This Day In Gay Utah History March 2nd

2 March 

1891 James Hamilton of Salt Lake City was arrested at noon today on the charge of Sodomy Ogden Standard

1976-George Sullivan, mayor of Anchorage Alaska, vetoed a Gay rights bill, explaining the people of Anchorage should not be forced to associate with sexual deviants.

Bruce R McConkie

1982 In televised sermon at BYU Apostle Bruce R. McConkie denounces "spiritually immature, students and other Mormons who devote themselves to gaining a special personal relationship with Christ." He criticizes widely circulated book on that topic by popular religion professor George Pace who wrote a public letter of apology within days and is released was stake president shortly thereafter. George Pace’s son is Brent Pace.

1982-On March 2, 1982, Kip Eliason, age 16, distraught and filled

Kip Eliason

with self-hate over his inability to stop masturbating, committed suicide. Before asphyxiating himself, Kip left his father a note: "Dear Dad, I love you more than what words can say. If it were possible, I would stay alive for only you, for I really only have you. But it isn't possible. I must first love myself, and I do not. The strange feeling of darkness and self-hate overpowers all my defenses. I must unfortunately yield to it. This turbulent feeling is only for a few to truly understand. I feel that you do not comprehend the immense feeling of self-hatred I have. This is the only way I feel that I can relieve myself of these feelings now. Carry on with your life and be happy. I love you more than words can say. —Your son, Kip" Kip Eliason's five-year struggle to overcome masturbation started at age 11 when his grandmother persuaded him to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), whose members are better known as Mormons. Kip was an intelligent and sensitive young man, perhaps too sensitive. The death of his mother when the boy was six had profoundly affected him. At times he was quiet and reflective, spending hours alone in his room, and yet he was outgoing by nature. He was a born leader. His classmates and teachers admired him for his friendly way and all-American good looks. Kip was truthful and possessed a farm-community naiveté. He loved the Mormon Church — which has 5.5 million members worldwide — and was devoted to its teachings. His father, Eugene Eliason, a non-Mormon, believes that in some ways the church may have played a substitute-mother role for the boy. (For clarity, Eugene Eliason will be referred to as Eliason throughout this report; his son will always be called Kip.) Kip was not the kind of youngster you'd think would commit suicide, but when his church told him that he'd find guilt, depression and self-hate if he masturbated, he believed so. When it said he'd go to hell if he didn't stop, he believed that too. And when he was told that masturbation was a "building block of suicide," he took the church at its word. Kip's death rocked the predominantly Mormon agribusiness community of Boise, Idaho, where he was a high-school senior at Capital High School. Of course, there were the stories that occasionally filtered through the congregation about young people who, like Kip, committed suicide because they couldn't live up to the church's stringent anti-sex doctrines. But they were just stories and, if they were true, they didn't happen in Boise; they happened some 300 miles southeast, in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Salt Lake City is the headquarters of the Mormon Church and the power base from which it wields enormous financial and political influence. (Mormons comprise 70% of Utah's population.) There Kip's death was indeed viewed by church leaders as an unfortunate tragedy, but it wasn't the isolated incident the church would like its brethren in Boise to believe.  Today Kip's story is one told more and more often in Mormon wardhouses. Behind the scenes the church and community mental-health agencies in Utah are quietly fighting a sex-related mental-health epidemic among Mormon men and women. Mental-health fallout in Utah communities has been substantial and pervasive. Utah has the highest birthrate and the largest families in America. More than 50% of all births are by teenage mothers, with seven of ten out of wedlock, and it has one of the highest divorce rates in the nation.  While the number of teen suicides in America has tripled in the past decade, Utah has consistently been 3.5% higher than the national average. According to that state's Department of Vital Statistics, it ranks 13th nationally in child abuse, but comparing Utah statistics with those compiled by the National Association for the Protection of Children, the incidence of reported child abuse is six times higher in Utah. The incidence of sexual abuse — including rape, incest and intercourse — is 33% more than the national average, and the child-murder rate is five times higher.  Besides having a powerhouse football team, the Mormons' very own Brigham Young University — alma mater of Donny and Marie Osmond and 1984 Miss America Sharlene Wells — has one of the highest coed-pregnancy rates in America. Kip and countless others have fallen victim to guilt, self-hate, mental illness and suicide created by their inability to control healthy sexual desires as mandated by the Mormon Church. Making things worse is its amateurish attempts to provide counseling that utilizes powerful behavioral-modification techniques with inadequate training. Mormon anti-sex indoctrination start early. Children are taught that sex is dirty and disgusting, that it is the tool of Satan. The church uses guilt and the threat of eternal damnation to drive its message home. When a child reaches adolescence, the conflict between what he or she has learned and sexual feelings experienced can create devastating consequences.  After Kip's death, Eliason moved to Salt Lake City. He was angry and hurt. There he met parents who had stories like his — youngsters ending up in mental institutions or worse, committing suicide. Eliason worked through his grief and anger by talking to anyone willing to listen and by going to the library and researching teen suicide and the Mormons. In October 1983 he filed a $26-million wrongful-death suit against the Mormon Church, alleging that the Latter-day Saints went a step further than just providing his son with spiritual, moral and personal guidance when they subjected him to sex- and masturbation-counseling. The suit accuses the church of negligence for providing counseling that fell outside the realm of religious teaching and for not requiring or providing training for its counselors. The suit charges that this counseling, combined with the church's harsh anti-masturbation indoctrination, were the direct cause of Kip's depression, self-hate, suicide attempts and eventual death. Moreover, it alleges that the church knew or should have known that its attempts to indoctrinate and provide sexual counseling for Kip were having a severe and adverse reaction on him; yet they continued. The suit charges that this failure to exercise a proper standard of care was negligent. The suit also contends that the Mormon Church subjected Kip to what amounted to an intentional attempt at mind control by using brainwashing techniques under the guise of spiritual teaching. A pretrial affidavit was filed by noted sex-behavior expert Dr. Jack Annon, clinical and forensic psychologist, author of three books on sexual dysfunctions and disorders, and a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists and of other professional societies. Annon stated: "Based upon my review of even a limited amount of literature and on documentation specifically pertaining to Kip Eliason, it appears clear that the LDS Church promoted and engaged in behavior-modification counseling in the specific areas of masturbation."  In letters to his father and in his remarkably well-written journal, Kip chronicled his fight to overcome masturbation. He wrote: "I know immorality is a very serious sin. I really want to repent and be free of this terrible and degrading burden of masturbation. I am willing to do anything I have to do, even excommunication, to be able to repent and be free of this sin. I would rather go to hell and suffer there than be unworthy."  Eliason recalls that before Kip became involved with the church, he was happy as a lark: "He got along with everyone just beautifully. We water-skied, boated, fished, snow-skied and did everything together. We laughed and had a ball." Mormons are taught that only by achieving perfection on earth will they reach "godhood" and find eternal life in heaven. To reach "perfection" one must first be found "worthy." Bestowing "worthiness" is a shared responsibility between God and the church's elders. For most Latter-day Saints, including Kip, the constant battle to become "worthy" is a hopeless struggle. Becoming "worthy" and ultimately reaching "perfection" means living up to the church's 4,300 commandments — including those condemning natural sex acts.  