This Day In Gay Utah History July 5th

5 July 5-

1961 Patrick Perez, 20, who escaped from the county jail at 2 a.m. Friday was caught by police and a sheriff deputy at 8 p.m. Friday hiding in a closet at his father’s home 3209 Adams. Perez was one of three who slid down a makeshift rope to the 5^th floor of the municipal building broke out a window and walked down to the 2^nd floor. Perez and Frank J Lobato, 30, of Greeley Colorado jumped from the second floor window. Perez made his escape although he also had an injured foot from the 15 foot jump. At 7:30 pm acting on a tip deputies went to the home of Perez’ father. Dupties knocked and said they wanted to search for the young Perez and the father admitted the officers. Perez bolted out the back door practically into the arms of a deputy. He ducked back into the house and a few minutes later he was found in  a closet covered with clothes jerked off the hangers. Perez charged with sodomy and indecent assault. Ogden Standard Examiner

1978:  A gang of anti-gay youth, went storming through The Rambles area of Central Park

Dick Button

in New York City with baseball bats, bashing any men they thought were gay that came across their path. By the end of the night five men were hospitalized with serious injuries including Dick Button, former Olympic ice-skating star and sportscaster. For many years a section of the west side 30-acre section of Central Park known as The Rambles was notorious for being a meeting and sex playground for gay men after dark.

• From The New Yorker: The nighttime sex scene in the Ramble is conducted in silence, lest the voice dissipate the mutual fantasy evoked by the look, the pose, the costume, the attitude. Body language is the only language needed for success here. Some night people prefer a particular quiet corner, for one-on-one encounters. Others gravitate toward the Tunnel, that part of the Bridle Path which runs under the 77th Street overpass. The Tunnel is the most active group-sex scene in that area of the park. Some nights it will be crowded wall to wall with men until four in the morning. Some nights, too, the cops
  
  decide to come full speed down the Bridle Path in their squad cars, headlights and spotlights blazing, barely giving the preoccupants in those close encounters time to pick up their pants and run—before being run over. “For their own protection,” say the cops. In the wake of the most recent gay beatings, there was much bitterness voiced against the police by gays—and straights—who frequent the Ramble. “They said only five gays were attacked, and that’s bullshit,” said Don, a young, straight doctor with a large gay practice in the neighborhood. “I’ve already heard about three other guys—one of them came to me—who were beaten by that same bunch. But at least they could walk.” Why don’t they go to the cops? “For what?” snorts Dr. Don. “If it happened on Central Park West, okay. The guys at the 20th Precinct are pretty good. But the cops in the park have seldom given gays anything but harassment. Go to them and you, the victim, are made to feel like a criminal.” Dick Button to this day has never come out .

David Chipman

1979- " I met David Chipman who like myself was from New York State. He had been a member of the Orchard Park Branch near my home town of Buffalo, New York. David told me that he was a student at B.Y.U. but was expelled. He related that he went for a ride into the Provo Canyon with another male student who he thought was a person interested in forming a relationship with him. They arrived at a place of privacy and got comfortable. David said in conversation with this man he touched the man's leg and security from B.Y.U. were swarming around his car. He was actually followed by security, entrapped by this fellow student, and was under some kind of arrest. He said he nearly drove off the road with his car several times as the security officers from B.Y.U. followed behind him back to campus to interrogate him. He told me that he thought someone had been opening his mail where he lived off campus. He became very emotionally distressed all evening during our talk. He slept over and we cuddled. He did become aroused but l thought not to complicate either of our situations. I felt sad that the B.Y.U. security were still behaving in a way that violated privacy especially off campus. It reminded me of my situation at B.Y.U. with security taking license plate numbers of the cars outside of Gay bars, inquisiting (sic) people’s names from those found to be gay. " Later I was to learn from Jason ( former B.Y.U. student ) and his lover that David had gone to Brother Vaughn Featherstone for counsel. He was told to change his name to David Kennedy and was reported to be married. That was the desperate advice given in those days by men trusted with our eternal life. It was also during this time I met up with one of my missionary companions in a gay bar. I knew he was a homosexual when I met him in the mission home. He seemed very flamboyant to me. So I had thought if he could go I could go. David Chipman was thinking of rooming with me but after our talk, overnight cuddling and some telephone conversations he did not keep in touch. There seemed to be a myriad of people coming out of the woodwork who were gay and had similar experiences to mine during that period which were surfacing in my life.  [Diary and Memoirs of Donald Attridge]

