This Day In Gay Utah History July 12th

12 July 12-

    

1890 Ogden Standard Examiner From the Capital page 3 Frank Wilson was arrested yesterday and held to await action of the grand jury for committing a “Crime Against Nature”.

1940-A directive from the German Reich Main Security Office mandated that any homosexual who had seduced more than one partner would be put into protective custody (a concentration camp). Evidence of a sexual act was often absent in meeting the criteria.

1951 Vernal Express 'Delinquency' Charge Draws Hard Labor Term Section Page 1 Bound over to district Court was Gregory Base Taylor 22 of Vallejo on charge of an infamous “Crime Against Nature”

1969 - A 16 year old youth shot Donald Trinnimen, age 22, 411 East 7200 South early Saturday Morning in Memory Grove. Trinnimen was taken to the University Hospital where he was treated for a shot gun wound in the chest and released about noon. The Youth was arrested at 10:30 p.m. at the Greyhound Bus Depot at 28 West Temple and taken into custody and charged with the shooting. (07/14/69 SLTribune page 25) (Donald Trinnaman see 11 Feb 1968)

Stephen Holbrook

1972-Jim Foster of San Francisco and Madeline Davis of New York became the first openly gay delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Stephen Holbrook was a delegate representing Utah but was not "out" about his sexuality.

1986-International Lesbian and Gay Association  voted almost unanimously not to revoke the membership of the South African Gay Association after testimony from a representative who stated that the organization was opposed to apartheid.

Robert McIntier

1986-Saturday- Pamela Calkins, Lynn LeMasters, Michelle Hopkins, Janice, Mark Bluto, John Crane, David Ewing, Eddie Muldong and Tony Feliz, members of the Restoration Church all came to Salt Lake City from California for their endowment sessions done in the portable tabernacle erected in the home Robert McIntier on Dorothea Way in Salt Lake City. 

1987-  The 1987 Gay Pride Day was the first event to be sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah which was formed in December of 1986. The council adopted a resolution in February of 1987 to sponsor that year’s Pride Day as a community event. Donnie Eastepp, co-owner of the In-Between Tavern and emperor of the Royal Court, was elected chair of Pride Day ’87. Again the celebration was held in July on the 12th but the venue was moved from Pioneer Park back to Sunnyside Park. Eastepp and his lover Bobby Dupray created the 1st Pride Day Community Service Award which was to be given annually. The first award was given to Dr. Kristin Ries, Dubray’s physician. The award then was then named in her

Dr. Kristen Ries

honor. Donny Eastepp Gay Pride Chairman described Dr. Ries as “a woman who daily struggles with ignorance and oppression. We are honoring a woman who fights for this community.” The mainstay of Gay Pride Day, the Saliva Sisters, again were the featured performers with members of the Royal Court performing some musical numbers. Curtis Jensen and Greg Harden  of “The Lovebird” also were featured. For the first time softball teams were organized to give Lesbians something to do while the Gay men watched the performers. An estimated 800 people attended throughout the day. Val Mansfield designed his first Gay Pride Day logo.  Mansfield would be selected time and time again over the next several years for his outstanding Pride Day designs and logos.

• Concerned about financial accountability for Pride Day, the Gay and Lesbian Community Council on July 16, 1987 voted not just only to sponsor Pride Day but to make it an official committee of the council. Pride Day at that time became a legal entity of the council which assumed all its debts and assets.
• 1987 Sunday- About 10:30 I started getting ready for Gay Pride Day at Sunnyside Park. We arrived at Sunnyside Park about noon and the weather was clear and warm.  Gay Pride Day was festive and I brought my Japanese parasol to keep the sun off me but Lyle Bradley said that he needed it to keep the sun off the sound system's mixing board, so the sound system was preserved but I was burned from sitting out under the blazing sun for 4 and 1/2 hours. The highlight of the day of course was the Saliva Sisters and of course Walt Larabee and The Love Birds were good too. Must have been about 800 people there all told throughout the day.  The Lesbians were out in force probably due to the fact that several softball teams were organized.  I didn't see any Gay men playing ball except for Volleyball naturally. Stereotypical. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1988 - I made banana nut bread and cream cheese sandwiches for Unconditional Support tonight.  Our discussion was on the topic of “What Scares You About Being gay”.  I had people write down anonymously their fears and then we read them and discussed them. My premise is that I think that we as Gay men are more alike than different and that we probably share common anxieties and I was right.  The overwhelming number said that their main fear was being lonely and growing older alone.  So we discussed our fears. I felt like Jim Hunsaker was attacking me for some reason tonight. Anyway after the meeting some of us went to the show and saw Bull Durham. [Journal of Ben Williams]