To his classmates at Capital High School and fellow Mormons, Kip seemed jovial, outgoing and, well, almost perfect. In many ways he was a model child — highly motivated, voted most inspirational member of the track team, a straight-A student, a seemingly well-adjusted individual immersed in his church beliefs and in striving for perfection. Mormon elders often used him as an example of what a fine young man should be, someone others could aspire to be like. Kip often talked about going to college and earning a degree in a humanitarian field. Kip's aunt Janice Ballatore, an active Mormon with whom he lived for two summers, remembers him telling her of his masturbation problem one day while running errands: "I told him not to worry, that all young boys probably do it. He seemed very relieved. Kip was a smart, good-looking kid who took the church perfection business seriously. He really thought he could be perfect. He said, 'The church told me I could if I really wanted to try.'" Mormon Sex "Education" In a devotional speech to young adults in 1974 the late Spencer W. Kimball, Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Mormon Church, admonished teenagers: "Immorality [petting, premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality and masturbation] brings generally a guilt deep and lasting. These guilt complexes are the stuff of which mental breakdowns come; they are the building blocks of suicide, the fabric of distorted personalities and the wounds that scar and decapitate individuals or families." In Love vs. Lust, a pamphlet written for teenagers, Kimball told young men that premarital sex is a serious sin, one just short of murder. He wrote: "The young man is untrue to his manhood who promises popularity, good times, security, fun and even love, when all he can give is passion and its diabolical fruits — guilt complexes, disgust, hatred, abhorrence, eventual loathing, and possible pregnancy without legitimacy and honor." Insisting on anonymity, a young, attractive woman sums up 20 years of Mormon sex indoctrinations: "They tell you it's filthy and ugly. They say you'll be shamed and damned. By the time you're 21, you've got more sexual hang-ups than you can deal with. It's crazy." Even married people are told that sex for pleasure is out, that the only legitimate purpose of sex is to be the tool of "procreating new spirits." In a confidential letter responding to an inquiry from a married couple asking if oral sex was permitted, the late Mormon Prophet Harold B. Lee stated: "I was shocked to have you raise the question about 'oral lovemaking in the genital area among married couples.' Heaven forbid any such degrading activities which would be abhorrent in the sight of the Lord. For any Latter-day Saint... to engage in any kind of perversions of this sacred God-given gift of procreation would be sure to bring down the condemnation of the Lord whom we would offend were we to engage in any such practice."  Once known for their practice of polygamy (multiple marriages), today's Latter-day Saints are ultraconservative, tight-knit, industrious and secretive. The church demands absolute faith in and conformity to all its teachings and doctrines, and it attempts to govern all aspects of its congregation's lives, including their sex lives. In a letter to his father, Kip wrote: "I think since you're my father who I love very much, I can tell you something about me that I have a problem with. It started when I was around nine or ten years of age. I had my first wet dream and was experiencing new feelings. I really don't know how I got started, but it doesn't matter. I did it for about a year, then out of fright that I would go to Satan if I did things like that, I stopped doing it. Then about a year and a half later I was starting with it again. It was the first week of junior high in the 7th grade. I really don't know what it was that got me doing it again. For about a year I rationalized that it was right; it really wasn't a big problem then. But I did feel guilty. Then through my guilt and what I was learning [from the church] I knew it was wrong for me."  Eliason remembers: "Initially, Kip came to me and said he'd begun to have nocturnal emissions. He asked if I thought it would affect his church priesthood. I told him, 'No way! It's normal, and every man goes through it.'"  Kip desperately wanted to be a good man and prove himself worthy. At first he even tried lying, but he couldn't lie to himself. He wrote: "I had lied about it to everyone, even the bishop and myself. I would go in for [bishop] interviews, and when the 'golden question' was asked, 'Are you morally clean?' I looked in his eyes and lied. My life was downhill all the time. I felt horrible inside, and it showed. I didn't have many friends. I felt too humiliated to see the bishop. I tried a million times to stop on my own. But it was an obsession. A hideous habit that I thought to be totally impossible to quit. I knew Satan had me twisted on his little finger. I thought I would never be able to lose the chains that held me fast." When Kip finally told his bishop the truth, the bishop scheduled regular counseling sessions to assist the youth to stop masturbating and to monitor his progress. The church would supply the information he needed to overcome his sin, but he alone would have to stop — that is, if he really wanted to.  Unlike churches that require clergymen to have training and even college degrees before providing counseling, Mormon bishops and elders have little or no training in psychology or sexology. The only instruction they receive comes from either The Bishop's General Handbook or the litany of pamphlets and instructional manuals pumped out by the LDS publishing arm.  One pamphlet written for teenage boys is titled Steps to Overcoming Masturbation [reprinted on this website—see link below]. It recommends avoiding being alone whenever possible, but "if you have a friend who masturbates, end the friendship immediately — don't fool yourself by thinking you can stop together; it will only lead to even greater perversions." As a reminder of their particular sin, Mormon masturbators are instructed to carry a pocket calendar with them wherever they go. They are told to paint the days they masturbated black. Masturbators are also told not to read about or talk to anyone about their problem.  In the bathroom, Mormons are advised to always leave the door slightly ajar to avoid being alone, and to never admire themselves in the mirror. "Never stay in the bathroom for longer than five minutes, even to bathe-then GET OUT FAST." The author recommends never touching the "intimate parts" of the body except during normal toileting. In the bedroom they are instructed to dress for security. The more layers of clothing, the better. If the urge to masturbate becomes unbearable, yell "STOP!" as a way of changing the subject. Another option is to grasp a Book of Mormon and hold it tightly. In severe cases the masturbator is told to tie his hand to the bedframe so that semi-sleep masturbation doesn't occur.  In the pamphlet Love vs. Lust, Kimball warned masturbators that if they don't stop, they will end up homosexual: "Masturbation is the introduction of the more serious sin of exhibitionism and the gross sin of homosexuality." And in Tools for Missionaries the church states that medical doctors believe masturbation "dulls the mind and has adverse effect on the memory."  Dr. Vern Bullough of State University College at Buffalo, New York, is the author of many books on homosexuality and masturbation, including Sexual Variance in Society and History. Bullough, who also heads the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, takes issue with Mormon claims of medical backing: "Obviously, members of the society would take exception to the attempts of the LDS Church to claim scientific backing for their stand on masturbation; their science is about 80 years out of date, and it was questionable even 80 years ago."  If the church's stand on masturbation is based on turn-of-the-century science, its controversial treatment for homosexuals might be right out of the futureshock novel and cult-film classic A Clockwork Orange. The so-called electroshock conditioning starts in the downtown Salt Lake City office of psychologist and active Mormon Robert Card. First, electrodes are strapped to the homosexual's arms or fingers, biofeedback monitors are attached to his head, and a circular electronic sensor is placed around his penis. Next, the patient sits in a darkened room where he views videotapes of heterosexual and homosexual sex acts. If the patient gets an erection while watching the heterosexual tapes, a biofeedback digital-display monitor registers a positive numerical reading. But if the patient begins to have an erection while viewing the homosexual tapes, the electrodes strapped to his arms or fingers deliver an electrical shock.  Don Attridge, an ex-Mormon homosexual who was also a member of the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir, underwent five months of shock treatments conducted by Dr. Card, whom he refers to as Dr. Frankenstein. "Every time I left his office, I was hornier than ever. Many times my arms were red and cut up from the shocks — they looked like hamburger."  Another ex-Mormon gay, Les (who wanted only his first name identified), is very angry. "It's horrible having the hell shocked out of you when you get sexually excited. The entire thing was disgusting." Les even considered suicide. "After a while suicide looked like the most honorable thing to do. Many Mormon gays do it. I had it all planned, an automobile accident on a certain curve in the mountains; it was a way my children and family would be spared."  