This Day In Gay Utah History November 19th

November 19

1922- Canadian immigration authorities allowed the Irish lover of a Canadian citizen to immigrate legally. This was the first time in North America that a same-sex relationship was used as the basis for immigration.

Christa Winsloe

1933-Christa Winsloe's book "The Child Manuela" was reviewed in the New York Times. It was a translation from a German book about a lesbian relationship in a school for girls. The reviewer referred to it as "a social document that is moving and eloquent."

1947 Joseph Davis Hunter 28, G-74 Sahara Village ( 600 cinder block housing unit south of Hill Air Force) was sentenced to serve from three to twenty years in state prison by Judge John A Hendricks in Second District Court, Monday on charges of sodomy Ogden Standard Examiner

1968- URBAN PLUNGE Examines Human Social Spectrum-To help

Radio City

develop a community conscience, Urban Plunge began Friday at 6p.m. at the Crossroads Urban Center. 15 University of Utah students gathered including Chronicle reporter Mary Ellen Sloan who wrote: To see into the urban community and its problems it is necessary to look at the pool rooms, the bars, and the people that have become synonymous with urbanism.  In Salt Lake it is the 2nd South Scene. At midnight, those over 21 went to a “Gay” bar and the rest of us went back to the Crossroads Urban Center to talk to a homosexual. He defined his life as something different than the homosexual of the “Gay” bars. He described his relationship on the basis of permanence rather than the frantic “one night stand.”  It was during this experience that I realize how we define people. First people are human beings and only 2ndly homosexuals or prostitutes. The Plunge enabled me to reach past the ulterior definition and reach to the human being.  There is a realization that perhaps the personal history of a white middle class back ground is no longer sufficiently an excuse for letting forces of “repression, suppression, and oppression” continue to fragrantly wave the American Flag. (11/19/1968 UT. Daily Chronicle page 3) [First known account of the Daily Chronicle using the term homosexuals]

1981 Thursday Charges of distributing pornographic material were filed against 2 employees of the Studio Theater 228 South State and police confiscated two films. The complaints allege the defendants showed films which go against community standards. (11/20/1998 SLTribune Z5)

1987 Ben Williams and Ben Barr met to discuss organizing the AIDS Quilt Project in Utah. To get the Names Project off the ground, it was determined that several things had to happen. “First contact San Francisco and get permission to be under their umbrella, Second form a steering committee of committed individuals, Third find a place to meet in December, Fourth determine how to obtain release forms from families, and Fifth eventually apply for a grant from the Utah Arts Council. “

• 19 November 1987 Thursday I went over to talk with Ben Barr to discuss organizing the AIDS Quilt for Utah. The topic of Dave Sharpton came up because I wanted to get Ben's opinion about him. I don't know what to think. Our first impression of him is negative but we plan on supporting Bruce Barton who seems to think that he's okay. Bruce knows people in the Dallas MCC who vouches for David but Ben seems to think that he might be a flimflam man and that he doesn't even have AIDS like that one guy last year who was just using people. Since Ben is with the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation and works with AIDS patients, that makes me respect his opinion. Ben said that he heard that when doctor's here asked for David's medical records, David said they were lost. How do you lose medical records? Ben also said that most people with AIDS know more about AIDS then the doctors do and David seems to know very little so Ben thinks he might be a con artist. I don't know one way or another. I just have a gut level feeling that he's not all he says he is and I'm not going to let him bully me a round. He may be from Texas but so am I. Anyway enough about David. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1990 Monday Chad Robert Bird age 29 died in Springville, Utah of AIDS Born 28 April 1961 in Brigham City. Graduated from Spanish Fork High School. Attended Dixie Jr. College and worked for Marriott Corporation as a pantry chef. He was an eagle scout and loved yard work and the outdoors

