January 13
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| August Bebel |
1958-The US Supreme Court voted unanimously to overturn
the decision of the lower courts in the case of One, Inc. v. Oleson. The decision
stated that homosexual publications could not be held to a different standard
of obscenity than other publications. One Magazine won a major victory by
winning the right to distribute its gay publications through the mail in a case
decided by the Supreme Court
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| Garth Chamberlain |
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| Jesse Helms |
1991-The first meeting of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights
took place in the UK .
1995. Utah Gay and Lesbian Democrats accepted House Minority Whip
Kelly Atkinson's explanation of statements he made in a recent Deseret News
political column. Atkinson, as reported previously by the Deseret News, said he
regretted the use of the word "fringe" in talking about groups - such
as homosexual Democrats - and their impact on the state party. He added that he
didn't mean to imply, and didn't think he did imply, that Gay and Lesbian
Democrats were anti-family. Gay and Lesbian Democrat founder David Nelson
threatened to sue him, Atkinson said earlier this week, over statements
Atkinson made in the column
1996 -Screaming Eagle- Years ago, I remember that The Tribune
regularly quoted noted anti Mormons Sandra and Gerald Tanner whenever the
Mormon Church was being controversial.
This practice seems to have stopped, I suppose, because Tribune editors
finally decided that it is just not good journalism having convoluted views in
every story. And today no responsible journalist would consider contacting
members of the Aryan Nation to hear their white supremacist views while
covering a story about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People. Yet I find it interesting that The Tribune still somehow thinks it is
being balanced by quoting the opponents of the gay and lesbian civil rights
movement in Utah
whenever they make news. I don't understand this practice of including an
obligatory token quote from Gayle Ruzicka of the Utah Eagle Forum whenever
reporting on gay and lesbian issues. Why is this? What credentials does this
woman have, besides being a self-appointed proponent of the far right's
political agenda, which is to legislate prejudice, disguised as morality, into
public policy? Is she a social worker, psychiatrist or professor of sociology?
The Tribune seems to have elevated this woman to an undeserved position of
official critic of social progress in Utah .
Why is her opinion valued any more than that of any other housewife in Utah ? Please, quit
giving Ruzicka free rein to espouse her political agenda in articles about the
gays and lesbians of Utah .
If you feel she must be heard, then give her a column on the opinion page, or
let her write letters to the editor like any other citizen. If The Tribune
continues to follow the practice of soliciting quotes about gay issues from the
radical right, then it would seem only fair that when they begin to lobby the
state Legislature this session, that
David Nelson of the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats or Renee Rinaldi of the Utah
Stonewall Center also be contacted and quoted as counterpoints to the Eagle
Forum's hate-mongering BEN WILLIAMS Salt Lake City (01/13/96 Page: A10 SLTribune)
1998-Tuesday- Co-workers constantly ask Salt Lake City employee
``Tom'' (not his real name) why he isn't married yet. Doesn't he want kids? And
where is his girlfriend? Tom is gay.
But few at City Hall know that. He is
careful about what he says in the office and on the phone, how much he reveals
about his life. He says he has to be.
``Marriage and heterosexuality are assumed in this job,'' he says.
``When people ask questions, you make up a story because you're not comfortable
telling the truth. It comes down to the classic `don't ask, don't tell.' ''
Tom, and other gay and lesbian city employees, feel trapped. They want to talk
about their lives, but fear reprisals if they do. Last month, many were jubilant when the City
Council approved a new anti-discrimination law that prohibits ``discrimination
against an other wise qualified employee or applicant based on race, color,
national origin, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability.'' Now,
three of the council members who approved the law are gone. And a new group is
intent on repealing the law -- tonight. Councilmen Bryce Jolley, Carlton
Christensen, Keith Christensen and Roger Thompson say the law is flawed. They
argue that a lame-duck council rammed through the ordinance with out
appropriate decorum. And they do not want to grant ``special rights'' to a new
class of people. Besides, they say, no
gay city employees have complained. But at least one did -- albeit anonymously.