In February 1984 the Australian television version of 60 Minutes aired a segment about the treatments, titled "Saints and Sinners." Utah native and ex-Mormon Gary L. Stone told producer Warren McStoker that be didn't just leave the church after being treated by Dr. Card. He kidnapped his four-year-old daughter from his ex-wife to get her away from the church and then moved to Australia.  "Getting myself and my daughter away from the Mormon Church was the best decision I've made in my entire 32-year life." About Dr. Card's treatment he says, "It's destructive. They are purposely trying to destroy you. If you are a homosexual in the church, you have only three options — you can lie, you can die or you can disappear."  While publicly abhorring any form of pornography, the church uses porn to treat homosexuality. And although it doesn't openly embrace Dr. Card's treatment, many higher-ups endorse the therapy and even refer church members for treatment. The Mormon instructional pamphlet Homosexuality outlines and suggests specific therapeutic methods to be used in sex counseling. They include establishing rapport and confidentiality, assessment counseling, fantasy-changing, goal-setting, thought-stopping, chain-breaking and aversion therapy. The church believes that all homosexuals started out as masturbators; so counselors are instructed to identify the masturbator, gain his confidence, assess his needs and then design and implement a plan to help him stop before it leads to "more perverse and repugnant sins."  Although the church encourages the use of these potentially dangerous therapies, it fails to offer implementation guidelines. Bishops have no way of recognizing emotional and psychological problems or even mental illness. Also, they have no way of knowing whether the therapy is helpful or harmful.  Again, Dr. Jack Annon: "It is my professional opinion that the LDS Church has gone a step beyond propounding a certain viewpoint that masturbation is a sin, and has actually instructed its leaders, teachers and bishops to provide counseling and to utilize behavior-'modification skills that can have very dangerous and adverse effects."  After Kip admitted his "sin," he felt relieved. "It has been exactly 11 weeks ago that I was called in by my new bishop to have an interview with him for the On My Honor Award. I knew that the question would be asked, 'Are you worthy?' I prayed for strength to tell the truth before I went for the interview. I felt a little nervous at first, but then I was relaxed. The question was asked and I told him the truth. I felt as clean as I felt at my baptism. I feel 'new' again! I have not masturbated for 11 weeks now. This is after I tried and tried to stop. After I saw the bishop, I knew I would never be immoral ever again. The chains are loose, and I am free.... New doors to truth and happiness have opened up to me."  Unfortunately, Kip's hopes were dashed when he eventually masturbated again. He wrote: "It seems I have tried to stop a billion times, but it's the same old feelings. It affects every part of my life. If I could only get rid of this one sin, I know I could be a better person. I know I will run into a lot more problems in my life, but I think having a good self-image will help a lot through those times. Being rid of this ugly immoral sin will save my life and make it worth living."  By the time Kip was 15, he and his dad discussed the problem regularly. Eliason continued to try to convince Kip that masturbation was a normal and even healthy part of growing up and discovering one's own sexuality. He supplied Kip with books by medical experts refuting the information supplied by the Mormon Church. Even though Kip loved him, Eliason's influence couldn't match the well-oiled anti-masturbation campaign of the Mormons. In a letter to his father, Kip regurgitated his indoctrination. "Now I know you are going to say it's good, it's natural, and 99.9% of the human population does it. Dad, I have read the statistics; I have read the sex books: I know the authors are professionals with all the 'facts.' But for me, it is wrong! For others it may be right, but not for me."  At school, friends noticed a difference in his behavior. He clammed up and seemed lost in thought. The church was demanding an ever greater commitment from him. If he wasn't in school or doing homework, then he was at the Mormon wardhouse. Nearly five years had passed since Kip's first wet dream and feelings of sexual awakening. For most, adolescence is a time of personal exploration, discovery and excitement, but for Kip it was a time of torment and self-disgust.  Eliason noticed a change in Kip's personality. "He seemed down in the dumps for no apparent reason. He began spending a lot of time in his room. I found out later he was praying and reading the Scriptures for hours on end." After Kip's death he found an extensive library on sex, human reproduction and scores of pamphlets and books that the church had supplied the boy. In a letter to an unnamed church elder, Kip pleaded for help: "How can I have the confidence that I won't let myself fall into this temptation ever again? I really want to fulfill my priesthood calling, and I can't if I am not morally clean. I don't even deserve it! I am willing to do anything I have to do to be able to repent and be free of this sin."  By the fall of 1981 the once-active, outgoing and well-liked teenager was withdrawn and profoundly depressed. On December 10, 1981, Kip tried to kill himself by drinking a bottle of iodine mixed with alcohol. He had come to hate himself so completely; he believed that death and damnation were all he deserved. If there had been any doubt concerning the severity of his emotional conflict or state of mind, Kip's attempted suicide should have silenced it. The Eliason suit alleges that the Mormon Church was aware of the suicide attempt, but continued to counsel him in complete disregard for his deteriorating mental state.  Dr. Annon believes, "It is my firm professional opinion, based upon information that I have at hand, that the LDS Church attempted to teach very stringent and difficult standards to a boy who was vulnerable to emotional conflicts, and that the counseling was inadequate and appears to have contributed to the boy's suicidal ideations."  On January 10, 1982, just a month after his first suicide attempt, Kip was ordained into the Aaronic priesthood. One in a series of Mormon priesthoods, the Aaronic demands greater responsibility, commitment and perfection.  On Valentine's Day, February 14, Kip made another attempt to end his life by again drinking a mixture of iodine and alcohol. He was taken to the psychiatric unit of the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, where he was diagnosed as suicidal. (The medical facility is a codefendant in the Eliason suit.) Eight days later Kip was released to his father. Eliason recalls picking his son up at the hospital. "He seemed happy to be going home. Before we left, he introduced me to a 16-year-old girl he had met there. She had told him she was there for the same reason he was. Kip seemed very taken by his new friend and, when they said goodbye, he took her into his arms and kissed her. I'll never forget it."  On March 2, 1982, Kip was home alone while his father made an overnight business trip, About 9 p.m. Eliason called him from his hotel. "Kip seemed all right. I asked him if he'd taken his medicine, and he said he had. I told him I'd be home soon, and that was about it."  Sometime after the call, Kip wrote a suicide note. He went to the closed garage, started the family car and went to sleep.  Dead at 16, Kip Eliason had but two "vices," masturbation and telling the truth. He was unable to stop masturbating and too honorable to lie — something tens of thousands of other Mormons must be doing right now.  Every time Eugene Eliason returns to Boise, he visits Kip's grave. Sometimes he drives through their old neighborhood. He feels closest to Kip there. If a Mormon neighbor recognizes him, they pretend not to notice. Now labeled an anti-Mormon, he worries about all those young people who, like Kip, are giving their all to the Mormon Church.  Today Eliason shows his anger less frequently than he did two years ago, even though his precedent-setting clergy-malpractice suit has cost him everything. (After several lengthy delays and setbacks it is slated to go to court this spring [1986].) It's not that his anger has subsided the way it might have had his son been killed in an auto accident, say. That kind of natural dissipation of anger doesn't apply to him. Until he can find justice and reconcile the fact that Kip died not only believing himself a failure at age 16, but also believing that he deserved to die as punishment for his "despicable sin," Eliason's anger and grieving will continue. [Sin & Death in Mormon Country: A Latter-day Tragedy April, 1986 By Mark A. Taylor, a native of Salt Lake City, has written feature articles for a number of Far West publications. This article is from the April 1986 issue of Hustler magazine. Copyright 1986 by Hustler Magazine, Inc.]  Blog on Kip

