January 19
1851 - Utah
legislature enacts law against "Sodomy" by "any man or
boy," but removes sodomy from criminal code on 6 Mar. 1852, without
explanation. As governor Brigham Young signs both laws. Due to absence of
sodomy statue, Utah
judge drops charges against soldier for raping LDS boy in 1864. Young claims Utah 's legislators never
criminalized sodomy and he declines to instruct them to do so for the next
twelve years. Utah legislators criminalize
sodomy in 1876 only because federally appointed governor asks them to adopt
entire criminal code of California
which has five-year imprisonment for sodomy. For next twenty years LDS judges
give 3-6 months of imprisonment to those convicted of homosexual rape, the same
sentencing given to young males and females convicted of consensual
fornication. Mormons of this era give no known explanations for any of these
legislative and juridical actions/inactions.
1916 Mike Murphy and George Taintor were charged with a Crime
Against Nature for having sex with Louis James Smith. Michael Murphy was sent
to Utah State
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| Herbert Humphrey |
1976-Foremer Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Hubert
Humphrey stated his support for gay rights, saying he knows of no reason why
homosexuals should be excluded from civil rights and civil liberties.
1976- “ Homosexuals Discuss Gayness and Society” by Robert Waller.
They have been called queers, fags,
femmes, homos, fairies, butches, dykes, and a threat to natural society. They call
themselves Gay. During the Spanish Inquisition, they were burned at the stake.
If two men were to kiss in public within sight of a police man they would be
arrested. Many members of straight society wish, more and more to themselves
that the Spanish solution, could be re invoked.
And yet Ken Storer , director of Salt Lake City ’s
Gay Community
Center estimates there to be as many as 70,000 homosexuals
living in the area from Ogden to Provo . As our society slowly begins to take a long
and deeper look at itself, the problems
of those once hidden, silent in its dark corners, those once called social or
sexual deviants, are emerging to where the light of public notice can toss them
around, 1st as a novel spectacle, then as guilt producing victims of an
insecure world and finally as an accepted alternative within the mainstream of
a saner society. The Gay community has
existed as long as sex has, probably longer since organisms lived sexless for
millions of years before such a distinction evolved. It is well known that ancient Greek society
supported homosexuality almost as a preference.
Then for the past, 2,000 years, due to a large extent of a general
religious denial of sexual activity, homosexuals were stricken every time they
surfaced in the public eye. They were stricken into the early 20th Century,
into the liberal decade of the 1960’s, and are stricken now. But the public blinders are slowly melting
away. Gays are beginning to draw the attention of those who pay attention: Like
the medical profession, who have officially removed homosexuality from the
status of disease; Politicians who, at least in centers of sophistication like
San Francisco, attend Gay political rallies; Civil Libertarians Lawyers who are
working to erase some of the prejudicial laws against singles and homosexuals.:
The general gawking public, who visit Gay bars like they would a zoo, to stare,
laugh, imitate, feel threatened, and live, and curious reporters who confronted
with 2 males and 1 female Gay, 2 of whom cannot gives names for fear of losing
employment, interview, listen and discover an oppressed minority, one of the
few remaining victims of religious persecution, and a group of people who, like
oxygen, are everywhere but for their own protection, are very difficult to see.
Ken Storer used this analogy. “Look at Gays as living in a pasture with
everyone else. It is hoped they have as much chance to experience the rest of
the pasture as other people. But there is this big and sometimes mean bull in
the pasture. So the Gay has four options. He can leave the pasture by community
suicide but of course that way doesn’t give him much of the pasture
either. He can hide in the bushes. And
he still doesn’t see the rest of the pasture. The 3rd option is to be militant
and challenge the bull. But he spends so much time challenging the bull that he
doesn’t have time to experience the pasture.
Or he can say I am Okay I’m not challenging God, mother, or apple pie
and try to live with the bull.” Although the three homosexuals who consented to
the interview said living with the bull was beginning to be easier, the
problems of being Gay a have not diminished very much. And the problems of
being Gay in Salt Lake City
is even more frustrating they said. “Most cities reactions to Gays,
pornography, etc. is so what? They don’t
think they can legislate morals. Here it is different.” The man who preferred not to be named and
described his profession as “Clerical” said, he will be called A. Storer explained that he can usually tell who
would be able to handle being a homosexual and that’s compared to other cities
he has lived in, there are a lot more people in Salt Lake LDS Church Salt Lake Gay
Community Center Salt Lake San Francisco
is developing a solid Gay political block to which its politicians have to pay
heed. According to A they Gays of Salt Lake are very slow to get together
politically, Storer said. That all but two of the city candidates in the last
election visited the center but said it was politically impossible for them to
give public support for the Gay cause. A
doesn’t want homosexuals to parade around with a purple banner. He wants to see Gays just proclaim I am
me. “If I could stand up in front of
every single Gay I would not say to stand up for your rights. I would say just
stand up.” It is a long lonely road between the present altitude of fear and
blindness and some distant culture in which homosexuals will be granted
marriages licenses, open housing, and , and the opportunity to file joint tax
returns. The best Gays can hope for from today
world is to be left alone, to be able to come out from the bushes of the
pasture where the insecure bull has pushed them to be free of the “guilt by
association”, quarantine which keeps normally tolerant “straights” from
treating them as something other than a threat but like any group of people,
Communist, homosexual, or the Christian persecution ignorance, and denial will
only make them strong and they will eventually prevail. As Ken Storer put it,
“If Gays can service all the things they have to survive, than that’s the
strongest wrist of all.” (Daily Utah Chronicle pages 1-2 -3)
.jpg) |
| Ken Storer |
1981 Monday- An 18 year old
man told police he was taken by gun point to Wasatch Springs Park approximately
800 North 200 West where he was sexually abused by a man described as in his
30’s. The victim accepted a ride with
the man at Howard Johnson 110 West South Temple when the assailant pulled out a
gun and drove to the park. Police are
looking for a Caucasian man about 5’6” and 150 lbs. (SLTribune B2)
.
1985-Houston voters defeated a measure that would have banned
discrimination in city employment. Shortly before the election the KKK
demonstrated against the ordinance, urging voters to "Take a Stand with
the Klan." The margin was four to one.