1995 Sunday, ACLU seeks back pay, damages for worker with AIDS who was suspended. SUIT ACCUSES OGDEN FIRM OF CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS  By Nicole A. Bonham, Staff Writer Health-products manufacturer Solaray Inc. is accused of various civil rights violations for, among other things, suspending an employee after learning he suffered from AIDS. The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in U.S. District Court Thursday, seeks a court order requiring Solaray to compensate back salary, as well as other damages, to Kim Allred, a former quality control worker. The Deseret News was unable to reach Solaray officials. The company, based in Ogden, does not list a phone number. "Throughout this process, we have tried to settle with Solaray, to talk to them about what we can do to fix their policies and to make things right for Kim," said ACLU staff attorney Jensie L. Anderson. "We've been unsuccessful from the time he was terminated until the day that we filed the lawsuit . . . this was our last option." Allred, who was eventually laid off from the company in May 1994, criticizes the necessity for the battle he's waged against Solaray. "I went to a great deal of effort to find a job, a career, that I could physically do without it adversely affecting my health," Allred said. "I went to great deal of effort to serve this company, to advance at the company . . . I did quite well at Solaray, was very dedicated to these people." The lawsuit centers on the company's actions after it first learned that Allred, now 43, had tested positive for cannabinoids following a random drug test in December 1993. The drug was present in Allred's system because he takes Marinol, a marijuana derivative, to combat weight loss related to AIDS, according to the complaint. The drug was prescribed to Allred by his physician, the complaint states. Upon learning of the drug test results, company officials suspended Allred from his job in quality control and demanded that he explain his reasoning for taking the drug or face unpaid leave - a violation of his privacy rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the suit charges. Solaray's company handbook represents another area of violation, according to ACLU officials. Solaray policy required that employees disclose any life-threatening illness and that workers may be subject to periodic medical examinations. The company also required that employees allow it unlimited access to the resulting medical records, according to the complaint. In July 1995, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that Solaray had discriminated against Allred and violated tenets of the ADA. "We've tried to settle the case from the moment Kim left his job," said Mary Woodhead, ACLU co-operating attorney. "We had hoped that when the EEOC made its finding in Kim's favor that would give Solaray an incentive to settle the case." Ironically, Allred and other AIDS patients have long championed Solaray products for their healthy properties, said Hank Hannah of the Utah Human Rights Coalition. Allred agreed that he was a consumer of Solaray products both before and after his employment there. "We are once again saddened by the necessity of an action like this," said Utah AIDS Foundation executive director Barbara Shaw of the suit. "We had hoped that by the 15th year of this epidemic that we would have educated our population well enough that a person would no longer face this

kind of discrimination on the job."  © 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.

Windy Weaver

1997-In Spanish Fork Utah, during a meeting of the Nebo County Board of Education, supporters of lesbian teacher Wendy Weaver and those demanding her resignation presented their cases. A month earlier Weaver was dismissed from her position as volleyball coach and ordered not to discuss her sexual orientation with anyone, in or out of school.