1985-The US FDA licensed the first HIV blood test. The test yielded a false positive rate of up to 30%.

1986-Sunday - The first meeting of Wasatch Affirmation held at the home of Randy Holladay

Russ Lane

in Sugarhouse to gather interest in forming a new group under the leader ship of Russel Lane. The Wasatch Affirmation Support Group for Gay and Lesbian Mormons established by Russell Lane.  Russ Lane the Wasatch Chapter director had recently returned to Salt Lake City from San Jose, California where he was also a chapter director.  Wasatch Affirmation founded to establish a chapter based on the National Charter. “Its meetings are for people, friends, who can share experiences, information, support, and encouragement.  Its activities are designed for meeting others in a social environment that differs from bars, bath houses, or other places that have been negatively stereotyped. Its policy to adhere to the Word of Wisdom at Affirmation functions contributes to a unique way of life--the life of a gay Latter day Saint”. 

1989 Thursday-At The Gay and Lesbian Community Council of there was a pretty good response considering the weather. Some people from the Socialist Worker’s Party showed up and wanted us to endorse something of theirs. Brooke Hallock and Chris Brown said they had reservations about endorsing anything by the SWP because they are not friends of Gay and Lesbian People. Gay Pride day is in June this year. Dave Sharpton was rather rude at the meeting. Suppose he thinks he can get away with it. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1990 Friday ARCHULETA DECIDES NOT TO TESTIFY AT WOOD'S TRIAL By Michael Morris, Staff Writer Michael Anthony Archuleta, convicted three months ago of first-degree murder and sentenced to die, decided Thursday not to testify against co-defendant Lance Conway Wood.  Archuleta had been scheduled to testify in the trial of Wood, also charged in the torture slaying Nov. 22, 1988, of Gordon Ray Church, 28. Archuleta was brought to the Utah County Courthouse from the Utah State Prison Thursday morning, but following advice from his attorney, Brent Bullock, he backed down at the last minute. Asked whether any kind of a deal had been struck with Archuleta for his testimony against Wood, prosecutor Carvel Harward said, "Absolutely none. Won't. Can't. He hasn't asked for any (deal) either." Because Archuleta's conviction and death sentence is on appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, Bullock persuaded his client that taking the witness stand against Wood wouldn't be in his best interest. Archuleta took the stand in his own defense during his trial in December, downplaying his role in Church's murder. He said Wood was the real perpetrator. But witnesses this week testified that Wood, who notified authorities of the killing and led investigators to Church's body, told them Archuleta killed the victim by himself. Prosecutors hope to convince the jury that Wood played an active part in the killing. Fourth District Judge Boyd L. Park told jurors not to draw any conclusion "one way or the other" over Archuleta's decision not to testify. (Deseret News)

Lou Sullivan

1991-FTM transsexual Louis Sullivan died of complications from AIDS at age 39. Louis Graydon Sullivan (16 June 1951 – 2 March 1991), born Sheila Jean Sullivan, was an American author and activist known for his work on behalf of trans men. He founded FTM International, the first exclusively FTM organization and is largely responsible for the modern acknowledgment that sexual orientation and gender identity are totally different concepts.

1996 Page: B1 Young Protesters Are Pawns, Critics Claim 

Clayton Vetter

Clubs Issue Divides Adult Society Byline: By Samuel A. Autman THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE    College freshman Jason Weaver arranged with Salt Lake City for protesters to march today on the State Capitol to voice their displeasure with the Salt Lake City School Board's decision to ban all nonacademic clubs. And when Skyline High School teacher Clayton Vetter went public about being gay earlier this week, Lynn Taylor of the Utah Human Rights Coalition reserved a room at the Capitol for a news conference.  Time and again, critics charge, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Utah Stonewall Center and The Citizens Alliance For Hate Free Schools have been behind the scenes helping arrange high school student walkouts, rallies and protests about the explosive gay-straight alliance issue.  ``It's being orchestrated by the adult homosexual organizations,'' said Sen. Craig Taylor, R-Kaysville. ``Since they can't reproduce, they have basically said, `We will seduce and sodomize your children.' ‘‘Added Utah Eagle Forum president Gayle Ruzicka, ``I have been saying that over and over. On the day of that rally at the Capitol, I stood over them and looked down. It appeared to me that 95% of the people protesting were adults.'' In fact, Eagle Forum members were present at school board meetings, public hearings and at the Legislature for weeks before the Salt Lake School Board banned all noncurricular clubs to block gay-straight student alliances from getting permission to meet on campus. East High senior Kelli Peterson said she approached school officials about the alliance after years of seeing gay and Lesbian students live in isolation and fear. Peterson said that far from being the pawn of outside groups, she merely wanted a place on her campus for a   gay-straight alliance to meet.  On the night before last week's walkouts at East and West high schools and Bryant and Northwest intermediate schools, student organizers used ACLU telephone banks to make calls. ACLU director Carole Gnade said students asked her organization to be

Carol Gnade

their shepherd. ``When the students originally called us, they wanted to know what their rights were,'' she said. ``Our reaction was to protect their rights of free speech and association and to make sure they got the access they needed to speak out on issues.' ' Indeed, Gnade said, the notion of adult forces using young people harkens back to the civil-rights movement and the anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam era, when the establishment labeled protesters

Charlene Orchard

``outside agitators.'' Charlene Orchard, co-leader of the Utah Human Rights Coalition, said that when the East High request surfaced, a number of groups -- including the coalition, ACLU, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and the Utah Stonewall Center -- created The Citizens Alliance for Hate Free Schools to rally around the students.  ``What we are trying to do is create community support across the board,'' Orchard said. ``One of the interesting things that started to happen was I was beginning to get calls from straight parents who wanted to do something.'' Orchard said the groups were not working together until Kelli Peterson came to them. And that's when the Utah Eagle Forum got interested, Ruzicka said. ``They all have the same agenda to push these clubs onto the campuses,'' she said. ``It goes back to the same thing we have been dealing with for years. They are promoting the homosexual lifestyle.'' Taylor, who sponsored a new state law that makes it illegal for teachers to promote illegal activity, said that while some homosexuals are not promiscuous, others are still pushing that ``adult homosexual agenda.'' But Doug Bates, attorney for the Utah State Office of Education, said schools have been battlegrounds for larger societal issues for as long as he can remember. ``It's almost as if people need to have a controversy so they can say, `This is what I stand for,' '' Bates said. ``It's a tribalism concept we have in humanity and it seems to be dividing us. 

1996 MISCELLANEOUS The Wasatch Chapter of Affirmation, a support group for gay and

Tom Matthews

lesbian Mormons, will hold its 4th annual mission reunion Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Utah Stonewall Center, 770 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City. The program includes a comedy missionary presentation and remarks from guest speaker Tom Mathews, assistant professor of Spanish at Brigham Young University. Donations of $3 are suggested. -- The Mormon Alliance's critique of LDS General Conference will be held April 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Salt Lake City Public Library, 209 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City. A panel of long-time conference observers will offer their opinions about the LDS event, which will be April 6-7.  