Ben Barr

1988- Salt Lake AIDS Foundation is in the news with Ben Barr being controversial because he wants to distribute condoms at The Neighborhood Fair at Liberty Park on Pioneer Day.  The Mayor’s office said no way. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1988 At The Royal Court’s General Meeting Larry White emperor of The Royal Court made a speech about Beyond Stonewall asking members to support it [Journal of Ben Williams]

Tuesday, July 12, 1988 HOLLADAY MAN DIES OF GUNSHOT WOUND A Holladay man died Monday morning of a gunshot wound suffered late Sunday in Jordan Park. Police have no suspects. Gordon L. Winslow, 46, 2064 E. 4675 South, was shot once in the chest while apparently lighting firecrackers in the park, 1000 S. Ninth West. Witnesses told police they heard firecrackers throughout the evening Sunday. About 10:30 p.m., the witnesses observed a man on his hands and knees near a van, which was parked between a playground and the south fence of the International Peace Gardens. Several shots were fired, then two people, possibly juveniles, were seen running away, according to police reports. A short time later, the man got in the van and tried to exit the park but crashed into a fence. The witnesses ran to help and noticed Winslow was injured, said homicide squad Sgt. Don Bell. They asked him what had happened and he replied, "Nothing." When police arrived, Winslow, lying on the van's floor but still conscious, told officers he didn't know why he was shot but said he thought one of his assailants called the other "Mario." "He had a chance to tell us everything that went on but he didn't," Bell said. Spent illegal fireworks were found in the van, but no weapons were recovered. Winslow, who was wearing only a pair of shorts, was taken to LDS Hospital, where he died about 6:15 a.m., a hospital spokesman said.

1998The first annual Rainbow Rebound held in the parking lot of Paper Moon. The event is a two on two basketball, free throw and three point shooting competition

2002 Billy Lewis Money Situation: Hey everyone, I just talked with Darin [Hobbs] about Pride's money situation.  And so far, it's not looking pretty.  Now we don't need to panic, but we do need to get some more income coming in or we will need to panic.  So, here are a few of my suggestions.  If anyone else has some suggestions please let me know.  We have approximately $2900 dollars worth the water (at cost) sitting in the Black Box theatre [Gay and Lesbian Community Center].  If we start selling it ASAP we will still be able to get it sold for around $11.00 a case which would bring us in about $3740.00 for our account.  The faster we sell it the more we will get for it.  Because this is an event specific product the longer we wait past the event the more it will depreciate.  I know there was some talk of using for promotions, but we need to look at it now as if we don't sell it and promote from that way then we won't have an event to promote.  So, please what are your suggestions or should we start selling it. Next, Adam [Frost] has agreed if we want to take over the website again he will help with

Adam Frost 

getting an online "shop" set up.  Darin has agreed to do the financial organizing of it.  I would like to put on the "shop" the items that we have left over from Pride.  That would include Pride Shirts, Bagley Shirts, Hats, and Posters.  We can then do an ad in the Pillar and leave flyers around town letting people know that they can purchase the items online.  I know TeinnaMarrie [Nelson] was planning car washes.  I think we all need to jump on board with her and promote and help wash the cars.  It could be fun and cooling in this weather.  And last but not least Adam has agreed to sell his body at the corner of State Street and 4th south with us getting 90% of the profit.  :) just kidding. Anyway let me know. Cost Per Bottle $0.36 Bottles in A Case 24 Cost Per Case $8.64 Number of Cases 417 Total Cost $3,600. Retail If Sold on Pride Day $2.00 per bottle-Retail per case $48.00-Mark Up 82 % Mark up $ 1.64-Gross Profit: $20,016.00 minus $3,600-Over All Profit: $16,413.00-If Sold at discount rate $0.45 per bottle Number of Cases left over 350 +/- Mark up 20% Over all Profit $756.00-If Sold at discount rate $0.50 per bottle-Number of Cases left over 350 +/- Mark up 28% Over all Profit $1,176.00-If Sold at discount rate $0.55 per bottle-Number of Cases left over 350 +/- Mark up 35% Over all Profit $$1,596.00.

