This Day In Gay Utah History December 4th

December 4

1970-New York City's first gay community center opened in Greenwich Village.

1970-The University of Texas at Austin Student Appeals Committee granted the Gay Liberation Front official organizational status at the University. The next day, University of Texas President Ad-interim Bryce Jordan rescinded the group's status.

1974-Two ministers in New Milford Connecticut threatened to sue the school board for requiring sixth grade boys to take home economics, saying it would turn them into homosexuals.

Steve Holbrook

1981 A $32,212 grant to buy a new transmitter was awarded to KRCL 91 FM. “KRCL should be able to function for several decades with out extraordinary capital expenses,” said Stephen Holbrook, station manager. KRCL listeners pledged $24,000 at beginning of November to aid the station. The transmitter site is Farnsworth Peak on the KSL tower, the 2^nd highest in North America. (12/04/1981 SLTribune E9)

Club 14

1986-Salt Lake City's two bath houses, Club 14 and Jeff's Gym (Club Baths) received notice from the Salt Lake City attorney, Roger Cutler, requesting that they cease doing business or face legal prosecution. "SLC believes each business constitutes a brothel as a place of lewdness assignation or prostitution." Bruce Baird, assistant city attorney handled the case

MCC

1986 First meeting of what would become the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah was held in the Fellowship Hall of the MCC church at 823 South 600 East with John Sasserman editor of the Triangle acting director. Ben Barr of APU, along with Bruce Barton of RMCC and Greg Garcia of Wasatch Leather Men, called for an organizational meeting to communicate better among each other. The Utah Community Service Center and Clinic failed to establish such a council in 1985.  First meeting held in the Fellowship Hall of the MCC church at 823 South 600 East.  Purpose of the group was to create a “United Nations” of Utah’s Gay interest groups.  Representatives from  (John Cooper) Salt Lake Affirmation, (Ben Barr) AIDS Project Utah, (Donny Eastepp)Golden Spike Rodeo Association, (Curtis Jensen)Lesbian and Gay Student Union, (Bruce Barton) Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire, (John Sasserman) Triangle Magazine, (Greg Garcia) Wasatch Leather and Motorcycle Club and Michael Aaron owner of the  business, Art Attack. Barton stated, “ I see our organization as a loosely formed council that’s doing information sharing and keeping everyone updated.

Gordon Church

1989 JURY CHOSEN IN MURDER TRIAL  Millard County officials, following nearly two weeks of jury selection, hoped to begin calling witnesses Monday in the trial of Michael Anthony Archuleta. Jury selection began Nov. 21, a year to the day after the murder of Gordon Ray Church, 28. Church's body, wrapped in chains, was found in a shallow grave near Cove Fort a day after the murder. Archuleta, 26, is one of two men charged with the beating death of Church. A second defendant, Lance Conway Wood, 20, also faces a capital homicide charge. He will stand trial Feb. 20. Fourth District Judge George E. Ballif conducted jury-selection proceedings behind closed doors - something several potential jurors, as well as prosecution and defense attorneys, had requested.

Brenda Voisard

1991- Brenda Voisard elected chairperson of the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah.

1991 COALVILLE--Our beloved son, brother, grandson and nephew, Dion Callan France 28, died Wednesday December 4, 1991 of AIDS.   He was born November 4, 1963 in Coalville, Utah to Byron Duane and Alice Carol Staples France. He graduated from North Summit High School and

University of Utah College of Business. Worked for the Double Tree Corp. in San Diego, California. He loved art, music, genealogy, friends, family and the ocean. He was a friend to all who knew him, and he will be greatly missed. Surviving are his parents, Coalville; grandparents, Chancey and Elaine France, Wanship; Ralph and Violet Judd, Coalville; two sisters, Mrs. Randy (Melisa) Kehr, Layton; Nicole France, Coalville; and his special aunt J'Neil, Salt Lake City. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m. at the Walker Mortuary Chapel in Coalville. Friends may call before the service from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Interment, Coalville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Utah AIDS Foundation, 450 South 900 East, SLC UT 84102. T 12/5N 12/5