1982   -The Republican State chairman said Sunday that two groups objecting to the party’s stand on homosexuality  have “overstated “ the issues. The Equal Rights Amendment Coalition of Utah says the Republican platform is “hideous” and the Committee for the Preservation of Individual Rights says the platform is “reminiscent of Hitler’s Germany.” The platform is a far cry, from Hitler’s Germany said Charles Akerlow, state party chairman. One section of the Republican platform denies homosexuals the right to such activities as adopting children, being an agent in the CIA, and handling state secrets. “Our delegates are concerned about recent movement to legitimize homosexuality. I agree the planks is broadly drafted but its intent is to register’s the party’s view.  The platform does not deny rights to homosexuals on all counts. Only those areas which have historically been denied to homosexuals,” said Mr. Akerlow.  There is no intention, and never has been any Republican candidate who tried to seek legislation to deny homosexuals the right to vote or any other civil liberties.  The party only wants to assert its concern he said.  Iris Lein president of the ERA coalition called the platform “hideous”. How will they determine who is homosexual and who is not? If a citizen is labeled a homosexual what means will be use to deny all rights?  Banishment? Imprisonment? Will there be trials? Will people be stoned to death?” A report from the coalition states this platform position together with one opposing the ERA proves what supporters of the ERA believed. Upon defeat of the ERA its opponents have singled out another group to deny rights to instead of presenting an effective alternative to the ERA. After the women and homosexuals who will be next? Mrs. Lein asked, “All Utahns and all Americans should be aware of the dangerous language in the platform resolution reminiscent of Hitler’s Germany. To single out any one group for denial of basic rights strike at the core of our American Constitutional system, and is a threat to every ones freedom”, said David Braley spokesman for the Committee for Preservation of Individual Rights a group of citizens who is opposing the Republican platform. Mr. Akerlow replied, “This plank has been in the Republican platform for a number of years. I don’t know why they have such strong reaction now” (SLTribune 5 July 1982 B12)

• In 1990 Prominent businessman and former Utah Republican Party Chairman Charles W. "Chuck" Akerlow was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in a scheme that cost taxpayers $600,000. Akerlow, once a multimillionaire and a boy-wonder land developer, served as GOP party head from 1981 to 1985. He was an elector in the 1988 election, casting one of five Utah votes in the Electoral College for President Bush. He was involved in the business failures of the Governor's Plaza Condominiums and the Salt Palace Holiday Inn Hotel.

Dean Walton

1984- Empress Auntie De VII [Dean Walton] presented the IX Reign and Court the Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation for The Gay Community Service Center and Clinic with the state of Utah and asked them to participate. Board of Directors was to be picked throughout the Salt Lake Communities. $10,000 Grant was applied for.

1985  Antonio A. Feliz approached LaMar Hamilton, then a leader of L.A. Affirmation, about the  possibility of joining with other excommunicated priesthood holders for the purpose of functioning once again in their priesthood  since it was still their obligation to so do.When they met the following week, the idea of establishing a new restoration church was discussed and was dismissed by Elder Feliz as inappropriate. However, Elder Hamilton agreed to present the concept of having the ordinances of the Sacrament in someone's home to other excommunicated priesthood holders to determine their points of view

Russ Lane

1987-“It was pot luck at Wasatch Affirmation tonight but there wasn’t very many people attending probably from a combination of being a holiday weekend and people being turned off from last week. Probably not more than 25 people came.  Ken Francis was just fuming about Russ Lane. He is so pissed at him I don’t think  he will come back. It was hot in the cultural hall so I suggested that we all eat outside and have a picnic on the grass. And soon all but about 5 people were outside eating, drinking, laughing, and fellowshipping in the truest sense.  Russ Lane stayed inside but we outside had a good time. Anyway at one point in the kitchen with Michelle Schulz, Billy Bikowski, and Russ Lane, Michelle kept teasing Billy saying how I liked to show off her tits and I said Like this? And I pulled down her top flashing her tits at Billy.  Billy goes Oh my gosh I’ve never seen them that up front before.! He was embarrassed but I could tell he thought it was kind of funny. So he goes to Russ and acts like he’s telling on me by saying, Ben’s going around showing off Michelle’s tits! I act the innocent and say C’est Moi? And so while Russ turns to give me a stern look, I say I would never do anything like this and I flashed Michelle’s tits at Russ. Oh Russ is pissed! He growls under his breath  ‘Michelle! You’re not a very good Lesbian!’ [Journal of Ben Williams]

1987:  James Donovan, a New York state senator, suggested that giving teens rosary beads would prevent the spread of AIDS more effectively than the distribution of condoms.