• Chad Keller Money Situation ;I wasn't paying attention to the whole note.....As for car washes...while they are a wonderful idea...and I have expressed it to Stacy [Robinson]...whose partner had a great suggestion.....which I will share later...As both a non profit and a corporation we have a responsibility to the environment....Due to the current situation, and what is now being brought forward by experts and scientists will we be fulfilling or civic responsibility to helping save water. I’m in favor of it, especially if we are being conservative and have a solid water conservative plan in place.  Teina, what is the plan?

2003 Saturday Michael Aaron Subject: Lunch was fun. Over 200 members Hey all, Just wanted to touch in and thank those who attended today's Naked Lunch. We had about a dozen guys here and had a great, mellow time. Our group now has over 200 members! If you know of other guys who like to get naked with other guys, please forward this email onto them;  Our activities are drawing a great mix of men. What do people think about an overnight campout, maybe at the nude beach? Other locations could work too, if people have suggestions. See ya in the nudes! JeepNekkid

• Utah male naturists NudeUtah's July Swim  Saturday July 12, 2003 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm  This event does not repeat.  Event Location: Absolute Scuba, Orem Notes: This month's swim is July 12th from 6:00 PM to ????Where: Absolute scuba in Orem. Cost: $5.00 per person.  Contact: Bill at 801 201-0157 for more info

2003 Saturday Subject: Re: [gayProvo] Hey boys, if you guys wanna fool around with sexy 15/m, email me, i love to be dressed up in womens lingerie and i will do whatever you want, and filming is a big turn on, so email me!! I am not around  provo tho, so if you could meet me in slc..

• Subject: Re: [gayProvo] Hey Ben Williams to Gay Provo Group Why does the moderator of this site let postings like this occur? First of all its illegal to have even consenting sex with a minor-prison time- and it is quite common for vice departments to use sites like this to find pedophiles. Young man, if you are in SLC I suggest you go the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah where they have many youth oriented programs and met people your own age in a healthier setting then cruising cyberspace. Who knows you might even meet friends to hang out with. Being Gay is a journey, don't fall into pits where vipers are ready to get you. Pride is more than a party.

Tami Marquardt

2004- MONDAY 'Queers Kick Ash' campaign loses state funding The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah has distributed a variety of incentives at activities promoting anti-smoking awareness among the gay community. The program recently lost government funding. (Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune) By Mike Cronin The Salt Lake Tribune For eight months, the "Queers Kick Ash" campaign hummed along, spreading its anti-tobacco message to Utah's gay and lesbian community with help from a state grant. During that time, records show the Utah Department of Health routinely approved and funded promotional materials -- posters, banners, T-shirts, newspaper ads, even a Web site -- for the campaign by the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah. Then, in mid-May, several students were disciplined at Hillcrest High for wearing "Queers Kick Ash" T-shirts. A few weeks later, the Health Department yanked the funding – an expected $200,000 over the next two years -- and the anti-tobacco campaign fizzled. Ever since then, the community center has wondered why it lost the funding. "We've made phone calls, mailed letters and sent faxes – and nothing," said Tami Marquardt, the center's acting executive director. "They haven't had the courtesy or the public decency to give us an answer. I don't know why they won't talk to anyone if this is all aboveboard. This is nothing but a homophobic cover-up. It's discrimination, pure and simple." For its part, the Health Department -- in a June 1 letter from Heather Borski, manager of the department's Tobacco

