This Day In Gay Utah History July 3rd

3 July 3-

1904 Dr. Cook Cures Men Loss of Manly Vigor- you may be lacking in the power of manhood. If so I will restore you to the snap, vim, and vigor of vitality, the loss of which may be the result of indiscretions, excesses, and unnatural weakness. “Private Disease- Newly contracted cases cured. All burning and itching, inflammation and unnatural discharge stopped in 24 hours- cure effected in 7 days. Cook Medical Co. 116 South Main The Salt Lake Herald Section 3 Advertisement of Dr. W.A. Cook.

1969 The Gay View, Newsletter of the MSNY wrote “We didn’t know what it was like not to be mistreated, expected to be mistreated, and accepted harassment when it came. Now we’ve walked in the open and know how pleasant it is to have self respect and to be treated as citizens and human bengs. There’s no possible way to make us accept the “old way” again.  The homosexual community has tired of the old “we Walk In Shadows” routine. We want to stay in the sunlight from now on. Efforts to force us back into the clsoet could be disasterous for all concerned.” 

Frank Kameny

1975-Thanks to the efforts of Gay activist Frank Kameny, the anti-gay policies of the US Civil Service Commission were reversed.

1981 - After nearly eleven years of losing advertising revenues, Deseret News begins publishing ads for R-rated movies.

1981- “Rare Cancer seen in 41 Homosexuals”-The New York Times newspaper ran a small article concerning a disease affecting normally healthy Gay young men and was the first public article on AIDS in a newspaper in the United States.

1986-Gay Singer Boy George responded to persistent rumors that his

Boy George

weight loss was caused by AIDS, calling the rumors ridiculous speculation. Soon after he entered a drug treatment facility for heroin addiction.

1987- “I saw John Sasserman at the In-Between and I told him how much I admired him, and how I was glad to see an issue of  the Triangle come out even if just a complimentary one, so that people can see  continuity in the transition.  John Sasserman said that he thought that I was an important asset to the community. That was pleasing to hear. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1988-Several recent studies showed that both the frequency and severity of anti-gay hate crimes had been increasing across the country.

Bill Badger

1988 William Burton Badger (1925-1988) committed sucide- William Burton Badger was  born on October 24, 1925, in Holden, Utah. He was baptized in the LDS Church on November 5, 1933. He married in Salt Lake City on June 6, 1950, and had four sons. Later he divorced. William was a teacher, working in the Alpine, Salt Lake City, Millard, and Davis County school districts. He was a member of the Metropolitan Community Church. William committed suicide on July 3, 1988, in Salt Lake City. He was 62 years old. William is buried at the Orem City Cemetery in Utah. He was a member of the Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.

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1989-Andy Lippincott, a character in the cartoon strip "Doonesbury," was hospitalized with AIDS.  His storyline led to a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Garry Trudeau, but three newspapers of the 900 carrying the strip refused to publish it as being in bad taste. Andy Lippincott may be the only fictional character with a panel on the AIDS quilt. The panel (created by G. Scott Austen, Marceo Miranda and Juan-Carlos Castano) reads: "In Loving Memory: Andy Lippincott 1945–1990. Community leader, conservationist, author, Olympic medalist, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize!" The panel hangs in The NAMES Project Foundation's offices in Atlanta and was not actually sewn into a block of The AIDS Memorial Quilt.

1990 It’s been much cooler at night but I'm still having the strangest dreams.  It’s just too hot to go into Alpha so I stay hovering in the Dream time.  At one point I was dreaming I was home with my father and he was grumbling about ACT-UP and I verbally pounced on him

Tom Henecy

and was yelling at him saying, "You have a Gay son who is in mortal danger from this disease. Why aren't you out in the streets protesting too? Why aren't the parents of America demanding a cure for what is killing their children- what might kill me?  My friends are dying and I may be next. Why aren't you with ACT-UP too? Daddy I'm so scared!" then my dream segued wayed into being with Judy Garland! I was introducing her to my friends and saying how embarrassed I was to have to grade her singing when I know nothing about music.  Strange dreams. Full of fire works, marathon running, fascist religious zealots trying to control every one's thoughts. Well so much for keeping a dream log.  Kind of silly.  In the afternoon I went to the County Health to find out the results of my HIV test. I was negative thank the Goddess.  I guess I'm still supposed to be around for a while. Later in the evening, Mike Pipkim and I went to a party over at Tom Henacy's after the bars closed. I didn't know anyone there but Mike. Pot was being passed around but I was tired and felt old, unattractive, and damn it I'm tired of falling in love. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1998- Gay and Lesbian Center Gets New Start in Salt Lake Byline: Patty Henetz SLTribune The Utah Stonewall Center has been reborn, and this manifestation has a new name and a new leader who learned her best lessons in the military. During her nine years on active duty with the Utah Army National Guard, Monique Predovich said, ``they taught me everything useful in life. Basic leadership skills. To prioritize, not react. To plan and organize, how to handle stress. And how to be in the woods and eat snakes to survive.'' Those skills are bound to be useful in her role as an executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah, which will open in October in a new building at 361 N.300 West in Salt Lake City. The 3,000-square-foot building is next door to the offices of

