This Day In Gay Utah History November 29th

November 29

1916 Birth of artist Neel Bate, as "Blade" one of the pioneers of gay erotica. His most famous work, an underground classic in pre-Stonewall days is The Barn, which he wrote and illustrated. He was a precursor to Tom of Finland and a favorite among closeted Gay men of the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. His series "The Barn" (1947/48) was spread through the country and beyond when the only photocopies of it were confiscated by the New York City Police Department in the arrest of a man during a raid on his apartment who had hoped to sell them. Such raids on the homes of gay men were a commonplace of the period. New York City's "Finest" apparently knew a good thing when they saw it - because soon after the pictures had been carted off to the police depository, photo-sets of the twelve images started doing a brisk, underground business on the streets of New York..

1926 Salt Lake Telegraph, Utah 

Adolph Brand 

1933- Adolf Brand, who began publishing one of the earliest gay publications in Berlin, wrote a letter to his supporters saying he was unable to continue. Nazi raids and seizures had left him close to bankruptcy. On 29 November 1933 he wrote an extensive seven-page letter to F.F. Bennett, Secretary of the British Sexological Society in London. He began: "As an honorary member of your company, I feel obliged to give you about the utter hopelessness of a continuation of my life working in the new Nazi Germany a detailed report. [...] I was completely plundered by these 5 confiscations (and) have nothing left to sell and am now (a) ruined business. [...] My whole

life's work is now ruined. [...] From this position, the very simple fact that a continuation of my work [...] on German soil is no longer possible and results that the continued publication of my magazine Der Eigene only can be done abroad, where it is the necessary freedom of the press and legal certainty. " Der Eigene was the first gay journal in the world, published from 1896 to 1932 by Adolf Brand in Berlin. Brand contributed many poems and articles himself. Other contributors included Benedict Friedlaender, Hanns Heinz Ewers, Erich Mühsam, Kurt Hiller, Ernst Burchard, John Henry Mackay, Theodor Lessing, Klaus Mann, and Thomas Mann, as well as artists Wilhelm von Gloeden, Fidus, and Sascha Schneider. The journal may have had an average of around 1500 subscribers per issue during its run, but the exact numbers are uncertain.

1984-Less than a month after being established as a city, West Hollywood approved a gay rights ordinance.

Natacha Rambova

1989 Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Utah met. Connell Rocky O’Donovan presented a talk on Natacha Rambova, Rudolph Valentino 1st wife, and great granddaughter of Heber C. Kimball.  She was a bi-sexual and born Winifred Kimball O'Shaunessey.

1989-A Boston couple, Martha Alsup and Susan Galbin, was found stabbed to death in Anguilla. Seventeen year-old Andy Otto was arrested, police said he killed them after attempting to rape them. A vigil was organized by friends of the couple to mourn the loss of the women, both psychologists, who had been very active in the Boston gay and lesbian community. Los Angeles Times Article

1990 President George H W Bush lifted the ban against Gay immigrants. When Congress overhauled the nation’s immigration laws in 1950, it was still in the grip of the McCarthy Red and Lavender Scares. Consequently, Congress banned Communists and “persons afflicted with psychopathic personality” from entering the U.S. That latter clause was added by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee with the express purpose of excluding “homosexuals and other sex perverts.” The legislation that was ultimately signed into law didn’t mention homosexuals, but the U.S. Public Health Service consistently interpreted the language to be “sufficiently broad to provide for the exclusion of homosexuals and sex perverts.” When Congress addressed immigration reform again in 1965, it added “sexual deviation” to the list of characteristics that would preclude immigration. But even then, the law didn’t single out homosexuality for exclusion, but it nevertheless remained official immigration policy even after homosexuality was removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders in 1973. 

1990  Manuel Lamar Benson died of a ligering illness. [AIDS] Born 21 June 1955. Graduated from Ricks College and attended Carrol College in Montana. He worked for 1^st Security in SLC. Loved antiques and old homes. He loved restoring them. Obituary

1991-Salt Lake Tribune featured an article on The Salt Lake Men's Choir.``We've gone from hoping St. Ann's would keep us to becoming regulars at Kingsbury Hall and drawing overflow crowds,'' said the choir's president, Jim Alexander. When the president of the Salt Lake Men's Choir was asked whether the ensemble would ever align itself with the gay-rights movement, Alexander replied we make music, not a political statement. It's not about the black community or the white community or the Hispanic community or the gay community. It's about music. ``Our politics are unity -- not just the gay community vs. the straight community, but rather the camaraderie amongst diverse peoples.''