1988 At Unconditional Support, John Reeves taught a lesson “On the Origins of

John Reeves

Homosexuality” which was similar to the workshop he gave at The Mountain and Desert States Conference last Spring

1998 Sunday- Utah Couples Group held a Summer Family Picnic at Jordannelle State Park at the Beach Pavilion

Dee Bradshaw

1998- SLCMCC worship coordinator is Dee Bradshaw (165) 

1998- Tolerance on tap at the Sun  There are older bars, newer bars, fancier bars. But perhaps none is as famous or infamous in Salt Lake City as The Sun, the city's second-oldest gay bar. For years, The Sun was the city's best-known secret -- the most popular dance spot for gays and straights alike. It still draws a big dance crowd on Saturday nights and is a favorite haunt for the college crowd on Tuesdays. And unlike many bars, it serves more than beer. Tolerance is in large supply. Everyone is welcome at The Sun. ``Because of The Sun, there is more understanding between heterosexual and  homosexual people,'' said radio talk-show host Joe Redburn, who opened the bar Feb. 17, 1973. Redburn also believes it changed Salt Lake's nightlife. ``Up until then, it was pretty dull. . . .People were dying for a place to go.''  Sometimes, perhaps, it was not dull enough. In its heyday, The Sun was loose and wild. Hate crimes were not uncommon. They still happen today, but not as often. Nikki Boyer, a bartender at The Sun for many years and now one of a group of owners, said of the bar's earlier years: ``It was unusual to have a bar like that in any place. It embodied the whole movement of the '60s and '70s, the freedom everyone was experiencing. ``It was the gathering place for the gay community and the hip straight crowd of Salt Lake.''  The old Sun, as it is called today, was on the corner of 400 West and South Temple, where the Delta Center stands. Before that, it was a bar called the Railroad Exchange, a hippie hang out. When it closed, Redburn took it over. Then, he did something new. He hired a male dancer, and the gay crowd turned out. ``That's when it became a gay bar. ``The old Sun brought people out of the closet,'' said Redburn, a gay-rights activist. But women also like the place. ``They knew they could go to a gay bar and not get hit on,and that made them more relaxed,'' Redburn said. The Sun also served as a ``de facto community center'' for Salt Lake's growing gay population, according to Sharon Strickler, general manager and an owner

of The Sun, on a corner of 700 West and 200 South.``It became a home, a place to feel comfortable,'' said Marshall Brunner, who has worked at The Sun for 20 years. ``We've had weddings and wakes and everything in between here. The only thing we haven't had is a christening.''  The Sun also is where the comic doo-wop Saliva Sisters trio first gained a following, performing there on a regular basis from the mid-'70s to 1982. ``I've seen most everyone in this town in there,'' said Boyer. ``Although not everyone will admit it. But the politicians can breathe easy, I'm not going to write my memoirs.'' The Sun, named after San Francisco's Midnight Sun bar, has a national reputation. It was mentioned in Out in America, a gay and  lebian almanac, and another book called it an ``outlaw bar.'' ``The old Sun seemed like that,'' Redburn said. ``Everything going on was so different from the Mormon culture.'' The Sun, now a private club, moved to its resent location in 1983.Over the years, celebrities have dropped in. Some say actor Rock Hudson was there. Everyone knows comedian Paul Lynde was here. He was busted outside for interfering with a police officer in January 1978; a charge of public intoxication was dismissed. Redburn said rock goddess Stevie Nicks appeared on several occasions and actor Jan-Michael Vincent played DJ several nights. ``The Sun is an institution,'' Strickler said. ``It's taken on a life of its own.''  Remember the ``Time Warp'' song from the movie ``The Rocky Horror Picture Show''?   It's just a jump to the left and a step to the right    Put your hands on your hips    And pull your knees in tight    It's the pelvic thrust that really drives them insane   Let's do the time warp again. In the olden days, the song closed The Sun each night.

1999 The SL Tribune has a lead story about the Mormon Church’s financial support of California’s anti-Gay "Knight Initiative".