Carol Gnade

the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU Executive Director Carol Gnade helped the Gay and Lesbian Community Center secure a 10-year lease. Gnade also sits on the community center board of directors, and was instrumental in hiring Predovich and getting the board to promise the position a professional-level salary of more than $30,000 per year for a minimum of two years. There also is funding for a year of operations. ``People in the community have realized they want this [center] to be a real business,'' Gnade said. ``The funding came from a few people in the community willing to make a commitment to a business and a living wage. It's been a rough road, and there are plenty of criticisms. But we have great hopes this organization will survive.''  The Utah Stonewall Center, formerly housed in a rundown warehouse at 770S. 300 West, closed in the fall amid a financial crisis. It continued to provide some referral and calendar services via a Web site that has been all but abandoned since March. But the board of directors and others in the community were determined to reorganize. Predovich was the first female 1st lieutenant to hold an artillery command in Utah without having had a prior command. She has extensive training in leadership, budgets and communication. She enlisted in the Guard in 1989 and received her commission in 1994. Predovich, hired June 1 as the center's executive director, immediately understood the board's desire for a professional operation. ``This is a business,'' she said. ``We will no longer be looked at as the bottom of the bottom of nonprofits. We have clients we are looking after.'' That determination dovetailed nicely with her personal decision to leave the Guard--she has gone inactive but has not resigned her commission -- and quit living the lie required by the military's ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy, which allows gays to serve in the armed services only if they do not disclose their sexual orientation or engage in homosexual behavior. ``They teach you to be proud. Proud of yourself, proud of your country, proud of your Constitution,'' Predovich said. ``I was proud. But I also was hiding.''  A lesbian with a committed partner, Predovich wrestled with ``don't ask, don't tell'' every day. Her co-workers regularly urged her to bring the boyfriend she did not have to social functions. When she attended functions, she could not bring her partner, who Predovich wanted to receive the same recognition as the other officers' spouses. The stress became unbearable. `You think you can leave it at work, but you can't,'' she said. ``I started having this fear I couldn't even hold her hand in the car. I was doing less and less in my life, fearful of going out to do anything, fearful of someone seeing me. That's when I decided enough was enough.''  Predovich is now out of the closet.  So, too, is the former Stonewall Center, said Gay and Lesbian Community Center Deputy Director Alan Ahtow. Informal surveys of the community revealed a general unawareness of the significance of the name, which commemorates the three-day civil disturbance that followed a 1969 police raid of The Stonewall Inn in New York City. While police often shut down gay bars, the Stonewall riots marked the first time patrons fought back. But, as Ahtow pointed out, gay and lesbian history is not taught in Utah. ``People didn't know what Stonewall was,'' he said. ``And the board felt it was time to include `gay and lesbian' in our name and not hide behind a generic.'' The center will house the Stonewall Library. ``It's important to keep that history alive,'' Ahtow said. ``Believe it or not, Utah has one of the largest libraries dedicated to the literature of gays and lesbians.'' That bookishness may have grown from the relative isolation of Utah's gay population. The Gay and Lesbian Center of Utah, Predovich said, should go a long way toward changing that. She cheerfully compares her new assignment to her old one. ``Being a director of a nonprofit organization and commander of an artillery unit are much the same,'' she said. Defining her mission, Predovich said it is twofold: ``To provide a safe and comfortable environment for people. And to be a voice for the gay community to the state, to challenge the discrimination that goes on here.'' (07/03/1998 Page: A1)

Jay Fowler

2002 - Jay H. Fowler Jr., 52, passed away at his home in Salt Lake City July 3, 2002. He was born May 19, 1950 in Dragerton, UT tJay was a graduate of East Carbon High School, College of Eastern Utah, and also attended the University of Utah. He was employed by the State of Utah as a Human Resource Specialist. Jay was a wonderful son, brother, uncle, and friend. He loved his pets, music, gardening, and will be missed by many. Interment, Valley View Cemetery, Sunnyside. He was an active community member when few people dared be out.