1991 - Becky Moorman called me and wanted me to draw a singing penis for The Bridge. Todd Bennett wrote a scathing letter about the shabby treatment of Allen Ofeldt by the Salt Lake Men’s Choir. Ofeldt who lived in the neighboring court yard died last Saturday of AIDS and had been a lead singer for the choir and was suppose to have performed the next day at the Christmas Concert.  The choir seems very homophobic. (Memoir of Ben Williams)

1991 -The Sacred Faeries had a craft night. We made bread dough out of glue and white bread out of glue and white bread and then made Goddess statues and other totems. It was fun. Faerie who participated were Peanut Butter, Popcorn, Fuku, Gillian, and Thunder Beam. Homo was around but I don’t think he made anything. We discussed the idea of moving to Moab as a commune and what we could do to make money there. The idea of a bed and breakfast was interesting. (Memoirs of Ben Williams)

1992. In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the federal Health Care Finance Administration

Ben Barr

this week paid tribute to 14 who have made significant contributions caring for people with AIDS.  Ben Barr and the Utah AIDS Foundation he directed were among the honored. In 1990, Mother Teresa's order received the same award. (12/04/92 SLTribune)

1998 By Paul Rolly and JoAnn  Jacobsen- Wells With the Kingston polygamy clan back in the news after its garbage  disposal contract was canceled by North Salt Lake for numerous safety violations, we decided to point out a little discrepancy in Utah government's policy enforcement. You might recall the outrage Gov. Mike Leavitt displayed earlier this year because Atty. Gen. Jan Graham did not enter Utah's name in a legal defense of Vermont's ban on same-sex marriages. Leavitt was concerned that if Vermont's law was struck down, Utah would have to recognize homosexual marriages from there and pay benefits to gay spouses. Currently, the state denies benefits to gay spouses on the grounds they are not legally married. Meanwhile, Jason Kingston, who works in the State Auditor's Office and is a prominent member of the Kingston clan, has claimed his niece as his wife for insurance coverage benefits. State law says it's a third-degree felony for an uncle to marry or have sex with his niece.

1998 IRON Southern Utah University's gay and lesbian pride club has banned high school students from attending its meetings. SUU Vice President of Student Services Sterling Church said the club took the step after the mother of a high school student who was attending the meetings threatened the university with legal action. Church said the rule banning those other than SUU students applies to all campus clubs. Ben Winslow

1999 Page: A1Page A12: Hate Crime Rejected in Alleged Gay Bashing Hate Crime Rejected Against Alleged Bashers; Case may be first to address possible defect in state's law BY STEPHEN HUNT THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE   Because Utah's hate crime law does not protect gays, a judge was forced to dismiss felony charges against two defendants who