Back in November, before the law was adopted, a city employee sent an unsigned
letter to the City Council. ``Discrimination exists in the city,'' the letter
states. ``I have to put up with comments, put-downs and innuendo.'' Rather than
leave the ``sexual orientation' ' clause in the law, the four council men want
to scrap the whole thing and start over, forming a task force to draft a more
generic measure. The councilmen's zeal to abolish the law has escalated
tensions at City Hall. Gay city employees are afraid to speak at the council
meeting, afraid to be named, afraid of their bosses, the City Council. ``My
level of fear has increased,'' Tom says. ``It's like having some thing and then
having it taken away from you. It's almost like hunting season is open.'' ``The response that we've had to this
ordinance amply demonstrates the need for it,'' says Councilwoman Deeda Seed,
who worked for two years to get the ordinance passed. ``The vitriolic nature
of this debate is indicative of the
problem.'' Still, some gay city
employees say they have had no problems on the job. ``Work has always been
respectful for me,'' says Kim Duffin, who works for the city's Community and
economic Development Department. But Duffin says he can't speak for other
employees. And he believes the new law should be left in place. One long time
city employee wishes the issue never had come up. ``I'm more concerned that I
would be fired for another reason than my sexuality,'' says ``Jim, ' who is under going therapy to overcome his
homosexual tendencies. ``The rhetoric now has caused more problems than if it
had never been mentioned. It's not particularly pleasant to work in this
environment now.'' Jim says the councilmen's
plan is better than the ordinance Seed pushed. ``This whole thing is a
political tennis match,'' he says. ``The councilmen have legitimate legal
arguments. But those legal arguments grow out of moral underpinnings. Deeda
Seed has concerns about discrimination, but they grow out of a political cause.
The end doesn't justify the means here.''
Even straight city employees are reluctant to defend the ordinance.
``This whole debate is insulting to some employees. We're disgusted with the
council's antics. But they've never asked us how we feel,' 'says an employee. ``I'd like to give a
speech at the council meeting, but I can't. We have object lessons of people
who have faced the consequences of speaking out.'' City employees' silence is
evidence of the problem, some say. University
of Utah
1998 Tuesday- Salt Lake City Council voted to repeal anti-discrimination law protecting homosexual workers 4-3. Bruce Jolley, Carlton Christensen, Roger Thompson, and Keith Christensen voted to repeal the law. Deede Seed, Joanne Miller, and Tom Rogan voted to retain the law. Councilmen Bryce Jolley, Carlton Christensen, Keith Christensen and Roger Thompson did not want to grant ``special rights'' to a new class of people.
13 January 1998-Tuesday- According to the AFA Journal, a new film
titled ``It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School'' has been
produced by several gay and lesbian groups, along with the NEA (National
Endowment for the Arts). This film, taken in elementary and middle schools,
shows young children talking about how ``biased'' and ``not very open-minded''
parents and adults who are opposed to homosexuality are. One of the producers
of the film, Debra Chasnoff, stated in an interview, ``What's clear in the film
is that the younger the kids, the more open they were. . . . If we could start
doing this kind of education in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, we'd
have a better generation.'' According
to the June 1997 AFA Journal, ``The video has been screened in at least six
states, and California Assemblywoman Sheila J. Kuehl, an open lesbian, said she
intends to have it shown in all 50 states.'' This is very frightening to me. I
am appalled to think that my grandchildren will be seeing this biased and
prejudiced film at school. It is wrong for homosexuals to go into our schools
to tell children that homosexuality is normal, just as it would be wrong for me
to go into schools to tell children that homosexuality is sinful. The Bible
clearly states homosexuality is a sin, and parents who believe this should be
free to teach this religious principle to their own children in their own homes
if they so choose and not have the schools undermine their teaching. Children can be taught respect for all
people, even though their beliefs are different, without telling them their
parents are wrong in their beliefs. It is apparent to me that homosexuals are
determined to get into our schools to influence and entice our children. The homosexual community thinks that those
of us who believe homosexuality is a sin and teach this to our children are
teaching hate and intolerance. Not true. We believe we have the right to teach
our children what is right and what is wrong, and homosexuals have the same
right. Neither the schools nor the federal government should have this right.
