1975-The Colorado Attorney General ruled that
same-sex marriages were illegal and ordered Clela Rorex of Boulder to stop
issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
1980-CBS Reports aired "Gay Power, Gay
Politics" hosted by
Harry Reasoner. It resulted in openly Gay reporter
Randy Alfred presenting a 9,000 word complaint with the National News Council,
accusing CBS of biased and potentially harmful journalism. Producer George
Crile had presented S & M as an activity so dangerous that there were S
& M parlors which had doctors and nurses on duty, and interviewed a man who
claimed that it was the sort of thing that everyone who was Gay participated
in. San Francisco journalist Phil Bronstein recognized the torture chamber as
The Chateau, which was exclusively heterosexual. San Francisco mayor Diane
Feinstein wrote a scathing letter to KPIX, saying it was unfair to present
glory holes, bathhouses, S & M, sex in parks and toilets as typical of the
Gay experience.
1
 |
| Maureen Reagan |
980-Maureen Reagan addressed a group of Gay
Republicans in Los Angeles, telling them her father Ronald Reagan believes in
fair play.
1981- Golden Spike Humanitarian
Award was given to Thelma Ensign, a non-Gay woman by the Royal Court of the
Golden Spike Empire of Utah
1986-Saturday- Gay Pride Day organizational
meeting held at the Salt Lake Public Library. In attendance were Beau Chaine,
Donny Eastepp, Ben Williams, and others
1987-Sunday- Wasatch Affirmation had guest
speaker Mark Potter from Highland Hospital who talked about Alcoholism,
Depression, and Acceptance of being Gay in the Gay Community.
1987- The Golden Spike Humanitarian Award
given to T. Parry and Gail A. Garcia by the Royal Court of the Golden Spike
Empire of Utah
1988 Tuesday I went to Unconditional Support
in the evening and taught a lesson on The Biological Causation of Being Gay. We
had a good turn out and Randy Olsen came for the first time in a very long
time. [Journal of Ben Williams]
1992- Golden Spike Awards held at Club 108.
Community Service Award went to
 |
| Robert Rosvall |
Concerning Gays and Lesbians Ben Williams
accepting the award in behalf of Becky Moss and himself and Humanitarian Award
to Robert Rosvall, Executive Director of the People With AIDS Coalition for his "Hands ON Stop AIDS Program".
1993-The US Holocaust Memorial Museum opened
in Washington DC.
Despite efforts to include Gays, the difficulty museum
officials faced in finding and authenticating materials kept the Gay displays
to a minimum. Most of the difficulty stemmed from the need for Gay
concentration camp victims to destroy evidence of why they had been imprisoned as they were still considered criminals until 1969..
26 April 2000 LDS Ultimatum on Gay Scouts? BY MARK EDDINGTON
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE If the Boy Scouts of America is forced to accept Gays as scoutmasters,
the LDS Church will withdraw from the
organization and take more than 400,000 Scouts with it. That's the contention
of Salt Lake City
attorney Von G. Keetch, who has filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting
the Boy Scouts' ban on homosexuals on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and four other religious organizations. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear
arguments today on a controversial 1999 New
Jersey high court ruling that stated the Boy Scouts
could not exclude Gays. The nation's justices are expected to rule on the
matter in June. Keetch, with the Salt
Lake City firm of Kirton & McConkie, predicts dire
consequences if the Scouts lose the case. "The Scouting movement as now
constituted will cease to exist. . . . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints . . . would withdraw from Scouting if it were compelled to accept openly
homosexual Scout leaders," Keetch said in the Feb. 28 brief filed on
behalf of the LDS Church, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, the
General Commission on United Methodist Men of the United Methodist Church, the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod and the National Council of Young Israel. The LDS Church
is the single largest sponsor of Scouting units – more than 30,000 -- in the
nation. That amounts to 400,000-plus Scouts. The United Methodist
Church, with more than
424,000 Scouts, has the most youths involved. The Catholic Church sponsors
355,000 Scouts. In the brief, Keetch said no final decisions have been made,
but all the religious organizations could follow the Mormons' lead and bolt from
Scouting if the ban on Gays is struck down. LDS leaders would not comment
Tuesday about the church's possible exodus from Scouting. Boy Scouts of America
national spokesman Greg Shields did not want to speculate on the impact such a
pullout would have on the movement, which involves roughly 6.2 million youths
and adults across the nation. "We value the [Mormon] church and its
contribution to Scouting and the young people who participate in
Scouting." he said. "The only thing I can say is that we will abide
by the law." A Utah Scout leader, however, did not hesitate to say what
effect an LDS exit would have on Scouting. "The impact would be
dramatic," said Ron Nyman, spokesman for the Utah National Parks Council
of the Boy Scouts that oversees 58,000 Scouts from Utah
County to the Arizona border. He said 98 percent of his
council's troops are LDS-sponsored. The LDS
Church is closely connected to
Scouting throughout Utah.