1988- Unconditional Support topic
“Freudian Fathers Are They the Enemy?” “Today is my dad’s birthday. He doesn’t
know it but I celebrated it by having Unconditional Support talk about our
fathers. It was a good meeting although small. Perhaps 20 people attended. John
Bennett told me that Satu Servigna is ill. It sounds serious.” [1988 Journal of
Ben Williams]
1989 Thursday- I had a transitional meeting for transferring the
offices of Gay and Lesbian Community Council from Jim Hunsaker, Reina Horton,
and Bruce Barton to Neil Hoyt, Chuck Whyte, and myself. Only Reina Horton did
not show up for the meeting. [1989 Journal of Ben Williams]
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| Al Parker |
1991-Gay and lesbian anti-war protesters marched in front of the
treasury department in Washington DC.
1994-Gay musician Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame.
1994 Wednesday, After abduction, shooting by husband, health is a
top concern. QUINONES THANKS THOSE WHO HELPED HER SURVIVE ORDEAL By Nicole A.
Bonham, Staff Writer Clad in a grape-colored jump suit, 16-month-old Bianca
Quinones peeked from beneath the table in the governor's office Tuesday as
well-wishers congratulated her mother for simply surviving. Gloria Quinones, 24, was shot twice above the
heart Nov. 4 by her estranged husband, Jorge Luis Santiago, 28, in the
culmination of a three-day ordeal that left him dead. Quinones had separated
from Santiago
after learning he had tested positive for HIV before the couple's marriage. He
was eventually diagnosed with AIDS. She came forward Tuesday to publicly thank
the friends and strangers who helped her survive the November incident,
including Jane Sager, a Washington Terrace woman who attempted to rescue
Quinones in a Smith's Food & Drug parking lot. "I think of Gloria
quite a bit," said Sager. "This look that went across her face was
total loss of hope. It just broke my heart." Problems between Santiago and Quinones
escalated Nov. 2 when he shot 50-year-old Lucy Valdez at her North Redwood
home. Valdez
intercepted a bullet aimed at Bianca Quinones. Santiago
then kidnapped his estranged wife at gunpoint and held her captive during a
trip to Portland , Ore. Ogden ,
but Santiago
shot out her car tires. The couple's marriage officially ended hours later on a
stretch of U-201 near the 4000 Westoff-ramp when police surrounded their car
and Santiago
shot his wife twice, then himself. Quinones, a Mexican native from the Sinaloa
province, does not speak English. Her comments were translated Tuesday by Kathy
Worthington, a friend who is helping the woman recuperate from a marriage
marred by violence and brutality. In the months since the incident, Quinones
has lived with the Valdez
family in the North Redwood area. Her parents arrived from Mexico in
November, and she plans to return with them to Sinaloa to rest and contemplate
her future. Of top concern is Quinones' health. She was hospitalized twice
since November with a collapsed lung and fluid around her heart. Before the
kidnapping, she tested negative for HIV. But during the trip to Oregon , Santiago
forced intercourse twice, again exposing Quinones to the virus. So far, she
hasn't shown the symptoms typical of HIV and has tested negative during each
hospital stay, Worthington
told the Deseret News. "She survived nine months living with him," Worthington said.
"There's a very good chance she'll come out clean." Despite obvious
health concerns, Quinones appeared composed and at peace Tuesday. "She's
really happy to have a chance to say thank you to the people who helped
her," Worthington
said. "Even before this became a public story, people were pitching in and
helping Gloria." Quinones presented gifts and words of thanks to Sager;
the Utah Highway Patrol; Olivia and Bill LeFebre, who cared for her after she
was released from the hospital; Lucy and Robert Valdez; Worthington and an
anonymous health-care worker who, suspecting Quinones didn't know her husband
had AIDS, possibly risked her job to tell Quinones of his condition. Gov. Mike
Leavitt presented commendations to Sager and Lucy Valdez, who is still
recuperating from a bullet lodged in her spine. "This is a story in which
there was great courage shown by many people," Leavitt said. "It was
a dramatic story where people stepped forward to do a good thing." © 1998
Deseret News Publishing Co.
 |
| Kathy Worthington |
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1998 Page: A9 Erase Sodomy Laws
Utah
is one of about 20 states that, operating under a green light from the Supreme
Court, still have laws making sodomy a criminal offense. Consenting adults have
no federal constitutional right to private homosexual conduct, the court said
when it upheld Georgia 's sodomy law in 1986. Sodomy is banned for gays and heterosexuals
alike in Alabama , Arizona ,
Florida , Georgia ,
Idaho , Louisiana ,
Minnesota , Mississippi ,
North Carolina , Rhode
Island , South Carolina , Utah and Virginia .
Penalties vary widely, with maximum jail terms ranging from 30 days in Arizona to 20 years in Virginia
and Rhode Island , or even life in Idaho . Sodomy laws are
rarely, if ever, enforced, but they are used indirectly in other cases involving
gay people, such as custody or employment disputes. A gay person might be
judged a bad candidate to have custody of a child because he or she is assumed
to be breaking a state's sodomy law. In cases like the one involving Spanish
Fork teacher Wendy Weaver, some citizens and representatives of the state cite Utah 's anti-sodomy law
as a reason to deny basic civil rights to gay people, saying homosexual
relationships are illegal. But you notice no one is arresting Weaver or other
gay people and charging them with sodomy.
I think the Utah Legislature and other lawmaking bodies would quickly
repeal all the sodomy laws if they were suddenly faced with using state and
local resources to prosecute and imprison hundreds, thousands or even millions
of gay Americans. (If only 1 percent of the populace is gay, a very low
estimate, nearly 20,000 Utahns and nearly 2.7 million Americans are
homosexual.) Imagine the backlog in the courts and the number of prisons or
jails we'd have to build. Or would we turn other criminals loose to make room
for people violating the sodomy laws?
Laws that aren't even intended to be enforced but are used only to
discriminate contradict the values of fairness and equality that most of us believe
are a proud part of the American way of life.
Perhaps it's time for gay Americans to walk into their local law
enforcement agency and test lawmakers' willingness to spend lots of time, money
and jail space in enforcing antiquated laws.
KATHY J. WORTHINGTON
Taylorsville
2001Cork Room Sponsors Will Give Marketing Another Attempt By Emily
fullerOn the fourth floor of the A. Ray Olpin University Union a junkyard of a
room waits for use. The Cork Room, which was dedicated as a student-club space
last fall, hasn’t seen much of that intended use. The Associated Students of
the University of Utah and the Union Board want to change that. “We want to
make it a place students would want to use,” said Emilie Decker, ASUU vice
president. The Cork Room’s use has been up in the air this year. Originally the
space was used for all student clubs, but very few took advantage of it. Then
the Lesbian and Gay Student Union asked for a space in which it could
comfortably and safely meet. Therefore, part of the Cork Room was designated as
a space for LGSA’s residence until a larger space was found for them. LGSA was
scheduled to move into the corner of the Cork Room at the beginning of the
Spring Semester but chose not to for two reasons. “It’s an open-access room,”
said Charles Milne, LGSU co-vice president. “We’ve
had vandalism in the past.”
