This Day In Gay Utah History April 10th

10 April 

1882 OSCAR WILDE IN SALT LAKE CITY By Ben Williams In 1882, Oscar Wilde, poet, playwright and wit decided to embark on a tour of America to preach the "Gospel of the Aesthetic Movement." The Aesthetic Movement was popular during the latter half of the 19th century among adherents who worshipped all forms of beauty. The intellectual aspect of the movement was summed up in the phrase "art for art's sake." The disciples of the Aesthetic Movement believed that people should surround themselves "with beautiful things…in order to be happy." Oscar Wilde became such a proponent of the movement that he was dubbed "The Sunflower Apostle," and his followers wore sunflowers and lilies on their personage. Wilde came to America to advocate his strongly belief that, "One must be careful to avoid creating ugly art, even if it is useful, because ugliness does not contribute to forming a morally good character." Wilde also believed that "all good art is honest and conscientious and should be encouraged; therefore, one should not make cheating, dishonest designs. Paper should not be made to look like marble, nor should jewelry be hollow. All this shows an age of sham." In January of 1882, Oscar Wilde debarked in New York City and when asked by customs if he had anything to declare, he replied "nothing but my genius". Oscar Wilde dressed in a very outrageous manner for his American lecture tour, much like Liberace did in

the mid Twentieth Century. While performing, Wilde would appear on stage dressed in a matching black velvet coat and knee breeches, a vest, black stockings, silver buckles on pointed shoes, ruffles on his shirt and cuffs and wore his hair in shoulder length ringlets. Since he was a tall man over six feet four inches, he was very much an imposing figure. The people of New York loved the poet but his speaking engagements in the Mid-West were not as well received. An anonymous poem written for the Chicago Daily News made fun of Wilde by stating in part: Here in the energetic West We have no vacant niches For clowns with pansies in the vest Or Dadoes on the breeches. The reference to pansies was an obvious attempt to make fun of Wild's effeminate posturing. Today the more obscure reference to dadoes is not as obvious but since a Dado was an ornamental border on wallpaper  in Victorian times, this insinuation would have also been a slur against Wilde's masculinity. Part of Oscar Wild's American tour was a scheduled performance in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. Oscar Wilde was coming to Utah because Salt Lakers were willing to pay him one thousand dollars to bring culture to their desert kingdom. Salt Lake's Gentile newspapers had been promoting the Sunflower Apostle's scheduled appearance in Salt Lake City ever since his arrival in America. Days before the event these papers were buzzing with the excitement of this celebrity and his scheduled appearance in Salt Lake City. On April 4th the Salt Lake Herald featured a special announcement "from the Home Dramatic Club" which was postponing their own play `in order to give the public an opportunity to hear the celebrated aesthete." The Herald was by far the best promoter of Oscar Wild's lecture while the Mormon Church's Deseret News editor did almost everything but tell people to stay home. In an April 8th article in the Deseret News, Wilde was described as " the celebrated poet, lecturer, aesthete, or what ever his is called…" While the Herald and the Tribune generally gave Wilde a good-natured teasing the Deseret News taunted him as "just a ridiculous figure pretending to be a great scholar." The stuffy Deseret News was one of many puritanical newspapers who felt that Wilde's poetry was unfit for descent people to read. "This alleged lack of morality in Wilde's poems" was probably the main reason the Deseret News tried to protect "decent Salt Lake Mormons," from Wilde's views on beauty. The day before Oscar Wilde's arrival in Salt Lake, the Salt Lake Tribune "advised Utahns to treat their guest with respect, reminding them that it was wise not to laugh at someone who probably knew more than oneself." Oscar Wilde arrived in Salt Lake City on the morning train, April 10, 1882 at South Temple and Fourth West. After leaving the station he went to the Walker House Hotel at 242 South Main, (located where now the Keith Building stand). Tired from his long journey from San Francisco and "Being observed by a small crowd of the curious, Wilde and his man servant ducked into the hotel through the ladies entrance." Mr. G.S. Erb, the hotel manager spied his celebrated guest and sent a bellboy to show Wilde to his room. In deference to Wilde's s