Homosexuals say we are intolerant and bigoted. I say they are intolerant and
bigoted because they do not respect our beliefs. We ask only the same thing of
them (tolerance) that they ask of us. In other words, we should respect all
people, even though their beliefs differ from ours, but we do not have to adopt
their beliefs in order to show respect. Teaching someone something is wrong is
not teaching hate or intolerance. CAROL
NUFFER Richfield (Salt Lake Tribune: 01/13/1998 A-6)
2003 PRIDEFEST, The Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will mark its
fourth anniversary
January 13 through 18 on the campus of Utah
State University
in Logan . This
festival brings a wide variety of gay and lesbian films, short features and
documentaries, from serious to over-the-top, otherwise not available in Utah .Ticket information, a detailed
schedule and synopsis of films can be found on line For education, fun and pure
delight of visual affirmation of Gay and Lesbian lives, take the short scenic
drive to Logan .
WE'RE HERE, WE'RE QUEER AND THE BIG SILVER SCREEN IS OURS! THERE WILL BE AN
"AFTER HOURS PARTY" "Mild to wild," whatever floats your
boat Saturday, Jan. 18, 11:00 p.m. until whenever BYOB At Courtney's and
Kelly's house
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| Kelly Byrnes & Courtney Moser |
2004 Ben Williams to Chad Keller Regarding Proposal Submitted for a
Lambda History Program on KRCL- The more I think about the meeting with Gena
Eskelson the more offended I get by her comments regarding the proposal
submitted to host a Lambda program for KRCL. It became very clear that she had
her own preconceive notions of what she will allow on the air and that she has
different standards for Gay men then she has for Lesbians when submitting
program requests. We were required to write up and submit a written proposal
before she would even consider talking to us. It was submitted in September.
She only then met with us in late November and then stated that she had a
problem with the members of the community program being “top heavy with men”
when there were only five people, two women, a Latino Gay man, and two
community activist Gay men on the proposal. She then said that she had already
hand picked two women; one whose partner has ties with KRCL and is already
involved in programming. She admitted that these two women had not submitted a
proposal nor had any ideas for a program and had not been required to come up
with a proposal and go through the same requirements we were required. She then
even wanted us to ”suspend” our proposal while we meet with these selected
women which makes me wonder if Eskelesen is this involved in every proposal
submitted to KRCL or just those submitted by Gay men? I find this very
troublesome.
2004 Brandon Burt to Ben Williams
Now you tell me....what's the gayest thing YOU'VE ever done? Hm -- these days
every damn thing I do is so gay Pat Robertson is running out of forehead veins
to burst. But for some reason this question reminded me of some of my odd,
Exploratory indiscretions in 9th grade -- at a time when I knew very well I was
gay and was not only eager to come out
of the closet, but also desperate to be liked. These two motivations,
particularly in the early '80s, were more inconflict than I wanted to believe
at the time. Each year there was a game between the basketball team and the
faculty. It was always great fun, and in
a weird way fulfilled the same function in our school as Walpurgisnacht or
various other "backwards days" did in highly structured medieval
Germanic and Celtic societies -- inverting the universe and allowing chaos and
foolishness to temporarily rein in a time outside of time's normal strictures.