The security of the room is in doubt, Milne said. Therefore, the Union Board
has decided to make a sign-up sheet for the room keys in order to monitor those
who utilize the room. Where the keys will be stationed is still in question,
but the location will be confirmed before Feb. 8 by a subcommittee of
representatives from ASUU and the Union Board. LGSU’s other objection was
rooted in time concerns. The Cork Room was thought to be up for review as a
student space on Feb. 1. LGSA decided
not to move if the space was to be debated for use in February. “We didn’t want
to get going and move a lot of stuff to fit the office,” Milne said. However,
it was discovered at Thursday’s meeting that the board had mistaken the date,
and that the real date is later on, in March. With the true date in place,
there is more time available for ASUU and the Union Board to renovate and
market the Cork Room to student clubs and organizations. “A lot of clubs really
are looking for a place to meet,” said ASUU Campus Relations Board Director Dan
Herzog. Herzog was selected by ASUU to
develop a marketing plan aimed toward student groups who need a space. A
five-step marketing plan has been implemented to help procedures move along.
First, the United Leadership Council, which is made of presidents and leaders
of all campus organizations and groups, will be meeting once per month in the
room for better exposure. Then, fliers advertising the space as available to
students will be distributed. And, along the same lines, Herzog plans to send
postcards to all club presidents. A press release will be sent out to
publications and organizations on campus, and the Union Board and ASUU will ask
for help to clean up the space. “It doesn’t look like a place we’d want to take
credit for at the moment,” Decker said. Already, ASUU and the Union Board have
found two computers for the room, and a couple of mixed-and-matched pieces of
furniture.“A quick-fix way to make it acceptable will have to be instated, so
when we market it to the organizations it will be a place they will want to
use,” said Whit Hollis, union director. Hollis also mentioned that next year’s
ASUU and Union Board should allocate funds for renovation of the Cork Room in
their budgets so it looks better later on in the year. “I think what has
honestly happened is that ASUU has been waiting for the Union Board and the
Union Board for ASUU, and now that we’ve sat down—Charles [Milne] and
myself—we’re ready to go forward,” Decker said.
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| Charles Milne |
2003
Friends of Morris Kight LOS ANGELES, CA
- Having declared three decades ago
"I'm sure we are going to get our
freedom, I see it everywhere," gay rights pioneer Morris Kight died
peacefully in his sleep this morning, ending a prolific career that achieved
many of the civil rights he sought. Kight was 83. "Morris Kight can never
be replaced, but will and must be remembered," said fellow activist,
longtime friend and contemporary Ivy Bottini. "Our country and our nation
has lost a voice of sanity and hospitality, not just for the lesbian and gay
community, but for disenfranchised people everywhere." "Today marks
the end of an era," said Michael Weinstein, who heads the U.S. largest
AIDS organization and whom Kight befriended in 1973. "Morris not only
inspired events and organizations, he inspired activists through his loving
nature. He genuinely loved people, and that permeated everything he did."
The long-time Los Angeles
resident was born November 19, 1919, in Comanche County Texas. Kight graduated
from Texas Christian University Los Angeles Gay &
Lesbian Community Services Center L.A.
each month. I weep for each of them. Everyone who's denied a job, I weep for.
Everyone who is driven from their homes by a misunderstanding family, I have to
offer my love to." Kight spent his final days at Carl Bean House in Los Angeles , a guest of
the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, one of the many agencies he nurtured and
supported. A celebration of his life has been scheduled for Saturday, February ,
at 1 p.m., in the Metropolitan Community Church ,
8714 Santa Monica Boulevard
in West Hollywood 90069. Donations in Kight's
memory are being accepted by the non-profit ONE Institute and Archives, which
will house and maintain the Morris Kight Collection, at 909 W. Adams Blvd , Los Angeles
CA 90007 Santa
Monica Blvd. and Crescent Heights
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| Morris Kight |
2004 Debate shifts to LDS over crime bill Victim's mother points at
church, then backtracks By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News Published: Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 A press
conference supporting a hate-crimes bill nearly turned into an LDS-Church
bashing session Sunday night — almost, but not quite. Judy Shepard, mother of
the murdered gay man Matthew Shepard, spoke at a Salt Lake City town meeting on
the need for a bill providing enhanced penalties for crimes motivated by hatred
of certain groups. Also supporting HB68, the bill pending in the Legislature,
were Mayor Rocky Anderson; Forrest Crawford, institutional diversity assistant to
the president of Weber State University, Ogden; and Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt
Lake, sponsor of the bill. About 130 attended the town meeting in the Salt Lake
City-County Building. Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Shepard was murdered in
Laramie, Wyo., in October 1998 by two men who attacked him, tied him to a
fence, and beat him because he was gay. The men later were sentenced to life in
prison. His mother came to Utah on Sunday to support the hate-crime bill. A
controversial aspect of HB68 is that it specifies that victims of hate crime
can be people attacked because of their race, color, disability, religion,
sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age or gender. A competing
measure does not specify these classes. During a press conference after the town
meeting, Shepard, a Wyoming resident, commented on obstacles in Utah to passing
a strong law against hate crimes. She believes the term "sexual
orientation" is making passage of such a bill difficult. "In Utah I
can identify readily what I think is your largest barrier, and that would be
the LDS Church," she said. Speaking more generally, Shepard said sexual
orientation issues are threatening to people who are not familiar with the
subject. "I fondly refer to it as selective ignorance. They choose to not
educate themselves about the gay and lesbian community so the prejudices just
continue," she said. Certain oppressed groups are singled out for
violence, she added. "The African-American community, the Jewish
community, and in your state, I must think that sometimes members of the LDS
community, are singled out for violence." It's necessary to define
categories in hate-crime legislation so that it's easier to spell out what
evidence is needed for prosecution of a hate crime, she added. Litvack stood
beside her during the press conference. The Deseret Morning News asked whether
he agreed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the biggest
barrier to passage of the legislation. "No, I respectfully disagree with
Judy," he said. "I don't think it's the LDS Church. I think the LDS
Church took a huge step last year in their statement." By that, he meant a
February 2003 statement by LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills, who said the church
did not oppose a hate-crimes bill then under consideration. The church abhors
hate crimes and its opposition to same-gender marriage should never be
interpreted "as justification for hatred, intolerance or abuse of those
who profess homosexual tendencies either individually or as a group,"
Bills added. Litvack said no matter what their faith may be, "it's
people's interpretation of their particular religion — that they feel that
somehow supporting this legislation with the inclusion of sex orientation
violates some kind of principles of their faith" that is the problem. "And
I think that goes beyond just the LDS faith." Shepard then backpedaled. "I'd
have to agree with that," she said. "He explained it much better than
I." Another reporter asked what had prompted her to single out the LDS
Church. "I was doing the really, totally, not good thing, lumping them all
together," she said. That's not a good thing to do, Shepard repeated
2006 Wednesday Rocky puts focus on gay rights SLC mayor also seeks
more money for
Pioneer Park By Heather May The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune
In assessing the quality of life in Salt Lake City, Mayor Rocky Anderson used
traditional instruments: taking stock of the decrease in crime, the positive
attention paid by national media, the planned expansion of transit. Next in his
State of the City address Tuesday night, he ventured where most mayors don't:
He spoke of the status of gays and lesbians and declared they are
"consistently marginalized" and treated as "second-class
citizens." "Society's treatment of gays and lesbians has made life tragically
difficult and painful for them, and has too often deprived our community of the
valuable perspectives and resources they offer," Anderson said at City Hall during the start
of his 50-minute speech. While the mayor said the city has made strides in
including the gay community - he named his executive order offering health
insurance to city employees' domestic partners, the city's inclusion in a book
on gay-friendly cities and his being named a top straight advocate for the gay
community - he said obstacles remain. As proof, he pointed to the cancellation
of the movie "Brokeback Mountain ," a love story between two gay men, in
Larry Miller's movie theater in Sandy .
