This Day in Utah Gay History November 9th

November 9

Tony Adams

1978 Thursday-Obituary Anthony Adams was born 30 July 1953 at Baltimore, Maryland to Fred Miles Adams and Mary Webster. He graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School and attended the University of Utah. He worked as a UTA bus driver. He “always showed a love and compassion for the welfare of others above his own”. He was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Cloy Jenkins
author of the
Payne Papers

1978- The LDS Church and BYU administrators were trying to find the anonymous author of The Payne Papers to bring a law suit against him for “the misleading representations in this publication [as] a violation of the postal laws and regulations”. BYU President Dallin Oaks reported to LDS Church commissioner of Education Jeffrey R. Holland to summarize BYU’s unsuccessful attempts to track down the author and Oaks recommended that “it would be best for us now to let this [go] because any direct action by the University against the publishers would be counterproductive, arousing greater public attention [than] any benefit to be gained.

Dr. Kristin Ries

1986-Dr. Kristen Ries MD, a specialist who was a fellow in infectious disease at the Women Medical College of Pennsylvania where she graduated Cum Laud, spoke to Wasatch Affirmation. She came to Salt Lake in 1981 where she opened a private practice. Extensive involvement with AIDS patients gave her a unique insight into the personal as well as clinical aspects of the AIDS crisis. She spoke to Wasatch Affirmation about the human aspect of the AIDS epidemic.

1990 -Friday-The Utah AIDS Foundation, in cooperation with Salt Lake Acting Company sponsored a benefit performance of "M. Butterfly". A $25 donation includes a cocktail party (11/04/90 SL Tribune Page: E7)

Barb Barnhart

1991``Magic'' Johnson's announcement that he has the AIDS virus gave fuel to those Utahns advocating more sex education, but it hasn't swayed those who believe only abstinence will protect teen-agers. Utah currently has a sex-education curriculum, but teachers are not allowed to discuss contraception without written consent from parents. However, at least one member of the state school board said the announcement has only fueled her belief that education promotes the spread of AIDS. `We need to teach them values, not safe sex,'' said Frances Hatch Merrill (Senator Orin Hatch’s sister). ``We need to get morals back in our society and things like this will go away.'' `The best way not to get AIDS is not to have sex,'' said Frances Hatch Merrill.   -- Mrs. Merrill added that if teens learn to respect themselves, ``they'd keep their pants up.'' AIDS victim Barb Barnhart, who conducts education programs for the Utah AIDS Foundation was irritated by Mrs. Merrill's statements.   ``Education doesn't make it [AIDS] happen. It keeps it from happening,'' said Ms.Barnhart Statistics compiled by the Utah Department of Health show that 3 percent of all HIV-positive tests in Utah are people from13 to 19 years old.  

1995-Thursday- Robert Charles Hernandez,  age 32, of Salt Lake City, died of AIDS He attended Hollywood Beauty College.He worked for Closer Look in Salt Lake City and A. Curl in Dallas, Texas. He established Moods of Dallas in 1993, also in Dallas. " Obituary "

1997 42 Percent At BYU Want Gays Kept Out; Gays Unwelcome, Say Many at BYU Byline: BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE  SAN DIEGO -- Forty-two percent of Brigham Young University students think those with a same-sex orientation should not be allowed to attend the LDS Church-owned school, according to a recent survey.   Nearly a quarter of BYU women would consider a relationship with a man with a same-sex orientation if he were romantically and sexually attracted to them and promised never to engage in any sex outside marriage, says another survey.   The findings of these two surveys were presented during separate sessions of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion meeting here. The three-day conference, featuring many sessions on issues relating to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, concludes today. In the first study, BYU student

