This Day In Utah Gay History December 27th

December 27

Queen Christina

1933-The New York Times reviewed Queen Christina, a film starring Greta Garbo about Christina of Sweden who cross-dressed and is believed to have been bisexual.

1979 The Advocate prints article called “Mormon Campus Cops Get Statewide Bust Power” Article

1988-Joe Beam died. He was the editor of "In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology."

1988 - In the evening trudge through the snow to Crossroads Urban Center for the last Unconditional Support meeting of 1988. Alan Peterson called and said he couldn’t make it from Ogden and Randy Olsen just never showed up. We had about 10 people tonight. Derek Streeter brought Jeff Sewell. The topic of the meeting was Our Year In Review. We discussed about all the functions we had and whether Unconditional Support’s end and finally come. I definitely told the group I am stepping down. Chuck Whyte said if Unconditional Support folded this community would lose a great deal and sadly most of us don’t realize the value of an organization until its gone. True. About six of us went to the movies for our last activity of the year, We saw Without a Clue with Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley (Memoirs of Ben Williams)

1989 KILLER GETS EXECUTION DATE  An execution date has been set for Michael Anthony Archuleta, who was found guilty Dec. 15 of capital homicide in the torture slaying of Gordon Ray Church of Delta. Fourth District Judge George E. Baliff has set Archuleta's execution by lethal injection for Feb. 19, 1990. Baliff signed the death warrant on Dec. 21, one day after a 4th District Court jury decided Archuleta, 27, should be given the death penalty for his part in Church's murder. The sentence will be automatically appealed to the Utah State Supreme Court. A trial for a second man involved in the murder, Lance Conway Wood, 21, is scheduled to begin on Feb. 20.

1990 Mark Allan Winnie age 36 died of cancer (AIDS). Born 23 December 1954 in Alhambra, California. Graduated from Garnite High School. Served LDS Mission to Columbus Ohio. Owner of O’My Dell. He loved to travel, cook, garden, and fish.

1994 Page: D1 SLTribune) The 1991 killing of nurse Karla Roth is one such case.  Richard Worthington, armed with guns and explosives, stormed Alta View Hospital to kill a doctor who had tied his wife's fallopian tubes. He shot the nurse when she tried to escape.  He then held eight hostages for 18 hours before giving up. Worthington pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison. In November 1993, he hanged himself in a Nevada prison. Gay-rights groups insist one killer was given a light prison sentence because the victim was homosexual. David Nelson Thacker, a 27-year-old cowboy from Nevada, said he went after Douglas C. Koehler because the victim had tried to kiss him. Thacker said he was only trying to scare the victim when the gun accidentally fired. Koehler was found Aug. 21, 1993, outside his Park City condominium, shot between the eyes. Thacker pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. But 3rd District Judge David S. Young sentenced him to a maximum of 6 years. Young said the victim would be alive if he had not supplied drugs and alcohol to Thacker. The victim's family accused Young of being lenient because Koehler was homosexual. (Richard Worthington brother to Gay activist Kathy Worthington)

1996  Victims' families struggle as they think of joys that might have been.  MURDERS

Gordon Church

MAR HOLIDAYS FOR GRIEVING KIN by Amy Donaldson, Staff Writer Kevin Church's children will never know what a great uncle his older brother, Gordon, would have been. It is at times an impossible balancing act for all of them - to focus on the joy of the season and on the living loved ones when there is such a hollow aching for the one who is gone. "Time is the only solace there is," said Church, whose brother, Gordon Ray Church, has been dead for eight years. The day before Thanksgiving 1988, Church's father called to tell him his brother had been murdered. Gordon Church was kidnapped, driven to a remote spot in Millard County, tortured for hours and then beaten to death with a tire jack. "I haven't come to a point of forgiveness," Kevin Church said, sitting in a living room adorned with Christmas decorations. "I still get angry if I think about (what happened) to Gordon. There is some anger, but for a while it was in control of me. Now I'm in control of it. I will always be angry at them (the killers)." He said he used to "sit around on Thanksgiving and say, "What do I have to be thankful for?' Murder is different than (losing someone) in a car accident or a fall, where there is still the loss of a child or a brother, but you can somehow feel that it was meant to be. I'll never feel like this was meant to be." One of the things that bothers Church is that as the years pass, everyone but his family seems to forget Gordon, while sympathy seems only to increase for his brother's killers. Even media accounts of the killers' court appeals don't use his brother's full name. "Gordon Ray Church is his name," Church said. "He was a good person. He had a family who loved him and misses him. These guys (the killers) are getting all the publicity, and they are not good people."