And the mayor, like many letter-to-the-editor writers, noted that Miller's
theater is showing "Hostel," which has been labeled as misogynistic
and sadistic. "Apparently some members of our community find this
despicable, sick, women-hating film more acceptable than a beautifully rendered
love story - on the sole ground that the people portrayed as loving each other
are gay men," Anderson
said. Like the mayor, City Councilwoman Jill Remington Love is considered to be
a gay advocate in the city. She said she agreed with the mayor's sentiment
about the status of the gay community. "Gay rights is the civil rights
issue of our day," she said. And she was glad the mayor didn't renew his
criticism of the council's plan to trump his health benefits executive order
and offer health insurance to employees' adult designees, including domestic
partners. "I don't think our benefits package in any way takes away from
the gay community," she said. Council Chairman Dave Buhler praised the
mayor for highlighting the city's successes, including a crackdown on
methamphetamine and a campaign that urges people who witness drug overdoses to
call 911. "We all have much to be proud of in Salt Lake City ," Buhler said. "It
[the speech] was more of a review of the past than a call to action." Anderson did call the council to approve two of his
priorities the council has questioned before: renovating Pioneer Park Pioneer Park Anderson said the city can afford a more
extensive overhaul. Previous estimates have put the cost at $6.5 million. The
council also previously funded improvements to 300 South between Main Street and 200
West, which will be constructed this year. Anderson wants to expand the project to cover
between 300 East and 400 West. Buhler, who has argued against the 300 South
project in the past, is willing to put more money toward it if this year's
experiment goes well. "Providing we can find the money," he said,
"I'd be willing to extend it further." hmay@sltrib.com Highlights of
2005 accomplishments Serious crimes, such as homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated
assault, arson, burglary, larceny and auto theft, are down 3.5 percent. Recent
independent audit called the fire department one of the best in the country.
All city-owned traffic lights with pedestrian signals have countdown timers.
22.1 million passengers used Salt
Lake City International
Airport Pioneer
Park
.jpg) |
| Rocky Anderson |
2006 Kanab endorses 'natural' families City Council resolution:
Opponents call the declaration outmoded and discriminatory By Mark Havnes The
Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune KANAB - After unanimously endorsing a
conservative think tank's resolution supporting the "natural family,"
Kanab's City Council is coming under fire - naturally. Gay-rights advocates and
even some residents are scolding city leaders for embracing a nonbinding
proposal that: l Labels marriage between a man and a woman as "ordained of
God." l Sees homes as "open to a full quiver of children." l
Envisions young women "growing into wives, homemakers and mothers and . .
. young men growing into husbands,
home builders and fathers." Valerie
Larabee, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
Community Center of Utah in Salt Lake
City , finds such language archaic and offensive.
"It doesn't address what the landscape of the American family looks like
today," she said Tuesday. She said the concept of family "has evolved
in a lot of different ways, and it is sad when government discriminates against
the rights of families." Kanab waitress Marina Johnson, a single mother of
three, agrees, arguing that the resolution stigmatizes those who fall outside
its limiting language. "It should not matter if a couple is gay or single
or what their religious affiliation is or whether they believe in God,"
she said. "It is not right that [someone's partner] be denied medical
benefits just because they are not married in the traditional way."
Instead, she says, "people should be allowed to do the right thing and
take care of the people they love." But Kanab Councilman Anthony
Chatterley backs the measure "wholeheartedly." "I support the
values, hopes and goals stated in the resolution," he said. Kanab "is
a strong, family-oriented community. It always has been, and we would like to
see this continue." Carol Sullivan voted for the resolution - pitched by
the conservative Sutherland Institute - last week when it was introduced by
Mayor Kim Lawson. But the council's sole woman did so with some reservations.
"I saw no reason to vote against it because it is nonbinding," she
said, noting that no one spoke out against it. "But I did wonder why it
should be a government issue." Sullivan also sees some of the resolution's
language as "chauvinistic." "It kind of made me feel like the
odd one out . . . the square peg in a round hole. But that's how it is when
you're the only woman on an all-male council." Kanab is believed to be the
only Utah
city to approve the natural- family resolution. Others, including North Salt
Lake Salt Lake City 's Delta Center
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| Valerie Larabee |
 |
| Maryanne Martindale |
2006 Hello Friends, This is the first of a few urgent "Calls
to Action" for the 2006 Utah Legislative Session. Please pass this to
everyone on your lists and please help us by contactingyour legislators. Please
send your emails TODAY!!!! They meet on Thursday, 19 Jan. As you know we are
asking for on-going funding for HIV medication from our Utah Legislators. We
need everyone to please email the following members of the HHS Appropriations
Subcommittee. It is especially helpful if you are a constituent, but even if
you are not please take the time to email the following legislators: Sen.