Phillip O Austin

1994 PRISON TIME FOR WSU ADMINISTRATOR IS POSTPONED UNTIL APPEALS HEARD Byline: By Tom Quinn SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE  (Page: C2)   OGDEN -- A Weber State University administrator Monday was sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison for kidnapping, but the judge postponed any  prison time until appeals in the case are heard.   Phillip O. Austin, 43, director of student advisement at WSU, was found guilty in September of the second-degree kidnapping of 20-year-old Colby Clifford on March 12. Clifford testified he bailed out of Austin's car after being solicited for sex at gun point. But the jury found Austin guilty of the lesser charge and specifically found that no weapon was used in the  kidnapping. Austin's lawyer, John Caine, said the appeal would be based on a contention that two other young men approached by Austin should not have been allowed to testify, and that if no gun was used, there was no kidnapping.  Caine also is representing Austin in his attempts to avoid dismissal from WSU. He has been on paid leave since April, but the university began firing proceedings upon his conviction. Outside Judge Stanton Taylor's 2nd District courtroom Monday, Austin blamed his troubles on homophobia and said a similar situation involving a woman would not have gone to trial. ``Because I'm gay, the jury found me guilty of kidnapping,'' he said. Austin said he did not believe he would serve any time behind bars.   ``I'm gay, not a criminal,'' he said.  ``I'm not here to advance gay rights, I'm seeking justice.'' [Austin would serve two years in prison before an appellate court said Judge Taylor was in error to instruct the jury they could find him guilty on a lesser charge]

1996 `Well, thank God, I finished a head of Michael Jackson,'' Melissa Etheridge, said, heaving

Melissa Etheridge

a mock sigh of relief in a recent telephone interview.   Since announcing that her partner, Julie Cypher, is expecting a baby on Jan. 25, the outspoken singer has found herself the subject of everything from a recent Newsweek cover story to a poll on ``Dateline NBC.'' The TV newsmagazine asked viewers to decide which celebrity -- Etheridge, Jackson or Madonna --had the best chance of rearing a normal child. The winner: Madonna. Etheridge, who performs tonight at the Salt Palace, is neither discouraged nor put off by her second-place finish in ``Dateline's'' viewer call-in survey.   ``I know that all three of us are unconventional parents,'' she said. ``I suppose Madonna is the most conventional because she's straight and has a male figure in her life. That's what people go to. That's the way we were raised and what we've always known. I suppose it will be like that for years until generations have grown and we realize that homosexuals have the same percentages of good children and bad children and gay children as anybody else.'' Parenthood puts another twist on Etheridge's rise to fame. Her career took off four years ago when she announced she was a lesbian at the Triangle Ball in Washington, D.C., during the inauguration of Bill Clinton. Her next album, ``Yes I Am,'' sold 6 million copies. It is still keeping pace on the charts with her latest album, ``Your Little Secret.'' Etheridge is comfortable being a role model for lesbians and gays, ``if that is how people view me.''   Utah is a frequent recreation spot for Etheridge, and national headlines regarding the resistance to gay-straight alliances in Utah high schools have caught her attention. Etheridge understands about growing up homosexual in a conservative community. As a teen-ager she could not wait to get out of Leavenworth, Kan., home to a Hallmark card factory and the federal prison where Al Capone did time.   She is concerned about young gay and  lesbian people who have no support system.   ``I was a teen-ager when I started realizing I was different, but I had no idea what it was,'' she recalled. ``My saving grace and the reason I got through it was that I knew I was going to leave, so I could bear through the isolation and loneliness of it. There are thousands of millions of teen-agers who don't think they can get out, and that is sad.''   Utah gay and lesbian advocates say it is important that celebrities such as Etheridge come here in spite of what some perceive as a homophobic atmosphere.   ``Melissa Etheridge is respected by gay and straight audiences alike, and that sends a message, and not just to gays and lesbians --that it is possible to be whole, healthy and accepted,'' said Charlene Orchard, co-chairwoman of the Utah Human Rights Coalition, which brought Chastity Bono to Utah for Gay Pride Day last summer. In her experience, Etheridge said she has seen ``a lot of shedding of fears.''  ``It is relatively new to be so upfront about it, but homosexuality is as old as man itself,'' she said. ``Having been on the outside, at times, I don't ever want to approach anyone who is homophobic and say, `Oh, you're wrong, period, that's it.' There's a lot of understanding to go with that. A lot of talk. A lot of tolerance on both sides that needs to be done.''   No longer on the outside, Etheridge often finds herself the center of attention.   ``When I first came out, all the talk was all about the lifestyle. Then about a year ago, it really settled into my music. People realized thatI make enjoyable music and good music and people like to listen to it and I'm succeeding within and that's a story within itself. Then, of course, my partner is pregnant, so it's back to the lifestyle thing.   ``It's OK because I don't have a problem where I'm at or with my lifestyle. The more I talk about it, the better it is for me, and I don't mind,’ she said.   Etheridge and Cypher, a video director who was married to actor Lou Diamond Phillips, have been together for nearly eight years. Having children was something they had been ``thinking of three or four years.'' But with both their careers in full swing, there never seemed a convenient time.   ``We'd say `OK, after this project or that project,' and years went by,'' Etheridge said. ``Last year we came to the conclusion that there wasn’t going to be a time when we are both not working and when we can both just carve out a time to do it. We just needed to evolve and become parents. So Julie decided to go and do it.''   Because the couple want to raise the child in as much privacy as possible, Etheridge does not discuss how the baby was conceived. After the end of the tour, Etheridge will batten down the hatches and prepare for parenthood.   At Salt Palace   Melissa Etheridge will play tonight at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Tickets are $39 at Smith's Tix. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.Page: E1`

