This Day In Gay Utah History January 20th

January 20

George A Smith

1949 -LDS President George Albert Smith begins week's stay in California Lutheran Hospital for his "tired nerves," which his diary first refers to at Oct 1948 general conference. He is first LDS president with history of severe emotional illness and hospitalization. He does not recover from this episode until mid May 1949, when able to be in First Presidency office at least half day. Smith is absent from church headquarters 12 Jan to 27 Feb 1950 to stay at Laguna Beach, California, "to rest my nerves." He returns there to recuperate again for ten days in March. Year later his nurse notes that church president is "very confused, very nervous." Ten days before his death, nurse adds that George Albert Smith is "irrational at times."

1961 Salt Lake City UT Police anti-vice squad officials arrested 12 persons at 46 Chicago Street (940 West) after they had investigated a report that a meeting of members of a “sunbathing” group was being conducted. Booked in a city jail for alleged violations of a state statute charging lewdness were 6 men and 6 women ranging in age from 25-54 from Sandy, Salt Lake City, Murray, Bountiful and Layton. 01/20/61 Page 14 A Col. 7 SLTribune)

1981- Dr. Joseph Dover of the University of Utah spoke to Salt Lake Affirmation on Gay Rights on both a historical and a religious level. 

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1981 Ronald Reagan became President of the United States and began the process of reversing the social programs of America. Under Reagan’s presidency America became 3 trillion dollars in debt and AIDS became a pan epidemic by virtue governmental neglect.

Patty Reagan PhD

1987 Hits SL Bathhouse closure- To the editor: One of the more poorly thought out reactions towards the AIDS crisis shown by the city health department is the attempt to close the two bathhouses in Salt Lake City. Why any sociologist or sexologist will affirm the reality of some consensual sexual encounters in gay bathhouses , closing such establishments will never decrease high risk sexual behavior.  In fact bathhouses may be a realistic means of proving public health education during this health crisis, as bathhouses are now trying to do. If the city is going to reduce the spread of AIDS by closing the bathhouses, the same poorly researched method should require the closure of men’s public restrooms, particularly in some local parks, the University of Utah and BYU, most of the interstate rest stops, and ZCMI. In fact, the chance of two gay men engaging in safer sex practices is greater in bathhouses where there is education then the reality of a heterosexual man exchanging body fluids with another man in a public restroom and then taking that risky encounter home to his female partner. There is only one effective means of reducing AIDS risk today- public health education. Closing bathhouses to stop male sexual behavior is a costly, ineffectual, and superficial response to this serious problem. Patty Reagan PhD [Deseret News A-9]

1988- Unconditional Support, LGSU and Affirmation agree to host community dances in

Chris Brown

SLC UT. “I called Chris Brown of LGSU to discuss the possibility of holding joint dances with LGSU, Affirmation, and Unconditional Support. He liked the idea so we will get together with Dave Malmstrom on Jan 30^th.” [1988 Journal of Ben Williams}

1989 The Ronald Reagan Administration ended with President George Walker Bush former director of the CIA assuming the mantel of director of  Reaganonmics.

Bertice Berry

1992 The Utah Stonewall Center  sponsored a community outreach  and fund raiser featuring comedienne Bertice Berry as part of  a Human Rights Day Program presented at Kingsbury Hall, SLC UT

1992 MINORITIES BACK HATE-CRIME BILLS By Joe Costanzo, Staff Writer Deseret News Published: Monday, Jan. 20, 1992 Citing a growing number of hate crimes in Utah, members of several minority groups are pleading for passage of laws that would send a message of "zero tolerance" to violent bigots. The controversial set of laws - HB111 and HB112 - would require police agencies to report incidents to the state and increase the penalties for crimes that are motivated by hatred of an individual's race, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation."These laws will not establish a new class of protected individuals. They offer equal protection for everyone," said Larry Grant, president of the Japanese-American Citizens League of Salt Lake. "They send a message that these crimes will not be tolerated." Grant was one of a half-dozen advocates of the pending legislation who joined House Minority Leader Frank R.