tatus as the Sunflower Apostle, the bellboy was ordered to wear, "a sunflower in his buttonhole" but it was also noted that the boy had "an embarrassed look on his face". As news of Oscar Wilde's arrival spread, many of Salt Lake's "aesthetic ladies ate in the hotel dinning room that day sporting lilies in their hair." All were hoping the poet might join them, but unfortunately for them, the celebrity ate his meals in his room with his manservant. While visiting Salt Lake City, Oscar Wilde's made it part of his afternoon agenda to meet with Mormon President John Taylor, who too was a native British subject. Taylor had his residency at the Gardo  House on South Temple where the Eagle Gate Towers adjoining the ZCMI Mall is now located. The house was formerly known as Amelia's Palace, built for one of Brigham Young's favorite wives and in 1882 it was by far one of the finest homes in the Salt Lake Valley. However Wilde was not impressed. While politely praising Taylor for his fine esthetic judgment, Wilde actually considered the chief Mormon residence, "the acme of bad taste." Back in London Wilde amused his friends telling them this story that "when Brigham Young died, the present president of the Mormons stood up in the tabernacle and said that it had been revealed to him that he was to have the Amelia Palace, and that on this subject there were to be no more revelations of any kind." John Taylor with a Mormon entourage escorted Oscar Wilde on a tour of Salt Lake City. The Mormon President was most proud of the Salt Lake Tabernacle with its fake marbling and oak-like painted benches, the very sort of thing that appalled the adherents of the Aesthetic Movement and of which Wilde labeled a "sham". Wilde upon trying to describe the tabernacle to Londoners, "commented that it was shaped like a soup kettle and … (had) decorations,,, suitable for a jail."Of the other sights of the city, Wilde later wrote to a Mrs. Bernard Beere, "The Opera House at Salt Lake is an enormous affair about the size of Covent Garden and holds with ease fourteen families. They sit like this: wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, husband, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, husband, wife, wife, wife, wife, wife, and are very, very ugly." In fact after leaving Salt Lake City he told a reporter for the Denver Tribune that Salt Lake provided him with the rare opportunity of seeing the ugliest women he had ever seen.On the evening of April 10th, at the Salt Lake Theater, Salt Lakers finally had their long awaited esthetic performance. The Salt Lake Theater, located on the corner of First South and State Street, was packed. Salt Lakers paid prices from 25 cents for the cheapest seats to $2.75 for seats in the Dress Circle, which was sold out to an interesting group of admirers of Oscar Wilde. One member of the audience recalled that when Wilde came on stage and viewed his audience he appeared "disconcerted for a moment at the array of young men on the front row each adorned with an enormous sunflower." Oscar Wilde presented a lecture entitled "Art Decoration: Being the Practical Application of the Aaethetic Theory to Every-Day Home Life and Art Ornamentation." From all accounts, Wilde gave a very mediocre presentation on his philosophy of aesthetics. It appeared to those reviewing the lecture that the audience listened with politeness but were filled with some disappointment. After all the hype it seemed that Wilde had lost his enthusiasm for lecturing long before he reached Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake audience was expecting a humorous lecture from one of Europe's greatest wits and playwrights but instead they heard a muttered memorized speech given almost all in one breath. The lecture was over in 50 minutes. Of course the Deseret News castigated Wilde's performance calling his ideas "absurd and unoriginal." The Herald who had so promoted the lecture even stated that while his words were beautiful, "there was no attempt at enthusiasm." There was only one positive review of Oscar Wilde's lecture and that was in the Tribune. The editor of that paper blasted "John Taylor's Mormon Critics" for their dislike of the aesthetic poet. The paper proclaimed that, " it is for the people and through the people that he (Wilde) would reawaken the love of art," not withstanding the Mormon distaste for the poet. Quietly Oscar Wilde, the next day, left Salt Lake City for Denver. The Herald, a little fearful for Wilde's well being after his lack luster performance stated, "Fortunately… he has come and gone unmolested." Although Wilde's visit did not make a lasting impression on Salt Lakers, they had their chance to see and hear one of the most prominent celebrities of the late 19th century. Oscar Wilde was for his era the best crowd drawing lecturer and no matter where he went, audiences flocked to view his gaudy appearance and hear him ramble on about Beauty.To the non- heterosexual living in the Mormon Kingdom of God, it did not matter that Wilde's lecture was mediocre; for he had a mystical if not spiritual connection with those young men who had sported Sunflowers in their lapels and sat in the Dress Circle of the theater to be as near as possible to their Sunflower Apostle. It was obvious to the many in that 1882 audience that these young men's presence momentarily gave pause to Wilde who must have known that they like he, were probably practitioners of the "Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name." Oscar Wilde, years after his visit to Salt Lake City, when accused of being a Sodomite, spoke to a British Court saying these words: "The 'Love that dare not speak its name' in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made as the very basis for his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the 'Love that dare not speak its name', and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so the world does not understand.  The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it."