Samuel Clayton

Samuel Clayton, with the help of several faculty members, gave questionnaires anonymously to Saturday that he is same-sex oriented and his reason for conducting the survey was ``political.'' He and others wanted to prove to BYU's administration that there would be student support for the existence of a club for same-sex-oriented people. School policy dictates that gay students who obey the honor code, which includes being chaste, can attend BYU.   Some of Clayton's findings include:   -- 69 percent know someone who is same-sex oriented   -- 12 percent have a family member who is same-sex oriented -- 24 percent would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented student -- 56 percent believe same-sex-oriented students should be allowed to attend BYU if they obey the honor code   Clayton said there was ``a significant gender gap'' -- 74 percent of women knew a same-sex oriented person, compared with 64 percent of men. Only 16 percent of women would avoid befriending a same-sex-oriented person, compared to 33 percent of men.   Mixed Results: Reactions to the findings were mixed, Clayton said.   ``I'd get people who were horrified that as many as 42 percent felt you shouldn't be able to attend BYU even if you keep the honor code,'' he said. ``Others were shocked that as many as 56 percent felt they should be allowed to attend.'' He said the findings show him that there is a strong ``progressive'' segment of students at BYU, as well as a clear ``conservative'' voice.   The Next Survey: Clayton is now working on a survey of gay and lesbian students and staff members to evaluate their experience. He is looking at the question of whether same-sex orientation is fixed or malleable. The research project has been approved by the honors department, he said. In the second survey, Larry Jensen of BYU's family studies department, along with Jeffery Rowe, Steve Davis, and Trevor Hickey, surveyed 243 LDS women of varying ages and marital status to ``measure their willingness to accept as marriage partners a hypothetical person with same-sex attraction.'' The survey begins by setting up an imaginary scenario: Suppose you and ``Tom,'' a ``handsome college graduate'' with whom you worked, had formed a close relationship. You fall in love and suggest marriage. Tom says he is attracted to you, but also has an attraction to males. He had been sexually active with males in the past, but has not been for three years. He says he wants to marry you, but asks you to work with him for a year to develop his romantic and sexual feelings.   Respondents then were asked four questions: -- Would they gracefully decline or accept the request to work with him for one year?   -- After one year, he is romantic and sexually attracted to you, but he still has same-sex attraction. He promises never to engage in any sex outside marriage. Would you accept or decline?   -- You continue your friendship and he works hard until you are convinced he has only a weak same-sex attraction. He is romantically and sexually attracted to you. Would you accept or decline?   -- Would your response change if he had never been sexually active?   Researchers found that 33 percent answered yes to question 1; 11 percent to question 2; 23 percent to question 3; and 33 percent to question 4. ``These results were encouraging,'' Jensen said. ``For those men who do, in fact, have a same-sex attraction and who would like to initiate and continue in a heterosexual relationship, there is a contingent of women who would be willing to help them.''   Another Point of View: Jensen also conducted interviews with 12 LDS gay men, setting up a similar scenario in reverse, suggesting an imaginary ``Jane,'' with whom they worked and had a friendly, but not romantic or sexual, relationship.   Sixty-six percent said it would be possible to increase their romantic attraction toward Jane, and 73 percent said their attraction could increase to the point of being able to make love to her. Not one of the respondents felt that their same-sex attraction could be eliminated, and only 36 percent felt it could be reduced enough so they would not be motivated to engage in same-sex behavior during a marriage to Jane. Even if it could not be reduced, 66 percent felt they would still be willing to say no to sex outside marriage.   Other speakers on Mormonism and homosexuality looked at the LDS Church's political involvement in the same-sex marriage issue in Hawaii and the development of an Internet community of gay and lesbian Latter-day Saints. The Words of Leaders: Daryl White, an anthropologist at Spelman College in Atlanta, and his brother, O. Kendall White Jr., a