Jason Millard

allegedly beat two men and terrorized three others in downtown Salt Lake City. Instead, Brian E. Hitt and Jason Dale Millard face lesser misdemeanor counts of assault and criminal mischief, even though prosecutors contend they yelled "Faggot!" and targeted the victims because they believed they were gay.  A third defendant, Scott Presley, has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts.  Attorneys for both sides said 3rd District Judge William Barrett's ruling may mark the first time a judge has addressed a perceived weakness in the 1992 law. None could recall anyone being convicted of a felony hate crime under the statute.   Proponents of a stronger hate-crime law have long claimed the statute was defective. Barrett confirmed that perception on Tuesday when he called the law "incomplete" because it specifies no classes of victims.   Hate crimes in many other states clearly define classes of people who are protected by race, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. Defense attorney Rebecca Hyde called Utah's law "a paper tiger" that lacks the power to protect any minority or class of people. Recounting the history of the law, Hyde concluded Utah lawmakers deliberately excluded protection for homosexuals.   As former representative John Arrington, D-Ogden, put it during floor discussions: "Why should we pass a law protecting someone who is breaking the law?"   But rather than eliminating sexual orientation, the Legislature deleted all references   to   any   class    of     victims, Hyde said, leaving Utah with an incomplete and unenforceable hate-crime law.   "Born of ignorance, animosity toward gays, and cowardice, Utah's Hate Crimes statute is unworkable," Hyde insisted in arguing for dismissal of the charges. But prosecutors argued the statute protects everyone -- including gays -- against hate-motivated conduct.   Deputy Salt Lake District Attorney John Johnson claimed he need only prove the defendants intended to intimidate or terrorize, and that the victims feared to exercise or enjoy their constitutional rights. The alleged Feb. 7 gay-bashing spree began outside The Sun Tavern, 700 S. 200 West, at about 10:30 p.m., when Hitt, Millard and Presley confronted a man leaving the bar. "You a faggot?'' one of the three allegedly asked the man. Then, according to court documents, someone in the group yelled, "He is a faggot!'' The three men purportedly chased the victim to his car and pounded on the vehicle until the victim ran back into the bar to call police. A half-hour later, the defendants were driving near 400 S. State Street when they yelled and threw a beer bottle at two men in another car, court documents allege. During that incident, Presley's wife, who was driving, joined in by calling the men "queers," prosecutors contend.   At 11:15 p.m., the defendants were back at The Sun where they beat two men, according to court documents.   The defendants allegedly told arresting officers they were "just out for a good time," and had taunted and attacked the victims because they considered them homosexuals.   Hitt, Millard and Presley were each charged with one count of third-degree felony hate crime, as well as two counts of assault and one criminal mischief, all of which are class B misdemeanors.   Presley, 23, pleaded guilty to the assault charges and a reduced class A misdemeanor count of "attempted" hate crime. In October, Judge L.A. Dever ordered him to serve 14 days in jail and fined him $5,000. During an 18-month probation, Presley must complete anger-management and cultural diversity classes. The judge also ordered him to stay away from gay hangouts.   Hitt and Millard are scheduled to appear before Judge Barrett on Dec. 13 for a pre-trial hearing. If convicted of the remaining misdemeanors, the defendants face up to 18 months  in jail. Conviction on the felony charges that were dropped would have carried a penalty of up to 5 years in prison.   Attorneys say only a handful of defendants have been charged with hate crimes since Utah's law was enacted, but most have been allowed to plead to lesser charges because of perceived flaws in the statute.   Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom said the prosecution has 30 days to decide whether to appeal Barrett's ruling. He said the state attorney general's office would have the final say. 

2003 Gay, lesbian students get support at USU  Wednesday, December 3, 2003 Arrin Brunson USU Faculty Senate approves proposed faculty ally program Gay and lesbian students at Utah State University may have a new faculty-approved support system on campus. A proposed faculty ally program for gay and lesbian students received an overwhelming vote of support Monday from the USU Faculty Senate, with a few abstentions and only one objection. Professor Elizabeth York, director of music therapy at USU, told the faculty senate that 15 of her colleagues have agreed to step forward and be allies to acknowledge and advise lesbian and gay students. "This will allow USU faculty to give visible support to students and staff as we all come to accept ourselves and who we are," York said. In the eight years that York has worked at USU, she has advised and participated in gay and lesbian student groups on campus, such as the Gay Pride Alliance, the Gay and Lesbian Student Resource Center and the recently formed group called Rosie. York said these organizations have proved meaningful programs to

