August 15th
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| George Q Cannon |
1869 - Mormon Apostle
George Q. Canon preaches from the Tabernacle pulpit: "We close the door on one side,
and say that whoredoms, seductions and adulteries must not be committed among
us, and we say to those who are determined to carry on such things: WE WILL
KILL YOU..." Nearly 30 years later on Jan
15,1897 Apostle Brigham Young, Jr. temporarily resigns as vice-president of
Brigham Young Trust Company because first counselor George Q. Cannon allows its
property to become "a first class" brothel on Commercial Street (now
Regent Street), Salt Lake City. Apostle Heber J. Grant is invited to its opening
reception and is stunned to discover himself inside "a regular
whore-house." This situation begins in 1891, and for fifty years church
controlled real estate companies lease houses of prostitution. On June 14, 1900 -
First
Presidency and apostles agree to give $3,600 to Brigham Y. Hampton for his
prior "detective work" in which he paid prostitutes to allow him and
nearly thirty LDS "Home Missionaries" and policemen to spy on
anti-Mormons engaging in sex acts in Salt Lake City brothels since 1885. Although
first counselor denies it at this meeting, in private meetings of First
Presidency George Q. Cannon refers to Hampton's brothel work as "services
rendered the Church" and "work in behalf of the Church." Hampton
has been set apart as a Salt Lake temple worker since 1893, and another
coordinator of brothel spying is the temple doorkeeper (1893-1910
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| Brigham Young Hampton |
1890 Evan Thomas
of Provo, yesterday completed the term of imprisonment to which he was
sentenced for the “Crime Against Nature” and was released from the penitentiary.
Provo Daily Enquirer .
1891-Dr Charles
Dana presented a paper on sexual neuroses at the New York Post-Graduate School
of Medicine. Lumped together in this category were masturbation, same-sex
attraction, pederasty, bestiality, flagellation, exhibitionism, and sexual
murder and cannibalism.
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| Utah State Penitentiary at Sugar House |
- 8 December 1915 390 Gladstone Ave Sir, I hear that my son G.W. Clark is in the state prison. I do not know what his crime. Sir if not too much trouble would you let me know some particulars and wether (sic) it is possible for the board of pardon, to grant him pardon as he is needed home as his father is an invalid and has been for 12 years. He has not left his room for 5 years only when carried out that I find it hard to pay my way. If it is possible that he could get his pardon my children and their husbands would send the money by express for his transportation. Sir if you please will you do your best for me. I do not think that my son knows that I know that he is in prison If you could kindly let me know what the ticket would cost to bring him home and if you would pardon him by return mail we would gladly send the money at once. Please oblige if possible and excuse me writing, as I can hardly know what I am writing. Mrs. R. Cokell 320 Gladstone Ave. Toronto-
- 12 December 1915 Toronto Governor William Spry, I am writing you on
behalf of my
Governor William Spry brother. G.W. Clark who I believe you have under your care. He has written home stating that he is going to ask for Pardon some time this month. And we all hope he will be successful as his mother and the rest of the family are greatly worried over him. We have one Brother at the Front [World War I] and an invalid Father at home ad our Mother is nearly distracted so if it is in your power to help my brother- G.W. Clark to get home we will all be greatly obliged to you. As I am not acquainted with the facts surrounding the case I can only hope that his chance of obtaining a pardon will not be hopeless. If there is anything we can do to help in securing the release or any money needed, my husband and I will do what we can, if you will only let us know. Hoping you will do what you can, For his mothers sake for she needs him. And thanking you in advance. I remain Mrs. J. Scott 444 Margueretta St. Toronto, Ont. - - 16 December 1915: Mr. William Spry, Governor, Honorable Sir, My home is 320 Gladstone Ave. Toronto, Canada. And owing to conditions at home I am making a plea for commutation. My brother is at the front. (Canada was already in WWI as a commonwealth of Great Britain) Leaving me the main support of the home. In fact according to the letters I am receiving a home that has kept together for over 50 years will soon break up without my support. And no son could be more fond of a Mother