Heather Borski

Prevention and Control Program -- maintains that it opted not to renew the center's grant to "prevent the anti-tobacco health message from being overshadowed by unrelated advocacy activity." Richard Milton, the department's deputy director, and two department spokeswomen would not define "unrelated advocacy activity." "Our statement speaks for itself," Milton said Friday. "It's a question of interpretation." In a statement released June 11, department officials said the anti-tobacco project's "use of sexually related messages . . . was inconsistent with the department's general approach to addressing tobacco use." Again, Milton could not provide specific examples of "sexually related messages" used in the center's campaign. He did say, however, that "the whole issue is sexually related because the group represents a certain sexual preference." Milton conceded that the controversy caused by the center's "provocative" messages has Health Department officials re-examining why they initially awarded the center the first of three potential $100,000-a-year grants. "I can't get into that," he said. "I can just say there's a discussion going on about why it happened." Through a records request, The Salt Lake Tribune obtained hundreds of documents about the relationship between the Health Department and the center. Spokeswoman Jana Kettering said the department could not

Jana Kettering 

provide at least three months of pertinent e-mails because they had been destroyed -- a possible violation of Utah's public records laws. Even so, the records released show that many department officials knew precisely how the center was spending its anti-tobacco funding. Quarterly reports and expense reimbursement forms dating back to October specifically mention "Queers Kick Ash" as the name of the anti-tobacco campaign. Documents also show that department officials routinely approved not only the "Queers Kick Ash" moniker but also the expenses incurred for materials and events using that name. In one entry, a Health Department official praised the campaign's Web site: "I checked out the site, queerskickash.org. It looks great." Some documents depict visual representations of various ways the "Queers Kick Ash" logo would be used, how it would be displayed and what it would look like. Not once in the documents did department officials object to or suggest changes to the center's anti-tobacco approach -- until mid-May. Milton said staff members below the executive level had approved the campaign slogans and materials during the eight months without upper-level officials' knowledge. Marquardt maintains the "Queers Kick Ash" name became a problem only after the Hillcrest incident made headlines. Milton acknowledged the incident contributed to the department's policy revision, but also said that the attention was not directly responsible for the change in department practices. He added that, to his knowledge, the gay-lesbian center is the only one among roughly 20 organizations receiving anti-tobacco money from the state that did not earn a grant renewal. That frustrates Marquardt and her staff. "We offered to recraft our message and do whatever they wanted, but it was a no-go."

2005 A COMMUNITY CALL TO ACTION  On July 12, 2005, the Salt Lake County Council considered, and then voted down by a one vote margin, a proposal to extend domestic partner benefits to county employees. The proposal, and the public discussion, are major steps on the road to fair and equal treatment for all people, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity.  This letter is to ask you to show your support for this type of legislation by taking one (or all) of the following action steps: The GLBT Community Center of Utah is sending this email in partnership with Equality Utah , HRC, the Utah Stonewall Democrats and the Utah Log Cabin Republicans A COMMUNITY CALL TO ACTION On July 12, 2005, the Salt Lake County Council considered, and then voted down by a one vote margin, a proposal to extend domestic partner benefits to county employees. The proposal, and the public discussion, are major steps on the road to fair and equal treatment for all people, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity. This letter is to ask you to show your support for this type of legislation by taking one (or all) of the following action steps: 1). THANK the supporters of this proposal: Councilperson Jenny Wilson, Joe Hatch, Randy Horiuchi, and Jim Bradley  2). Let the opponents know of your disappointment: Councilperson Michael Jensen, David Wilde, Mark Crocket, Cortlund Ashton, and Marvin Hendrickson 3). Write a Letter to the Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, or your local paper, and let them know you support domestic partner benefits. Let them know your personal story and how you are impacted! 4). Let your GLBT friends and neighbors working at Salt Lake County know you care. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: What would the proposal have done? It would have allowed employees of Salt Lake County to provide domestic partners and dependent children with the following benefits: health and dental insurance, life insurance, extended funeral leave, sick leave to care for a dependent, employee assistance program, COBRA benefits. In short - it would have recognized the reality that unmarried employees also have partners for whom they are providing, and that under the current system, those employees (by being denied substantial benefits such as health insurance coverage for their partners) are simply paid less than their married counterparts. A majority of the five Republican council members who voted against this proposal cited the State's approval of Amendment 3 as their reason for voting against the proposal. Council Chairman Michael Jensen was quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune as having said, "Maybe in 10 years or 20 years the county will be ready for this move. My sense is the valley spoke in November." Senator Scott McCoy, who attended the hearing, pointed out that Amendment 3 does not prohibit basic benefits for lgbt people. "Unfortunately, it is being used as an excuse by some officials to vote against anything that might benefit lgbt individuals and their families. However, it is important to continue the discussion. By fighting the fight, we are making the future come faster." ACT NOW - People need to hear our stories! Sincerely, Jane Marquardt, Board Chair, Equality Utah Valerie Larabee, Executive Director, GLBTCC of Utah Bruce Bastian, Board of Directors, Human Rights Campaign Mike Picardi, Chair, Utah Stonewall Democrats, Gordon Storrs, President, Utah Log Cabin Republicans