1997 page: B1 Gay Ordinance Advances in S.L.; Ordinance

Deeda Seed

Advances in Salt Lake City Byline: BY REBECCA WALSH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE   Bryce Jolley feels like the odd man out on the Salt Lake City Council. And he is.   He is the only Salt Lake City Council member trying to stop his colleagues from adding ``sexual orientation'' to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance. Well, maybe not the only one --Councilman Keith Christensen also objects. But with Christensen absent from Tuesday's council meeting, Jolley was the lone holdout.   He tried to halt the freight train behind Councilwoman Deeda Seed's proposal to add protections for gay and lesbian city employees to city ordinances.  But the rest of the council voted him into silence, sending the proposal forward for a final decision at their Dec. 9 meeting. Councilman Tom Godfrey abstained.  Jolley produced a lengthy list of questions about the change in hopes of delaying a decision. When that failed, he asked for a vote to postpone the decision until January, calling council members Mary Mark and Lee Martinez appointed ``lame ducks'' who shouldn't make the decision. Mark and Martinez were appointed to their seats in April, replacing two resigning council members. Both lost bids for office in October's primary election.  ``There is a movement to fast-track this so it can hurry and happen before the council's membership changes,'' Jolley said. ``It's inappropriate for a lame-duck council to address this issue. This issue needs to be addressed by those who have been elected.'' But that argument also fell flat.   Finally, the rest of the council voted Jolley into silence, sending the proposal forward for a final decision at the Dec. 9 meeting. Councilman Tom Godfrey abstained.   Seed campaigned for office two years ago, promising to push for a new nondiscrimination ordinance that includes protections for gay city employees. ``This is a basic issue of human rights,'' Seed said. But it's taken Seed two years to line up support on the council for the change.   Her proposal would mirror policies adopted by the University of Utah in 1991 and Salt Lake County in 1992. The draft ordinance states, ``Employment practices and decisions within the Salt Lake City government shall be made using valid job-related criteria and standards. Discrimination against an otherwise qualified employee or applicant based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability is prohibited.''   Cities like Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Ann Arbor, Mich. have adopted similar ordinances. And many large companies including Coors, Levi Strauss, Microsoft and Time Warner also have anti-discrimination policies that protect gay employees and have extended benefits to  gay employees' partners. Locally, American Express and US WEST have built protections for gay employees and benefits for their partners into company policies.   Benefits are not part of Seed's proposal.   Jolley has his supporters. A handful of city residents asked the council to hold back.   ``Sexual orientation is a preference and not aright,'' said Sandra Richter. ``I don't think my preference to be a vegetarian needs to be included in any nondiscrimination policy even though I feel it's very important.''   But Stan Penfold, a gay Salt Lake City resident, supports the change. Adding sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination ordinance will simply protect gay city employees who are what they are, he said.  ``Apparently I missed the part on my driver's license application where I got to choose my sexual orientation,'' Penfold said. ``It's not about choices. It's about who I am. I was never given the chance to make a choice.''   Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka, who lives in Utah County, asked council members to consider parental rights. Ruzicka and her group worry their children could come in contact with gay city employees in schools, parks and city swimming pools.

Aaron McKinney

1998-Prosecutors in Laramie Wyoming presented an outline of their case against Aaron McKinney, who had been arrested for the brutal murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard.

2001 From Chad Keller to Wasatch Leathermen Subject: 2002 Official Gay Pride Parade Color Guard To the Members of the Wasatch Leathermens Association: On behalf of Utah Pride Incorporated, and the 2002 Parade Committee, I extend to the Wasatch Leathermens Association (WLA) the position of Color Guard for the 2002 Pride Parade. We ask that members of your organization will lead the parade off with the symbols of our nation and community. Your membership base and overall background will be an asset to this important and vital role. Of the many organizations reviewed for this honor, the WLA was without a doubt the organization of choice. Since your inception earlier this year the WLA has: organized and hosted its first major community event; participated with enthusiasm in Pride 2001; was the best represented at the first Gay and Lesbian Community Service Project; was one of the first organizations to respond to the needs of the monuments in Memory Grove by adopting the Meditation Chapel; and participated in the success of other organizations fundraising events. Your willingness to participate in the growth

Chad Keller

of the community, seeing to the needs of others, and reintroducing the principles and concepts of brotherhood to Salt Lake are only indications of the great things to come. As we enter the New Year, the committee anxiously awaits your acceptance. It is our hope to announce the acceptance of our offer in the January edition of The Pillar within the Pride Page. If you have question or would like to discuss the duties of this role in the annual Parade and Festival please feel free to call me at 801-322-4776.  I look forward to your response, and look forward to seeing you leading off the 9th Annual Pride Parade.   Sincerely, Chad Keller 2002 Parade Chair Utah Pride, Inc.

Heidi Ho & Mark Thrash

2002- Drag Queens Strut Their Stuff on Stage By Sheena McFarland Men in drag—dressed in everything from tight, black leather pants to flamboyant, yellow feather coats—danced and sang Monday night in the Union Ballroom. The show featured drag queens from The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire and started off with an educational panel about the drag queen community in Salt Lake City. The panel participants, many of whom performed in the show, addressed why they chose to dress as women. "I did this because I respect my mom, sisters and aunts so much," said Mark Thrash, who didn't perform in drag, but rather dances and lip syncs to songs sung by women. "Growing up, I just admired the way the women in my life carried themselves with such respect and pride." The panel also discussed the stereotypes about the gay community that drag shows can perpetuate. "Any one individual could give the gay community a bad image. We have overly feminine men, overly masculine women, leather community—which is a form of drag—and others. You have to look at our organization as a whole, and the good we do," said Bobby Childers, the royal court's leader, known as the emperor. The royal court is