and Father than I am, or more willing to help. Until 1911 I stayed home and helped to support home. In 1911 I got a letter from a friend of mine in Bay City Michigan wanting me to come there and go to work. I went. Went to work for Mr. T.J. Hennessy. M.M.M.C. R.R. at my trade Boiler Maker. Sent part of my pay home each payday. I raised myself to Boiler inspector. But the strike came I was called out with the rest of the men. I went to Gary, Indiana. Went to work for Mr. T. Treeberry G.F.B.M.N.W. Steel Plant. I worked there till things got slack, winter of 1912-1913 in January I was layed off. I decided to come west being in the boilermakers were on strike on Western Roads. I had to take work at what ever I could get to do. I worked on extra gang on J & R.G. in Denver. From there I came to Pueblo. Tried to get work at my trade in steel plant but they were full handed. I went to employment office. They shipped me to Tucker, Utah. To go to work for Cory Bro. But when I got off train, two men came up and asked me where I was going. I told them. They told me that there was trouble there. But if I would pay $1.00 that they would give me a card, and that I could go to work for Hamilton & Gleason Co. I paid them. Went to work. That card has been hard luck to me ever since. I’ve got reference from Hamilton & Gleason. Also showing I quit their employment the day before my arrest, on the 14 day August 1913. On the 15th I met two men in Salt Lake. They were going to show me the City. We took a few drinks. But after 10 or 11 o’clock a.m. I mind no more till I woke up
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about 6 p.m. I asked Jailer what time I was brought there. He told me about 4 p.m. What for? Drunk. Is my money in office? You’ll have to wait till morning he said. In morning I was told that I had only $13.90 in office. I told them I should have about $80.00. But they accused me of being a I.W.W., and being in trouble in town. I tried to explain to them how I had just quit work, and the card they had found was the card I had paid $1.00 for in order to go to work. At my first preliminary hearing the witness (G.F.Ross) told how while under the influence of liquor I had been enticed to room by Ross one of the men I had met. Also how they heard Ross persuade me to commit crime. But after preliminary hearing I was led to believe that if I took a plea of Guilty that I would not get more than 10 months. But that if I made state spend money and should be found guilty I might get 5 or 10 years. I took their advice. But was given four years. Ross was ordered out of town. I did not know that I could change plea. Nor I did not know nature of crime until after I was in prison. But with my good time I have got 4 years sentence in within 5 months. But on account of said conditions I am pleading for my release. If you will look into my case before next meeting I’ll assure you the kindness will not be forgotten. My people have my fare here. Also have a job waiting for me. Hoping that when you look into my case, you will see fit to grant my release. If not for my sake for my aged Mother and Father’s sake. And Thanking you in advance. I remain truly G.W. Clark - note-Industrial Workers of the World. In 1914 Utah executed Joe Hill, who organized for the Industrial Workers of the World and penned radical songs to aid the labor movement. Cockel was at the State Prison when Joe Hill was shot by firing squad.
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1937-The New York
Times' book review featured "Either is Love" by Elisabeth Craigin. It
was a first-person narrative of a woman who was happily married but also in
love with a woman.
1941 Suspect Arraigned On Morals Count Hyrum
B. Berkenpas 52 of the Elk Hotel 44 East Second South Street Friday was charged
with sodomy offense in a complaint signed by Detectives Jack E. Blazzard and W
W. Clyde Smith. The suspect was arraigned before City Judge Joseph G. Jeppson
Friday and preliminary hearing was set for August 25 The suspect was remanded
to county jail in lieu of bail. The detectives alleged Berkenpas enticed a 17
year-old Ohio youth to his room on August 14 and committed immoral acts. Salt lake Telegram  |
| Loretta Young |
1970 Two film
clips of actress Loretta Young must be deleted from Myra Breckenridge a federal
judge ruled Friday. The suit said the use of the clips were damaging to Miss
Young’s reputation because Myra Breckenridge is a movie depicting sodomy. Ogden
Standard Examiner. She was born Gretchen Young in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of
Gladys (née Royal) and John Earle Young. Loretta Young had Clark Gable's love child.