1997 The Salt Lake Tribune- The Mean Season '97 Legislature May Be Remembered for Lack of Civility Lawmakers Show Streak Of Meanness By Dan Harrie Despite beginning each day with a prayer, dressing neatly and wearing amiable smiles, members of the 1997 Legislature at times have lapsed into antics more suited to playground bullies. From advancing legislation taking a swipe at filmmaker-environmentalist Robert Redford to table-pounding outbursts, name-calling and cutting off public witnesses, lawmakers have had some notable lapses in decorum during the past six weeks. "The Legislature has become much more mean-spirited and much more personal, in a negative way," says Lawson LeGate, director of the Sierra Club's southwest regional office. "It's the meanest session I've ever been in," says Claire Geddes, a four-year veteran Capitol lobbyist for Ross Perot's United We Stand, America of Utah. "There's an edge that wasn't there before," said House Minority Secretary Roberta Moore. "We've lost the humor and the statesmanlike attitude. "As the annual session grinds to its Wednesday midnight conclusion carrying a cargo of more than 700 bills, the mood is growing inevitably more edgy. But even before the tension-fueled jags of the final days, there was a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude this session. It started with the early power struggle between Republican Gov. Mike Leavitt and legislative leaders of his own majority party for control of the session's financial agenda. Weeks before the January 20 opening of the Legislature, Leavitt suggested he might propose a handful of "options" for financing a $2.6 billion highway building program; GOP legislative bosses balked. They urged him, instead, to make a recommendation to which they could respond. As a result, Leavitt took the most politically risky action of his four years in office -- proposing a gas-tax increase of 7.5 cents phased in during four years. Legislators wasted no time in delivering what appeared to be the equivalent of a sucker punch. They rejected the governor's proposal out of hand, and in fact deliberately excluded it from consideration during lengthy budget hearings. "We don't need to talk about his plan," said House Speaker Mel Brown, R-Midvale. The budget fight has been the Legislature's main event. There has been no competing issue vying for dominance as did the fury over gay-student support groups in public schools last year. It is not that lawmakers are losing their appetite for arguing values. There just has not been a riveting moral issue that  they could rally around, says David Nelson, a gay-rights activist who was caught up in last year's legislative maelstrom. "They need a scapegoat," Nelson says. "We have a new kind of Legislature that I have seen develop over the last few years." Campaigning on an anti-big government platform, a growing number of successful legislative candidates suddenly find themselves as part of the enemy camp, Nelson says. "So they need a straw man to go after -- a boogeyman," he says. "When you get too many of them on the Hill doing that, it's a mob mentality . . . and it just spins out of control. "The most pointed example this year -- and one that has drawn national attention, including a crew last week from the TV tabloid program "Hard Copy" -- is the Robert Redford-Sundance resolution. Sponsored by rancher and legislative rural caucus leader Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, the nonbinding statement of principle urges the Department of Natural Resources to study the feasibility of designating Redford's Sundance Resort as a wilderness area. The measure was prompted by Redford's vocal support of President Clinton's declaration last year of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. More importantly, the resolution may be the first instance in Utah where legislation was advanced that publicly slapped an individual for expressing an opinion disapproved by lawmakers. "It doesn't say anything bad about Mr. Redford. It just lets him put his money where his mouth is," Johnson said the day House members approved the resolution on a 44-27 vote. Countered Redford: "The last time I looked, the Constitution allowed freedom of speech. I didn't notice anything about elected officials having the right to use state power in retaliation for it. "Having made their point in the House, lawmakers let the matter drop. Sen. Howard Nielson, R-Provo, calls the Redford resolution "ridiculous, gratuitous and unnecessary," but he supported another anti-monument resolution this session chastising Clinton for having "abused" his authority. Nielson, the only sitting state legislator who also has served in the U.S. Congress, insists the state Legislature is far more civil than Congress. But he acknowledges making "a statement I probably shouldn't have" during the heat of the monument debate. Complaining that Clinton deliberately circumvented Utah elected officials, he speculated that late Democratic Gov. Scott Matheson would be "spinning in his grave" over the attendance of his widow, Norma Matheson, at the monument announcement last September in Arizona. Norma Matheson later told The Tribune she viewed the comment as "sheer conjecture" and "inappropriate." Nielson says he has privately discussed the remark with her. Utah State University political scientist Michael Lyons says Utah is part of a national trend of declining civility in politics. "Political life is now combative," Lyons says. "Sharply divergent conflicting ideologies emerge to the surface and become prominent in our political dialogue." Lyons, who specializes in the study of Congress, says the trend largely is due to a shift in focus from traditional "pork barrel" money issues to "values conflicts." These include issues such as the environment, homosexual rights and abortion, which tap into ingrained core beliefs. "These are not compromisable types of issues," agrees political scientist Peter Galderisi, also of USU. "If you are arguing over a tax cut of 10 percent or 20 percent, you can move to 15 percent and everyone goes home happy. But on issues such as abortion and school prayer, you can't do that." As the scholars point out, the trend has appeared before in American politics. Tempestuous political debate over slavery in the 19th century led to fist fights in Congress and even gunplay among members. There has been no blood shed in the Legislature's disagreements. But in at least one case this session there was a scuffle -- although its details are disputed -- between a legislator and a resident who came to testify on a bill to fund after-school programs for latchkey kids. Provo resident Cynthia Smith insists she was "shoved" by Rep. Loretta Baca, D-Salt Lake City, as Smith was trying to hand the lawmaker a note. Baca, conversely, says Smith grabbed her arm, pulled her to within inches of her face and pushed her. Smith says the incident has left her with the disturbing question of whether a concerned resident can "voice her opinion without the fear of an elected official accosting her." Baca claims the confrontation left her shocked and frightened. She worries about the emotional eruptions resulting from ideological collisions." [Conservatives] think government is interfering in their lives, and government is part of our lives. The two beliefs are really clashing this year," says Baca, who says she is a "left Democrat." The battles are occurring among legislators, too. In fact, what may have been the session's low point in civility was a February 19 meeting of the House Health and Human Services Committee. The topic was the session's only abortion bill: a plan to remake a state-produced video shown to women seeking abortions, which backers say will discourage such procedures. Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka pleaded for support of any measure aimed at halting a procedure in which "babies are ripped." Planned Parenthood executive Karrie Galloway then took her turn, telling lawmakers "shame on you" for bringing back the bill enacted just a year ago for more divisive debate. Committee leader Rep. Nora Stephens, R-Sunset, waited until Galloway finished, then ruled her out of order for "impugning the Legislature." But Stephens was silent when Rep. Bryan Holladay lost his temper -- pounding the table and thundering at Baca for a motion to require males to view the video when renewing their driver licenses. Nor was there mention of impugning anyone when Rep. Carl Saunders, D-Ogden, remarked, "We have not had any mothers or expectant mothers that have spoken against this bill. Just the reverse -- those representing motherhood in the group here have spoken for the bill." Galloway said the comment jarred her and other pro-choice audience members. "We all looked at each other with our eyes wide. And I thought, I had better go home and tell my children." Holladay later apologized for his outburst, but said in an interview he has received more praise than damnation from the public. "A lot of people have said it's about time," he said. The West Jordan Republican, who earlier in the session publicly apologized for uttering off-color remarks during a debate on term limits, says he has become more cautious about comments that might offend. At the same time, Holladay says, "Sometimes it's too civil." To remain silent on issues such as abortion or prayer in schools, "I wonder if that doesn't make me a moral coward," he says. "Sometimes I feel I'm not being true to my basic core beliefs." But other lawmakers, particularly veterans, say letting debate become personal or overly emotional is a recipe for disaster. Rep. Ray Short, R-Holladay, describes how recently he and executive-branch criminal justice official Camille Anthony locked horns over a bill to do away with an anti-violence coordinating committee. "I fought her bill, but afterward I gave her a big hug," says Short. "You can't take things personally. Otherwise, you go nutty." Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, says a lawmaker owes it to foes to put aside personalities and get to the merits of issues. It explains why the arch conservative is reading Hillary Clinton's It Takes a Village, on loan from Democratic Senate leader Scott Howell. Howell, in turn, is perusing Stephenson's copy of Robert Bork's Slouching Toward Gommorrah. "We're afraid of each other because of ignorance," says Stephenson, adding that he and Howell plan to get together after the session and compare notes on their new reading materials. What could be more civilized?