At sporting events, the amount of pep emanating from the spectators Must always
be maintained by cheerleaders, highly trained masters of their craft. Allowing
pep levels to sink dangerously low can result in game loss, injury or even
death. The aspect of the faculty/student game that most captured my queer young
imagination was that, instead of the regular squad, the cheerleaders were 9th
grade boys in bad camp drag. In those days, and in Carbon County, only girls
could be cheerleaders, so you can imagine that the boys in drag got a lot of
laughs, a fact which appealed to me greatly. In previous years, I had admired
the 9th graders' campy antics and came to see this cheerleading business as my
only possible contribution to the school's sporting program. So this year, on
the big day, I brought makeup, a skirt and a wig to school. I suppose I had
spent enough time in the bathroom making myself "pretty" that most of
the school was already in the gymnasium by the time I emerged. As I was walking
toward the gym, pleasantly anticipating all the hilarity that was sure to
follow, I was stopped in the near-empty corridor by one of the girls from the
real cheerleading squad. "What the hell are you supposed to be?" she
demanded, displaying the charm and compassion with which cheerleaders typically
address nerds. I explained to her that I was going to be a cheerleader, and,
oh, could I borrow a pair of pom-poms? "What?! YOU can't be a
cheerleader!" Her voice was colored with undisguised wonder as she
arrogantly tossed her perfectly-feathered hair.
Apparently, the boys who traditionally led cheers at this event were the
stars of the football team. She seemed shocked at my effrontery, my sheer
ignorance of the established order: "Didn't you KNOW that?" Well, no,
I hadn't guessed that from previous years, since the boy cheerleaders had never
presented their bios for my inspection. I didn't even know who the
"stars" of the football team in my own grade were, for god's sake --
I was bored to tears by the whole cult of personality that was school sports,
and as far as I was concerned those jock types were indistinguishable from each
other as the somewhat crude and inexplicably stupid boys who would occasionally
and for no reason slam me up against corridor walls and issue unprovoked
threats. Perhaps my refusal to recognize their self-evident superiority was
what galled them. It's even possible the cheerleader had rightly guessed that
every year I was secretly rooting for the faculty -- who were generally easier
to get along with than the students. But it was clear I was not going to be
allowed my bit of campy fun. So I skulked back to the bathroom, changed back
into my normal geekwear, and washed my face with gritty, powdered school soap.
I've wondered what would have happened if I had made it all the way to the
gymnasium and appeared before the entire faculty and student body wearing
mascara, a skirt, and a wig -- without having been a football player. Would the
universe simply have imploded? Would I have been sent home, attacked, placed
under protective custody? Who knows? The
whole episode, now, seems to have enough humor mixed with pathos that it seems
very gay somehow, if you know what I mean. On yearbook signing day, I decided
to append "... Love, Brandon" to all My little "Stay cool, and
have a nice summer" (or whatever) entries – which ended up making my male
classmates very uneasy. I didn't see what the problem was, but for some reason
I was amused to watch them furiously scribbling over my indelible signature before
any of their friends saw it. I hadn't anticipated any particular reaction; in
fact, I think I was really just enjoying the idea of being full of love for
mankind, or some romantic notion like that. I suppose out there in redneck
land, things could have turned out badly for me. Fortunately, it soon became
clear that the boys were unable to launch any kind of coordinated, retaliatory
attack; because each was terrified his yearbook was the only one I had signed
that way. Only one ever mentioned it, and that was in shocked, secretive tones,
to tell me, "You can't DO that!" But of course, I could. And I got
away with it, too. Smoochie kisses. Love, Brandon
2005 (In the middle of the
article the crutch of the matter is that an Orem Mom is upset that the Red
Cross Blood Drives ask high school students if they ever had sex with a man who
had sex with a man.) Red Cross blood quiz too risqué? Mom complains: High
school donors are asked about sexual history By Mark Eddington and Ronnie Lynn
Salt Lake Tribune Stop the bleeding. That was Diane Ogborn's plea Wednesday to
the state Board of Education. She says Red Cross blood drives are too risqué
for impressionable Utah
high-school students, who must be protected from the saucy screening questions
about sex that technicians must ask donors. The 37-year-old Orem mother of four asked board members to
halt Red Cross drives at public high schools. "They just ask very sexually
explicit questions without parental consent," she said. The board declined
to put Utah 's
high schools off-limits, but agreed to develop a policy requiring blood-drive
organizers to give parents plenty of advance notice on the kinds of questions
their children will be asked if they give blood. The pending policy also could
require parental permission - a step the Red Cross says blood banks already
take. Ogborn, who has donated blood regularly since she was in high school,
argues state law clearly prescribes what kind of sexual content can be exposed
to students, and who can expose it. For blood- drive technicians to ask
questions such as "Have you ever had sex with a male who has had sex with
another male?" goes too far, she said. "As a parent, how I read it,
it looks to me like it violates the law," she said. The questions all donors
fill out before giving blood also ask such things as "In the past 12
months, have you had any sexual contact with a prostitute or anyone else who
takes money or drugs or other payment for sex?" and "From 1977 to the
present, have you received money, drugs or other payment for sex?" Such
queries are necessary to screen blood for HIV and other sexually transmitted
diseases. And they're legal, according to school board attorneys, even in
public schools. While state law addresses the kind of sexual content that can
be covered during regular instruction, the school board doesn't consider the
Red Cross questions instruction. Therefore, they don't violate the law. State
schools Superintendent Patti Harrington said she sympathized with Ogborn.