Frank Piganelli

Pignanelli, D-Salt Lake, at a press conference Sunday afternoon in the State Capitol. Opposition to the laws has focused on claims that they would single out groups for special treatment and that they would tacitly endorse homosexuality. Calling those assertions a "smoke screen," Pignanelli said, "The hate-crime bills apply to all persons. If someone attacks a white, male Mormon out of hatred for what he is, the same laws would apply." Pignanelli said Congress and every other state in the nation have enacted some form of hate-crime law. Utah has yet to act, he said, even though the state "was founded because of hate crimes committed against Mormons in 1847." Noting that Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, was a co-sponsor and "impassioned" supporter of the federal hate-crime legislation, Pignanelli said he is sending a letter requesting the senator's help. "I am challenging him to speak out on behalf of HB111 and HB112. "Pignanelli, who is contemplating a possible run for higher office, said the legislative opposition to his bills refuses to recognize the widespread support such laws have throughout the country. "They just don't want these bills," he said. He said he decided to sponsor the legislation after hearing from constituents, including a Jewish family who found a swastika painted on their front door; an older Jewish woman who was continually harassed by "elderly Nazis" in her neighborhood; and ethnic minorities who were assaulted by racists. HB111 requires the reporting of statistics, while HB112 enhances penalties by one step in severity for hate-motivated crimes. For example, the vandal who painted the swastika on the door could be convicted of a Class B misdemeanor rather than the usual Class C misdemeanor for that type of offense.  Veronica Crandall of the Coalition of African-American Women of Utah spoke in favor of the laws, saying, "A small segment of the population is creating a lot of fear and ignorance, and it behooves us as citizens of this state to focus our attention on making this a better place to live." Michael Aaron, representing a gay-lesbian anti-violence project, said surveys indicate that 75 percent of all homosexuals have been victims of hate crimes. "The power of hate is strong; it's ugly; it's evil," Aaron said. With the number of "gay-bashing" incidents on the increase, attempts by the "right wing" to exclude sexual orientation from the law are "shameful," said Dale Sorenson, a member of Gay-Lesbian

James Gonzales

Utah Democrats. James Gonzales, a board member of La Raza, said if the Legislature removes one group now, it will be easier for it to remove another group later. He urged lawmakers to pass the bills intact as a statement against all acts of hatred. "The bombing of the LDS chapel in Marion was a hate crime. The murder of Mormon missionaries abroad is a hate crime," Gonzales said. Daniel Messinger, a member of two local Jewish organizations, recalled the vandalism against Jewish temples in Ogden and Salt Lake City on the occasion of Hitler's birthday last year. "Intolerance has not disappeared," he said. "Our laws reflect our society's values," said Cheryl Blum, a member of the minority law caucus at the University of Utah. A Mexican-American, she said she has witnessed ethnic hatred firsthand.

1993 AIDS Activist  Larry Ray Brown, 38, died  of AIDS. Larry Ray Brown, 38, died peacefully at home in Salt Lake City,  due to causes related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; AIDS. Larry accepted his illness graciously and surrendered his life with dignity. Larry was educated in the Salt Lake City and the Granite School Districts; Leys College, Cambridge, England; Centro Rio Branco, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Snow College, and the University of Utah. Larry has worked full time in residential real estate since 1976. He was proud to be associated with Gump and Ayers Real Estate, Inc. and the Salt Lake Board of Realtors where he voluntarily served on the Community Service Committee and achieved the honor of membership as a Lifetime Member of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors Million Dollar Club. Larry was respected and admired by his co-workers and clients. He will always be remembered for his quick wit and radiant personality. Even after his diagnosis as his body was ravaged with disease Larry continued his community service commitment together with his wife. Their story reached thousands of students throughout the state. Larry is survived by his wife and two marvelous children.

1995 -Friday-Kevin Gary Belnap of Salt Lake City, 36, died of AIDS. Kevin enjoyed his cat Alphie'', holidays, traveling, music, camping, theatre, and especially the ``sunshine''. He was employed by Albertsons in Utah and Alpha Beta in California. Kevin was raised in Hooper, Utah

20 January 1996 SAME SEX MARRIAGE MORMON HOMOPHOBIA LYNN WARDLE (01/20/96 SLTribune Page: B3)   On one side was Evan Wolfson, the New York attorney who is leading the Hawaii court