2002-Ben Williams, community historian once said "The history of the GLBT people of Utah are not only found in the events and places, but in its people."  While there is much work to do in reclaiming the history of our community we can be proactive from this point forward. The XXVII Reign of the RCGSE is one of those milestones that we must gather as much information about it events, people, and places before it fades away in June 2003. On behalf of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society I ask that you help us forever remember the people of the RCGSE who shared in the journey of the elected Emperor and Empress. Please ask that members of the XXVII Reign holding titles in the Imperial and Royal Houses take a minute to write a page about them selves.  This can and should include when they were born, where they grew up, who their parents where, their life and community accomplishments, and the statement that best in their life describes themselves.  If they have a picture they prefer please ask that they include it.  We will select or obtain a picture that may not be as flattering as they would want if not included. Also, we would ask they jot down a few words about the XXVII Reign and it leadership.  Sentences like, "I will never forget watching Syren run across that muddy arena at UGRA Rodeo University.  She has been strange places before, but running across a muddy arena with underwear in hand will take the cake." --Chad Keller Czar XXVII.  These small sentences and remembrances will tell the story of the Royal Court 2002-03.  They all need not be happy.  All will be saved regardless of tone. The focus at this time should be on the Imperial and Royal houses, The Emperor and Prince Royale Lines to the Empress and Princess Royale Lines.  Just the top 10 titleholders for each line at this time.   If successful we will expand the project at a later date to other members. These pages will be entered as a collection into a Who's Who Book for the Utah GLBT Community 2002-03. Please contact me with Questions 322-4776 or 325-3758 Sincerely Chad Keller  Co-Chair  Utah Stonewall Historical Society

James Hicks

2005 Gay Utah Forum Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:48 pm posted by James Hicks As much as we'd like to put the blame entirely on Buttars.  I believe we need to also need to take a good hard look at all the other Legislators who vote along with Mr. Buttars and agree and approve his hateful, bigoted, ideas and thoughts.  I'm not sure how many of you call your Legislators?  I've actually had some great conversations with my legislator.  I encourage everyone to give them a call and let them know that there are those of us who don't believe as Buttars.  I realize it may not do a lot of good, but at least it makes you feel better to know you picked up the phone and tried to make a difference. James Hicks

  

2006 Affirmation’s Homo for the Holidays! Its a potluck "family" social! Join us December 27th @ 7pm for tasty morsels, appetizing  men, and kitschy holiday traditions like Christmas karaoke and  naughty or nice cookie decorating. Where: Library Sprague Branch (2131 South 1100 East) See you there!!. Wear: The ugliest holiday sweater you can find! Win a 70oz bottle of lube for the worst. Bring:       Your favorite potluck entrée or side dish (funeral  potatoes, green jello with carrots, and a bag of Doritos are just a few examples). See:  Mya Chanel and The Prancing Fruitcakes!  Christmas karaoke See you there!!!

2013 Same-sex couples shatter marriage records in Utah

Licenses • Three quarters of the more than $49,000 spent on marriage licenses in the first week same-sex marriage was legalized came from gay and lesbian couples.