"That kids have access to that language concerns me, too," Harrington said. But
Julia Wulf, acting CEO of the Red Cross' Lewis and Clark Blood Region, notes
her organization already informs parents about the nature of the questions. A
parental permission slip - along with frank sexual definitions - is sent home
with each student age 17, the minimum age allowed in Utah for blood donation. Anyone 18 and over
does not need parental permission. However explicit the questions
and definitions, Wulf notes, they are required by the Food and Drug Administration.
"Our primary concernn is the safety of the blood supply," she said.
"Unfortunately, there are people who want to give blood who don't
understand what is considered sexual contact." The Red Cross sponsors
blood drives in 75 Utah
high schools each year. High school donors account for 5 percent of the 100,000
units the Red Cross collects annually in the state. MountainStar and the
Associated Regional and University Pathologists (ARUP) at the University of Utah United States relies on high school
donations." About 10 percent of the 25,000 units MountainStar draws each
year come from Utah 's
high schools. "Only 5 percent of the eligible population in the U.S.
donates," Francis added. "If 10 percent of that total was taken away,
where would we get the extra 10 percent from?" Robert Blaylock, medical
director of blood services for ARUP, says today's aging population is making
blood even more critical. "We're trying to educate people at a young age
that blood donation is a good thing," he said. "To lose that
opportunity while kids are in high school - to get them started on a
blood-donation career - would have tragic consequences." meddington@sltrib.com rlynn@sltrib.com
2005 Randall Dean Watkins (1962-2005) Randall Dean Watkins, 42,
committed suicide on January 13, 2005 in St. George, Utah .
Randy was born September 21, 1962 in Ogden ,
Utah Ogden , Utah and Las Vegas , Nevada St. George , Utah Dixie High School and attended Dixie College Utah , Nevada , and Wyoming
before moving back to St. George in 1996.
Randy and his partner in life, David Ulibarri, owned and operated Guest
Room Services and David's Designs Floral and Gifts. They loved to escape to the
mountains, ocean or to Snow
Canyon
2005 Ladies and Gentlemen, please forgive the delay in getting this
information to you. The Cyber Sluts will be hosting "Gay Bingo" for
the next 9, yes NINE weeks, at Todd's Bar and Grill, on Wednesday nights from 8
until 10pm. If you have never attended Gay Bingo, you have NOT lived. It's
great fun and it is for a great cause. The proceeds will go to the Camp
Pinecliff Weekend which is an annual camp for people with HIV/AIDS. Each
evening of Gay Bingo will include live entertainment and of course, BINGO. Also
thrown in will be loads of political subversion, social commentary scandalous
gossip and questionable glamour. (so if you don't want to be the center of
discussion, you'd better be there) Todd's will be doing a food and beverage
special each week. Hope to see you all there!!!!