2006 Utah GLBT BUSINESS GUILD MEET AND GREET The UPS STORE - 32 W 200 S (ACROSS FROM EL MONACO) 7:00-9:00PM Bring a friend, socialize, and network

2009 Protesters smooch near LDS Temple Demonstration They exchanged 'gentle' kisses to show support for a gay couple detained for kissing on Main Street Plaza on Thursday. By Lindsay Whitehurst The Salt Lake Tribune Wearing bright red lipstick, Isabelle Warnas smiled and planted a big kiss on her husband's cheek, something she said she has done often under the spires of the LDS Church's Salt Lake Temple. "Nobody has said a thing to us," the 50-year-old Salt Lake City resident said. This time, though, they had an audience of

more than a hundred. They were gathered for a "kiss-in" staged Sunday morning near Main

Derek Jones

Street Plaza to show support for a gay couple, Derek Jones, 25, and Matthew Aune, 28, who say they were detained by Church of Jesus

Matthew Aune

Christ of Latter-day Saints security guards after one man had kissed the other on the cheek Thursday. They had argued with the guards and were later cited for trespassing. "My husband and I cannot understand the discrimination," Warnas said. "This is not right." The atmosphere Sunday morning was genial, and even merry among protesters. Organizer and former city councilwoman Deeda Seed encouraged "gentle" displays of public affection, and participants stuck to short kisses on the mouth and cheeks. Several LDS Church security guards dressed in suits kept a watchful eye, and turned some protesters back when they tried to cross the church-owned plaza or walk onto the property to share a kiss. Guards called police when protesters staged a walk onto the plaza, and officers stood to block the entrance. "They were asked repeatedly not to come onto the property, and they chose to do so anyway," said LDS church spokeswoman Kim Farah. Though a few people spoke in protest, there were no direct confrontations, and guards did not stop the protesters gathered past the property line. In a prepared statement, Farah said the church welcomes the millions of visitors who come to its headquarters each year. "We

Kiss- In

are glad they come ... . We do ask that certain guidelines be kept on church property, including that no demonstrations are allowed here," she said. The incident became a flash point for overlapping controversies: Anger over church support of Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage in California, and still-simmering frustration over the city's sale of Main Street Plaza to the church about 10 years ago. "A lot of people feel disrespected, feel less than fully human because of church policies toward gay and lesbian people, and that's got to stop," said Salt Lake City Councilman Luke Garrott, who represents the downtown district. The sale allowed the church to ban objectionable activities, from protesting to sunbathing, on the plaza, which borders Temple Square and church headquarters. Jones and Aune attended the event with their two dogs. The couple stayed quietly in the background. "I just want to get the message out," Jones said. "We're very flattered and very proud." "This community is a great one," Aune said.

More Trouble In Utah

• Eric Moutsos, the former cop who resigned from the Salt Lake City Police Department

  

  Eric Moutsos

  after he was suspended for refusing to ride his motorcycle in the Pride Parade last year, has been in the middle of a previous gay-rights controversy. Moutsos, who has gone to work as a fundraiser and community-outreach organizer for the conservative Sutherland Institute think tank, was the officer who cited two gay men for trespassing on LDS property in 2009. The misdemeanor charges against Matt Aune and Derek Jones were dropped by then-Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill, who said the men had a reasonable belief they had a right to be on the Main Street Plaza, a former public street purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Moutsos was the Salt Lake City police officer who responded. In his police report, he wrote the two men were "kissing and hugging on [LDS] property." The dispute made national headlines and prompted a "kiss-in" protest that attracted about 100 couples near the plaza, where gay and straight couples affectionately kissed and wore paper hearts. Moutsos resigned from the police department after he was placed on paid leave for refusing to ride in the parade last June. He cited his religious convictions for his refusal. Paul Rolley Salt Lake Tribune 30 April 2015
  