Daryl White

sociologist at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., looked at the changing rhetoric of official Mormon statements on homosexuality. They compared a 1952 speech to LDS women by President J. Reuben Clark, a member of the LDS First Presidency in the 1930s and '40s, to a 1995 article by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.   ``The pervasiveness of worldly influence on the lives of Mormons, its invasion of the home itself, its ability to appear in seemingly innocent forms, in short, the totality of destructive cultural influences against which Mormon mothers must protect their homes -- all are given potency by identifying them with an almost unmentionable, hardly thinkable, destructively ubiquitous sexuality, a sexuality which Clark's audience understood as the sin which caused the complete destruction of two entire biblical cities,'' Daryl White said. By contrast, Oaks uses some modern rhetoric of science to describe same-sex attraction as an ``unchosen vulnerability,'' White said, though ``there is a discontinuity between the scientific jargon employed and the language of the rest of this essay.'' Oaks concludes by distinguishing between ``sinful acts and inappropriate feelings or potentially dangerous susceptibilities,'' White said. It is important to study the words of LDS leaders on this topic, White said, because ``in Mormonism more than perhaps any other Christian tradition (except in some ways Catholicism) the words of the highest leaders weigh heavily.'' SL Tribune Page: B1 

Stephen Holbrook

2004  Envision Utah taps water project founder Salt Lake Tribune Envision Utah has named Alan Matheson as the new executive director of the Coalition for Utah's Future. Matheson, an attorney and founding director of the nonprofit Utah Water Project, was chosen by the Coalition's Board of Trustees. He replaces Stephen Holbrook, who is stepping down Dec. 1 after 16 years. Board member Pamela Atkinson also announced Monday that Governor-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. has agreed to serve as Envision Utah's honorary co-chairman, joining Spence Eccles. Huntsman is a former chairman of Envision Utah. Atkinson said Monday that Matheson was chosen as executive director "because we believe he has established himself as a problem solver who is able to work constructively with varied interests." Matheson, she said, has experience in fund-raising, lobbying, public policy and the media. The Utah Water Project is an initiative of Trout Unlimited that seeks creative, market-based approaches to balance water development and fishery protection. Matheson is a member of the Sandy City planning commission and the Envision Utah steering committee. The new Envision Utah executive director is a sixth-generation Utahn, born in Logan. Matheson is married with three children. The Coalition for Utah's Future, the sponsor of Envision Utah - the state's growth planning partner - is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization that receives 80 percent of its funds from private donations. - Joe Baird

2005 Provo schools OK gay/straight club policy By Elisabeth Nardi The Salt Lake Tribune PROVO - The Provo Board of Education on Tuesday night approved a policy that, despite some parents' objections, allows a gay/straight alliance to continue to meet at Provo High School. Modeled after Granite School District's student club policy, Provo's new mandate requires students to get their parents' permission to join clubs. Each organization also must have a faculty adviser and follow federal and state laws and guidelines. Board member Sue Curtis said she was unsure whether a gay/straight alliance will help students, but she wanted a policy adopted because the club already is operating. "We need to get our policy in place tonight and have [the club] have some kind of guidelines," she said. Provo High Principal Sam Ray earlier this fall approved the alliance, which students started to create awareness and support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, as well as heterosexual students with gay loved ones. In response, the school board in October began working to draft rules to make sure all student clubs comply with a state law that prohibits students from discussing or promoting sexual activities except within marriage. Many at Tuesday night's meeting didn't believe a club dealing with sexual identity can comply with that requirement. But Provo district officials also wanted to make sure they comply with a federal law stating that students' speech cannot be limited. A number of parents called for the dissolution of the alliance, which has 15 members. Those who wish to discuss homosexuality or advocate it can do so outside of school," Provo parent Dan Barrus said. "It's a very small minority that wants this club." The only way the district could deny a club's charter would be to shut down all extracurricular clubs, a move Ray said would hurt students. "I believe clubs provide students an opportunity to feel a

Millie & Gary Watts

part of the school, " he said. "They would lose that." Salt Lake City School District in the late 1990s closed all noncurriculum clubs after a student tried to start a similar club at East High School, but later bowed to public pressure to allow a gay/straight alliance at that school. The alliance at Provo High has had two meetings, and those involved have been told what the laws are and have gotten parent permission, Ray said. Gary Watts, has six children who are Provo High graduates, and two of them are gay. He thinks the club will create a more respectful atmosphere at school. "In this community we have got to learn to respect gay people," he said. "Please include gay people in school life."