The church uses the program to help instill fundamental values in its male
members, ages 12 through 18. Scout leaders in Mormon congregations are
appointed by their bishops. "The ramifications of losing this case should
be the scariest thing that could ever happen to private society," Nyman
warned. "If they can do this to Scouting, they can do it to churches and
everything else." The New Jersey ruling last August stemmed from a 1992
lawsuit filed against the Boy Scouts by James Dale, who was expelled as the assistant
scoutmaster of a Middleton, N.J., troop in 1990 after it was learned that he
was involved in a Gay student group at Rutgers University. Boy Scouts exclude
homosexuals from participation. Scout leaders maintain homosexuality is immoral
and out of harmony with the group's values. They further argue that they have a
First Amendment right as a private organization to choose their own leaders and
who they will allow to participate. In siding with Dale, New Jersey's
Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts are a "place of public
accommodation" and therefore are subject to that state's laws barring
discrimination against Gays. Evan Wolfson, Dale's attorney, said the U.S.
Supreme Court has consistently rejected the notion that the First Amendment
gives groups the right to discriminate. "Boy Scouts do not come together
to promote an anti-Gay or discriminatory message," said Wolfson in a
statement. "Scouts come together around the traditions and values of
Scouting, things James Dale always did and still desires to uphold." Michael
McConnell, a University of Utah law professor who is helping New York City
attorney George Davidson argue the case for the Boy Scouts, said the New Jersey
ruling is ludicrous. "The underlying question is if one group can have a
message and serve a subsection of the population without the government getting
involved and telling it how diverse it needs to be," McConnell said. “This
is really about the survival of private groups as elements of society." Kay
Godfrey -- information officer with the Great Salt Lake Council, which boasts
75,000 Scouts from Kaysville to Draper -- is confident the Scouts will prevail.
He said homosexuality has not been much of an issue in Utah. He noted, though, that there have been
a few Gay Scouts and Scout leaders booted from the organization during his 10
years with the Great Salt Lake Council. "We do not feel homosexuals are
the kind of role models we want for our youth," said Godfrey, who added
that prospective leaders are usually not asked about their sexual orientation. For
Andy Baggs -- a psychologist with the Nebo School District and scoutmaster of
Provo's Troop 999, which is not affiliated with the LDS Church -- the issue is
straightforward: Scouts pledge to be "morally straight" when they
raise their right arm to recite the Scout Oath. "I don't see how one can
define homosexuality as being morally straight," he said. "If you
don't want to adhere to Scout standards, you shouldn't join the club. You don't
join the club and then try to change the standards." But former Scout
leader Wes Davey of Springville sees it another way. "For us who are LDS,
we've been taught to love the sinner but hate the sin. If this teaching is
true, then the LDS
Church has a moral obligation
to accept celibate Gay youth into its Scouting programs and a moral obligation
to petition the Boy Scouts to change its policy," he said. "Right
now, the church won't even let celibate Gay youth participate. It shouldn't
matter if a youth is homosexual or heterosexual, as long as they are not
engaging in immoral behavior by having sex."