1901 Tramps Bound Over Frank Brown and William Benson the two tramps who were arrested Monday night on a charge of sodomy were arraigned before Judge Timmony yesterday.  They entered a plea of not guilty and waived the right of preliminary examination Judge Timmony accordingly ordered them  bound over to the district court under $3000 bonds each In default of the amount they were  given into the hands of the sheriff. Salt Lake Herald      

1968 Wednesday Salt Lake City Judge Maurice D. Jones dismissed a charge of sexual intercourse for hire allegedly made in an automobile ruling that a car is not a public place. (04/10/68 SLTribune page 6 B)

1984-The Sun Tabloid ran a cover story warning that homosexuals are preparing to take over the US government.

1987- Beau Chaine announced that he was moving the Gingerbread House  over to the Old Plantation this week as a home for the Gay Community Center and Clinic

1987 The three day Desert and Mountain States Lesbian and Gay Conference was held at

the La Posada Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Keynote speakers at the 3rd Conference was Julian Rush a Methodist Minister and Gay activist and Kathy Sarris a State Legislator and Political activist form Indianapolis. Theme of the Conference “If Not Now When”  The Utah delegation was co-chaired by Curtis Jensen, Val Mansfield, Jeremy Armstrong and Brook Hallock.

1988 Fusion Fest- A free live entertainment and buffet held as an AIDS fund raiser held at The in-between

1988 Bruce Harmon presented Stars and Stripes Show at Backstreet as an Royal Court of  the Golden Spike Empire fund raiser.

Carolyn Pearson

1988  I went to church at RMCC at 11 a.m. Bruce Barton is holding morning services now. John Reeves didn’t want to go to Affirmation tonight but I told him I wanted to go to plug Beyond Stonewall because there would be a good turn out with Carol Lynn Pearson speaking tonight and I was right.  There were a lot of people at the Unitarian Church. I was doing my “Ben Thing” as John calls it, working the crowds and I guess I needed the recognition.  Anyway we helped Carol Lynn Pearson find a parking space and then we left after Dave Malmstron said he’d announce Beyond Stonewall.  After John Reeves went home I went back up to the Unitarian church to hand out flyers on Beyond Stonewall. I guess about 250 people showed up to hear Carol Lynn Pearson speak. A lot of people brought their parents. Dave Malmstrom after the meeting told me that Carol Lynn Pearson agreed to let Affirmation do a quilt panel for Gerald Pearson. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1989 MAN FATALLY STABBED IN LEG, NOT CHEST  A Salt Lake County man bled to death last week after being stabbed in the leg. Preliminary reports indicated Darrell N. Webber, 39, died of a stab wound to the chest, but an autopsy determined a stab wound to the leg struck an artery and he bled to death, said sheriff's Capt. Bob Jack. Webber's body was found about 3:20 a.m. last Friday in a parking lot at 4070 S. State. Jack said no suspects have been identified.