2006 Friday-I think we should demand an explanation and an apology.
We should demand the film (Brokeback Mountain) be shown at his theaters. We should demand that he
give a donation to the youth fund at the Center or any other charity (the Road
Home??) that WE feel is appropriate. AND dissociate himself from the comments
of Gayle Rusicka My two cents...Mike Picardi
2006 Dear Equality Members: As we approach the 2006 legislative
session, it's important for us as a community to move into action. We must be
involved citizens, engaged in the process to influence change. We had such an overwhelming response to our
Citizen Lobby Training in Salt Lake
City that we have decided to take the show on the
road. Please join Equality Utah for our Citizen Lobby Training, "How to
Talk to Your Elected Officials" coming soon to a town near you. January
26, 2006-Weber County Library in Ogden , Utah 7:30-9:00pm January 30, 2006-Park City Library in Park City , Utah
7:00-9:00pm February 1 , 2006-Provo City Library in Provo ,
Utah 6:30-8:30pm February 4, 2006-Washington
County Library in St. George ,
Utah
2007 Deseret Morning News, Utahn is
elected to national LGBT board Valerie Larabee,
executive director of the Utah Pride Center, has been elected to serve on the board of
directors of the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Centers. The national
association, founded in 1994, works to expand the organizational and advocacy
capacity of LGBT community centers through direct technical assistance,
leadership skills development and resource coordination. The announcement of Larabee's election came along with other appointments,
including co-chairs: Richard Burns, executive director of the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York City;
and Robbin Burr, executive director of Chicago's
Center on Halsted.
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| Valerie Larabee |
2010 Lambda Lore Q Salt Lake by Ben Williams Looking back over the
past decade it’s hard to imagine a time when there was no Equality Utah, no
Swerve, no Utah Stonewall Democrats, and no Hate Crime legislation. At the
start of 2000 only the University of Utah even had an anti-discrimination
ordinance in place. At the beginning of the new millennium old familiar haunts
like The Sun, Axis, and the Deerhunter were all gone. During the last year of the
20th Century Stan Penfold had just been appointed executive director of the
Utah AIDS Foundation and Jackie Biskupski had just become Utah's first openly
gay legislator. As a historian I believe only sociopaths never look back so
here are some special events to help us get a perspective of how far we have
come since the Y2K scare threatened to end civilization as we know it. January
2000 An independent committee including students and faculty at Weber State
University raised more than $50,000 to create the Matthew Shepard Scholarship
fund. Gail Ruzicka called scholarship “absolutely inappropriate.” Two of the
winners requested to remain anonymous.
"It's a sad day when you can't print your name in the paper for
fear that someone's going to hurt you," said one of the winners of partial
tuition, a 35-year-old WSU junior who lives in Ogden with her partner and
5-year-old daughter. February 2000
Vermont Offers Gay Couples Registered Partners Benefits and Gay Mormon
Stuart Mathis committed suicide on steps of a Mormon Church in California to
protest LDS involvement in Proposition 22 an anti-Gay marriage California
initiative. In 1999 Kathy Worthington initiated a campaign to get Gay and
Gay-friendly Mormons to renounce their membership in the LDS Church in response
to blatant anti-gay efforts by the church hierarchy. Kathy Worthington died in
2007. March 2000 The Division of Child and Family Services’ board of trustees
voted in 1999 to ban adoptions of children in state care by homosexual couples
or unmarried heterosexual couples. In 2000 the State Legislature created a law
supporting the DCSF position which then Utah Governor Leaviit signed. Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City told
lawmakers, “I am not all of those
negative things you have been taught to believe about me. I am not less than
human and therefore do not deserve to have my liberties taken away from
me." April 2000 Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, making good on a
campaign promise, signed an executive order protecting Gay and lesbian city
workers from discrimination. May 2000 Five years after the contentious debate
over Gay-lesbian-straight school clubs began in Utah, East High School students
met in the PRISM Club, the state's first school-sponsored club organized to
discuss current events from a Gay and lesbian perspective. June 2000 The first
Gay rodeo held in Utah was organized by the Utah Gay Rodeo Association. Dean
Walton, a.k.a. Auntie De', who died in 2009, was chosen as Grand Marshall.