Torie Osborn

1996 Torie Osborn will sign Coming Home to America: A Roadmap to Gay & Lesbian Empowerment, Sam Weller Books, 250 S. Main, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Osborn will also speak at a dinner at the YWCA, 322 E. Broadway, Sunday at 7 p.m. Admission is $7.Page: E9 

2003 From Donald Steward to Ben Williams -Sat Nov 29,

Donald Steward

2003  4:32 pm Ben, Thanks for the piece on David Sharpton it brought back a lot of memories. As a volunteer and employee of the Coalition I worked with David for several years through his lucid periods and also his angry and frustrated bouts. As you know, being in such close proximity to David was exhausting, and for much of our working relationship and friendship I wanted to alternately strangle him and protect him at the same time. In this age of drug cocktails and viral suppression it seems difficult to remember how compressed and urgent the AIDS arena was back then. The idea of a chronic manageable illness was years away and the whole illness just seemed so fast and so inevitably terminal. It was that sense of finite urgency that drove David and God help the person that stood in his way

David Shaprton

and wasted his time. David broadcast the AIDS message when no one else would, but he was also capable of incredible destruction, and an explosive lack of tact that usually made everyone around him bristle. In hindsight, David was the right tool for the right job early in Utah's epidemic. His brashness and ability to kick in doors was just what was needed to wake up Utah's public health officials and policy makers, and to mobilize the gay community. With that said, his gradual decline both mentally and eventually physically, coincided with the slow mainstreaming of the public health response, and what I would describe as the commercialization of the AIDS arena. The pioneers that created community based AIDS programs like the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation, and the People With AIDS Coalition, etc. were charismatic and passionate grass roots organizers, but eventually their agencies aged and matured to the point that they needed managers and bureaucrats who were better suited to the mundane long haul, rather than flashes of fire and vision. The type of angry energy and drive that David had simply did not fit into the mainstream. I often wonder what he would think of the current cohort of people with AIDS and the bureaucracy's that cater to them. Some personal thoughts: I was really lucky to go to the AIDS conference you mentioned in San Francisco with David (we went for four days and of course David being David he took four suit cases!) I still remember David’s rage when the National Minority AIDS Coalition sent out invitations to their hospitality suite on hand pressed Japanese rice paper. David was livid at their extravagance and waste when people with AIDS were going hungry in San Francisco. The other standout memory is my favorite. David and I totally blew out one afternoon of the conference to play tourist and I dragged him onto the ferry to Sausalito. It was sunny and clear and the view of the city was amazing. I had never really spent any one on one time with him and it was such a revelation to see him away from an audience. On the water and in the sun he was calm and dare I say it...happy! After he died that memory gave me a lot of comfort. David was very proud that the PWA Coalition helped bring the NAMES Project Quilt to SLC. But what most people don't know was David's biggest thrill came when when Channel Two interrupted its regularly scheduled prime time programming to cover the Opening Ceremony live. After that he never let us forget that HE upstaged Miami Vice! Don Steward.

2006   Wednesday, November 29th Time: 6:30 PM Location: SLC

Downtown Library Auditorium The Gender Advocacy Board (Utah Gab) is proud to present its first film "Home Is Where The Heart Is" sponsored in part by The Human Rights Education Center of Utah (HREC). It is a film discussion about the transgender community and the courage and joy they feel by being their true authentic selves. Asecond film will then be shown "Transamerica", starring Felicity Huffman who portrays a transsexual named Bree who gets the shock of her life when a week before her final sex reassignment surgery discovers a son she didn't know she had. It is filled with deep emotions of laughter and heartache and well worth seeing. Huffman won several awards (and an Oscar nomination) for her role. This event is free and open to the public.

2007 On Nov. 29, Utah Rep. Christine A. Johnson proposes and sponsors a bill to amend the state Code by prohibiting discrimination in business employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity. State legislators don't vote on the bill, and it isn't adopted.

2008 Gay marriage Herald Poll responses .A recent Herald Poll (Utah County) queried our readers about gay marriage. Some of the responses included:

•  Why all the commotion? Some of your comments are misleading. In California eight years ago legislation was passed to protect the rights of gay and lesbian couples. They can resister as domestic partners. They are (right now) already receiving the benefits of this law and issues such as inheritance, hospital visitation, and taxes have already been addressed. In the eyes of the law, a domestic partner is the same as a spouse. Why then all the commotion about Proposition 8?  I think it is about (and I quote from your article) "society's official approval." • Lisa Greenhalgh, Santaquin- 
• Gay rights Homosexuality is a normal biological variation in virtually all mammalian species. It is experienced honestly and involuntarily. People who think otherwise are simply uninformed. Gay people deserve and will ultimately be granted full civil rights including marriage. It is just a matter of time. The time is now. Church leadership should be leading this movement as so many wish they had done in the black civil rights movement. • Gary Watts, Provo- 
• Gay marriage is illogical Allowing gays to marry flies in the face of logic. It is only now, when we are worn down by twisted arguments coming from gay advocates, that we are even considering such an option. For eons, society has forbidden it, and for good reason. • Vernon Moulton, Pleasant Grove