1989 Tonight was Darrell’s viewing. I had asked Alan Peterson if he could take me but he

wimped out on me saying that he didn’t know if he could handle seeing Darrell’s family at McDougal’s Mortuary. Well different strokes for different folks but I felt I had to be there to say goodbye in my own way. So I proceeded to call Jim Hunsaker and he agreed to take me to the viewing since he was going anyway. Jim donated $10 towards the flowers from Unconditional Support. We arrived at the funeral home about 7:30 and I began to tear up when I saw Darrell’s son Gerald with a friend of his standing near his father’s coffin. Jim then said to me “You’re not going to be a boo-hooing ninny are you?” He doesn’t know me very well. I am a rock when I need to be and tonight I felt like I needed to be. However how could one be prepared for the shock of seeing Darrell lain out no matter how one might think he is.  It nearly broke my heart seeing five year old Andrew stroking his father’s face and telling him how much he loved him and to wake up. "Daddy wake up'" From the Gay community there were several floral arrangements. Mark LaMarr sent a nice funeral spray in the name of both him and me.  Richard Egan had a nice arrangement, Unconditional Support sent one although I didn’t see it, and Affirmation sent an arrangement.  It was just hard being there. It seemed surreal to see Darrell’s two lives converge for his funeral-his ex wife and the heterosexuals on one side of the room and his Gay friends and family consoling each other on the other. We stayed about a half hour at the viewing and then went off to dinner. John Butler and Willie Marshall suggested King Quong’s, this Chinese buffet place down in Midvale. It had a nice atmosphere and fairly reasonable prices for the amount of food. If you went away hungry it was your own fault. John Butler and Willie Marshall bought my dinner for my birthday. That was sweet of them. Going to dinner with us from the viewing, were Dave Malmstrom, Chuck Thomas, Derrick Streeter, Rocky O’Donavan, Jim Hunsaker, Dean Shute, Rick Malkowitz, John Butler, and Willie Marshall.  My birthday dinner had the feeling of funeral wake. We laughed and reminisced about Darrell and talked about the past. Representatives at the table made up some of the most active members of the Gay Social groups, Unconditional Support, Wasatch Affirmation, and LGSU.  After dinner Jim Hunsaker took me home and it was nearly 10 p.m. before getting in.  At dinner tonight Derek brought up Billy Bikowski, my old flame and before going to bed I started to cry. Finally. Life is so brief. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1990 Today is my 39th birthday and its my natal day of the week also.  It’s also a Full moon. I've been subpoenaed to testify at the murder trial of Marty Withers the man who killed Darrell Webber. He' not denying it just claiming self defense. I went up to the sauna and weighed in. In the Gay man's world you can be just about anything but fat. That's the ultimate mortal sin.  So here I am pushing 40 years old and still haven't come to terms with my body.  We still are at war.  Although through Faerie consciousness I am learning gratitude that I am healthy enough to keep gaining weight and that the body is the ultimate ego illusion.  Its always changing.  [Journal of Ben Williams]

1991 Troy Perry and Scott Angus, were charged with the assault in 3rd Circuit Court. John Martin, a Gay Salt Lake City man claimed the pair assaulted him while their friend Police Officer Roger Williams watched. The officer apparently dropped his friends off near 300 S. Main Street, a popular Gay cruising area, and then picked them up in his truck after the two had allegedly assaulted Martin. [Journal of Ben Williams]

 1999 * Salt Lake Men's Choir Concert "Turn the World Around" 7pm  All Saints Episcopal Church 1710 S Foothill Blvd SLC

1999 Utah Pride Committee presents "Pride Comedy Jam" 8pm at the U of U Fine Arts  Auditorium $15 in advance, $17 day of performance

Valerie Larabee

2005 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Utah (The Center) will hold its regular bi-annual town meeting on Sunday, April 10, beginning at 3:00 p.m., at the Head Start administrative offices, 1307 South 900 West, in Salt Lake City.  The town meeting, the third since The Center began holding town meetings twice a year last year, will be an opportunity for a community update on the work and initiatives of The Center as well as an opportunity for staff and board members to facilitate discussions on the pressing needs of the community.  Don’t miss this opportunity to come together as a community, get updated on the work and initiatives of The Center, (including Pride) and participate in break-out sessions for your particular focus. "These town meetings serve as an important forum for community dialogue," said Valerie Larabee, Executive Director of The Center.  "To achieve the Center’s mission - to be a catalyst for personal growth, acceptance and equality for GLBT people in Utah – we must remain grounded in the fundamental focus of our origin: community and group support to facilitating a community-wide vision for equality.” 