Sheldon Killpack of
Davis County: skillpack@utahsenate.org Rep. Merlyn Newbold
of Salt Lake County, Dist. 50: merlynnnewbold@utah.gov Sen. Allen Christensen
of Morgan, Summit, Weber Counties: achristensen@utahsenate.org Rep. Brad Last
of Washington County: blast@utah.gov It is best if you draft your own email,
but please mention theimportance of the following: 1. We need on-going funding
of 500,000 for HIV medication in Utah. 2. This money will pay for the
medication Utahans need to stay healthy, working and paying taxes. 3.. If we do
not get the funding for this medication Utahans living with HIV will have to
get full-blown AIDS to qualify for Medicaid. 4. Funding HIV medication is
cheaper for the tax payer and it is the right thing to do. 5. Thank them for
their time and service. If you want more information please open the attached
PDF file. THANK YOU-Stuart Merrill
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| Stuart Merrill |
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| James Hicks |
2006 THE CONSERVATIVE AGENDA -The basis for all Truth is the Bible
and Christianity = anyone who doe not support this premise is the Enemy. The
biggest Enemy is the Liberal = define him, demonize him, and LIE, LIE, LIE
about him. Conservatives cannot stand those who can THINK. Teach Intelligent
Design in public schools = it stunts inquiry, ridicules science, embraces
ignorance, pushes Christianity. Support prayer in schools and in public places
= promotes our basic premise as well as Intelligent Design. Adopt school
vouchers = gives tax savings to the rich who already send their kids to private
schools. Support 'Life begins at Conception' = no funding of abortions for the
poor, thus assuring a larger population of workers to support the rich.
Privatize Medicare and Social Security = so the wealthy will not have to pay
into them. Cut taxes for everybody = i.e., give token tax cuts to workers, and
massive tax cuts to the rich. Support `Right to Work' laws = keeps wages down,
blocks or eliminates grievance channels, cuts costs, thus more profits for the
wealthy. Privatize corporate pension plans = costs savings to the wealthy.
Provide aid to senior citizens for drugs = give paltry benefits to seniors, and
huge profits to drug corporations. Privatize environmental protections =
corporate control of, and irresponsibility for, the quality of our air, water
and land? Means less and less of each. Support Patriotism = wave the flag,
shout slogans, and demonize the UN, but conservatives should never serve in
combat. It’s too dangerous. Promote an All-Volunteer Military = let the poor
protect America 's
assets and die for their country. This land belongs to the RICH. Eliminate the
inheritance tax = guarantees wealth to the offspring of the wealthy in
perpetuity. We stole it fair and square and we will damned well keep it. Set up
Political Action Committees = in support of all conservative candidates for
office. Channel money to them by hook or by crook. Support conservative radio
and TV programming = to demonize atheists, liberals, and anyone else who
opposes the Conservative Agenda. Set up thousands of private organizations = to
demonize atheists, liberals, and anyone else who opposes the Conservative
Agenda.
2006 Buttars is funny Salt Lake Tribune I usually get a good laugh
from the comics, but Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, should think of doing a
stand-up act at Wise Guys in West
Valley Gerry Rojas
West Valley
City
2007 Join us on January 19th from 6-9 PM as the Utah Pride Center
2007 Are homosexuals welcome in the kingdom of God? A film to watch
out for is coming to SUNDANCE: Are homosexuals welcome in the kingdom of God America 's rapidly
diminishing
separation of church and state. With a keen sense of irony, Karslake focuses on
the family. Through the unfolding of five very moving stories of Christian
families with a gay or lesbian member and the reflections of major biblical
scholars, the film examines what, if anything, the Bible actually says about
homosexuality as we know it today. Skillfully constructed, painstakingly
researched, wielding whimsical animation and a proudly unapologetic point of
view, For the Bible Tells Me So explores the intersection of religion and
homosexuality in America
today, concluding that, perhaps, hatred is the greatest abomination of all.
2009 Christine Johnson: A Progressive Voice on the Hill Written by JoSelle Vanderhooft Monday, 19 January 2009 Whether she’s
addressing a group of anti-Proposition 8 demonstrators or trying to teach
heterosexual Utah legislators that they, too, have a sexual orientation, openly
lesbian Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt
Lake City
seeks to
extend nondiscrimination protections to gay and transgender Utah workers is up
for a second hearing on Capitol Hill—now with a section asking for equal
protections in housing as well. Given all of Johnson’s hard work and dedication
to Utah’s gay and transgender population, it’s sometimes hard to remember that
she has only been in office for two years, after winning her seat from Ross
Romero, who left to run for a state senate seat. It’s even more difficult to
think that she has only been active in Utah ’s
political scene since 2003. Born on the East Coast, Johnson grew up in South Carolina and Virginia
until age 13, when her family moved to Utah .
Her mother having joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when
Johnson was eight years old, Johnson spent her adolescence as a practicing
Mormon living in Provo—a place that did not suit her very well. “It didn’t seem
to be a good fit for me,” Johnson remembers, noting that she left the state at
age 18, returning only for a few years to attend Dixie State College. Due
partly to her Mormon upbringing, Johnson says she came out as a lesbian much
later in life than many would suspect—at age 31, and after marrying and having
a child. “I think there were definitely some societal pressure weighing in that
caused me to shut that door, but it kept becoming an issue,” says Johnson. “I think there is only one lifestyle that is
advocated for young women within the Mormon Church: It is your goal to marry a
returned missionary and have a family. [Being gay] had never even dawned on me.
At one point I remember my mother saying, when my daughter was six months old,
if I was lesbian. I asked, ‘What are you talking about?’ I was completely in denial.
She had made it clear to me at that point that it’s not something she would
support if I were.” Although Johnson said she had been “apprehensive and a bit
scared” to acknowledge her true sexual orientation, she finally “gave in” after
several attempts at heterosexual relationships. She says she is “much happier”
now that she has admitted the truth about herself. “I remember meeting my first
partner and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh! This was supposed to be what it feels like.
Why did I resist this so long?’” she says, laughing. In fact, it was ultimately
one such partner who brought Johnson back to the Beehive State Baltimore , Maryland to live with her, she remembers being shocked
when she encountered Utah ’s
political climate as a gay person for the first time. “I was astounded when I moved
here and turned on TV and saw [Senator] Chris
Buttars and [Eagle Forum
President] Gayle Ruzicka talking about gay people in the state — their
unapologetic disapproval and willingness to discriminate,” she remembers. “I
couldn’t figure out why more people weren’t upset or advocating for themselves.