Lynn Wardle

battle to give gays and lesbians the right to marry. In his suit lapel was a pink triangle button denoting gay pride. To his left sat Lynn Wardle, the conservative law professor from Brigham Young University who helped write the same-sex marriage ban that the Legislature passed last year. About the only thing the two men have in common is that they each hold a

Evan Wolfson

law degree. But Thursday evening, these ideological opposites faced off at the University of Utah College of Law in a 90-minute debate over gay marriage. More than 100 people attended the debate, which swerved from writings of Thomas Jefferson to the lifestyle of polygamists. As Wardle sees it, same-sex marriage is not in society's interest and does not reflect the values of most Americans. The institution of marriage is unique bond between a man and woman. Allowing homosexuals to get married only opens the door for other aberrant unions. ``How do you [reject] incest or the man who says, `I want to marry my sister?' '' Wardle said. ``Or polygamist relationships or child marriages?''  Wolfson compared the worries about gay marriage to the warnings years ago about the perils of interracial marriage, like this admonition from Brigham Young: ``If the white man, who belongs to the chosen seed, mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty under the law of God is death on the spot.''  Added Wolfson, who directs The Marriage Project for the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc.: ``The elements of prejudice and the classic charges that go into dehumanization of any group are always the same, whether targeting Jews or heretics or women or Muslims or Irish or Asians or African-Americans or Mormons.'' No state allows homosexuals to marry. But an extended court battle in Hawaii has pushed the issue into the international spotlight. The Economist highlights the debate in a cover story this month, and the TV news show, Dateline, filmed the U. debate for an upcoming show.    During the years, gay activists have won some concessions. Some churches perform ``commitment ceremonies.'' Large corporations such as Apple, Microsoft and Time Warner offer gay partners the same benefits afforded husbands and wives. Some newspapers, including The Salt Lake Tribune, run announcements of gay unions. But none of this is marriage. And Wolfson maintains all Americans have the fundamental right to marry the person they love. Furthermore, they should be allowed the same governmental privileges afforded married spouses -- from joint tax returns to next-of-kin

Terry Kogan

legal status.  Moderator Terry Kogan, a U. law professor, asked, if the institution of marriage is fundamentally aimed at procreation, why should gays and lesbians be allowed to marry? Wolfson answered that many straight couples do not, cannot or choose not to have children. Furthermore, thousands of homosexual couples are parents. Wardle countered that heterosexual married couples are the ideal parents for children and government has an obligation to promote that arrangement. ``Children suffer most when there are created alternative relationships to marriage that adults pursue for their own adult self-gratification,'' he said.    Because any discussion of the issue always comes down to sexual practices, sodomy, a practice that is illegal in Utah, was discussed. Wolfson called government sodomy laws hypocritical. Most straight couples practice anal or oral sex, he said, but only homosexuals are prosecuted for it. ``We all know that 90% at least do indeed engage in or aspire to the very acts covered  by the laws,'' he said.    Responded Wardle: ``I don't know how to respond here. I just am not an expert on these sexual practices.'' Wolfson, co-counsel in the Hawaii court case, Baehr vs. Lewin, is confident he will prevail. Eventually, thousands of gays across the country will fly to Hawaii and return home demanding to be recognized as legal partners, he said. In a law forum Friday, Wolfson predicted   Utah taxpayers will spend thousands of dollars defending the law that Utah lawmakers passed without debate in 1995.  The law prohibits same-sex marriages in Utah and refuses to recognize such unions made in other states.

Teinamarrie Nelson

2004 Hey everyone, This very important that we take unified action.  I feel this is our year to finally get Hate Crime legislation passed.  Please pass this on to everyone.  Please contact your representative and ask them to pass H. B. 68.Thank you! Teinamarrie Nelson

2006 Friday We are looking for volunteers for the 2006 Queer Lounge at the Sundance® Film Festival. The dates for the Lounge are January 20th through the 28th. Queer Lounge is the place for queer and queer friendly writers, directors, actors and individuals in the movie and television industry. Volunteers are needed to help paint on the weekend of January 7th - 8th. To help set-up during the week of January 16th through the 19th. During the actual operations of the lounge, we need greeters, general staff members, barthenders, bar assistants, and this year; Go-Go dancer's, male and female! We want the dancers to be a representation of the many cultural differences within the GLBT community. We will also need people to help with the 'tear-down' aspect of the lounge after it's over. This is an opportunity for individuals to be a part of one of the most exciting events in the area. Interested person's can contact us via e-mail at queerlounge@....For additional information about Queer Lounge, please visit our website at www.queerlounge.org Guy Robison Volunteer Co-cordinator, Utah Queer Lounge