1999  Youth Empowerment Project meeting at 7pm in upper level at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center

1999  Utah Gay Latino Association meeting at 7pm lower level at the Center

2 March 2000 UTAH FAMILIES TO PROTEST BAN ON ADOPTIONS:'Because of election-season political pandering, children could suffer,' warns NGLTF's Kerry Lobel

2000 Activists Cite Gay Man's Suicide  Young Mormon Man "Gave Up Hope"  Associated

Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A gay Mormon man killed himself at a Mormon church after expressing anguish over his church's condemnation of homosexuality and its support of an anti-gay marriage ballot measure, activists say. The body of Stuart Matis, 32, was found by an officer on Feb. 25 on a covered walkway behind the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints building in suburban Los Altos, said Sgt. Mark Macaulay, a police spokesman. Matis had shot himself in the head. The San Francisco Examiner reported that Matis left behind a note that his parents found. Matis' note, read Wednesday night in a memorial service in a Mormon church in Santa Clara, said he had long prayed his sexual orientation would change, but eventually gave up hope. "I am now free," he wrote. "I am no longer in pain and I no longer hate myself. As it turns out, God never intended for me to be straight. Perhaps my death might be the catalyst for some good." The suicide note did not mention Proposition 22, the measure on Tuesday's ballot that would prohibit California from recognizing same-sex marriages if they are ever legally performed in another state. The Mormon Church supports the measure, and its members have been the campaign's leading source of volunteers and money. Stuart and Jeanie Besamo of Simi Valley, activists in the campaign against the proposition, said they had been corresponding with Matis, and before his death, posted on their group's Web site a letter they said Matis had written to a young gay relative some time earlier. The undated, 12-page letter, signed "Stuart," spoke of the writer's agony about the Mormon Church's positions on homosexuality and Proposition 22. If the measure passes, the letter said, "thousands of frightened young gay Mormons will dig deeper into the dreadful closet in panic that their parents or friends may discover the truth about them." "The Church has no idea that as I type this letter, there are surely boys and girls on their calloused knees imploring God to free them from this pain. They hate themselves. They retire to bed with their finger pointed to their head in the form of a gun." Matis' family, in a statement read at the service, asked that his death not be used for political gain. In a telephone interview, his mother told The Associated Press that his death had nothing to do with Proposition 22. © Associated Press

Kelly Byrne

2000 Local clergy state stands on gays  Thursday, March 2, 2000 JoLynne J. Lyon The issues of gays in churches is a charged one, said several of the clergy who spoke to a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students at Utah State University Tuesday night. But while some clergy members said the leaders of their religions were still debating the gay issue, the atmosphere in the room was relaxed as they told the Pride! Alliance about their religions and about the reception gays could expect from their local congregations. In the end, participants pled for tolerance from both sides. Bridgerland Metropolitan Community Church Pastor Kelly Byrnes asked his listeners to look beyond the labels of organized religions and accept people as individuals. "There are good people in every church," he said. Mark Dustin, co-president of the Pride! Alliance, encouraged the visiting clergy to go back, work with their congregations, and remember that gays are their relatives and even their children. Here is a brief summary of the six presentations. Representatives stressed that they were speaking for themselves and not for their churches as a whole. * Cache Valley Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship Historically, said Minister David McFarland, Unitarians were considered heretics in the earlier days of Christianity, since they believed in one God (they did not accept the idea of a Trinity). Universalists, who believe that God is love, joined with Unitarians in 1961 and the church progressed from being a liberal Christian church to a liberal religion. "If God is love and creation overflows with this idea … it doesn't matter what you are," McFarland said. "What matters is your grounding in this great enterprise of love." In 1973 the church's ruling association passed a resolution affirming the inherent worth of all people, he said, and in the next few years established and funded an office of gay/lesbian concerns. Though some local churches elsewhere have not affirmed the church's stance on gays, McFarland predicted that his congregation would welcome gay and lesbians; some current members are gay. As for gay marriages, McFarland said he performed some before he came to Cache Valley.

• * Logan First Presbyterian Church Pastor John McGarey said that central to Presbyterian theology is the idea that God is sovereign, in control of the world and the lives of its people. Members of the church must be able to say they believe Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, and that they commit to participation in the local church. The church's governing body welcomes gay and lesbian members, McGarey said, but has battled for 20 years about whether gays could be ordained. Currently they are not allowed to be officers in the church. To McGarey's thinking, anyone who is baptized and meets certain requirements like the desire to serve should be able to be ordained. McGarey and his wife, Pastor Bobbie McGarey, have worked to make their congregation inclusive of gays and lesbians, he said. He is not sure if that focus will remain, since the McGareys plan to move out of the area. On the issue of gay marriages, McGarey said marriage is by definition a union of man and woman, so commitment ceremonies involving gays would be given another name. Still, a gay union could be given the official blessing of the church. 
• * The Metropolitan Community Church  Bridgerland  Pastor Kelly Byrnes said his faith's founder was a young Pentecostal clergyman who was excommunicated after confessing to homosexual feelings. He still longed for a Christian community and founded the Metropolitan Community Church in 1968, which has since spread to 20 countries. Worship styles vary a lot from community to community, Byrnes said; in some areas it is more Pentecostal, in others more traditional; however, most of the membership is gay. Locally its membership is mostly former LDS Church members, and the services reflect that. The church philosophy is that everyone needs salvation and respect, Byrnes said. The church does perform gay marriages. 
• * Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry  Pastor Barry Neese said that Lutheran beliefs are Christian and center on the premise that nothing people do can make God love them more, or make God love them less. On gay issues, Neese said, gay and lesbian members are welcomed, but the church leadership has struggled on the issue of whether to ordain gay clergy. They can be ordained, he said, as long as they remain celibate. The issue of whether gays in a committed relationship can be clergy has been taken back for more conversation and discovery, he said. "Locally as a congregation, we would struggle with it," he said. The debate has encompassed more than the idea of sexual minorities, Neese said  it has encompassed the larger idea of human sexuality. For himself, Neese believes Christians are to respect one another and uphold one another's dignity. Many members of the Prince of Peace congregation would welcome gay and lesbian members with open arms, he said, while others might be more stand-offish or even withdraw completely. Neese has never been asked to perform a gay marriage but is not aware of a policy against it. He is open to the idea of a "service of unity," but said he would check with his bishop and local council first. 
• * The Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers") Pat Bohm Trostle said first that she is not a clergymember, because the local meeting is "unprogrammed" and has neither clergy nor sacraments. Central to the Quaker faith is the idea that everyone has within him the light of God, Trostle said, and with that idea comes the notion of equality. Historically the Quakers were active in the Underground Railroad, the women's movement and ending racial segregation, she said. Likewise, Trostle said, gays and lesbians are equal to heterosexuals. The local church passed a minute about 12 years ago supporting same-sex marriage, she said, which was affirmed by the Utah Friends Fellowship but stalled in the Intermountain regional group. Gay and lesbian members are welcomed in the local congregation, she said, and same-sex marriage would be allowed. 
• * Saint John's Episcopal Church Pastor Ruth Eller describes her faith as part of a "generic Christian body" that broke away from Rome in the 16th Century. The church believes that God was born into the world, not just to save us but also because it was a good thing to do, she said. The issue of sexuality has been debated, but, Eller said, "We have refrained from legislating anything." While the majority does not support the ordination of gay clergy, she said, the delegates to national and international conferences go home to their own dioceses and do what they want. She came to Cache Valley from California, where there were many gay priests. Locally the congregation has gay and lesbian members, and more would be welcomed, she said. The bishop in Salt Lake City has approved of at least one same-sex union, and, though she would ask the bishop's permission before performing one herself, she said she is willing. As in heterosexual marriages, she would expect those who are seeking the union to be members or at least attending the church and to undergo counseling beforehand.