2003 LGBT Community Spirits High After Texas Sodomy Decision By Sheena McFarland Instead of having a serious sit-down meeting this week, the Lesbian Gay Student Union went bowling to celebrate the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on sodomy laws. Many in the gay community heralded the 6-3 ruling, which declared Texas' sodomy laws as unconstitutional, as a huge step forward in the fight for gay rights. Jasmine Linam, co-vice

Jamine Linam

president of LGSU, was excited about the decision, but not necessarily surprised. "I think the Supreme Court is fairly liberal, and I figured it would go that way. The United States is always changing, and minorities are always gaining more rights," she said. "This means people are recognizing us, and we have the same rights as everyone

Derick Stephensen

else." Derick Stephensen, co-president of LGSU, shares the excitement. "The idea that we are not being frowned upon legally is a step toward the gratification of being recognized for who we are," he said. Charles Milne, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center, says the ruling has heartened the gay community. "I think it gave the LGBT community the sense that we can get things accomplished, but I think it also shows how far we have to go to obtain true equality," he said. Milne recounted the suicide of a Salt Lake Community College student who took his life about 10 days before the ruling. Milne said the student's actions came from the pressure and isolation he felt after coming out. Milne also says this is not just a gay issue, but one which affects all people, regardless of sexual orientation. This is evidenced by the suit filed last Friday, which attorney Brian Barnard filed to annul Utah's consensual sodomy law on behalf of plaintiff D. Berg, who is straight.  But Linam still worries lawmakers won't take the law off the books. "We've had Republicans support hate crime legislation, and it still didn't pass. With Utah as conservative as it is, this ruling may not have as much hold here," she said. Milne believes the Utah State Legislature won't remove the laws of its own volition, but the Berg court case may. Erik Luna, a U College of Law professor, says that in a practical sense, the ruling does not force Utah to remove the laws, but a court case will likely strike down the sodomy statute. Luna says of the three Utah sodomy statutes-which deal with non-consensual sodomy, sodomy with a child and consensual sodomy-only the last is "squarely unconstitutional." "There is no way to save the law on voluntary sexual conduct done in private. There is no way for creative legislators to keep it on the books," he said. Such information may come as a sigh of relief, as Utah's legal leaders supported the Texas laws. Only three of the 13 states with sodomy laws filed briefs in support of the Texas laws-including Utah's Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff. "The states should not be required to accept, as a matter of constitutional doctrine, that homosexual activity is harmless and does not expose both the individual and the public to deleterious spiritual and physical consequences," the brief said. Milne says regardless of such opinions, he is happy that the ruling at least legalizes homosexual relationships. "It's nice to see that the LGBT community is no longer deemed criminal," he said.

James Sever

2003 Thursday Subject: gay Professional Tattoo Artist "James Sever" Utah's only Licensed openly gay Professional Tattoo Artist - 18 years exp - Naughty Jimmy serves only the gay community and doesn’t charge an arm and a leg for quality work. By Appointment only in SLC Downtown parlor on State Street- After hours Privacy available. Looking to fulfill a fantasy - Having fun while putting a tattoo on ya at the same time. See ad in Little Lavender Book pg 56

2004  Subject: SL Tribune Transgender Sex change leads to lawsuit against UTA By Pamela Manson The Salt Lake Tribune A former bus driver who was born a man but is becoming a woman sued the Utah Transit Authority on Friday, claiming the agency fired him because he failed to conform to stereotypical male behavior. Krystal S. Etsitty, who was born a biological male named Michael R. Etsitty and is planning to undergo a sex change operation, contends UTA officials said they had to let him go because he looked like a female and they were afraid of what the public and other employees would think. In addition, they expressed concerns about which restroom he would use, Etsitty alleges in his lawsuit. The legal action, which was filed in U.S. District Court and accuses the UTA of sex stereotyping and gender discrimination, seeks unspecified damages. It uses male pronouns because the claims are based on Etsitty's biological sex. Justin Jones, a UTA spokesman, said Friday that the agency has not seen the lawsuit. However, he said, "We cannot comment on current litigation but UTA does have policies in place that ensure we are in compliance with the equal opportunity laws." The suit says the 41-year-old Etsitty has been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder and decided in the late 1990s to begin a transition to female, which he considers his true sexual identity. It says he changed his name then and began hormone therapy under the direction of his physician. When he applied at UTA, he put down "Krystal Etsitty" on his application, according to the suit. It says that at his job interview, Etsitty had medium length hair, wore minimal makeup and was dressed in gender-neutral clothes, a pair of khakis and a shirt. Etsitty, who began work in December 2001, said he put Krystal on his name badge and slowly began to make his appearance more feminine by wearing more makeup and acrylic finger nails. After UTA officials heard about the changes, an operations manager and human resources officer told him they were unable to accommodate him, the suit claims. He was forced out in February 2002, it says. The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, where Etsitty first filed a complaint, issued a report last year saying there is "reasonable cause" to believe his civil rights were violated. "The Commission has previously determined that employers may not discriminate against an individual because he or she fails to act in the way expected of a male or female," the report says.