BY MARISSA LANG THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE In the week since a federal judge overturned Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, the number of weddings in the state has skyrocketed, shattering records and accruing thousands of dollars for Utah’s 29 counties. As of close of business Thursday, more than 1,225 marriage licenses had been issued in Utah since last Friday, according to numbers obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune. Of those, at least 74 percent were issued to gay and lesbian couples. That’s more than 905 same-sex couples who received marriage licenses in a week punctuated by holidays and limited — in some counties — by when their clerk began to adhere to U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby’s order. Marriage licenses in Utah cost between $30 and $50, depending on the county. With an average marriage license costing $40, counties in Utah made a grand total of more than $49,000 in the three-and-a-half days most county clerk’s offices were open this week. About three-quarters of that money came from gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses. “It’s been really dramatic,” said Weber County Clerk Ricky Hatch, who doled out 144 marriage licenses since Monday in an office that typically averages about eight per day. “I would guess on Monday we were seeing 90 percent same-sex couples. It’s dropping back now to where it’s a lower percentage.” Salt Lake County had the most marriages in the state this week, which is typical. But the numbers themselves were anything but. Shattering a previously held record of 85 marriages in a given day, Salt Lake County handed out 353 on Monday — their first full day of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Since last Friday, Salt Lake County gave out about 705 certificates, of which more than 90 percent were same-sex couples, said Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, who estimated that the majority of opposite-sex couples on the books were served before Judge Shelby’s ruling came down late Friday afternoon. Davis County issued the second-largest amount of marriage licenses in the state this week — 150 total licenses — but officials said they were not tracking how many went to same-sex versus opposite-sex couples. “It’s definitely more than we usually see,” said Brian McKenzie, Davis County’s elections director who estimated the office would typically see between 45 and 60 couples in the same amount of time near the holidays. “We’re not counting same-sex couples any differently than opposite-sex couples. We treat them all the same: Enter their names into the computer and then move on and help the next couple in line.” But not all counties saw a crush of couples seeking marriages. Several of Utah’s smaller counties had no takers at all for licenses this week. Beaver, Daggett, Emery, Piute, Rich and San Juan County — which only began accepting marriage license applications from same-sex couples on Thursday — reported zero marriage licenses this week. “We’ve literally had no one, zero,” said Vicky McKee, the clerk of Daggett County, population 1,090. “There’s certainly no run on marriage licenses here.” One worker in Sevier County, which has a population of 20,700, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, marveled at how slow the clerk’s office has been. “We’ve been offering same-sex licenses since Tuesday, but I don’t think we’ve done a single one,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “I don’t know why.” Piute, a small county of about 1,500 people in the center of the state, was the one county Thursday not granting licenses to same-sex couples. The county wasn’t giving licenses to opposite-sex couples either. County Clerk Valeen Brown was on vacation until Monday, officials said. So, Piute officials suspended all marriage license activity until Brown returns. Workers in the office doubted it would make much difference.  The chances of couples breaking down the door to get married in Piute are slim to none, they said. Piute has seen only one marriage license request in the past three months, said county worker Lisa Tenney. Utah County — which made national news this week when Shelly Eyre and her partner Cheryl Haws declared that they would sue its clerk for denying gay and lesbian couples licenses in the immediate aftermath of U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby’s ruling that overturned a statewide ban on same-sex marriages — was doling out certificates Thursday to all. According to Bryan Thompson, the county’s clerk and auditor, about 25 couples came in Thursday seeking marriage licenses. Of those, five were same-sex couples, all of whom were granted the certificates. “Moving forward, we probably won’t keep track of how many same-sex couples versus opposite-sex couples we issue licenses to,” Thompson told The Tribune. “I don’t see any reason to differentiate between them.” 

• How many marriages? In the week since U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby overturned the ban on same-sex marriages, the number of weddings in Utah has skyrocketed. Here’s a county-by-county breakdown over the past seven days of same-sex marriages, total marriages and what percentage of the marriages entered were by lesbian and gay couples: Beaver County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Box Elder County: 2 same-sex marriages | 5 total marriages | 40 percent Cache County: Did not respond to calls for comment. Carbon County: 2 same-sex marriages | 4 total marriages | 50 percent Daggett County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Davis County: 150 total marriages* Duchesne County: 2 same-sex marriages | 5 total marriages | 40 percent Emery County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Garfield County: Did not respond to calls for comment. Grand County: 6 same-sex marriages | 8 total marriages | 75 percent Iron County: 0 same-sex marriages | 3 total marriages | 0 percent Juab County: 1 same-sex marriage | 3 total marriages | 33 percent Kane County: 0 same-sex marriages | 3 total marriages | 0 percent Millard County: 1 same-sex marriage | 2 total marriage | 50 percent Morgan County: 0 same-sex marriages | 3 total marriages | 0 percent Piute County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Rich County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Salt Lake County: 655 same-sex marriages | 705 total marriages | 93 percent** San Juan County: 0 same-sex marriages | 0 total marriages Sanpete County: 3 same-sex marriages | 5 total marriages | 60 percent Sevier County: 0 same-sex marriages | 1 total marriage | 0 percent Summit County: 37 same-sex marriages | 42 total marriages | 88 percent Tooele County: 28 same-sex marriages | 36 total marriages | 78 percent Uintah County: 9 same-sex marriages | 11 total marriages | 81 percent Utah County: 5 same-sex marriages | 25 total marriages | 20 percent** Wasatch County: 2 same-sex marriages | 6 total marriages | 33 percent Washington County: 42 same-sex marriages | 63 total marriages | 67 percent Wayne County: 0 same-sex marriages | 1 total marriage | 0 percent Weber County: 110 same-sex marriages | 144 total marriages | 76 percent** Statewide: more than 905 same-sex marriages | 1,225 total marriages | at least 74 percent * Did not distinguish between same-sex and opposite-sex marriages; declined to estimate. ** Not an exact count. Based on daily percentage estimations by the county clerk.