah, as well as many allies and friends. Biskupski looks at Gray's leaving as a "huge loss," but says it will force growth in the community. "Laura has planted a perennial seed and change will continue to happen year after year because of that seed," she said. "We will see things bloom and blossom here that really will benefit Utah's families." Even those who crossed swords with Gray, and disagree utterly with her views, have only good things to say about her. "I really admire Laura for her willingness to publicly raise issues and speak to the issues," said Lynn Wardle, a law professor at Brigham Young University who championed the gay adoption and marriage ban. "Our legal system and policies are better when you have the expression of diverse viewpoints." Gayle Ruzicka, leader of the conservative Eagle Forum, also respects Gray for her commitment. "She believed in what she was doing, and when you have a passion for something, you probably get a little [pushy]. But people say that about me. I never had a negative experience with her," said Ruzicka. The conservative morals activist knows, though, that others will take up where Gray left off. Some of those replacements will be the attorneys at Gray's Utah law practice, Gray, Alder & Cawthorne, and the legal panel at Equality Utah. Gray served on several boards for Equality Utah, and recently was honored for her contributions to the gay community. "She leaves a great legacy here," said Mike Thompson, the group's executive director. Gray has little doubt that the goal she fought so hard and long for in Utah will one day be reached. "The tide has turned," she said. "The opposition is trying to keep the sun from rising, and they have to know that."

The Jam

2008 New Gay Club in the Marmalade - The hottest new gay bar and club in Salt Lake City’s marmalade district — the streets near Capitol Hill named after fruit trees — is now open for business. Jam in the Marmalade opened its doors on Oct. 4 and threw its grand opening on Halloween night. In the mere two months it has occupied the space that once housed popular trucker bar The Cedar Lounge, co-owner Brian Morris said business is going well. “It’s been busy and we have a great crowd of people,” he said. “It’s a really great environment.” The neighborhood bar and club was founded by Morris and

Brian Morris

business partners Todd Croft and Robert McCarthy, who had a particular vision for a new kind of bar. All men in their late 30s and 40s, they wanted to go clubbing without having to deal with the presence of cigarette smoke. Along with a smokeless atmosphere, Jam in the Marmalade also offers patrons a list of non-alcoholic beverages, such as sports drinks. It’s also the home of hot entertainment six nights a week (currently, the club is closed on Sunday, although Morris noted that this may change in the future). The club also features a line up of popular Salt Lake DJs. Every Wednesday is Big City House night, so named for a group of three to five DJs who spin house music and switch off every half hour. “You get to hear a wide range of different DJ styles but [they’re] still playing the same style of music,” Morris explained. “It’s a new thing going on here in Salt Lake and it’s a lot of fun to watch and listen to and pick out different styles of different DJs.”  DJ Ruccus has the floor on Thursday nights. On Fridays, DJ: K and DJ Mike Babbitt are frequent guests. “The crowds really love him,” Morris said of DJ: K. The club has yet to “lock in” a house DJ for Saturday, said Morris. In the meantime, the spot is held by a number of guest spinners. Currently, Tuesday and Monday nights are reserved for Disco Night and Monday Night Football, respectively. Along with rotating DJs, the club also plans on featuring performances by a number of “surprise vocalists.” “We are planning in December to have an acoustic artist here, but we haven’t nailed down all those details,” said Morris.  Along with popular dance nights, the club has also become a popular spot for groups looking to host private parties, which Morris said can be booked from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., when the club opens its doors to the public. Along with a party for the Ski OUT Weekend scheduled for Dec. 19, the club is filling up fast this month with bookings for Christmas parties. And true to its commitment to cater specifically to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients, Morris added that the club welcomes local groups such as the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Utah Pride Center to use its space for events during the day. Although the club is doing good business, Morris said a few things still have to happen for the club to become fully operational. For example, its owners are still working with the city to get a full liquor license (currently, the club is only authorized to sell beer). As soon as their license is approved, Morris said the club will hold another grand opening party in celebration. And then, of course, there is the task of readying the club for the winter holidays, one task that is fortunately near completion. “By the time this issue comes out we should be decorated for Christmas,” Morris said. Jam in the Marmalade is open Monday through Saturday from 5:00 p.m.–2:00 a.m. Q Salt Lake | Dec 01, 2008 | The Jam

2010 October Utah Protest Over Boyd K Packer Hate Speech  PRIDEinUtah is organizing a rally for this Thursday the 7th over the Mormon Church’s Boyd K. Packer who delivered a powerful message of hate to members world-wide yesterday. We’ll be meeting at City Creek Park (State St and North Temple) at 7 pm. Boyd K Packer, BIGOT At General Conference this past Sunday, Elder Boyd K Packer – the President of the Quorumn of 12 Apostles, sent a clear and loud message to all LGBT teens living in the church. The message of saying you need to change your sexual orientation and you will always be 2nd class until you do is vile and dangerous. This kind disgusting hate speech is responsible for more teen suicides every year then we even know. Kids kill themselves, or are thrown from their homes because they are taught by men like this that God doesn’t love them. SO LET’S PROTEST!! We’re going to be a bit creative about this though. Please wear a black shirt, and be prepared to lie on the ground. We’ll be meeting at the City Creek Park before walking over to the Church Office Building on Temple Square.