Fund-raising coordinator Chad Keller who died in 2007, stated the cost of the
event was near $50,000. When organizers called Utah stock owners to rent
animals for the rodeo, all refused when they found out it was a gay-sponsored
event. The U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling upheld the Boy Scouts of America’s' right to exclude
gays. A federal judge upheld a decision
to dismiss a lawsuit that alleged Utah's sodomy and fornication laws violated a
constitutional right to privacy. The Supreme Court in 2003 decided all Sodomy
laws were in violation of the US Constitution. August 2000 Gay LDS
historian Jay Bell & Robert Rees
held a forum at the Sunstone Symposium on “Remembering the Gay Suicides, a
Memorial Session to remember Stuart Matis and DJ Thompson”. Jay Bell died in
2003 September 2000 The Utah Court of
Appeals rejected Ken Larsen's claims that the city's “no-cruising on State
Street” ordinance violated his state and federal constitutional rights. Larsen,
a Libertarian mayoral candidate, became one of the first drivers cited for
violating Salt Lake City's new cruising ordinance. In 1999 Ken Larsen, although
he is not a homosexual, also applied for a gay marriage license that was
denied, as a way of challenging the states gay-marriage ban. October 2000 Students who tried to form two
gay clubs at East High School Students dropped
lawsuits against the Salt Lake City School District after learning the
district would sanction two gay clubs at East High under a revised club
policy. Stephen Clark, the ACLU's legal
counsel said, "That certainly is a victory for gay students and their
friends and supporters." Mormon parents of gay children pleaded
with LDS church leaders to halt distribution of “To Young Men Only, To the One, Letter to a
Friend and For the Strength of Youth”
that they say condemn their offspring as "latter-day lepers".
David Hardy, a former Mormon bishop, said the language " cause
"parents to condemn and turn against their gay children, destroying real
families, and drive our gay children to self-loathing, despair and suicide.
November 2000 BYU performed the 1934,
Lillian Hellman's drama "The Children's Hour" which brought to the
stage Martha Dobie, "perhaps the first gay character who wasn't an
out-and-out stereotype”. The co-ed
playing the character said, "I
don't feel that she is actually a lesbian.”
The Provo-based software Novell Inc. stopped matching employee
contributions to the Boy Scouts of America, citing the youth organization's
exclusion of homosexual scoutmasters as a violation of the company's
anti-discrimination policies. December 2000 A petition to The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, signed "Mormon Advocates for Further Light
and Knowledge," appeared as an ad in The Salt Lake Tribune. The document called upon LDS general
authorities to repudiate the church's overall position that "same-sex
attraction is an undesirable and unnatural emotion, which, when acted upon
results in sinful, Satan-inspired behavior." The petition's author was Mac Madsen, a
former Weber State University healthy-lifestyles professor and men's golf
coach. And that the way it was in the
year 2000.
2011 Jeff Lubsen started the Utah Gay Hockey Association to unite hockey enthusiasts with a supportive environment for gay athletes in the Wasatch Front. The association is currently seeking athletes to join its ranks.
2018 State Senator Jim Dabakis presented "Stories From my Soul" a two-year effort by Sen. Dabakis and Utah director Charles Lynn Frost. It takes the audience from Dabakis' tough childhood in inner city Massachusetts, to his conversion to the LDS Church at age 11, on to his enhanced departure from BYU, his 13 year stint on Utah radio and TV, a 10-year move to Soviet Russia, living through AIDS, activism, and his political career. There will be three performances of a 75-minute one man show, Jan. 13-14, 2018. As that the shows were sold out two additional performance were added for February.
2011 Jeff Lubsen started the Utah Gay Hockey Association to unite hockey enthusiasts with a supportive environment for gay athletes in the Wasatch Front. The association is currently seeking athletes to join its ranks.