1972-Nineteen-year-old
Mark Segal was arrested for barging into the studio of WPVI in Philadelphia and
attempting to announce his grievance against the station on the air. Earlier in
the month he and a male friend had been kicked out of a dance sponsored by the
station for dancing together. It would be his first arrest of four.
1985 The Wasatch Leathermen Motorcycle Club of Salt Lake
City sponsored its first open invitation motorcycle run called “Falcon Flight
‘85”. Three day campsite was in the Uintah Mountains..jpg) |
| Sylvester 1947-1988 |
1986- The Sun Tavern presented recording artist Sylvester in
concert. Admission was $7.00. Sylvester later died from AIDS. Sylvester James better known as Sylvester, was an American disco and soul singer, and a gay drag performer. Sylvester was sometimes known as the "Queen of Disco," although this moniker has also been bestowed on some of the women of the disco era (i.e. Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer).
1986-Representatives of the Salt Lake Gay Community met with
a city appointed auditor to discuss concerns about the police treatment of
Gays. City auditor Bob Wilson met with David Nelson, The Utah Community Service
Center and Clinic director Beau Chaine, Sun Tavern Owner Joe Redburn, RMCC,
pastor Bruce Barton, APU representative Richard Rodriguez, LGSU president Jim
Hunsaker, and with Michael Aaron, Graham Bell, Lyle Bradley, and others.
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| Ben Cabey |
1988-The National
Center for Health Statistics announced that in 1987 AIDS was the 15th leading
cause of death in America.
1989-According to
an article in The Advocate, nearly eight out of ten victims of anti-gay hate
crimes do not report it to the police. Reasons included fear of job loss if
employers learned of the reason for the attack and fear of abuse from the
police. The article included a report of a Philadelphia man who said that after
a police officer interrupted an attack the officer allowed the attacker to
leave, and refused to take the victim to the hospital. The officer asked the
victim, "Are you a faggot?"
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| Steve Oldroyd |
1994 At the final sentencing, prosecutors wanted David Thacker to
serve one to 15 years in prison for Manslaughter the maximum penalty. Prosecutors said “It should make no
difference, but this person (Douglas Koehler) was killed because Mr. Thacker
doesn't happen to like that lifestyle, or is attracted to that lifestyle. He
was stalked . . . they had to pursue him several miles and then shot him in the
head." Defense attorney Ron Yengich
countered saying that while
Thacker was fully prepared to serve time for the
shooting Yengich there was evidence that the gun accidentally fired, thus
making a maximum sentence for manslaughter inappropriate. "It was the stupidest thing I've ever
done," Thacker told the judge. "It wasn't because he was Gay or
anything like that." Judge Young,
evidently sympathetic to the defendant, remarked that in his eight years as a
judge, he didn’t remember receiving such a strong outpouring of support for a
defendant, as he had in this case. He said he received 49 letters in support of
Thacker and only 16 letters in opposition. Young said he believed the plea
bargain was beneficial to both sides. Defense attorney Ron Yengich said his
client showed remorse for the shooting and said the diagnostic report also
showed that Thacker had a "less than normal level of intelligence."
The high levels of intoxication from the cocaine supplied by Koehler also
played a key factor in the shooting, Yengich
claimed. "I think that indicates that Mr. Thacker did not
intentionally kill Mr. Koehler and should be given the benefit of the doubt,"
said Yengich. Judge Young agreed with Yengich saying that “Koehler would be
alive if he had not ``supplied the drugs and alcohol'' the night of his death.
Young said the maximum prison term of 15 years for killing Koehler was
"too high," adding, "I honestly believe in my own mind that Mr.
Thacker is not likely to reoffend." Judge Young then reduced the penalty
to zero to five years. He also imposed a one-year firearms enhancement. In
effect 3rd District Judge David S. Young gave the Nevada cowboy no more than 6
years at Utah State Prison for killing Koehler less than the penalty for
shoplifting. Stunned family members of the victim believe the lenient sentence
was handed down because the victim was Gay.