Courtney Moser

USU/s gay and lesbian students, but they have been largely student-led. "My concern is that … despite these strides, students cannot identify faculty who they consider allies at this university," she said. In 2002, former USU employee Courtney Moser was asked to resign following the circulation of a salacious e-mail using his university account. Although Moser was listed as the club/s advisor on the Pride Alliance Web site, USU officials said the leadership designation was unofficial. Since that time, York said, the USU Pride Alliance has been without leadership. A newly appointed advisor will begin meeting with the club in the fall, she said, and the group/s scholarship will also be reactivated. While these are good signs, York said Utah State needs to do more to welcome gay and lesbian students. Research of peer institutions shows that trained faculty identify themselves with designations at their offices that say, for example, "Safe Space" and "Hate Stops Here." "At other universities, trained faculty have identified themselves by putting an insignia on their doors," she said. "They/ve identified themselves openly. Faculty are coming out to those students and to each other." An ally is someone committed to being understanding, supportive and trustworthy if a gay, lesbian or bisexual student needs help, advice, information about university and community resources or just needs someone with whom they can talk about sexual orientation issues openly and constructively, York said. "I propose that a similar program be developed at USU. I think it/s long overdue," she said. Michael Wallar, a former USU student and current USU employee, is a member of the Gay Pride Alliance, whose members have discussed the faculty ally proposal. As a former student at USU, Wallar said he never felt like he was in any danger, but he is optimistic about its implementation. "I think it/ll be something great for the university," Wallar said. "Students will know who they can go talk to as a support network."  When questioned by senators about the cost of implementation, York said the investment will be minimal and that faculty members could pursue funding for stickers or another kind of insignia for office doors through the Women and Gender Research Institute at USU. The faculty training component of the program could be handled by a clinical psychologist at the counseling center who is already researching the issue, York said. Faculty advisors would be expected to be an "open channel and referral source to the students," not an expert, she said. Although it wasn/t necessary for the faculty senate to vote on this particular issue, the group/s support could help President Kermit L. Hall gauge the commitment to gay and lesbian rights at Utah State as he reviews York/s faculty ally proposal. "I felt it was time for me as a faculty member to step forward on this issue," York said. "We really haven/t, as a body on this campus, come together on this issue."

  

Dustin Lance Black

2008 Critic Sean P. Means wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune Movie review: 'Milk' gets to the soul of the man When you think about the ways "Milk" could have gone wrong, the fact that director Gus Van Sant and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black get the core of the man so right is a minor miracle. Harvey Milk was a groundbreaking figure in U.S. politics, the first openly gay man to be elected to major public office. But this soaring biography doesn't ignore the messy details of Milk's personal life, nor does it get so bogged down in those details. Dustin Lance Black wasn't yet born when Harvey Milk was shot dead in 1978. But Milk, the San Francisco city supervisor who was the first openly gay man to hold major elective office, became a hero to Black as a high school kid, raised in a Mormon family and first realizing he was gay. "I had a theater director [in my high school] who I guess could tell that I was a little damaged," Black said during a recent visit to Salt Lake City.

David James Bell

2008 Reporter Lindsay Whitehurst wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune Prosecutors revisiting possible charges in beating of gay men Salt Lake County prosecutors are taking another look at the case of two gay men who were severely beaten after one of them, David James Bell, allegedly kidnapped a neighbor's children. In August, prosecutors cited a lack of evidence and declined to file assault or burglary charges against the suspects in the attack, who are related to the children. But now, attorneys are again reviewing the beating, particularly the alleged attack on Bell's boyfriend, Dan Fair.