• Utah Transit Authority (UTA) hired Krystal Etsitty as a bus driver in 2001. Her work

  

  Krystal Etsitty

  record was spotless. After telling her supervisor that she was undergoing gender transition and would be appearing more feminine at work, Etsitty gradually began to wear makeup and jewelry. Soon after, her supervisors decided that Etsitty’s transition created an “image issue” for UTA, and they terminated her. Although UTA acknowledged that no one had complained about her performance or appearance, it claimed that the public would see Etsitty as “inappropriate.” The U.S. District Court for the district of Utah ruled against Etsitty, holding that Title VII does not protect transgender employees. Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Tenth Circuit court of Appeals in Etsitty’s support, pointing out that many courts have affirmed Title VII’s application to transgender employees and arguing that customer prejudices are not a legitimate basis for employment decisions.

2006 The Saliva Sister performed at Joe Redburn’s bar the Trapp. The SALIVA SISTERS have performed for: WARM-UP ACT for Roseann Barr, Joan Rivers, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Klein. They onced jumped out of a cake at the Sun’s Anniversary

2018  There was some last-minute hearburn Tuesday surrounding America’s Freedom Festival in Provo, with one LGBTQ group getting a scare about its placement in the parade and the Provo mayor pleading for everyone to “be our best selves” during the Independence Day event. With those theatrics out of the way, the parade — taking place in one of Utah’s most conservative communities — can now make history, as it will allow, for the first time, participation from several LGBTQ groups. “We are happy that we were able to work out a situation that is a win-win for everybody,” said Paul Warner, the executive director of the parade, which kicks off Wednesday at 9 a.m. Of course, that wasn’t the case earlier in the day when Provo Pride and PFLAG learned they might have to walk in the entertainment or “pre-parade” section of the event — and not in what the Freedom Festival calls the “grand parade.” Warner called the situation “a misunderstanding.” “They’ll be in the grand parade with the other floats and marching bands,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune in a telephone interview.  “It’s disappointing that they initially tried to put us in the pre-parade,” said Brianna Cluck, Provo Pride  spokeswoman, “but we are satisfied with our parade status now.” The centerpiece of the Provo Pride and PFLAG entry is a quilt that showcases themes of unity, family and freedom. ”It is a beautiful expression of diversity and will be a phenomenal entry,“ said Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie, who said he would have been disappointed if the groups had not been in the “real parade.” Tuesday’s drama was the latest involving the Utah County event. In June, parade applications from five LGBTQ organizations were denied by America’s Freedom Festival, which generated criticism from residents and accusations that festival organizers had breeched nondiscrimination clauses in its contracts with Provo City and Utah County, which provided $100,000 for the event. The next day, representatives of Utah’s LGBTQ community met with festival organizers in an intense two-hour meeting, that ultimately resulted in a compromise. Mormons Building Bridges will also participate in Wednesday’s grand parade after agreeing to build a float. The nonprofit is still gathering donations through crowd-funding to pay the $5,000 costs, said co-founder Erika Munson. The float, entitled “Utah Salutes Our LGBTQ Veterans: United We Stand,” honors LGBTQ soldiers from all branches of the military, many of whom served when they were prohibited from being open about their sexuality, Munson said. Encircle, an LGBTQ resource center for teens, will march in the “pre-parade.” Youths will wear matching t-shirts and carry red, white and blue balloons, said leader Stephanie Larsen. In 2017, Encircle was cut from the parade, the day before the July 4 event. The Provo-based nonprofit was told it had been disqualified because it was an advocacy group. “It’s a small step that means a lot,” Larsen said of being allowed to finally participate. “It really helps these kids, who often feel like they are outside of their community and not accepted or understood by others. They will feel just a little bit more a part of our great community.” While Tuesday’s parade dispute was unfolding, Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi issued an open letter to residents asking them to be respectful. “I call on each of us to be our best selves,” she wrote, noting the recent divide over LGBTQ participation in the parade. “One of the freedoms we are so proud of in America is the freedom of speech,” she said. “Each of us is entitled to an opinion, and we have opportunities to share those opinions. What a fabulous thing!“  Kaufusi offered an open door to residents and encouraged then to bring their concerns to the her or the City Council. As for Wednesday’s parade, she said, “I hope each of us will tap into our highest instincts. That we will focus on being good citizens and strive to come together in celebration of the miraculous formation of this country. Let’s show each other the neighborliness that helps make this a place we all love to be.”