2014 (KUTV) A former LDS missionary has received a cease and desist order from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Salt Lake City man printed thousands of postcards promoting the church's website MormonsAndGays.Org and posted a request to get help passing out the flyers out at LDS General Conference. The question becomes, how did the church get involved? Pretty simple, the message was shared a lot, and by a few high profile people like Kate Kelly, recently excommunicated by the LDS church. As for the actual card to be passed out, all the information came straight form a Mormon-sanctioned website and even pointed people to the site. The problem? Michael Ferguson used the logo the church has a copyright on.  Ferguson received a phone call and letter from Snell and Wilmer Law, asking him to get rid of the cards. Ferguson complied and has since re-adjusted, but is a little frustrated. He said not even 12 hours after posting his request for help, he received a cease and desist letter from the LDS church. But the picture of Christ on the front and the message on the back were not the issue. It really was all about the logo. Ferguson says it was an innocent mistake. "I mistakenly thought because it was promoting something officially from the church, it would be cooperative use of the logo. But it wasn't," he said. Now, 10,000 fliers, printed and ready to be passed out Saturday during the morning session of LDS General Conference, now have to be thrown out. "Upset is not the right word" he said, noting that spending money to reprint the cards was a "bummer." Ferguson has since printed 1,000 new cards because he believes the message is important. "Many active Latter-day Saints don't even know this website exists, much less that these are the teachings," he said. The cards reads, "Love one another," With bullet points pulled from MormonAndGays.org. It notes the church's stand is simple in that "it is not a choice to be gay," that therapy does not change sexual orientation, and that love is and always has been the greatest commandment. Ferguson expects to get a mixed reception on Saturday, but if anything he said he is feeling a "sense of optimism that this story about the gay community working cooperatively with the LDS church for these messages of acceptance and love is getting so much traction."

2014 SLC gay bar accused of mocking LDS Church Updated: Saturday, October 4, 2014 | Chris Miller (KUTV) Club Jam at 751 North and 300 West in Salt Lake City, has a naked statue of Moroni guarding the entrance; the workers are wearing missionary nametags and there are signs advertising things like 'sacrament shots' and 'garment droppers'. Club management says it's their way of profiting from this weekend's LDS General Conference in Salt Lake City. "We get a lot of out-of-towners, people just started showing up in their suits, wearing their former missionary name-badges and we decided to capitalize on it," says Megan Risbon, club manager. Club Jam advertises itself as a gay bar. The establishment has been the venue for some controversial events in the past, but some are calling this weekend's party a desecration of things the religion holds sacred. A Facebook page touts the event as the 'Missionary Position Conference Weekend Party'. It offers free entry to those wearing "garments, missionary nametags, or their missionary suit." "We're not having people in garments dancing on the bar, we're not doing stuff like that, we're just having a good time," says Risbon. While the bar says this type of event has been going on for years, at least one patron says this year they went too far.  "The gay community asks so much for tolerance and understanding of what they believe in," says Aubrie Scoffield, who frequently the club in the past. "They're not really broadcasting that to other people. Instead it just looks like they're mocking the LDS community in general." Salt Lake's gay community is in the spotlight while the state fights a federal ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Club Jam insists this event isn't meant to take a shot at the LDS church, or the state. "That is funny to me because we are a bar, our whole purpose is to have a good time and that's exactly what we're doing," says Risbon. At least one patron will think twice before going back to Club Jam.  "It's changed my views on what they as a club stand for," says Scoffield. The LDS church weighed-in through a written statement by spokesperson, Dale Jones: "In recent years many people in our community, including religious leaders and representatives of the LGBT community have worked hard to create greater understanding and develop more sensitivity and good will toward each other. It is sad to see events like this - deliberately designed to offend and alienate - given any kind of attention." In the interest of full disclosure, 2News has an employee with an ownership stake in Club Jam.

2017 The Trump Administration has come under criticism as the US is one of just 13 countries to have voted against a United Nations resolution condemning the death penalty for having gay sex.  Although the vote passed, America joined countries such as China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia in opposing the move.  The Human Rights Council resolution condemned the “imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations”.