Perhaps it’s because I’d come from a life of intensifying as a heterosexual
woman and [assuming I’d have these rights. It was a bit of a shock to learn
that the decision to be with a woman and be myself would cause me to lose all
those privileges.” But Johnson didn’t let herself remain shocked for long. She
quickly lent her support to several gay rights organizations in Utah , ultimately serving
as the Vice Chair for HRC Utah and a board member of local gay rights group,
Equality Utah. And in 2003 when Buttars ran a bill that sought to alter Utah code to define
marriage as the union between a man and a woman, Rep. Jackie Biskupski asked
Johnson to testify against the bill before the legislature. Her testimony was
all over the news that night, and her voice only became stronger during the
next session, in which Amendment 3, the constitutional amendment that banned
gay marriage in the state, called many activists to arms. “The more they
pushed, the more I wanted to prove them wrong,” she remembers. Yet, while
Johnson was more than comfortable speaking out against anti-gay legislation,
she hadn’t given much thought to doing so on the House floor. “I thought perhaps one day I’d run for
office, but I didn’t expect it would happen in my 30s,” she explains. But that
all changed when Romero called her, and told Johnson she should run for his
vacant seat. “I was astounded and just kind of dove in not knowing what I was
headed for,” she says. In the campaign that followed,
Johnson utilized her “basic grass roots networking” and her support from such
local political movers and shakers as Stacey Adams, Jan Lovett and former Utah
Democratic Party chair Donald Dunn. With their help and with a lot of
determination, Johnson campaigned and won a majority vote both in Salt Lake
and Summit County Utah
manufacturers to reduce the amount of phosphorous in detergents by 2010, thus
decreasing the impact on local ecosystems. In 2008 she also sponsored
legislation that created a fund to retrofit antiquated diesel school bus
engines, and to teach drivers how to cut down on idling. Thanks to EPA grants,
Johnson estimates that 90 percent of the state’s yellow buses have been cleaned
up so far. “I think that some people on other side of the aisle and certainly
my opponent in the last election wanted to frame me as a single issue person,
that issue being my sexual orientation,” Johnson explains. “That’s not the
case. I feel a great deal of responsibility to my LGBT community. But this
session only 20 percent of the bills I’m running have to do with LGBT issues.” Her other bills include legislation focusing
on funding domestic violence shelters, providing health insurance to uninsured
children and banning gifts from lobbyists. She’s also considering proposing a
resolution that would ask the U.S. Congress to overturn the military’s Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell policy. “It’s just such
a hypocritical philosophy. The fact we would ask people to serve our country
and risk their lives while denying them authenticity while they are alive is
just absurd,” she says. When she is not working as a realtor, or debating a
bill on the House floor, Johnson says that she enjoys spending time with her
daughter, kayaking, cooking or rollerblading. And, of course, listening to her
constituents. “I’m also really pleased that my constituents are only supportive
when I go out on a limb for them,” she says. “When I make a statement on the
floor that’s perhaps a little more brazen or direct, or maybe [support] an
unconventional theory that’s very left, instead of getting criticism from my
constituents, they remember it and are very appreciative. I consider it a
luxury to be that progressive voice on the Hill.”
.jpg) |
| Christine Johnson |
 |
| Gayle Ruzicka & Chis Buttars |
 |
| Kathy Godwin |
2009 Another Utah poll backs some gay rights, but
same-sex couple adoption opposed A new statewide poll seeking to debunk the
gay-Mormon divide shows substantial support -- 63 percent -- for additional
legal protections for gay and transgender people. And 66 percent of the Utahns
polled characterize their religious beliefs as LDS. The survey, conducted Jan. 8-14 by Ogden-based
Information Alliance and commissioned by Equality Utah, also shows wide margins
favoring workplace and housing protections for gay or transgender residents as
well as health-insurance.
2010 Buttars: An unlikely ally for gays? Rights » Lawmaker 'very well might' sponsor anti-bias legislation -- with strict limits and 'no creep.' By Rosemary Winters And Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune 11/19/2009 Utah cities and counties, pondering whether they should follow Salt Lake City's lead on protecting gay and transgender residents from discrimination, could get a green light from an unexpected source: Sen. Chris Buttars. Buttars, a West Jordan Republican and fiery opponent of gay rights, said Wednesday he "very well might" sponsor legislation in 2010 that would allow local governments to adopt such anti-discrimination measures for housing and employment -- but forbid them from going any further on gay rights. "Maybe we ought to have a statewide bill that allows those things," Buttars said, "but that's all it allows. No creep." Buttars said he opposes any "legislative creep" toward gay marriage. The senator, who previously talked about running a bill to overturn Salt Lake City's newly minted ordinances, said his stance changed after the LDS Church announced its support last week of the capital's plan to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in housing and employment. In the 2009 Legislature, Buttars was among the most vociferous foes of the Common Ground Initiative, a failed collection of gay-rights bills, which included employment and housing safeguards for all gay and transgender Utahns. He also caused an uproar when, in an interview with a documentary filmmaker, he said gay activists have no morals and pose "probably the greatest threat to America." In 2010, Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, plans to -- for the third time -- introduce a bill that would extend fair employment protections to gay and transgender people statewide. Now it appears Buttars could support it. "A person has a right to have a house or a job without worrying about their sexual orientation," Buttars said. "Those two issues, I don't think, are creep." Will Carlson, Equality Utah's public-
 |
| Will Carlson |
policy manager, said it's unclear what a
Buttars bill -- preventing local governments from going further than Salt Lake
City -- would do. In 2008, the Legislature OK'd Salt Lake City's
mutual-commitment registry, which helps same-sex couples secure
hospital-visitation rights along with health-insurance benefits offered by
willing employers. Salt Lake City, Park City and Salt Lake County offer
insurance to the partners of their gay and lesbian employees. "There's not
much more that a municipal authority can address," Carlson said.
"Utah already passed Amendment 3 [banning gay marriage or its equivalent]
so his big concern about creeping toward marriage equality is something that a
city can't do." Still, Carlson was
pleased to hear of Buttars' softened stand. "It shows even the most
hostile person can become an ally once they understand the issues a little
better." Gayle Ruzicka, leader of
the conservative Eagle Forum, expressed disbelief at the notion that her
longtime ally would run a bill authorizing other cities to pass ordinances that
ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. She chalked
it up to a "misunderstanding." "That doesn't make a bit of sense,"
she said. Cities and counties, she added, already can pass such ordinances --
Salt Lake City did just that. Ruzicka, along with the conservative Sutherland
Institute, wants to see the Legislature overturn Salt Lake City's ordinances
and forbid other local governments from passing such measures. But she said a
bill that would prevent cities and counties from going further than that
"would be good."