Brent Parker

2003 Brent Parker Cache Co. GOP Picks Legislator BY HILARY G. SMITH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE HYRUM -- Cache County Republicans held a special convention on barely 24 hours' notice Saturday to select a replacement for Rep. Brent Parker, R-Wellsville, who resigned Friday after being cited for allegedly soliciting sex from a police officer posing as a male prostitute in Salt Lake City.     Of the 185 delegates in House District 5, 144 turned out for the convention at Mountain Crest High School and chose Curt Webb of Providence, manager of a title company, to replace Parker.    "I feel very bad for Mr. Parker and his family," Webb said. "There's a lot to learn."  Webb got the nod at the county convention and then lost to Parker in a primary race last fall.  Cache County Republican Chairman Clair Ellis expects Gov. Mike Leavitt to accept Webb as the party's choice to replace Parker and said Webb will be sworn in Monday and complete Parker's term, which was to end in 2004. County Republicans said it was important to move quickly in finding a replacement for Parker as there are only three days left in the 2003 legislative session. Parker held a position on the House Education Committee, and the fate of several pieces of legislation hangs in the balance.    Politicians are relieved to have a replacement for Parker, and Webb's nomination was endorsed by Rep. Loraine Pace, R-Logan, who said he would be a friend to Cache County citizens. That is not to say people in Wellsville have recovered from the shocking news of Parker's Wednesday night arrest. Parker was well-respected in this tiny community where dogs still chase cars, where there are no stoplights and community activities center on the pioneer-era tabernacle built by Mormons shortly after their arrival in the lush valley in the late 1800s.  Parker, father of six and grandfather of six, owns a successful real-estate business and runs a dairy farm in Mount Sterling, a community made up primarily of sprawling farms at the mouth of Sardine Canyon, just across the highway from Wellsville.   Salt Lake City police say Parker solicited the undercover officer just before midnight Wednesday near Exchange Place between Main and State streets in downtown Salt Lake City. According to police reports, the legislator drove to a secluded location a block away, where he offered the officer money for oral sex.   Parker, who was elected to a second term in office in November, was cited and released. A solicitation charge carries a potential sentence of up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Residents talked about it all day, said Aaron, a clerk at the Wellsville Market who asked that his last name not be used.    "I couldn't believe it. I thought my mom had the wrong person when she told me this morning," he said Saturday afternoon. Parker "was my [LDS] stake president, and I worked for him a couple of summers on his farm. He was the greatest."  Aaron said most customers had expressed sadness about Parker's plight. "They just say that people make their own choices, even if they're bad ones," he said. Others lamented that the stigma in a small community would probably be worse because the incident allegedly involved another man. "It's all just so sad," said one longtime Wellsville resident.  "What can you say?" said Utah State University political science professor Randy Simmons at the Saturday evening convention. "It's a tragedy for him personally and his family."  Said Providence delegate Vic Saunders: "Here's a guy who had a spotless record until yesterday. Now look. It's a shock." Arrest of State Representative for soliciting

Adam Bass

2003 This is going out too late for the weekend efforts, but there's no time like the present to contact your legislator and ask them to support this hate crimes bill . . . or the next one if this one gets defeated. Subj: please help....  Hello friends, We got really close to passing the Hate Crimes Legislation this week.  It actually passed the House of Reps on Thursday, but on Friday a few ultra conservative Republicans pulled some procedural moves to get the bill back to the House where they aim to kill it.  Considering that we passed this bill by the absolute minimum number of votes necessary to pass any bill (38) in the House, and now one of our 38 "yes" votes has resigned, we are in trouble.  However, there are a few things we can do to try and get this bill out of the House and back to the Senate.  Please help me with these: You may have emailed your legislators already, but that isn't enough.  They need to get their emails flooded - if not by us, the Eagle Forum will flood their emails.  You also NEED to call them at home this weekend.  In either email or on the phone, please, please, please be very respectful. These legislators work hard and get lots of mean and nasty things said to them.  We need to be the ones that they respect, by us respecting them. There are a few key legislators who need to be contacted, in addition to your own.  They are the three people who voted for Hate Crimes Legislation on Thursday and then voted against it on Friday.  We need to write and call them and ask them to keep supporting the Hate Crimes Bill. By way of talking points, please emphisize that this is a necessary tool for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.  In fact, the Republican Attorney General of the State of Utah is one of the main backers of this bill. Please contact your own legislator and ask them to support the Hate Crimes Bill.  I know I'm asking for a lot of work.  However, if you have any time at all, please contact these legislators in particular and let them know that the Hate Crimes Bill IS a main-stream necessary thing, and that there are reasonable concerned people in Utah that want to see the bill passed. They will consider this legislation on Monday, once again, so there is not a minute to loose. Thank you tons.  If you have ANY questions at all about what to say, what this bill's about, etc. please call me - 801-414-4586.  In addition, please don't forget your own legislator in the process of contacting these people.  If you need help finding out who that is, I can help with that too. When you get a response either by phone or email from any member of the legislator, whether it is good or bad, could you email me and tell me what they said, so we know where these people stand for the vote on Monday? Thank you so much.  Also, please feel free to forward this information on to any email lists you have.  These legislators need to hear from everyone. Adam Bass

2004 Subject: Rally at State Capitol Wednesday March 3 Help Stop Constitutional Discrimination! Utah's Legislature ends this session at midnight on Wednesday. The Utah State Senate is expected to bring the anti-gay constitutional amendment to a vote on the floor that evening. Be there to show them that what they are doing is wrong. We need to have as many people present as possible. So, bring your partner, bring your friends, your family and your kids. We need the legislature to see how many people discrimination like this effects! Date: Wednesday, 3 March 2004 When: 5:30 p.m. (Anytime you can be there, but we'd like a mass showing at 5:30) Where: Utah State Capitol Building Contact: Adam Bass In the mean time contact your State Senator and ask them to opposeHJR25, a constitutional amendment against GLBT families. Do not sit home on Wednesday, we need to be there in mass to show opposition to such blatant discrimination against our families! Feel free to forward this email on to everyone you know (please do)! Come right up after work, school, whatever. Please try to be there at 5:30, but if you can't be there until later, your presence is still important! [Check this out! Mike Picardi Tomorrow, Wednesday the 3rd of March, Utah Labor Orginizations are sponsoring a peaceful protest of Sean Hannity's appearance at Abravanel Hall from 6 to 7 PM. They are inviting all whom may be interested in joining them to bring simple message placards and join them outside of Abravanel Hall.]

2004 Subject: Jim Matheson  Hello everyone, just thought I'd pass on this info...please email or write to Mr. Matheson and tell him how wrong he is. It was us who got him elected and it is us who can get him out!!! Also...if anyone has a answering machine they are not using the Center could use one, as well as some book shelves, so that we can at least set up the books in our garage for you all to came and read. Thank you- Little Aimee- Hey Aimees: Did you know that our one and ONLY Democratic Congressman in Utah, Jim Matheson, who has portrayed himself as the "liberal, open-minded" political leader was actually one of the first to jump on Bush's bandwagon to RE-WRITE the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages! It was in Sunday's Spectrum (Section A-5). I am shocked and amazed that even Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch, Bob Bennett and Rep. Rob Bishop want to look at other methods for suppressing human rights to homosexuals rather than do something as amazingly serious as try and CHANGE the constitution! We MUST let everyone know that Jim Matheson is NOT on our side! Daniel Pettegrew

2005 The Babcock Theatre presents Angels in America: Millennium Approaches  March 2 - 6 & 9 – 12 The University of Utah's Babcock Theatre presents part one of ANGELS IN AMERICA, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tony Kushner. ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM APPROACHES runs from Wednesday - Sunday, March 2 - 6th and  Wednesday through Saturday, March 9 - 12th, with two Saturday matinees. This is a monumental masterpiece that balances the intense realism of AIDS, sex, politics, and religion with such creative theatrical fantasy that it has been described as a surrealistic dream play. It transports us to Manhattan, the South Bronx, Salt Lake City and Antarctica and deals with Jews, Mormons, WASPs, African Americans, Straights and Gays. Join us for this superb, compelling theatrical experience. PANEL DISCUSSION - Following the 1st matinee, Saturday, March 5th, there will be a panel discussion sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Transgender Resource Center and the Utah Hillel Foundation. Panelists include Dr. Kristen Ries, Professor of Internal Medicine- Department of Infectious Disease, University Hospital, Dr. Richard Scharine, Chair of The Department of Theatre, Larry West, Director of the production, and Jerry Rapier, Producing Director of Plan B Theatre Company. Those who have attended a previous performance or will attend at a later date, are invited to the free forum. TIMES & TICKETS - Wednesday - Saturday evening performances begin at 7:30, Saturday matinees at 2:00, Sunday at 7:00, For tickets, $6 for students, $12 general admission, call 581-7100, or ArtTix (355- ARTS).  WARNING - The play contains adult language and content and is not appropriate for children under 16. For those of you who are wondering - Yes, Part Two- "Perestroika" will be presented in our next season!