2007 sWerve Monthly: sWerve Shorts January 20 7:00pm U of U Union Theatre 200 Central Campus Dr. Free admission Not cool enough to get tickets to Sundance opening night? We'll take you! Featuring short films from local writer/directors, and a panel with the filmmakers. See films from Natalie Avery, Amy Bronson and SpyHop Productions

Jackie Biskupski

2007 Deseret Morning News, Saturday, January 20, 2007 School-clubs bill aims to keep parents in the loop By Tiffany Erickson Deseret Morning News A Utah lawmaker sponsoring a bill that seeks to keep parents in the loop about what is going on in non-curricular school clubs — such as gay-straight alliances — is working on the measure with Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake, who is openly gay. Last year a similar bill came under fire by gay-straight alliance advocates, but HB236 sponsor Aaron Tilton, R-

Aaron Tilton

Springville, said that was because critics incorrectly felt he was trying to do away with gay-straight alliances. "We're working on some things, and I hope we can come to a consensus on some issues," Tilton said. "This is the first time (Biskupski) has approached me on it — it doesn't mean we are all going to agree on everything, but we will be sharing ideas." "I feel like something is going to pass, so I am going to work with the sponsor to come up with a reasonable bill that doesn't discourage the formation of any club," Biskupski said. Biskupski took a lot of flak in her 1998 campaign from the Eagle Forum, whose leadership worked to inform the public of her sexual orientation; Biskupski said she wanted to keep to issues relevant to the district she hoped to represent. The Eagle Forum last year was a chief supporter of Tilton's clubs bill, which targeted gay-straight alliances. Currently, the bill would require parental permission for students to participate in any non-curricular club and would give parents the authority to view any content and material to be distributed in a club seven days prior to the meeting. "I don't think that there should be any argument that parents have that right," Tilton said. "It's the right of every parent to know, be informed and actually have consent and control whether a student attends a school club." He said it is just something that is not addressed adequately in state and local rules. According to Tilton, the bill also aims to have the Utah Attorney General's Office defend districts sued over club application decisions. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said last year's similar bill was constitutionally defensible.

 2007 For the Bible told them so Documentary shows how the Bible's verses have been used to justify discrimination - and how modern conservatives use the Good Book to lambaste gays By Jessica Ravitz The Salt Lake Tribune Updated: 01/30/2008 01:30:14 PM MST    "Last week I bought a gun. Yesterday I wrote the note. But last night I happened to turn on your show and just knowing that someday I might be able to go back into my church, I threw the gun in the river. My mom never has to know." -- A boy in Iowa  The e-mail was only four sentences long, but it shaped Daniel Karslake's future. Karslake, 41, was a young television producer in 1998 when he received the above note from a boy in Iowa. His segment on a lesbian theologian had just aired on the PBS program "In the Life." This boy's short message, one that still brings Karslake to tears, was the first of hundreds he would receive from gays and lesbians across the country - from people who felt rejected by their church families. The aspiring filmmaker had found his mission. "This e-mail fueled everything I've done since," he said this week.  Opening Sunday night at the Sundance Film Festival is Karslake's "For the Bible Tells Me So," a documentary in the independent film competition. The production, which took more than three years to complete, was funded in large part by Orem-resident Bruce Bastian, co-creator of the word-processing software that became WordPerfect. The