2006 Subject: [gay_forum_utah] Join Utah Queer Events  This group is for those who want to post social, recreational, political, and spiritual events or parties pertaining to the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Trans gendered community of Utah. Also, will lists any Events from other States that might be of interests to our Queer Community. There will be no personal or sexual websites ads listed on this site. Optional clothing organizations or individuals are welcome to post there events or parties but they must be specific with age (18+) stating for adults only. Also, they must state what type of group event or party it well be with all necessary information like contact person and phone number. ***Only Events, Parties, and Meetings will be listed on site.***There well be no graphic language used to describe such parties or events at ALL. ***Articles or related stories for the most part will not be accepted however there will now be some exceptions when it concerns a major event regarding our community *** No sexual or personal dating Ads will not be approved ***Please send messages in "TEXT Form" only, messages that are sent as "Attachements" only do not show up the next day ***Adding more Links to other Utah Groups or Organizations so you can find out what is happening with them. ***When signing up for this yahoogroup I recommend signing up for the DAILY DIGEST instead of individual mails since there is so much happening. Mark Swonson

2006 Ben Williams" Subject: History Column To: "Michael Aaron" Salt Lake City 1957 As hard as it was for Gay people to meet one another in Salt Lake City, it became increasingly harder in 1957. After years of a more lenient approach towards the sentencing of arrested homosexuals by Utah judges, Salt Lake City Judge Marcellus K. Snow (1914-1978) stated in an article for the Salt Lake Tribune that he planned “more use of the jail sentence to curb such offenses,”  in an effort to stem an “alarming increase” in cases involving homosexuals. Some three years earlier, in 1954 and for the first time, a jail sentence for “disorderly conduct” was suspended in lieu of payment of a fine in Salt Lake City. “Disorderly conduct” was a legalese word for a whole series of behaviors including public sexual deeds for which, before this, meant usually some serious jail time. The Utah legal code was written in a way that one could be arrested for “knowingly” creating a “physically offensive condition” or committing “any act which serves no legitimate purpose”… intending to cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm”. Often but not always “disorderly conduct” was a synonym for homosexual behavior and was used instead of the charge of lewdness due to the unrealistic penalty for lewdness in the state in the 1950’s. Hysteria over the morals of the citizens of Utah was exasperated in the mid-1950’s by several public disclosures of sex crimes which created the impression in the minds of the general public that all “sex offenders” were predators. There was of course the national scandal involving a sex ring between men and male prostitutes in Boise Idaho. The homosexual nature of the Idaho crimes created an outrage in the Intermountain West; linking the idea that all homosexuals and "other mentally challenged people" were potential sex offenders. The confession of a mentally ill Utah County man to the murder of a young girl, prompted Governor George D. Clyde in 1955 to order a study of Utah’s ability to protect its citizen’s against sex offenders. Gov. Clyde said that the first duty of the state was to guard the public and the second duty is “to provide the laws and facilities needed for sex criminal, especially those who pose a foreseeable menace,” such as homosexuals. Utah’s governor named a committee to study the problem of sex offenders which however, after a series of hearings, came out against establishing a separate institution to incarcerate sex deviants. The committee determined that improved diagnostic and treatment facilities at existing institutions would serve better to control the problem of sex offenders and was cheaper. Out of these hearings came one of reasons why state and city judges were “loathe” to charge minor homosexual offenses for the crime of lewdness “under the present law”. The superintendent of State Mental Hospital in Provo Utah told committee members that under Utah state law all persons convicted of sex offenses had to be committed to the Provo institution and kept there until, in the opinion of the superintendent, they were unlikely to repeat their offenses. The superintendent claimed that the Utah law did not discriminate between minor offenders such as “peeping Toms” and those who committed serious crimes like rape and murder and thus the law was not “realistic.”  He even explained how that under Utah law a person who told “a dirty story” could under strict application of the law be committed to the mental hospital. One of the criminal offenses named by the law for which one could be and was committed to the mental hospital was lewdness.  Lewdness is defined in Utah’s legal code as “any of the following acts in a public place”, including sexual intercourse, sodomy, public exposure, masturbation and the catch all phrase “any other act of lewdness,” which leaves up to the discretion of the arresting officer what he considers lewd. In 1954 a more “enlightened” Judge J. Patton Neely had suspended a Bountiful man’s jail sentence after his arrest for “disorderly conduct” on payment of a fine and his good behavior. The motive for Judge Neely’s more “liberal” approach is unknown. Perhaps the jails were full or perhaps Neely was part of the post World War II progressive movement that viewed homosexuality as a mental disorder rather the a criminal act. He was the first of many other judges who were ordering homosexuals to seek counseling as part of their sentencing rather then having them serve automatic jail time until Judge Snow put the brakes on in 1957.  Judge Marcellus Snow told the Salt Lake Tribune that because certain places in Salt Lake City were widely known as “Mecca’s for sexually maladjusted person,” he was determined to hand out more jail time. The fact that Salt Lake City, the “Crossroad of the West” was well known for its large Gay population was bore out by a news account of a recent arrest in the city. A vice squad officer had arrested in an Aberdeen, Idaho man for “disorderly conduct” who said he had been told in Spokane, Washington of a downtown Salt Lake City theater (State Theater) and tavern (Radio City Lounge) which was used as a “rendezvous for homosexuals”. Months prior to Judge Snow’s pronouncement, according to the Salt Lake City vice squad, police had nabbed a half dozen men ages ranging from 21 to 57 years who “attempted indecent liberties with an undercover agent as he sat in the theater.” Judge Snow told news reporters his crack down was intended “to curb continuing (homosexual) practices already in the city and keep others from coming here.”  He feared that “sexually maladjusted persons” were “proselytizing our youth”, using the old trumped up story that homosexuals were all pedophiles, as an excuse for his draconian directive, even when the police's own files showed that men were being  arrested for trying to have sex with other men. Judge Snow said he would now issue six months jail sentences for all such “sexually maladjusted persons”, unless circumstances indicated otherwise, with a suspension of the sentence on condition the defendant leave the city for six months. “If he returns within that time,” the judge said, “He will be subject to arrest in the city on sight.”  Judge Snow also said he would retain jurisdiction in all homosexual cases to permit closer supervision and in event the defendant requested “psychiatric treatment”. It is interesting to note that Judge Snow used the term “unless circumstances indicated otherwise” which was his way of being  able to discreetly deal with citizens from "good families" who would never be given jail time for their sexual indiscretions. Not in the City of the Saints.