2016 I thought I'd report that since Charles Frost, Kent Sacdlock , and I started this group in September Gay Men Aloud has been able to donate $200 to the First Baptists. While they actually lets us met for free, its a nice way to pay back for all they do for the community with opening their space to the Salt Lake Men's chorus, Third Friday Bingo, and Gay Men Allowed. We have $84 now plus what ever is in the cigar box from last night. We have done two service projects also, helping with the First Baptist Thanksgiving Dinner in November and AIDS Awareness Day at the Pride Center. We held a pot luck "soup and dessert" at the end of November and we will hold another on Leap Day. The Triads are an on going project however Kent Scadlock may need our help with the Triad list. Thanks everyone for bringing refreshments, setting up chairs, sharing your stories, and donating to the group. Its a good maxim that you should give back what you get out of an organization and another is "you love who you serve". Its obvious GMA love the Gay Men's Community.
2016 I thought I'd report that since Charles Frost, Kent Sacdlock , and I started this group in September Gay Men Aloud has been able to donate $200 to the First Baptists. While they actually lets us met for free, its a nice way to pay back for all they do for the community with opening their space to the Salt Lake Men's chorus, Third Friday Bingo, and Gay Men Allowed. We have $84 now plus what ever is in the cigar box from last night. We have done two service projects also, helping with the First Baptist Thanksgiving Dinner in November and AIDS Awareness Day at the Pride Center. We held a pot luck "soup and dessert" at the end of November and we will hold another on Leap Day. The Triads are an on going project however Kent Scadlock may need our help with the Triad list. Thanks everyone for bringing refreshments, setting up chairs, sharing your stories, and donating to the group. Its a good maxim that you should give back what you get out of an organization and another is "you love who you serve". Its obvious GMA love the Gay Men's Community.
2016 Gnade named permanent director of Utah Pride Center
 |
| Carol Gnade |
Carol Gnade, new director of the Utah Pride Center By jennifer dobner The Salt Lake Tribune Published: January 19, 2016 Carol Gnade has been named the Utah Pride Center’s permanent executive director, the center’s board said Monday. Gnade, 69, who ran the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for 14 years, came out of retirement in November to help guide the center after its director abruptly resigned. She committed to helping out for three months, but after 10 weeks, wanted to stay, said Michael Aguilar, the board chairman. “When she first started she was a little bit hesitant … there was a lot of negative energy around the center,” Aguilar said, noting that the departure of Marian Edmonds-Allen came amid allegations of financial instability and programming challenges.
Since then, Aguilar said, Gnade and the board have worked to refocus the center’s mission and added key staff, including a development director and a Pride Festival director, to move the organization toward greater stability. “Carol is really all about building community,” he said, “and bringing trust back to the center.” Working with Gnade, the board has adopted new mission and vision statements. It also is in the process of drafting a strategic plan, Aguilar said, that will better focus center programming and foster greater community collaboration. “Our hope is really to become the core for the LGBT, community in Utah,” he added, “and refer people to the other organizations that already do great work in our community.” The board also announced Monday the appointment of Development Director Monica Owen, Pride Festival Director Valerie Walker, and six new board members, including, Alan Walker, Lynn Suksdorf, Tim Johns, Chad Morrett, Debby Berdan and Mona Stevens.
2018 So many sick and dying patients in the waiting room of Kristen Ries’ busy practice at Holy Cross Hospital. So many sick people to attend to that there just wasn’t enough time to attend funerals. On weekends, during the height of Utah’s AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s, Ries and physician assistant Maggie Snyder made house calls to examine patients who were too ill to travel. In their spare time, they visited schools and businesses, feeling driven by an obligation to educate the community about the virus. So many patients too ill to work, most without insurance. So many sick people ostracized by families or partners due to homosexuality or drug use. “Think about the obstacles that they faced through this monstrous plague and public health nightmare,” says Utah filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie. “Once it began, it spiraled so quickly. They were sometimes losing four, five or six patients a week.” Mackenzie’s documentary, “Quiet Heroes,” co-directed by Jared Ruga and Amanda Stoddard, will debut Sunday evening as part of the Sundance Film Festival, which opens Thursday. The film brings the state’s AIDS history alive, offering a dual portrait of Ries and Snyder’s medical practice as well as the religious culture that led many gay men in Utah to hide their identity. Ries’ practice, with nursing care from Catholic nuns on Holy Cross’ Med III ward, was the only game in town; at the time, no other Utah doctors accepted AIDS patients. “Atrocious waiting times,” says Snyder, but their patients knew in advance about the wait. “They knew that once they got in, we would help them and deal with their concerns.” The work was hard, but the science and medical parts were exciting, says Ries, an infectious-disease specialist. “There was something new to learn every day. “We want people to know what really happened back then, and how inhumane people were by just throwing their fellow mankind away,” says Ries, adding that the fear of infectious diseases, such as SARS or Ebola, reaches back into history. “I’ve been very concerned right now with the current milieu because I feel that tension again.” The documentary draws upon hours of interviews with Ries and Snyder, now retired at 77 and 64, as well as the records the couple donated to the University of Utah’s Marriott Library in 2015. “They opened their arms and took care of these people who were not only sick and dying but emotionally scarred in such deep ways because their families were rejecting them,” Mackenzie says. “Quiet Heroes” includes interviews with Utah Sen. Jim Dabakis, Ballet West’s Peter Christie, an AIDS survivor, and Ben Barr, the former head of the Utah AIDS Foundation. Other voices include Kim Smith, a Mormon mother who lives with HIV, and whose family was featured in an influential PBS documentary in 2002; and the family of late activist Cindy Stoddard Kidd, who successfully sued the state to allow people with AIDS to marry. “A lot of quiet heroes in there,” says filmmaker Stoddard, while Ries and Snyder are the focus. “They didn’t actually believe they did anything exceptional,” Ruga says. “They believe they just did their jobs.” One of the film’s most remarkable moments comes in a joint interview with Ries and Snyder, who — true to their low-key, practical natures — got married in October 2013 in San Francisco during a lunch break at a medical conference. On camera, they acknowledge that they passed forward expensive drugs belonging to dead patients, which was illegal. They were aware of medical colleagues across the nation doing the same thing. But they were always discreet and careful to inform patients of the risks. “I believe in being authentic and telling the truth, like I remember it,” Ries says. “It was a different time, and, being me, I would do it again, because it’s the right thing to do.” The idea for the documentary was launched when Ruga was searching through Ries and Snyder’s HIV/AIDS