Scott McCoy

2009 Utah State Senator Scott McCoy resigned as a state Senator legislator.Deseret News

2013  Federal judge to hear arguments in Utah same-sex marriage case Courts • Both the state and six Utahns suing over law are hoping for a summary judgment. BY BROOKE ADAMS | THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging Utah's ban on same-sex marriage brought by three couples who contend the prohibition is unconstitutional. Each side has asked U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby for summary judgment — that is, to find based on lack of disputed facts and existing law that there is no need for what would likely be a protracted legal fight over Utah's Amendment 3, the ban approved by voters in 2004. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are: Derek L. Kitchen and Moudi D. Sbeity; Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge; and Karen Archer and Kate Call. They filed the lawsuit in March, just as the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two different cases involving the constitutionality of laws on same-sex marriage and associated rights. In a pair of rulings issued three months later, the Supreme Court dismissed on procedural grounds a challenge of a lower court decision overturning a ban on same-sex marriage in California and struck down a key element of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples, even in states like New Yorkwhere such marriages are legal. In the Utah lawsuit, both sides use the ruling in the second case — United States v. Windsor — to argue that Shelby should find in their favor. Attorneys for Utah say Windsor makes clear that states, not the federal government, have sovereign authority to define and regulate marriage. The Windsor ruling is "replete with deferential references" to the state of New York's power and authority to regulate marriage, state attorneys argue, and criticizes the federal government's effort to interfere with such decisions. Windsor "overturned an act of Congress considered an 'unusual' federal intrusion" into state authority. Given that, Utah's own power, decision-making and "exercise of its sovereign authority within our federal system to not include same-sex marriage is entitled to the same respect and deference," the state argues. Attorneys for the three couples say that under the "binding analysis" of Windsor, their arguments prevail because "Utah's Marriage Discrimination Laws ... single out same-sex couples to impose a disability on them, and to treat them unequally." Under Windsor, such laws are "irrational, and no legitimate purpose overcomes their purpose and effect to disparage and injure." "In arguing that regulation of marriage is the exclusive province of the state, the state defendants rely on antiquated opinions and case law, and ignore the patent statements in Windsor to the contrary," the couples argue. Moreover, the state defendants "gloss over" statements in the decision that highlight the need to "respect the constitutional rights of persons" in marriage laws and misinterpret the basis for striking down DOMA, which was equal protection and due process — not federalism. "Where a state's regulation of marriage does not respect those rights, or infringes upon those guarantees — such as the case here — then the state's power is limited by the Constitution," the plaintiffs argue.  The plaintiffs and the state disagree about the standard of scrutiny that should be the basis of weighing the constitutionality of Utah's law, as well as what research has to say about same-sex relationships — particularly regarding children raised by such couples. The ACLU of Utah, in an amicus brief filed in support of the plaintiffs, urges Shelby to use heightened scrutiny in his review of Utah's law, which would mean homosexual couples would be considered a quasi-suspect class that has historically experienced discrimination, has distinguishing and immutable characteristics and is politically powerless. The state counters that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has found sexual orientation is not a protected class deserving of the higher standard of scrutiny, instead requiring a review based on whether there is a rational governmental interest underlying Utah law. "Viewed properly, none of the factors adequately supports — and the important political power factor weighs heavily against — making sexual orientation the first new protected class in almost 40 years," the state says in a court filing. Gay and lesbian interest groups have made remarkable advances in legal and political arenas, with 16 states and the District of Columbia now recognizing same-sex marriage, the state notes. A majority of Americans also support such marriages, it adds. "It would be hard to identify many groups on the national scene that are more politically powerful than gays and lesbians," the state says. Homosexuality also is "directly relevant to marriage's historical focus on childbearing and mother-father child-rearing and to the problem of unplanned and unintended children," the state argues. "Male-female marriage supports the state's strong interest in having a child raised by the father and mother who brought him into the world; same-sex marriage does not." The state also says that if the term "marriage" is extended to relationships other than those involving a man and a woman it will lose "some of its intelligibility" and thus "some of its power to attract broad social allegiance and support and to guide potentially procreative heterosexual couples into stable marriages." But the plaintiffs argue that the state "cannot use their political power to discriminate against a politically unpopular minority that does not share the majority's religious and/or moral view in terms of the fundamental right, and equal access, to marriage." The state position, particularly on what constitutes an ideal marriage and its importance in child-rearing, received support from four university professors, who filed an amicus brief in its behalf. They are Lynn D. Wardle, a law professor at Brigham Young University; William C. Duncan. who is an adjunct law professor at BYU and director of the Marriage Law Foundation; Bryce J. Christensen, an associate professor of English at Southern Utah University who has authored several books on marriage as an institution; and Joseph P. Price, an associate professor of economics at BYU who has written about marriage and family. On Monday, Shelby denied a motion by The National Center for Lesbian Rights to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs, saying it had come too late to give the parties in the lawsuit time to respond.