2006 The Equality Ride: BYU – This Weekend! End Religion Based Oppression! Are you a current or former BYU student and also LGBT? If so, Equality Ride would like to hear your story. Anonymity can be protected if necessary, especially for current students. We are looking for at least four written stories and for a few people to talk about their experience on stage at the Rally. Written stories are being gathered to be part of a package to be delivered to the current BYU President. With your permission parts of your story will also be used by Equality Riders in conversations with students on campus and also read aloud at the rally. Written stories can be handwritten or typed and cannot be longer than two pages. If you are willing to speak at the Rally to be held on April 10th in Provo– we are also looking for 3 people to tell their stories on stage (10 minutes max). In either case, they want to hear about your experience: what it is or was like to be GLBT at BYU and how you dealt with it on campus as well as in your personal and family life. Please contact Haven Herrin ASAP Or Jennifer Nuttall Details of the Rally: April 10 at 5:30pm Kiwanis Park 820 North 1100 East Provo, UT 84604 If you are an alumni of Brigham Young University or if you would like to help call attention to the anti-gay policies at Brigham Young University, please sign up below to stand with us. There will be a short training session for all volunteers. Now traveling throughout the country, the Soulforce Equality Ride is taking 33 young adults on a seven-week bus tour to confront colleges that ban the enrollment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. These bans devalue the life of LGBT people and slam the door on academic freedom. To make public their case for equality, the young activists on the Equality Ride hold vigils, Bible studies, class discussions, community forums, and press conferences. Take a stand for equality. Support personal and academic freedom for all students. Tell President Samuelson and the LDS church that they must learn from history and reverse their position on homosexuality.

2006 Kellie Anne Foreman wrote: Hello Everyone: Here are the nominations for the KR Ries Awards.  I need to receive all votes by the 21st of April so the award itself can be ordered. I appreciate your participation, and I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions about the nominees, please do not hesitate to call me. Email me, not the Pride Coordinator, with your selection. Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you at the GM Reception on the 2nd of June at the Memorial House in Memory Grove. Kellie Anne Foreman, 

• From: "Ben Williams" To: "Kellie Anne Foreman" Kristen Ries Award is to be given to candidates with at least 5 years of services according to the qualifications that were decided on years ago! 
• 2006 Kellie Anne Foreman wrote: Dear all: I received an inquiry from concerned former recipient(s) who feels that some of the nominees are better suited for other award categories such as the Pete Suazo, etc, due to their political affiliations, their sexual orientation, or both. The concerned person(s) have understood that the K Ries award is to given to members of the LGBT community, and certainly that has historically been the case. The call for nominations for this award reads:  "This award recognizes outstanding service to the greater gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in Utah , and is given to individual(s) who are dedicated to continuing that legacy of service. Those who receive this award are role models for Utah ’s LGBT community, and like Dr. Kristen Ries “exemplify everything that the award has stood for: compassion, leadership and courage.”  At this time I am no longer able to contact any of the nominators, some of whom I do not know and some of whom are among you, and it would not be a democratic process for me to move any of the nominees between categories or to remove them without consent. Besides, it is too late. So it is up to you in this group to decide if you want this award to stay in the community, or if you to give it to an outside member who could be just as deserving. Your vote is your voice. The three candidates on this list who are gay are; Jere Keyes, Stewart Merrill and Jacki Bikupski. Take care, and  if any of you wish to change your vote, do not hesitate to contact me. Kellie Anne Foreman
• "Ben Williams"  To: "Kellie Anne Foreman" -The Kristen Ries Award is for people from our community who work hard for our community and who do not receive financial remuneration for their work. Ben Williams