``It's a mockery,'' said Koehler's sister, Susan Nelson. ``It's like his
life wasn't worth anything. When you murder someone, you should spend your life
paying for that murder.'' Salt Lake Tribune
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| Douglas Koehler |
- He says Thacker isn't likely to reoffend. Victim's family upset at decision. JUDGE REDUCES PENALTY IN PARKWEST SLAYING By Brian West, Staff Writer For fatally shooting Douglas Koehler in the head last year, David Nelson Thacker could have been sentenced to one to 15 years in prison. But that's "too high a penalty," according to 3rd District Judge David Young. The judge on Monday reduced the penalty to zero to five years and also imposed a one-year firearms enhancement. Thacker, 26, shot Koehler nearly a year ago in a ParkWest parking lot following an evening of sex, cocaine and alcohol. Koehler's hands were still in his pockets when he fell to the ground dead. Charged with first-degree felony murder, Thacker pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony. Young sentenced the Nevada man Monday as if the charge were a third-degree felony. Summit County Attorney Robert Adkins argued that anything less than a one-to-15-year sentence would be inadequate for this killing, which some have termed a hate crime. But Young said that penalty would be too stiff. "I honestly believe in my own mind that Mr. Thacker is not likely to reoffend," the judge said, adding that this sentence was one of the most difficult of his 71/2-year career. Young also said that if he was still a member of the Board of Pardons faced with the decision of whom to release, "I'd probably start with the manslaughterers and the homicides." Except for serial killers, such criminals are usually the least likely to commit their crimes again, he said. Young said his sentence was not meant to diminish the value of Koehler's life, but family members were upset at his decision. "I think when you murder someone you should spend your life paying for that murder," said Susan Nelson, Koehler's sister. "I was really shocked the sentence was reduced," added Christine Williams, another sister. "It's been difficult for our family to understand because we're not looking at it from the law point of view." Thacker and Clint Crane met Koehler, 31, at a ParkWest bar on Aug. 22, and the trio drank alcohol and used cocaine that evening. Thacker accompanied them back to their Park City apartment, and Thacker and Koehler went into a bedroom together. Thacker said he fell asleep and woke up to find Koehler performing a sex act on him, but Adkins said there is more to his story. "It certainly seems highly probable there was some consensual sexual activity that took place then." At some point Thacker kicked Koehler out of his apartment, then took a shower, grabbed a gun and decided to "hunt down" Koehler about 45 minutes later, Adkins said. Koehler had been walking for about four miles when Thacker and Crane met up with him at ParkWest. Thacker called him over to their truck and shot him once in the head. Adkins said Thacker either intended to kill Koehler or scare him with the gun. "They left with the intent to do some injury to Mr. Koehler," he said. Thacker underwent a 90-day diagnostic evaluation at the Utah State Prison before Monday's sentencing. "He apparently has the philosophy "don't get mad, get even' and claims to live by that rule," Adkins said. Thacker also admitted to fantasies about exposing himself to children and may have acted out some sexual activities with a young girl on at least one occasion, the prosecutor said. Thacker has also used a weapon to scare females into sexual acts, has suggested he has molested women and shows an arousal to suggestions of sex with consenting males, Adkins said. "I think that has a bearing on what happened and what led up to the killing in this case." Defense attorney Ron Yengich said his client has shown remorse for the shooting and said the diagnostic report also shows Thacker has a "less than normal level of intelligence." The high levels of intoxication from the cocaine supplied by Koehler also played a key factor in the shooting, he said. "I think that indicates that Mr. Thacker did not intentionally kill Mr. Koehler and should be given the benefit of the doubt," said Yengich. Young said that had Koehler not supplied the cocaine, things may have been different. "Of course, had Mr. Thacker not had attitudes within him of "don't get mad, get even' . . . he may not have done this." © 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.
- Over 100
people gathered to protest a sentence by district court judge David Young on
David Thacker, who plead guilty to killing a Gay man because of his sexual
orientation. He was sentenced to six years rather than the maximum sentence of
fifteen years. Judge David Young's ruling reducing the sentience of David Thacker
for the murder of Douglas Koehler provoked a rally on the steps of the Capitol,
where more than 100 outraged protesters gathered and called for Young's removal
from the bench. ``With clowns on the bench, you get murderers in the streets,''
said Val Mansfield, an activist for Gay and
lesbian causes. “Judge Young is an embarrassment to the state of Utah. . . . Hate-motivated crimes deserve stiffer sentences not more lenient ones.''