archive for a graduate school assignment. The 29-year-old thought a film about Utah’s AIDS years could serve as a wake-up call to younger activists and storytellers, who might be “generationally segregated.” The film explores the reaction to the AIDS crisis from Catholic nuns who worked as nurses at Holy Cross, as well as the institutional response by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “That’s a conversation we’re still having in society, right, which is: What is the role of religion?” Ruga says. “We stuck to the facts,” says Stoddard, a Salt Lake City native who was raised in the LDS Church. “We weren’t trying to call the church out, but we wanted to represent the environment at the time.” The film ends with a scene of survivors who gathered at City Hall in March 2016, when Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski proclaimed Kristen Ries and Maggie Snyder Day. “This is a story relevant today because it’s about hope and resilience and doing the right thing in the middle of darkness,” Ruga says. “At a time when a community was vilified and exiled, this is a reminder that it just took two people to stand up.” Salt Lake Tribune Ellen Fagg Weist Sundance spotlight: Meet Utah ‘Quiet Heroes’ who cared for AIDS patients — when no one else would
2020 Excerpts from Journal of Ben Williams "I went and picked Chuck Whyte up at 4:30 to
go attend John Bennett's memorial service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on 9th
East. I had never been in the building before. The entire church was packed
with John’s family, former coworkers, and his friends. The service was lovely
and his cousin Janna, Michael Aaron, and Robert Hall, a friend of his spoke. The
Salt Lake Men’s Choir sang. It was a nice tribute. We
sat next to Dan Fahndrich and there were a lot of the old guard Gay folks from
our activism days attending. From
listening to people and not trying to be crass I deduced that John took his own
life. In
the reception hall, it was lined with John’s glass art work and lots of his
photographs. There was a sign saying take any photos you wanted so I gathered
up a dozen or more of the photos of people that I doubt anyone else would have
recognized like scenes from the 1987 March on Washington, and pictures of
Curtis Jensen, Joe Dewey, and Val Mansfield. I took them for the historical
society and Stan Rovig who was John’s close friend says he has a lot more of
John’s pictures he will donate. I posted on Face book
a picture of him I took at the 2003 at Gay Pride Day during a happier time. He
maybe didn't know the impact he made on this community over his life. He was a
good guy.
2018 So many sick and dying patients in the waiting room of Kristen Ries’ busy practice at Holy Cross Hospital. So many sick people to attend to that there just wasn’t enough time to attend funerals. On weekends, during the height of Utah’s AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s, Ries and physician assistant Maggie Snyder made house calls to examine patients who were too ill to travel. In their spare time, they visited schools and businesses, feeling driven by an obligation to educate the community about the virus. So many patients too ill to work, most without insurance. So many sick people ostracized by families or partners due to homosexuality or drug use. “Think about the obstacles that they faced through this monstrous plague and public health nightmare,” says Utah filmmaker Jenny Mackenzie. “Once it began, it spiraled so quickly. They were sometimes losing four, five or six patients a week.” Mackenzie’s documentary, “Quiet Heroes,” co-directed by Jared Ruga and Amanda Stoddard, will debut Sunday evening as part of the Sundance Film Festival, which opens Thursday. The film brings the state’s AIDS history alive, offering a dual portrait of Ries and Snyder’s medical practice as well as the religious culture that led many gay men in Utah to hide their identity. Ries’ practice, with nursing care from Catholic nuns on Holy Cross’ Med III ward, was the only game in town; at the time, no other Utah doctors accepted AIDS patients. “Atrocious waiting times,” says Snyder, but their patients knew in advance about the wait. “They knew that once they got in, we would help them and deal with their concerns.” The work was hard, but the science and medical parts were exciting, says Ries, an infectious-disease specialist. “There was something new to learn every day. “We want people to know what really happened back then, and how inhumane people were by just throwing their fellow mankind away,” says Ries, adding that the fear of infectious diseases, such as SARS or Ebola, reaches back into history. “I’ve been very concerned right now with the current milieu because I feel that tension again.” The documentary draws upon hours of interviews with Ries and Snyder, now retired at 77 and 64, as well as the records the couple donated to the University of Utah’s Marriott Library in 2015. “They opened their arms and took care of these people who were not only sick and dying but emotionally scarred in such deep ways because their families were rejecting them,” Mackenzie says. “Quiet Heroes” includes interviews with Utah Sen. Jim Dabakis, Ballet West’s Peter Christie, an AIDS survivor, and Ben Barr, the former head of the Utah AIDS Foundation. Other voices include Kim Smith, a Mormon mother who lives with HIV, and whose family was featured in an influential PBS documentary in 2002; and the family of late activist Cindy Stoddard Kidd, who successfully sued the state to allow people with AIDS to marry. “A lot of quiet heroes in there,” says filmmaker Stoddard, while Ries and Snyder are the focus. “They didn’t actually believe they did anything exceptional,” Ruga says. “They believe they just did their jobs.” One of the film’s most remarkable moments comes in a joint interview with Ries and Snyder, who — true to their low-key, practical natures — got married in October 2013 in San Francisco during a lunch break at a medical conference. On camera, they acknowledge that they passed forward expensive drugs belonging to dead patients, which was illegal. They were aware of medical colleagues across the nation doing the same thing. But they were always discreet and careful to inform patients of the risks. “I believe in being authentic and telling the truth, like I remember it,” Ries says. “It was a different time, and, being me, I would do it again, because it’s the right thing to do.” The idea for the documentary was launched when Ruga was searching through Ries and Snyder’s HIV/AIDS archive for a graduate school assignment. The 29-year-old thought a film about Utah’s AIDS years could serve as a wake-up call to younger activists and storytellers, who might be “generationally segregated.” The film explores the reaction to the AIDS crisis from Catholic nuns who worked as nurses at Holy Cross, as well as the institutional response by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “That’s a conversation we’re still having in society, right, which is: What is the role of religion?” Ruga says. “We stuck to the facts,” says Stoddard, a Salt Lake City native who was raised in the LDS Church. “We weren’t trying to call the church out, but we wanted to represent the environment at the time.” The film ends with a scene of survivors who gathered at City Hall in March 2016, when Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski proclaimed Kristen Ries and Maggie Snyder Day. “This is a story relevant today because it’s about hope and resilience and doing the right thing in the middle of darkness,” Ruga says. “At a time when a community was vilified and exiled, this is a reminder that it just took two people to stand up.” Salt Lake Tribune Ellen Fagg Weist Sundance spotlight: Meet Utah ‘Quiet Heroes’ who cared for AIDS patients — when no one else would
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