2008 Appeals court reverses 14th Street Gym decision By Geoffrey Fattah Deseret Morning News Thursday, April 10, 2008 The Utah Court of Appeals has reversed a district court's order revoking the license of a Salt Lake City gym based on reported lewd acts committed by gym patrons. In a ruling issued Thursday, the Utah Court of Appeals stated that city officials ordered to revoke the 14th Street Gym's business license based on the behavior of gym patrons while evidence indicated that the business' employees had no knowledge of the activity. "There is no indication in the record that the gym or its agents or employees knew of or condoned the acts forming the basis of the 2006 order," the ruling states. Court facts show that between 2003 and 2004, Salt Lake City police conducted undercover work at the business and found various incidents of lewd acts. City officials suspended the gym's license for 90 days and placed the business on provisional probation. During that time, on June 2005, police again found and arrested two patrons for lewd acts. In March 2006, managers reported to the city that the gym had taken steps since the 2005 order to prevent recurrences of lewd conduct. However, the city ordered the license revoked. The court of appeals has remanded the case back to district court and has ordered the court to issue a judgement in favor of the gym's owners.

2014 Appeals court appears split on Utah’s same-sex marriage case BY BROOKE ADAMS AND MARISSA LANG THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Denver • During Thursday morning arguments before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals — regarding Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage — the judges appeared split on the issue. There were pointed questions from the three judges — Paul J. Kelly Jr., Carlos F. Lucero and Jerome A. Holmes — about studies, jurisdiction and standard of scrutiny. In the end, Judge Kelly appeared squarely on the side of the state, while Lucero voiced strong concerns with the law’s impact on children and couples married elsewhere. That could leave Holmes as the swing vote in the case, which was taken under advisement. Most questions came from judges Holmes and Lucero. But Kelly asked the plaintiffs’ attorney hard questions about state authority. The judges also focused on harm to children of same-sex couples and couples married out of state. Holmes, who is African American, asked how this is different from the Loving case, which in 1967 ended the ban on interracial marriage. Holmes suggested the same-sex ban also creates a second class of people. Attorneys on each side had 30 minutes to press their best points

Peggy Tomsic

before the three-judge panel, with Peggy A. Tomsic asking the judges to ensure marriage equality for all and Gene C. Schaerr asking them to preserve marriage rights only for opposite-sex couples. The state argued that children benefit from being parented by a mother and father, not two mothers or two fathers. U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled in December that the ban is unconstitutional, and eight other federal district court judges have come to the same conclusion since then. But the 10th Circuit is the first appellate court to weigh in on the same-sex marriage dispute since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor, which struck down a section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The case could have repercussions for similar bans in 32 other states. The state has framed its defense of Amendment 3, the constitutional ban approved by Utah voters in 2004, around the idea of what’s best for children. But on the eve of the hearing, the state distanced itself from research by Mark Regnerus of the University

of Texas, which is highlighted in briefs it filed with the court to bolster its claim that opposite-sex parenting is the “gold” standard for children. Schaerr said the state wanted to emphasize the “limited relevance” of Regnerus’ work to Utah’s central claims about why it is necessary to ban same-sex marriage. “The state’s principal concern is the potential long-term impact of a redefinition of marriage on the children of heterosexual parents,” Schaerr said in a letter filed Wednesday evening. “The debate over man-woman versus same-sex parenting has little if any bearing on that issue, given that being raised in a same-sex household would normally not be one of the alternatives available to children of heterosexual parents.” Schaerr then acknowledged what many social science researchers and a federal judge in Michigan recently concluded: due to flawed methodology, the study “cannot be viewed as conclusively establishing that raising a child in a same-sex household produces outcomes that are inferior to those produced by man-woman parenting arrangements.” Tomsic also argues that the case is about family: couples who want to provide for and protect each other legally, and children who are demeaned and humiliated when their parents are unable to marry and provide them with the benefits and protections associated with the civil institution. The court has prepared an overflow room to handle the crowds expected for the hearing. But anticipation is already running high. Hundreds of people, mostly Coloradans, gathered outside the courthouse Wednesday evening in a show of support for the Utah plaintiffs — Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity; Karen Archer and Kate Call; and Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge. David and Deanna Hirsch of Denver attended the rally with their daughter. “We just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary and I can’t imagine that we should be the only ones to have that right,” Deanna Hirsch said. “Everyone should have the right to celebrate their anniversaries, to create the family they want. We wanted to bring our daughter to teach her that value, that everyone has the right to love whomever they want to love.” But residents of the 10th Circuit’s home state aren’t the only ones keeping close tabs on the Utah case. Appeals are pending in four other circuit courts and whatever the 10th Circuit — which is also hearing an appeal from Oklahoma on April 17 — decides may influence how those judges view their cases.