• Michael Aaron - Thanks, Ben.This is one of my favorites so far.
• Thanks i was asleep this morning when trying to come up with a topic.

Jerry Buie

2010 Queer Spirit July Heart Circle We will explore and share the intentions and passions of our hearts for ourselves and our community. In this sharing and creative process we will share, listen and refine the intentions we carry for ourselves. At the conclusion of this sharing we will participate in a Sacred Pipe Ceremony. Pipe Ceremony is considered to be a powerful way to send our intentions into the Universe and is approached with great respect and reverence. Monday July 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm RSVP IS HELPFUL

2011:  Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, the first openly gay Speaker of the California State Assembly, urged lawmakers to approve a measure requiring public schools to teach the historical contributions of gay Americans, in Sacramento, CA.  California becomes the first state in the nation to require public schools to add lessons about gay history to social studies classes, after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs the landmark bill into law the next week.

2014 Lawyers take over fund-raising efforts in Utah same-sex marriage case BY MARISSA LANG THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE The lawyers for three gay couples aiming to permanently topple Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage are taking over efforts to raise money to support their lawsuit, which is widely expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in coming weeks. The law firm of Magleby & Greenwood, P.C., has joined with Equality Utah to continue soliciting financial support of Utah’s landmark Kitchen v. Herbert lawsuit. The new partnership takes the place of efforts previously spearheaded by Restore Our Humanity, an organization led by Mark Lawrence, who has been widely credited with recruiting the plaintiff couples and jump-starting the lawsuit. Restore Our Humanity, which attempted to attract donors by asking for small amounts of money from everyday people throughout the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction — in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming — will continue to aid the case by raising awareness and “developing its mission as a broader human rights organization,” according to a statement released by the Magleby & Greenwood law firm.  The case, which overturned Utah’s voter-approved Amendment 3 ban on same-sex unions, has torn through the courts at a faster rate than expected, leaving the lawyers and plaintiffs with less time to raise the necessary funds. Thanks to gay-rights group Equality Utah and others, a website portal a website portal has been created through which donations will be collected for the case: www.equalityutah.org/kitchenvherbert. On June 25, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby that Utah’s ban on gay and lesbian unions violates the federal constitution. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes has said the state intends to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court, which last year struck down significant portions of the national Defense of Marriage Act, may elect to take on Utah’s case, a case from another district or decline to hear any such challenge. The latter would mean rulings by federal appeals courts — like that in the 10th Circuit last week — would stand as the law of the land. As of press time, more than 76 cases challenging bans and restrictions on same-sex marriage have been filed in 32 states. Five challenges have reached the federal appellate level.