2018 State Senator Jim Dabakis presented "Stories From my Soul" a two-year effort by Sen. Dabakis and Utah director Charles Lynn Frost. It takes the audience from Dabakis' tough childhood in inner city Massachusetts, to his conversion to the LDS Church at age 11, on to his enhanced departure from BYU, his 13 year stint on Utah radio and TV, a 10-year move to Soviet Russia, living through AIDS, activism, and his political career. There will be three performances of a 75-minute one man show, Jan. 13-14, 2018. As that the shows were sold out two additional performance were added for February.
- Outspoken Utah senator reveals personal side in one-man show By The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Outspoken Utah Democrat Jim Dabakis is taking on a new role as he performs in a one-man show titled “Stories From My Soul.” The Utah state senator, who has zero acting training, says the show tells his life story, starting with him rising from a hardscrabble childhood as the son of a drug-addicted mother and a working-class father, The Salt Lake Tribune reported . The former talk-radio and TV personality also tells the unlikely story of him moving with his boyfriend, now husband, Stephen Justesen, to the Soviet Union, where he worked as an art dealer and started a variety of businesses. Dabakis is aware, of course, that the idea of a one-man show seems pretentious. But at a time when elected officials are likely to focus-group and poll-test the spin of their sound bites, he hopes it will throw open the doors to another kind of political theater. It’s a direct reaction to politicians who don’t want you to know anything about them other than the package that’s been worked on by all the PR people,” he says. “I think if the public knew much more about us, then they could make much more solid decisions when they are voting. What’s important is not all of our parrot speeches, but what’s at our core.” Director Charles Lynn Frost helped Dabakis compile his stories. “Jimmy is an extemporaneous performer,” Frost said, “which is a director’s nightmare.” Dabakis’ show runs this weekend on the Chapel Theatre stage at Salt Lake Acting Company. The final show is at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
2020 Herald Journal News By Savannah Pace Logan Pride Center
opens its doors (and
arms) to community After signing the lease in November and
following a ribbon cutting ceremony in December, the Logan Pride Center is
officially up and running. Located just north of the Logan Tabernacle, the
Logan Pride Center has found its home base. “The stars really aligned for this
to all come together,” said Crista Sorenson, the vice president of the Logan
Pride Foundation. “This is a phenomenal house. It is a welcoming, inclusive
place where we can all interact.” Couches
and armchairs fill the community area and built-in bookshelves filled with
books and games line one of the walls. Sorenson said everything was donated by
the community. Founded in 2016, Logan Pride is known for many events throughout
the community but it is most prominently known for the Logan Pride Festival,
which brings hundreds of community members together every year. This transition
into a permanent, physical location allows the organization to expand its
resources and engagement, which Sorenson said the community needs. Because
Cache Valley is geographically set apart from the rest of Utah, where
mainstream research for the queer community is prevalent, Sorenson said it can
be difficult feel support from so far away. “Extreme suicide rates among youth,
especially those that identify, and the overall isolation of the community
requires us to be present,” Sorenson said. “In order to be present, we needed a
physical reality as well.” While Sorenson is involved in the community in
various roles, she has seen Logan Pride grow rapidly over the last four years.
She said it’s vital to build relationships in the community. “It is important
to be involved and help make my community into what I want it to be,” Sorenson
said. This week is the start of the center’s general open hours. From 1 to 4
p.m. and even later on certain days, the community space in the center will be
open for anybody in the community to stop by and find a spot to sit down and
read, play games or just enjoy a safe, homelike space. The daily open hours
along with weekly and monthly events ensure that the center will rarely be
empty, Sorenson said. Included in the long list of events is a weekly
post-Mormon support group meeting, weekly tutoring for students in middle
school through high school, and a monthly art activity put on by ArtCore. “There
has already been such an overwhelming response from the community,” Sorenson
said. In just the first two volunteer orientations, Sorenson said there were
around 70 people who participated. “There is a need for resources in our
valley,” Sorenson said. “We are here. We are not going anywhere. We do this so
we can have a healthy, kind community.” The center is located at 69 E. 100
North. More information about upcoming events can be found on the Logan Pride
Facebook page.
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| Christa Sorenson |
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