 |
| Rev. Steven Epperson |
2001 USU Celebrates Gay Pride Day By Will
Bettmann, The Utah Statesman The Rev. Steven Epperson, keynote speaker at the
third annual Utah State University Gay and Lesbian Pride Day, urged USU
students to acknowledge "the inherent worth and dignity of every
person—not some people, not most people—every person." The event was held
Wednesday by the Pride Alliance. Epperson, a minister at the South Valley
Unitarian Universalist Society, said he agreed with his 17-year-old son, who
views gay rights as the key social issue of our time. He told the audience
about a time when he, his wife and a friend had been verbally assaulted and
called "fags," and he said mainstream organizations should take a
moral stand. "Religious and civic institutions often contribute to an
atmosphere of intolerance and violence," he said. "Sometimes you have
to take a stand on an issue a generation or two before the mainstream, just
because it's the right thing to do." Other speakers at the event included
Pride Alliance Co Presidents Tim Nuttle and Sarah Benanti, Associate Students
of USU President Steve Palmer, and Vice President of Student Services Patricia
Terrell. Terrell related her experiences with gay students over the years at a
couple of different institutions. When she was the assistant vice president for
student affairs at the University of Louisville, she had to deal with three
students who burned a banner advertising "blue jeans day," a day in
which students are encouraged to wear blue jeans in support of gay students.
Terrell asked the student if he believed he had a right to destroy private property
if he felt an idea was wrong. After some thought, the student replied he did
feel he had that right. Terrell ended up referring the student to the
counseling center, and said she was criticized by both gay students (who felt
she'd been too easy on the student) and some straight students (who felt she
may have been trying to "brainwash" the student with counseling). She
went on to praise the Pride Alliance for its work on campus. "I applaud
the Pride Alliance for helping to make this campus welcoming not just to
straight students, but to those who are gay," she said. Palmer spoke
mainly about the role of ASUSU on campus and encouraged the audience to get
involved with student government. He also said USU was lucky to have a diverse
student body, and that clubs like the Pride Alliance were a big part of such
diversity. Benanti, wearing a rainbow cape and introduced by Nuttle as
"Superdyke," said she was leaving USU to work for the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C. She thanked members of the Pride
Alliance for their support. "When I came out a year and a half ago, it was
easy because I had so much love and support," she said. Nuttle said he was
pleased with the event. "I think
it's going great. The weather's beautiful. We're getting a lot of support. It
was good to hear support from ASUSU and from Pat [Terrell]," he said. U
Wire
 |
| Lee Silva |
2003 Lee Silva's 8th Annual DIAMONDS &
SPURS With your hostesses for the Evening: Miss UGRA Tracie Aviary & Chaise
Manhattan This Saturday, April 26, 2003 At the Trapp Door* 9:00 P.M. $5.00
Donation to the UGRA * a private club for members There will be raffles for
lots of great prizes!!! DVD Players, Vintage Quilts, etc.)
2005 Tuesday 7 pm - 9 pm Film & Discussion Center Space Embracing Our Homosexual
Children is a documentary about an LDS family with 11 children, with three gay
sons and a lesbian daughter. The
parents, John and Ilse Horstmanshoff, share how they were able to put their
arms around each of their gay children in a loving and supportive manner. One of the gay sons, Ernie also tells his
personal story of being raised LDS, serving a mission, marriage in the LDS
temple and his subsequent coming out. The
documentary is narrated by BYU professor, William Bradshaw.
2007 I will outline a very proactive
different promotional plan for the 2ND
Annual Gay Freedom Day. That will
follow in the days to come. I hope that
we will be more open about the event and the Center Board and Pride are well
aware of the event serving as a compliment to its efforts. Your Suggestions will be welcome. Again this will be kept very simple. Our promotional focus will be the Perfect
ending to a month of Celebration. Do we want a theme--or is that to
prideish?? Ben [Williams]could you please proof?--Could
one of your History Articles be on Freedom Days of the Past? Kevin [Hillman]--Could you
add suggestions? Micheal [Aaron]---Could you approve--and can we possibly a little
equal promotion time--kind like politicians?
I did ask Joselle [Vanderhooft] I could get us an interview. Hope that was okay? Love to all Chad [Keller]
- "Michael Aaron" I’m afraid I
can’t promise “equal time” but I will be happy to promote as much as we think
is prudent. Heheh. I love that word. It sounds so “fatherish” Our sponsorship
of Pride returns us exposure to tens of thousands of people, therefore we offer
them quite a bit. We do this event because, like the reason we have a history
column, we find it important to maintain a relationship with our past. We also
do it provides a less formal, more intimate way to interact with our readers.