2006 Thursday •     UTAH AIDS FOUNDATION EVENT “in the life” A national gay and lesbian newsmagazine on public television Presented byUtah AIDS Foundation Be the first to talk about the show that everyone is talking about!!  Over a million people are tuning in nationwide and now we have it in Utah.   When: Wednesday, March 8th 2006 Time:  7:00PM Where: Sprague Library (2131 South 1100 East) in Sugarhouse   Downstairs in the Community Room Why:  This 1 hour  episode addresses hot and up to date gay and lesbian issues being discussed today in our communities. Why:  Come to be entertained.  Come to be educated – or come to meet other guys.  If you do come to see a show that blends hard-hitting journalism, lively entertainment reports, and bold commentary for a no-holds-barred look at gay and lesbian life. Who:  You!! For More Info: Call Simon at the Utah AIDS Foundation @ 487-2323 or

visit www.inthelifetv.org/

2006 TELL US YOUR CRYSTAL METH STORY www.utahtweaker.com is a website created by the Utah AIDS Foundation as a resource for gay men and crystal meth use.  We are adding a "Dear Tina" webpage to this site to have your  story told.   We want to hear from:-   current users -  past users-  friends of users-         gay men thinking of using crystal meth. We have created this site so that we can all learn from each other. Submit your story via email at tweaker@... If you have any questions please email or call Simon at 487-2323

2006 Dear Community Member: Here's the breakdown of the bills we were tracking:Bills Equality Utah supported: HB90 Criminal Penalty Amendments, Rep. Litvak – Passed Bills Equality Utah opposed:SB97 Student Club Amendments, Sen. Buttars – Died HB304 Voiding Transactions Against Public Policy, Rep Christensen – Died HB327 Public Employer Benefit Plans, Rep Christensen - DiedHB393 Public School Club Amendments, Rep. Tilton – Died 2nd Substitute HB148 Parent And Child Amendments, Rep. Christensen – Passed This bill was amended in the Senate and only passed by one vote. The amended bill got through the House in the last two minutes of the session. We will be asking the Governor to Veto this bill  As I stated in my last email, HB148-2nd Substitute Parent And Child Amendments sponsored by Rep. Christensen was passed by the legislature. We now need to call and email the Governor's office and ask him to VETO this bill. The Governor's phone number is: 801.538.1000 The Governor's email is: huntsman@...My email reads: Dear Governor Huntsman: Please VETO HB148-2nd Sub. Parent and Child Amendments. This bill only passed the Senate by one vote and passed the House in the final minutes of the session.  This is a complicated issue with far-reaching consequences. This bill could prohibit step-parents from asserting parental rights to a child he or she has raised. In addition, this bill could bar grandparents from having custody of his or her grandchild. Parenting issues are best decided by courts on a case-by-case basis where the best interest of the child can be considered. HB 148- 2nd Sub. disregards the child's best interest. Please VETO HB148-2nd Sub. Regards, Mike Thompson Please remember that emails with positive, respectful tones are received best.

2006 Hate crimes law: After 8 years of trying, a compromise sails through By Jennifer W. Sanchez The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune In the time it took lawmakers to approve a new hate crimes bill, the wife of the sponsor of the measure gave birth to their first child who is now a toddler. Chris Cooke was a 10-year-old struggling with homosexuality when the measure was first introduced. Now, he is an openly gay high school senior who lobbied in support of HB90. It took eight years of debate and compromising, but the proposed law will finally see the governor's desk. Senators unanimously approved HB90 on Wednesday, the last day of the 2006 Legislative Session, in a quick vote just before breaking for dinner. A spokesman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had said the governor supports the measure and is "anxiously waiting for it to arrive on his desk" to sign it into law. Huntsman is expected to make the measure a state law by the end of the month. The new hate crimes bill merely asks judges to consider giving criminals longer sentences for offenses likely to spark fear or "community unrest." Lawmakers passed a hate crimes bill in 1992 that remains on the books, but for years prosecutors have said it was not enforceable. Prosecutors supported HB90 this year. Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake City, sponsored the bill along with Rep. David Litvack, the Salt Lake City Democrat who has shepherded the measure for six consecutive years. Litvack's parents along with supporters watched the vote through the glass of a public viewing room. Litvack's wife, Erin, and their 3 1/2 -year-old son sat at their home computer blowing him kisses for luck. During floor debate, Hale told lawmakers the language in HB90 was crafted to avoid concerns raised in past years. Some of those had included listing specific groups of people like gays or lesbians as potential victims of hate crimes. "We have found common ground," she said. Sen. Al Mansell, R-Sandy, said he had never voted for a hate crimes bill until Wednesday. "This bill, to me, represents something we can live with," he said. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, the state's only openly gay senator, said, "I thank you for sending a message that in the state of Utah we abhor violence against anyone." After the vote, Litvack says his eyes welled up with tears as he hugged Hales and remembered the late Sen. Pete Suazo, who sponsored hate crimes bills for three years until his death in 2001. In the hallway, one of Litvack's supporters started singing "We Shall Overcome," the anthem from the Civil Rights Movement era. "It's going to take a few days to sink in what we've accomplished," Litvack said. Under the proposed law, suspects wouldn't be specifically prosecuted for a hate crime, but it would be up to judges to give criminals a longer sentence if the crime was motivated by hate or the "offense is likely to incite community unrest or cause members of the community to reasonably fear for their physical safety." It also would be up to the Board of Pardons and Parole to decide whether a prisoner serves a longer sentence. Cooke said he was glad HB90 finally passed. "It gives me a better sense of protection," he said. "It makes me feel like our lawmakers are finally starting to care about minorities." There was no planned victory party as of Wednesday, but Litvack said "a celebration will happen - there's no doubt about it." jsanchez@sltrib.com --Reporter Glen Warchol contributed to this report. 

2006- posted by Ben Williams [Hate Crime Bill? Pardon me if I don't jump up and down over HB90. As I read the measure no one will be "specifically prosecuted for a hate crime" and it’s left up to Mormon and non Mormon judges "to give criminals a longer sentence if the crime was motivated by hate or the "offense is likely to incite community unrest or cause members of the community to reasonably fear for their physical safety." If a judge feels that there is no "gay community" why would he charge a person with a hate crime? Why is this so much better then the gutless one that was passed in 1992? Why was the "compromise still at the expense of Gays? Every case I have read about the murder of Gay people in the states the defendants pleaded without exception that they didn't hate the person because he was GAY! Unless someone can explain how a Gay person that has Faggot sprayed on his garage will be charged under this statute and not with simple vandalism I am still very skeptical of this "victory". It just seems to be that this placates the powers that be that we can say we have a Hate Crime Bill in Utah. I don't feel any safer because of it. If you do please help me understand how! Ben Williams]