Bobby Childers

a non-profit organization that donates its proceeds to various gay organizations in the state. Monday night's event—which raised $67 in performer tips from the audience—benefitted the U's Lesbian Gay Student Union, said Chris Kannon, who is the organizing member of the event and the co-president of the union. The event cost the programming council about $100 to host. "I suggested LGSU to the Union Programming Council, and it was a program the drag show could benefit, so it just came together," Kannon said. The audience of about 150 cheered and clapped as the six performers danced, sang and lip synced the night away.  "I find it interesting to see guys dress as girls and then try to dance as girls, sometimes they can and sometimes they  can't," Jim Smith said. Chris Sheard, a freshman in biomedical engineering, also enjoyed the show. "It's just a fun night out," he said 

Carol Lynn Pearson

2006 Affirmation will present author, actress Carol Lynn Pearson on Sunday, November 19, 7:30 pm. Carol Lynn will speak on topics related to her new book, " Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Children," her new play "Facing East" and topics related to thankfulness and families - either related or created. The Salt Lake Men´s Choir will provide music. The event is being hosted by First Baptist Church - 777 South and1300 East. All are welcome to attend. Salt Lake Affirmation is the Utah chapter of Affirmation, an international non-profit fellowship serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Intersexed Latter-day Saints since 1977. Affirmation aims to provide a safe, inclusive space for GLBTI people from Mormon backgrounds who live along the Wasatch Front.  We affirm that living as a GLBTI person can be positive and is not  incompatible with spirituality. At the same time, we are a diverse group who embrace a variety of lifestyles and hold a variety of attitudes towards  spirituality, religion, morality and politics. We are bound together by the  common purpose of affirming that being "other" than heterosexual is of no more  consequence in the eternal scheme than blue eyes or left handedness. "It just  is." We are united chiefly by our desire to interact with others who share our dual background -- Mormon and GLBTI -- and who therefore share the  unique  struggle and blessings which that duality engenders

2015 Longtime activist tapped as acting Utah Pride Center director   Carol Gnade, new

Carol Gnade

director of the Utah Pride Center. By Jennifer Dobner The Salt Lake Tribune  Published: November 20, 2015 Carole Gnade• Former head of ACLU in Utah is ready to ‘upright’ the organization. Longtime activist and former director of the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Carol Gnade has been named acting director of the Utah Pride Center. Gnade, 69, fills the post vacated by the resignation of Marian Edmonds-Allen last month after 11 weeks on the job. “She’s widely respected and admired within the community and with the major supporters of our community,” Kent Frogley, head of the Pride Center board, said of Gnade. Gnade was selected by unanimous vote of the board about two weeks ago. Her term will continue indefinitely as the center’s board develops a plan for the future. That includes addressing the center’s considerable financial challenges, programming and how best to find a new executive director. Gnade said she’s not deterred by the center’s challenges and that, after meeting with staff and the newly elected board members, is encouraged by the center’s potential. “I am hoping to step in with a new set of eyes and leave no stone unturned to upright this organization,” she said Thursday. “This community needs a Pride Center. Our task is to save lives, and we do that every day.” Gnade, who recently returned to Salt Lake City after several years in Torrey in southern Utah, was director of the Utah chapter of the ACLU from 1993 to 2007. In that time, she fought — and won — a battle with state corrections officials to end torture-restraint of prisoners, challenged the Main Street land swap between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Salt Lake City, and fought for the right of gay and transgender students to organize a gay-straight alliance at East High School. “The thing that I love about Carol is that she brings a real sense of calm and experience,” said Michael Aguilar, who takes over as the center’s board chairman in January. “Even in what may be perceived as a difficult time, it feels like anything is possible.” Edmonds-Allen resigned Oct. 26, citing “unsustainable operating conditions” at the Pride Center, including financial problems, a lack of strategic planning, programming challenges and a rocky relationship with the board. Frogley has said that the center’s considerable challenges were discussed with Edmonds-Allen before her selection and that the center community was disappointed that she chose to leave.