I’m much less concerned this year about the event being perceived as the
anti-Pride event. Let’s make this a fun place for everyone to be. I’d love to
see more community performers, more community booths, etc. Thanks for taking
the reins on this. –Michael
 |
| Weston Clark |
2009 Weston Clark Seeks Common Ground Among
SL County Dems. Written by JoSelle
Vanderhooft Sunday, 26 April 2009
15:58 As many Utahns know, Salt Lake City is becoming decidedly more gay and
transgender-friendly even if the state legislature is dragging its feet on
bills that would offer such citizens more legal protections. So is Salt Lake
County, for that matter. This year, the county’s council voted to extend health
care benefits to the same-sex partners of county employees. Democratic mayor
Peter Corroon enthusiastically supported the vote and just as enthusiastically
stood behind statewide gay rights group Equality Utah’s move to get local
businesses to support its Common Ground Initiative. During a February press conference
for this initiative at Café Oasis, Corroon also unveiled the county’s new
logo—which now features the word “diversity.” As the openly gay chair of the
county’s Democratic Party, Weston Clark is now part of the mayor’s vision for a
more diverse, more inclusive county. Earlier this month, Clark again won the
position at the Party’s convention, where he ran unopposed. “It’s not the
easiest job in the world,” Clark remarked, noting that chairing the party is
“an unpaid super volunteer position. “It’s not one people readily seek if
someone’s willing to do it and does a good job.” Clark has been doing a good
job in the position since 2008, when his predecessor resigned just before that
year’s convention. Then vice chair of the party, Clark stepped up as acting
chairman and into a whirlwind of excitement. The Clinton/Obama race for the
Democratic Presidential Nomination was heating up and with it, several local
Democratic campaigns. For the first time in years, Clark said he felt that his
party “had a chance across the board.” As acting chairman, Clark had to
coordinate and manage several “moving parts in the county,” including over
thirty Democrats contending for positions from mayor to legislator. And then
there was the fact that Barack Obama had opened up a campaign office in the
capitol. “I don’t even know when the last time was that that happened,” said
Clark. Soon he found himself working with Utah for Obama and individual
campaigns towards a common goal: to see more Democrats elected across the
board. “It’s a hard job,” he said. “There’s a lot of expectations that are on
the party and the leader of the party, and not a lot of resources to fulfill
those expectations,” including not just money but volunteer hours. “I enjoyed
it and thrived on it,” he continued. “It
was very enjoyable to see the results of our work and see we were successful.”
These results, as most know, were as equally across the board as Clark’s
efforts. In November, Obama won a mandate and many county positions shifted
from red to blue, including the majority of the council. Pleased with this
success and feeling that he had learned a lot during the election, Clark then
decided to run for a full term as chairman in order to “take more ownership of
the process.” Although a few other Democrats had voiced interest in seeking the
position, Clark said they deferred to him when he announced his intentions.
(Elections for party positions are held during odd-numbered years — that is,
non-election years.) So far, Clark said that his sexual orientation has not
been an issue to any of the Democrats he serves. “The Democratic Party is
generally so welcoming of diversity that within the party I really haven’t
experienced any problem at all,” he said. “Not even once have I been confronted
by somebody.” Still, even within the so-called party of inclusion, Clark said
there are Democrats who are not “fully understanding or accepting of gay
people.” And these, said Clark, are Democrats with whom he endeavors to find
common ground. For example, he discussed the case of a precinct officer who
emailed him expressing upset over what she saw as the party’s support for gay
marriage. “She was really offended and made remarks to gays being immoral,”
said Clark, who noted that he drafted a lengthy response which he ended up not
sending. “It wouldn’t have been beneficial to write her back and condemn what
she had said,” he explained. “That was hard to do because prior to being in the
party I considered myself a pretty strong, politically-minded activist.