2005 Wednesday, travel book to highlight Salt Lake as 'gay-friendly place to live' Author includes Utah's capital as 'bonus' entry By Erin Stewart Deseret Morning News Salt Lake City will be highlighted as a "gay-friendly place to live" in an upcoming travel book, an unexpected inclusion in the volume that will be released this month. "It's not what people expect. Many of us have this preconceived notion of what it's like to live in Salt Lake because of the church," said Gregory A. Kompes, author of "50 Fabulous Gay-friendly Places to Live." "But when you start meeting people and talking to people it's just this big umbrella that isn't reality." Kompes was so impressed by Salt Lake City's gay community that he fought to keep the city on the list, finally compromising with his publisher to include Utah's capital city as a bonus 51st entry. His publisher simply could not reconcile the idea of Salt Lake City as a gay-friendly community because of the predominant Latter-day Saint religion and Utah's reputation as a Republican state, he said. "This may be a shock to many, but when big city cosmopolitan meets rugged adventure in this clean, safe and beautiful city, Salt Lake City has become home to a large, organized and politically supported gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community," Kompes writes in the book, published by Career Press. Kompes based his criteria for the 51 cities on factors including nightlife, employment opportunities, local politics and gay-owned business. Salt Lake City, he said, impressed him with its support of the gay community with an active Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Community Center and an annual Utah Pride parade in downtown Salt Lake City. Efforts by Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson to extend health insurance benefits to city employees were

Rocky Anderson

also a major factor in listing Salt Lake City in the book, Kompes said. "Just the fact that there was someone in such a high position fighting for equality for gay people made me take a second look at the community," he said. "Those things stuck out and drew me in to learning more about Utah." Anderson signed an executive order in September providing benefits to domestic partners of city employees, including gay and lesbian partners. Measures like that have brought attention to Salt Lake City and changed the perception of the city as wholly conservative, Anderson said. "I think there is a misconception about Salt Lake. A lot of it is just long-term perceptions people have had about this place," he said. "But Salt Lake City is changing dramatically; we're far more diverse than anybody outside of Utah would ever dream. We're a lot more diverse than people in our own city realize." Support for the gay and lesbian community does face an uphill battle in Salt Lake City, Anderson added, with residents voting for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage last year. But Anderson said incremental changes — and recognition in Kompes' book — will slowly alter the

Scott McCoy

way America views gay acceptance in Salt Lake City. "I just think that there is a lot of progress. That growing acceptance of everybody regardless of sexual orientation is now recognized in this wonderful book, even if we are No. 51," Anderson said. State Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, said that the city's "vibrant gay community" is one reason he and his partner decided to make their home here. McCoy led the "Don't Amend Alliance" against the marriage amendment last year. McCoy said people outside of the state of Utah often have a preconceived notion about Salt Lake City until they come and see what the city has to offer. "I'm proud that Salt Lake is considered in this category, we have a lot to be proud of in our community," McCoy said. "It's a nod that even in the reddest state in the union, there is a progressive community." Other cities that made Kompes' list include New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Tucson. The book is more of a travel guide to gay-friendly destinations than prose, Kompes said, pointing out the highlights of each city including weather, taxes, culture and nightlife. Contributing: Deborah Bulkeley

Brandi  Balken

2010 Moab, Murray pass anti-discrimination ordinances By Rosemary Winters The Salt Lake Tribune Statutes to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination have taken root in two more Utah cities. On Tuesday, the city councils in Murray and Moab both voted unanimously to adopt anti-discrimination ordinances. The measures ban discrimination in housing and employment based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. “We celebrate these two cities passing these important protections that create a fair playing field for all employees and tenants,” Brandie Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, said in an interview. “We know that these ordinances reflect the values of Utahns. There are now nine cities and counties in Utah with such ordinances. Equality Utah hopes the number will reach 10 before the start of the next session of the Utah Legislature, where the group has pushed for a statewide anti-discrimination law. In addition to Moab and Murray, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Park City, Summit County, Logan, West Valley City and Taylorsville ban housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.