• 
  

2009 Salt Lake Tribune by Rosemary Winters Gena Edvalson tried for years to be a mom.

Gena Edvalson

So when her partner of six years, Jana Dickson, became pregnant through artificial insemination and gave birth to a boy in March 2006, nothing brought her “instantly more joy.” And nothing brought Edvalson more pain than a recent court ruling depriving her of a chance to even visit the child. After all, she had eyed every ultrasound. She had read Little Quack to “the little guy” when he was inside Dickson’s womb. She had clicked on a flashlight throughout his first night home from the hospital to check on the sleeping babe. Both Salt Lake City women, were “mama” and — with the help of lactation medication for Edvalson — both breast-fed the newborn. But the two split up when the boy was 17 months old and last week, after

Jana Dickson & Gena Edvalson

a yearlong legal fight, Edvalson was cut off from any contact with the 3-year-old she loves as a son. A 3rd District judge, citing a 2008 Utah law, upheld Dickson’s “fundamental” right, as the biological parent, to refuse visitation. “I never want him to think I gave him up voluntarily. I never abandoned him,” Edvalson wrote on her blog. “I loved him, and I love him still.” The case highlights the predicament of same-sex parents in Utah, a state where gay and lesbian couples cannot marry, adopt children or even expect their own contracts for shared parenting and guardianship to stand in court. Such documents did not protect Edvalson, who signed co-parenting and co-guardianship agreements with Dickson near the time the baby was born. Although this case is “not binding precedent,” Edvalson’s Salt Lake City attorney, Lauren Barros, said she wouldn’t recommend a co-parenting agreement to other same-sex couples. “It was my last hope,” Barros said. It didn’t work. Frank Mylar, Dickson’s attorney, said the “important principle” in the case is that the law upholds the “right of a parent to make decisions for their child and to change their mind.” That, Mylar said, is precisely what Dickson did: change her mind. Dickson and Edvalson met at the YWCA, where Dickson worked with teens and Edvalson with battered women. The couple moved in together in 2000 and formally declared their love with a commitment ceremony in 2003. “Jana had kind of joked that she was old-fashioned like that,” Edvalson said. “She didn’t want to have a kid without making that official.” Edvalson began artificial insemination. Two years later, she still wasn’t pregnant. Dickson, who is nine years younger than Edvalson, decided to give it a go. She became pregnant after her second treatment. “We must have taken like 10 pregnancy tests,” Edvalson, now 42, recalled. “I can’t even describe it. I was so excited.” After the boy’s birth, the couple planned to move to California so that Edvalson could adopt him, Dickson said, but, “due to major issues in our relationship, that never happened.” When the boy was 4 months old, the pair had a fight. Edvalson moved out for a week. “She told me that he wasn’t my kid, he was her kid, and she told me I should move on,” Edvalson said. “We worked it out for another year — but that never went away.” Dickson and Edvalson broke up in 2007, when their son already was calling both of them “mama” (”Mama G” for Edvalson was a little too tricky). Dickson, 33, now is married to a man, but said, in an e-mail, she has “dated both men and women” in her life. An attorney who defends parents in abuse, neglect and custody cases, Dickson said she is a “stronger believer than ever” in the right of lesbians to marry and adopt — if the biological mom wants her partner to do so. She declined to comment specifically on why she has made the “very hard decision to limit Gena’s role” in her son’s life, noting Edvalson’s “palpable hostility” toward her complicated the visits. But she agreed the relationship “never really recovered from that initial move-out.” While the couple still were together, Edvalson complained that her lack of “legally recognized rights” to the child created “unfair power dynamics” in the relationship, according to an affidavit Dickson filed. For 10 months after the breakup, Edvalson generally saw the boy two days a week, but she felt Dickson was “whittling away” her time when the visits dropped to one afternoon a week. Edvalson asked her attorney to send Dickson a letter, requesting mediation to uphold the co-parenting agreement. “Then Jana hired Frank Mylar,” Edvalson said, “and it was kind of