Bruce Bastian

film shows how the Bible's verses have been used to justify, over centuries, various forms of discrimination, and how today religious conservatives use the Good Book to back anti-gay rhetoric.  For gay and lesbian people who grew up steeped in Scripture and tied to church communities, this rhetoric - something referred to in the film as "a modern invention" - has been especially painful. Not just for them, but for their families.     By focusing on the journeys of five Christian families, each with a member who came out as gay or lesbian, Karslake paints a personal picture. Viewers meet Mary Lou Wallner, who blames herself, and the teachings that shaped who she was, for the suicide of her daughter. They gain an insider's perspective on the coming-out process for Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of former Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and his wife, Jane. They also get to know Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay Episcopal Church bishop, his parents and his ex-wife. The path for Tonia Poteat's family wasn't easy to navigate, but by agreeing to be interviewed for this documentary, Poteat, 37, said lines of communication were opened. "I was shocked that they agreed pretty easily to do it," Poteat, of Atlanta, said of her parents, who live in North Carolina. "I actually think it's a coming-out process for them also. . . . It's been a journey for me to recognize this is a struggle for them." Randi Reitan, also featured in the film and reached in her Minneapolis-area home, thought back to when her son, Jake, came out. The family was then living in Mankato, Minn., a place she described as "a very closeted town," and she and her husband, Phil, "knew nothing about homosexuality."  The Reitans never stopped loving their son, but the strict Lutherans first sought counsel and understanding from a pastor who told them, "Don't worry, Jake can change," she remembered, her voice cracking. "I get emotional just speaking about it." Now the Reitans count themselves among activists, finding their voice and passion in an organization called Soulforce. The Rev. Mel White, a former ghostwriter for evangelicals such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Jim Bakker, is behind Soulforce. The organization combats "the misuse of religion to sanction the condemnation and rejection of any of God's children" through "relentless nonviolent resistance," the group's Web site explains. White, 66, is one of many religious leaders and scholars, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who appear in Karslake's film. Contacted in Lynchburg, Va., where he moved so he could regularly attend and silently protest in Falwell's church, White said for 30 years he battled his homosexuality with therapies including electric shock. Only after he slit his wrists did he part ways with his wife and face up to who he was. "I realized my orientation, too, was a gift from God," he said. He also realized preachers such as Falwell and Robertson were doling out messages that were "the ultimate source of disinformation," he said. "Fundamentalism is based on fear and politics of blame. . . . They were so smart at knowing what would create the kind of fear that would lead to donations." Peppered throughout "For the Bible Tells Me So" are snippets, including a cartoon, outlining statistics and research findings. Mixed in is the annual revenue of Bible-thumping moneymakers. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, brings in $138 million a year, the film reports. Robertson: $459 million. The problem, too, the film points out, is the masses blindly accept biblical interpretations offered by these popular personalities rather than read and study for themselves. As a result, historical context is ignored, as are broader and supplementary materials, said the Rev. Laurence Keene, a soon-to-retire sociology professor at Pepperdine University. "I have a soft spot in my heart for literalists because I used to be one," he said in the film. "There's nothing wrong with a fifth-grade understanding of God [or the Bible], as long as you're in the fifth grade." Take, for instance, the word "abomination," which is used over and over by fundamentalists to describe what the Bible says about same-sex relations. Keene reiterated in a phone call this week that the word "abomination" refers to actions that were deemed "ritually impure." Other abominations include eating pork or shrimp, wearing linen and wool at the same time, and commingling crops.    Abominations, Keene explained, are not "intrinsically evil or immoral"; they are the actions that were considered "unclean" or "un-Jewish" at the time when the Hebrew people were trying to build a nation and procreation - requiring sex between a man and a woman - was paramount.  Rather than shy away from talk about religion, Keene said it's time people other than conservatives "stood up" to "give the public another look at how the Bible can be understood." And it's this longing to spark conversation, this longing to reach gay youth like the boy who wrote him years ago, that motivates Karslake.  "I'm hoping fair-minded people of all kinds see the film, and it makes them think," he said. "These kids just want a glimmer of hope." JESSICA RAVITZ   For the Bible also tells them . . . 

2013 Does anyone have any information on a Community Forum that is supposed to meet monthly to discuss issues and concerns and events in our community. I understood that Equality Utah and the Pride Center take turns hosting it... At a meeting with Jon Jepsen and Valerie Larabee last Saturday they assured me that it was still meeting because I said I never heard of it and I had never been invited nor had Becky Moss or Chuck Whyte. I never had seen anything about a calendar for it in the Q. My concern is that others have told me that this forum hasn't met in over a year and therefore I am puzzled by statements made at the Kristen Ries Award meeting by leaders of the Pride Center. I would like some information before I present my concerns back to Valerie and Jon. Thanks Ben Williams