Val Mansfield
1996- Rich Tafel, President of the Log Cabin Republicans announced that the organization would support Bob
Dole for president.
1997- The Rev. Cindy Solomon accepted another position within the MCC Church in Portland Maine and resigned from the SLCMCC. She was instrumental in providing insight and leadership during the “All Faith” worship services that were held during World AIDS Day. Rev. Cindy Solomon
1997- Qassim Ali
Al-Raheemi was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail charged with forcible
sodomy and sexual abuse for allegedly attempting to force two men to have sex.
The following spring he was sentenced to thirty years in prison,
1998- A benefit
was held to help the family of Debbie Nielson pay for debt occurred by her
death. “We would like to celebrate the life of our dear friend through a fundraiser to help with their extensive financial burden”. The LynnDee Mueller Band
provided entertainment and a Full Bar will be provided by JB Izart and friends
at the Paper Moon in Salt Lake City, Utah.
2000 The Salt Lake Tribune As
GOP Shifts to Right, Demos Move to Middle, Utahns Trading Parties By Dan Harrie
LOS ANGELES -- It may be one big Democratic Party here this week, but Utahns on
hand for the national convention insist they have a firm grasp on their
separate, more conservative identity. "You try to just say that you are a
Utah Democrat," says Fae Beck, a delegate and former state party vice
chair. That means that a number of Utah delegates favor abortion restrictions,
oppose same-sex marriage and are gun-rights supporters. In other states, they
might be Republicans. At the same time, Utah's 29 delegates include two gay men
and one lesbian -- constituting one of the largest percentages of gays among
the state delegations. However, delegate and gay-rights champion David Nelson
acknowledges that "many of the Utah Democrats are more moderate."
That is especially true when it comes to candidates for elected office -- a
major component of the Utah convention crowd. Nelson claims that is the result
of misguided reliance on an ideal candidate "profile" of a
moderate-to-conservative Mormon developed seven years ago by Brigham Young
University political scientist David Magleby. "It's a mistake for a party
to go after somebody [as a candidate recruit] because they fit a profile,"
says Nelson. "It has rarely, if ever, worked." Party leaders deny
such profiling, but the crop of current candidates is a conservative bunch,
headed by gubernatorial hopeful Bill Orton. Orton served three
terms in Congress, where he developed a reputation as an incorrigible maverick
who regularly bucked Democratic party lines. "I voted my constituency,"
says Orton, a delegate to the national convention. It worked for three
elections, with Orton representing one of the most conservative Republican districts in the nation. While he
still sees room for diversity within the Democrat Party, he says the shift to
the political middle has been dramatic in recent years. "The spectrum has
really swung in the Democratic Party," says Orton. "We are bringing
the party back to what we believe are the core values and concerns of the
people." Among those he cites welfare reform and balancing the budget. Orton
says the Democrats' identification with liberal fringe issues of the past
turned away many traditional, Utah party loyalists. Now the opposite is
happening, he says, as the Republicans lunge to the ultra-conservative right. "Their
party is tipping over to the right side, where the Democrats were once tipping
to the left," he says. "It doesn't matter which side you are going
off on" when you start losing touch with the mainstream. This alleged
radicalization of the Utah Republican Party is a charge repeated endlessly here
in conversation among Democratic activists. House Minority Leader Dave Jones,
also a delegate, says GOP extremism is scaring Republicans to switch parties. He
recalls a legislative candidate training meeting a few weeks ago when he
jokingly asked how many among the 65 aspirants were former Republicans. "Amazingly,
about one-third of them raised their hands," says Jones. In GOP-dominated
Utah County, local party chairwoman Nancy Jane Woodside cites Republicans'
hard-core stand on guns in schools and churches and inadequate funding of
education as the two key issues propelling the migration. "Instinctively,
they know something's wrong in Utah and it has to be fixed."
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2005 Domestic-Partner Registry: Mayor's proposal is nothing like
sanctioning gay marriage Salt Lake Tribune Unmarried couples just can't
catch a break. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's reasonable attempt to give
unmarried couples, gay or straight, some recognition with a listing on a city
registry is a lightning rod attracting opposition from those who are determined
to prevent any legal standing for people who live together but are not married.
Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, believes that all legal benefits of being in
a committed relationship are reserved for married folk and he has vowed to put
a halt to the mayor's proposal. He said Anderson's idea is "tantamount to
the San Francisco mayor standing on the steps [of city hall] and performing
[gay] marriages." Saying so doesn't make it so, of course; signing a
registry is nothing like taking marriage vows. Still, it is possible that even this
small recognition could lead - as, in fairness, it should – to the granting of
hospital visitation rights, survivor rights and employee benefits for all city
residents in committed relationships. And that is why Christensen and the gay
community, in their own ways, both see a city registry as important.
Conservatives are concerned that it is a way to let the proverbial camel push
his nose into the marriage tent for unmarried people to follow, while homosexual
couples see it as a welcome step toward granting equal rights to nontraditional
partnerships. Anderson told The Salt Lake Tribune that the registry he
envisions would be a way for people to signify that they have formed a domestic
partnership. But those are red-flag words to conservatives in the Legislature
who created the constitutional amendment to restrict the legitimacy of such
partnerships. Supporters of Amendment 3 sold it as a way to protect traditional
marriage. They said that Part 2 of the amendment, stating, "No other domestic
union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same
or substantially equivalent legal effect" would not prevent private or
public entities from extending benefits to
unmarried couples. In practice, however, it has had exactly
that effect. The Salt Lake County Council and Utah State University officials cited
the amendment when they voted against extending benefits to unmarried couples. A
registry would not sanction gay marriage, which The Tribune does not support,
or even civil unions, which we do. It would simply recognize a partnership, and
nobody should be afraid of that.
2009 Gay-rights backers gather for smooch rally Kiss-in Utah's event was part of a coordinated
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| Ash Johnsdottir |
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| Charles Lynn Frost |
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| Troy Williams |
Deseret News
- Gay marriage fight,
`kiss-ins' smack Mormon image By JENNIFER DOBNER Associated Press Writer The
Mormon church's vigorous, well-heeled support for Proposition 8, which banned
gay marriage in California last year, has turned the Utah-based faith into a
lightning rod for gay rights activism, including a nationwide
"kiss-in" Saturday. The event comes after gay couples here and in San
Antonio and El Paso, Texas, were arrested, cited for trespassing or harassed by
police for publicly kissing. In Utah, the July 9 trespassing incident occurred
after a couple were observed by security guards on a downtown park-like plaza
owned by the 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The
court case was dismissed, but the kiss sparked a community backlash and
criticism of the church. "I don't think that kiss would have turned out to
be the kiss heard round the world if it were not for Proposition 8," said
Ash Johnsdottir, organizer of the Salt Lake City Kiss-In. Atali Staffler, a
Brigham Young University graduate student from Geneva, Switzerland, said she
joined the 200 or so people who filled a downtown amphitheater for the event
because she has watched her gay father and many gay friends struggle to find
their place. The 31-year-old, who was raised Mormon but is not active in the
church, said the church shouldn't be involved in Prop. 8. "I encourage
them to promote the values they believe in and to defend their religious
principles in advertisements, but civil rights have nothing to do with
religious principles," she said. Twenty-two people, many of them strangers
to one another, gathered under the scorching sun on Washington's National Mall
to participate in the national smooch. They were gay and straight, couples and
singles of all ages, with placards that read "Equal Opportunity
Kisser" and "A Kiss is a Not a Crime." "This is America. A
kiss on the cheek is OK," said Ian Thomas, 26, of Leesburg, Va., who
organized the Washington Kiss-In. "It's got to be OK. If not, we're in
serious trouble." About 50 people, mostly gay and lesbian couples,
gathered at Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta and kissed for about five
minutes. "You think that America is evolving into a gay-friendly
nation," said Randal Smith, 42, "but what happened in Texas and Utah
show us it's still a long way off." National organizers say Saturday's
broadly held gay rights demonstrations were not aimed specifically at the
Mormon church. But observers say the church's heavy-handed intervention into
California politics will linger and has left the faith's image tarnished. "What
I hear from my community and from straight progressive individuals is that they
now see the church as a force for evil and as an enemy of fairness and
equality," said Kate