Frank Myler

game on.” Mylar, a former Utah attorney general candidate, belongs to a conservative alliance of “Christian attorneys,” the Alliance Defense Fund, and regularly fights against the extension of rights for gay and lesbian couples. He did just that in pushing changes to the 2008 law that severely limited Edvalson’s ability to press for visitation in court. Dickson declined mediation and stopped letting Edvalson visit the child. Edvalson did not see him for a year until — after a hearing in April — the judge ordered visitation once a week in advance of his ruling. That decision came last week. The boy now is off-limits to her. There is no next step in getting to see her boy again, Edvalson said. “The next step is [Dickson] doing the right thing. I have no legal recourse.” Her advice for other same-sex couples: Don’t have kids unless you have the legal protection of an adoption (something you cannot get in Utah). For now, Edvalson, who is working on a master’s degree in social work, is keeping an online journal to record her experience in case her one-time son someday notices the hyphenated last name on his birth certificate and has questions. She cannot say enough about how sweet and outgoing he is — even “old men” at the grocery store, she said, would comment, “Your kid’s a flirt.” She calls him “my sweet boy.” “I know everyone thinks their kid’s the greatest,” Edvalson said. “It just doesn’t help that mine actually was the greatest.”

Dennis Piernick

2012 30-year-old cold-case murder of gay Salt Lake City man closed QSL A 30-year-old cold-case murder case of a gay man in Salt Lake City has been closed and police have named a suspect who is now deceased. On May 16, 1982, Dennis Piernick was found dead in his apartment at 927 E. South Temple. He had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck. Piernick was gay, as were many key witnesses in the case who were afraid to come forward about the investigation because they feared backlash due to their sexual orientation, a Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson said in a press release. Leads dried up and no arrests were made. As the case was reviewed in 2011, a new detective learned that

Rodney VanKomen

Piernick’s former neighbor Rodney VanKomen confessed to a friend in 1983 that he had murdered Piernick. The witness was afraid of VanKomen, who died in a car crash when he was 41 years old in 2005. Detectives have since learned there were several factors linking VanKomen to the murder, including a backpack, clothing and a pack of cigarettes left at the scene. Also, an eyewitness placed VanKomen at the scene with the victim an hour before his death.

Bob Zancanella

2017  Robert "Bob" Charles Zancanella, 78, of Salt Lake City, UT, passed away Bob was born on January 13, 1939 in Rock Springs, WY Bob graduated from Rock Springs High School in 1957. He attended Westminster College and graduated in 1960 with a BA in Music and German. He later graduated with a Masters in Music in 1963 at the University of Utah.  Bob taught for 25 years at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind and retired in 2005. Bob was a lifelong member of the First Congregational church in Rock Springs and in SLC. He enjoyed music and sang in the church choir, the Utah Opera, the University of Utah Men’s Choir, and a member of the Oratorio Society of Utah for “50 Years.” 

•  Bob was a well known face in the SLC gay community during the time I was coming out. I knew Bob from my days of doing shows at Theatre 138. And Bob would always be a regular at the Radio City Bar, which was behind Theatre 138. I was in one show with Bob. And on the other shows, Bob always seemed to be involved assisting Ariel, Tom or Stu with some aspect of the show. He was always a positive, pleasant, joyous and kind gentleman. RIP. Doug Murri
•  Bob was a regular at the RC. He was a good supporter of the Royal Court too.Alan Anderson
•  I saw " Bob Z " recently , we both had appointments at the same building , he was waiting for his transportation and i was early for my appt , we sat by the front door for what seem like hours but it was just a few minutes , we laughed and chatted about the earlier reigns of the court , both he and i did comedy numbers during shows , I never heard a negative comment from him and he always was smiling , and one of the firsts in line to help those in need.......i remember when the van arrived and i walked with him outside...he was assisted in to the van , he said take care of yourself , I replied with You too we waved at each other as the van pulled away....he is now with the Angels....Chuck Whyte