2014 Salt Lake City motorists honk support for gay marriage rally BY JIM DALRYMPLE II THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Salt Lake Tribune Supporters of same sex marriage in Utah rallied April 10 in downtown Salt Lake City. Colleen and Jolene Mewing just filed their first joint tax return. It was a dramatic moment for the new couple, who married in December when same sex unions briefly became legal. And Thursday afternoon, Colleen Mewing said she hoped that opportunity would return to everyone in the state. Mewing, a chapter leader for Marriage Equality USA, organized a rally in support of same-sex marriage Thursday. By 5:30 p.m., when the rally officially began, about 30 people held rainbow-adorned signs at the passing rush hour traffic on the corner of State Street and 400 South. The group’s goal: to put a human face on same-sex marriage in Utah as three 10th Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Denver decided if the state’s ban on such unions should stand. As Mewing passed out pro-same-sex marriage signs Thursday to other rally participants — some handwritten, others professionally printed — she said she hopes all Utahns soon get the same opportunity she and Jolene had in December. Mewing added that the case “is not a slam dunk” but she remains optimistic. Others at the rally shared that optimism. By 6 p.m. the crowd had grown in size to about 50 adults, as well as half a dozen kids running around on the grass of the City-County Building. Among them, Jennifer Robinson stood with her girlfriend Jamie Palmer in a particularly sunny spot on 400 South. The two women held a large, heart-shaped sign with the names of the plaintiffs in the Amendment 3 case written in marker along the edge. “We stand with you!” big red letters in the middle of the sign exclaimed. “I would love to be able to marry my girlfriend,” Robinson said while the group around her chanted. Nearby, Scot and Genie PostvanderBurg stood with their three young children. Scot said the family decided to come to the rally because they have gay relatives on both sides and because they wanted to set an example for their kids. “We wanted them to be aware,” Scot added. “We as a family are completely supportive.” The rally wound down about 6:30 p.m., but not before hundreds of cars drove by honking with passengers waving. At times, the chorus of honking cars — and even a couple of trains — was so loud it drowned out the rally participants’ conversations and chanting. They didn’t seem to care though, as they waved back and excitedly thrust their signs into the air.

2018  In the early morning hours of April 10, 2018, surrounded by family, Lindi Marie Inman passed from an aggressive form of lung cancer Lindi was born in Salt Lake City, She coordinated three years of Homeless Youth backpack drives for the VOA Youth Shelter, as well as providing sack lunches every Sunday through the winter. Her name is on the wall of donors as a tribute to her generosity and selflessness. Lindi also served as a Board Member and Treasurer for the Transgender Education Advocates (TEA) of Utah for four years, lending her hand to providing education, assistance, and support for her friends in the trans* and LGBTQ community. She was blessed to spend the last 15 years of her life with her devoted wife Connie, with whom she fought for equal recognition under the law. They celebrated their loving union three times with a Commitment Ceremony in 2003, legal marriage in Seattle on their 10th anniversary and finally, legally in Utah. She believed in marriage, and in her wife, and loved their crazy adventures together. Where one went, the other was always close by.