Kendell, executive director of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. Kendell grew up Mormon in Utah. "To have the church's very deep and noble history telescoped down into this very nasty little image is as painful for me as for any faithful Mormon." Troy Williams, who is gay and grew up Mormon, said ending the tension between gays and the church requires mutual acceptance and understanding. "For both sides to peaceably coexist, we're all going to have to engage in some very deep soul searching," said Williams, a Salt Lake City-area activist and host of a liberal radio talk show. Church insiders say Prop. 8 has bred dissent among members and left families divided. Some members have quit or stopped attending services, while others have appealed to leadership to stay out of the same-sex marriage fight. But church spokeswoman Kim Farah said Friday that Mormon support for traditional marriage has nothing to do with public relations. "It's too easy for those whose agenda is to change societal standards to claim there are great difficulties inside the Church because of its decision to support traditional marriage," Kim Farah said. "In reality the Church has received enormous support for its defense of marriage." Mormonism teaches that homosexual sex is considered a sin, but gays are welcome in church and can maintain church callings and membership if they remain celibate. The church has actively fought marriage equality legislation across the U.S. since the early 1990s and joined other faiths in asking Congress for a marriage amendment to the Constitution in 2006. Last year at the urging of church leaders, Mormons donated tens of millions of dollars to the "Yes on 8" campaign and were among the most vigorous volunteers. The institutional church gave nearly $190,000 to the campaign — contributions now being investigated by California's Fair Political Practices Commission. After the vote, many gay rights advocates turned their anger toward the church in protests and marches outside temples that singled out Mormons as the key culprits in restricting the rights of gay couples. That constituted a setback for the faith, argued Jan Shipps, a professor of religious history and a Mormon expert from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Mormonism, Shipps said, has struggled with its image since its western New York founding in 1830 for a host of reasons, including polygamy. Leading up to Salt Lake City's 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the faith worked hard to craft a modern, mainstream image, touting its unique American history, culture and worldwide humanitarian work to thousands of reporters. "This really undercut the Mormon image that had been so carefully nurtured during the Olympics," Shipps said. Church representatives don't discuss public relations strategies or challenges publicly, but at a semiannual conference in April, church President Thomas S. Monson seemed to be clearly feeling a post-Prop. 8 sting. In an era of "shifting moral footings," Monson said, "those who attempt to safeguard those footings are often ridiculed, picketed and persecuted." That argument doesn't wash for Linda Stay, whose ancestors were early Mormon converts. Stay said she was doubly transformed by Prop. 8. She and her husband, Steve, finally quit the church — along with 18 other family members and a few close friends — and became gay right activists. The St. George woman's family, which includes two gay children, will play a central role in a documentary film, "8: The Mormon Proposition" currently in production. Stay's son, Tyler Barrick, married his boyfriend in San Francisco on June 17, 2008, the first day gay marriage was
Kate Kendell
legal in California. Miami-area filmmaker Reed Cowan said the Stays' story is a painful representative of many Latter-day Saint families, including his own, that needed to be told. "It used to be that I could defend my church and my heritage, but what they did here, they crossed the line and they made it very hard to defend their actions," said Cowan, whose family has cut him off since he began work on the film. With the gay rights fight far from over, some believe Prop. 8 could continue to frustrate the church's image for years to come, much like polygamy — the church's own one-time alternative form of marriage — and a policy on keeping black men out of the priesthood, issues that have lingered years after the practices were abandoned. "The church is certainly going to survive and thrive, there's no question about that," said the National Center for Lesbian Rights' Kendell, who is raising three kids in California with her partner of 16 years. "The issue is, what will be its image in the average American mindset." To see the church characterized, because of its own actions, as one in a group of anti-gay religions and as a religion that forces members to choose faith over family is "a tragedy of generational proportion," she said. "And it seems to me, that it was entirely unnecessary." Associated Press writers Gillian Gaynair in Washington, D.C., and Peter Prengaman in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Reed Cowan
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