Equality and gay rights was one of my personal issues and something I believed
in [deeply].” And while these issues are still important to him as a gay man
and a Democrat, Clark notes that they must “step to the side a little” in order
to find agreement. In this sense, he favors Equality Utah and Obama’s approach
to politics. “As Democrat, especially in Utah, we have to be accepting of a
larger tent,” he said. “While some people may not completely agree with me on
gay rights, they probably do agree with me on 95 percent of other Democratic
issues. We have to take baby steps if gonna make any movement in this state. We
have to listen and work with each other to come up with something that works
but still includes our ideals … It’s a very gray area to walk in.” But what isn’t
gray at all for Clark is the mid-term elections in 2010. His biggest fear, he
said, is that Democrats in Utah and across the nation will lose their hard-won
gains in the face of a continually slumping economy and fall-out from the Bush
administration. “The American public is generally very impatient, and if change
isn’t happening immediately, there’s a political price to pay for that,” he
explained. “I think Obama’s going a good job in saying change won’t come
immediately, that it’s a process and it’ll take awhile to see an effect, and
I’m hoping he’s doing enough. So far it seems to be that way. Looking at the
polls people are still loving Obama … but there’s always a bit of a backlash. A
lot of the time it’s who’s most excited to get out and vote, and usually the
backlash is the most excited.” While Clark is currently the only gay officer in
the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, former Royal Court of the Golden Spike
Empire emperor Alan Anderson also ran for treasurer. Anderson, however, lost to
Holly Martak. Clark said that he is hopeful Anderson will run again, or at
least remain active as a volunteer in the party.
2011 MoDiggity's Location: 3424 State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Closed: September 2008? According to About.com, MoDiggity's was just one of two
lesbian bars in Salt Lake City (the other being Paper Moon Nightclub) when it
shut down, apparently in 2008. Judging by the photo, About.com's description of
MoDiggity's as being "in a drab strip mall on the south side of the
city" seems pretty accurate. They go on to describe the place as a
"no-attitude, easygoing women's sports bar" airing games and movies
on television screens. It also featured "dancing on weekends, karaoke on Wednesdays,
and Texas Hold 'Em poker nights on Tuesdays." In fact, clubfly.com boasted that MoDiggity's was the
"only women's sports bar in the U.S."--though I find that hard to
believe. Yahoo only went so far to claim that it was "the premier sports
bar in U.S, exclusively for women," which at any rate, is a matter of
judgement that leaves a little wiggle room. Regardless of the veracity of the only women's sports bar
claim, Clubplanet.com gave the place a general thumbs up: Mo Diggity's Pub - Boasting excellent service and strong
drinks, Mo Diggity's Pub, located at 3424 S State St, has a good crowd of
regulars and a decent-looking clientele. As an added bonus, there’s no cover,
so this is a good place to hit without blowing your budget. It appears that for MoDiggity's to function, it had to bill
itself as a "private club for women," which had as much to do with
Utah's arcane liquor laws as "discrimination" claims. I'm having a hard time determining just when MoDiggity's
opened or closed, only that it was in business between 2005 and 2008 or so.
Websites clearly indicate that MoDiggity's is closed now, but none of them say
as of what date. Where are the gay and lesbian journalists, historians, and
bloggers of Utah? [Posted on Lost Womyn's Spaces]
2014 Join Restore Our Humanity, and our amazing plaintiffs,
April 26th, 2014, at The Salisbury Mansion for an evening of food, fun, and
dancing. As we celebrate a change for the better in the state of Utah. Restore
Our Humanity created marriage equality in Utah, and we've moved on to the Tenth
Circuit Court of Appeals to secure our victory. As Utah moves forward with
positive change for our communities, we're taking a moment to celebrate how far
we've come. 100% of the proceeds go directly to support Restore Our Humanity's
work for marriage equality. Tickets to this fundraiser are $35 and include a
dessert bar, full access to music, entertainment, and dancing. Age
identification bracelets will be available for purchase for those that wish to
enjoy adult beverages (beer and wine), while supplies last. The fun begins at
7:00pm and goes to 11:00pm. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served
basis, and will be marked as sold out once we reach capacity. The Hardy
Brothers will keep your feet moving on the dance floor all night. We'll have a
burlesque drag performance. Plus our comedian and Emcee for the evening, Mi Mi,
will keep that fun and laughs going! There's also a silent auction featuring
original works of art, dining, vintage home decor, and much more. For those out
of state, or otherwise unable to attend, please consider making a donation to
Restore Our Humanity, and help us win marriage equality once and for all! This
is a private event, please present your printed or digital invitation, and
state or federally issued identification at the door. Thank you. For those that
have asked, the dress code is business casual to dressy. We care less about
what you wear, and more about you coming to have fun.
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