January 30
 |
| Joseph Fielding Smith |
- Chronology of Events on Patriarch Joseph
Fielding Smith’s Homosexuality compiled by Connell O'Donovan, with the
generous assistance of D. Michael Quinn. Posted with permission. © Connell
O'Donovan.
- ca. 1926 to ca. 1929 Joseph Fielding
Smith was in a sexual relationship with Norval Service, a student at the
University of Utah. (See Quinn, p. 369)
- 1927-1933 According to Cynthia Blood's
University of Utah transcripts, she took Speech and Drama classes from
Joseph F. Smith. In an August 19, 1989 interview I held with her, Cynthia
claimed that "everybody on campus knew" that Maud May Babcock
and Joseph F. Smith, both from the university's Drama Department,
"were queer", but it was pretty much "unspoken". Blood
reported that "Professor Smith flitted amongst the boys and Maud
flitted amongst us girls. We adored it! I guess we were all a little queer
back then." When I asked her what she meant by that, she replied,
"Oh, we all had crushes on each other at one time or another." I
asked if the boys did too. "I suppose, in their own way - but they
didn't call them crushes. I do remember two young men who mooned over each
other for several months - I don't remember their names. But they were
real handsome boys. Very intelligent, very proper all the time."
Drama students? I asked. "Oh yes. Yes they were."
- 1929 Joseph F. Smith became a member of
the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association
(YMMIA). This may have prompted the termination of his sexual relationship
with Norval Murray Service born 8 Jan 1905 son of William Service a native
of Scotland. He died 8 Oct 1971 in Salt Lake City.
- 1932 Eldred Gee Smith should have become
Patriarch in 1932, at the death of his father. However, Pres. Heber J.
Grant was "evidently reticent" to have him be the new Patriarch,
so the important ecclesiastical office was left vacant for a decade.
- 1942 - October 8 Joseph Fielding Smith
was ordained "Patriarch to the Church" by LDS President Heber J.
Grant. When Eldred's distant cousin, Joseph F. Smith, became the
Patriarch, Eldred Gee Smith reportedly "lamented that he had lost the
most priceless thing he had hoped for", becoming the next Patriarch.
Joseph's ordination also dismayed several Mormons who knew that Smith was
having sexual relations with other men. Ralph G. Smith reported that
Joseph F. Smith "was known to be a homosexual. My brother, John
[Gibbs Smith], was very, very upset because he was Captain of the
anti-vice squad at the Salt Lake City Police Department. Why, he says, the
man's got a record. He says, we've had many women call in and complain
about him molesting their little boys [all over 18] at the school at the
University of Utah". (Ralph G. Smith interview, as reported in Quinn,
p. 387 n. 23) Winifred Haymond (or "Freda Hammond", 1907-1983,
never married), a friend of Norval Service, reported that she was
"stunned" at Smith's appointment as Patriarch.
- 1942 – November In a biography of the
new Patriarch, the Improvement Era concluded with the statement that,
"We all feel sure that the new Patriarch will uphold the traditions
of the Church, be a credit to his family, and magnify his calling in the
spirit of humility, prayer and faith".
- 1943 — March 11 Some time prior to this
date, Byram Dow Browning had an intimate relationship with Patriarch
Smith, whether overtly sexual or not is unknown. On this date, Browning
entered into military service in the Navy. Byrom Dow Browning was the son
of Lorenzo Dow Browning and Ida May Chandler of Ogden Utah. His parents
were married 28 October 1920 in the Salt Lake Temple by Elder David O
Mckay. Byrom Dow Browning was the
grandson of Thomas E Browning who had been Chief of Police in Ogden.
- 1946 — February 26 "Bro Browning
called to report visit with Jos F. S." (George Albert Smith diary,
"GASD")
- 1946 — April 10 "Excused myself to
Joseph F Smith. regreting [sic] that I am too weary to Dine at his home
[--] Bro + Sister Aki were his guests." (GASD)
- 1946 - April 15 "LeGrand Chandler
of St George came [--] called to see me about Joseph F. Patriarch."
(GASD) Franklin LeGrand Chandler [born 1898 died 1971] LeGrand Chandler
was the uncle of Byram Dow Browning. Since Browning was still in Shelton,
Virginia in the Navy at this time, presumably he had contacted his family
by letter or other means and confessed his relationship with the
Patriarch, which led to this meeting between his uncle and the LDS church
president.]
- 1946 - May 1 "Jos Patriarch met
Presidency & left for home." (GASD)
- 1946 — May 3 "Ruth Smith called.
Jos ill." (GASD)
- 1946 - May 4 Seaman First Class Byram
Dow Browning was honorably discharged from the Navy in Shelton, Virginia.
He had served aboard the USS Bennington and received four medals,
including one for good conduct.
- 1946 - May 27 Diary of Frank Evans,
financial secretary to the First Presidency, referred to talking with Ruth
Pingree Smith "regarding Joseph's illness", and insisting that
she call on Evans (a friend since childhood) if there was anything he
could do to assist her.
- 1946 - May 29 Due to Patriarch Smith's
inability to come to his office in Salt Lake City, the First Presidency
asked three stake patriarchs to give blessings to people requesting them
through the church patriarch's office. (J. Reuben Clark office diary,
"COD")
- 1946 - June 16 "Spoke at Orchard
Ward Davis Co[unty] Visited with Jos F. He is not very well". (GASD)
- 1946 - June 29 Joseph Fielding Smith
diary referred to the problems he was having of late as "a recurrence
of his old trouble in his back." Smith's back problems were likely
psychosomatically related to the stress surrounding his sexuality.
- 1946 - July 10 "Met in office with
Council of Presidency & Twelve [--] Jos Patriarch case considered. bad
situation. Am heartsick." (GASD) JFS's diary entry for this date did
not mention what the Presidency decided, except that it was a profound
"shock" to him.
- 1946 - July 11 "Met in Church
Council room with Presidency and Twelve...Discussed condition of Patriarch
Jos F." (GASD)
- 1946 - July 12 "First Presidency
met with Patriarch Smith at 3:00 pm." (COD)
- 1946 - July 30 COD says Clark met with
Patriarch Joseph F. Smith's brother-in-law, Harold Bennett, and "gave
him facts" about the Patriarch's case.
- 1946 - September 6 "Harrold (sic)
Bennett drove me to see Patriarch Jos F. Smith. a pitiable case."
(GASD)
- 1946 - September 16 "At office 815. Met with Presidency
& Jos F. Patriarch & Ruth[,] Browning & son present. AE Bowen
also listened in. Regret that the evidence is not satisfactory."
(GASD) "Jos. Patriarch[,] First Presidency[,] Mr. Browning & a
boy." (COD) Ruth refers to Ruth Pingree Smith, Mr. Browning is
Lorenzo Dow Browning, and the "boy" is his 21 year old son
Byram, recently returned from WWII naval service.
- 1946 - September 18 "Hyrum Smith
and Harold Beecher came to consider Joseph Patriarch's position."
(GASD)
- 1946 - October 3 As reported in both the
Improvement Era and the front page of the Deseret News , Patriarch Joseph
F. Smith wrote a letter to Pres. George Albert Smith, officially
requesting to be released from his position: Centerville, Utah, 3rd of
October, 1946. President George Albert Smith 47 East South Temple Street Salt
Lake City, Utah Dear President Smith: As you know I have been very ill for
many months. While I am slowly gaining strength and hope soon again to be
able to do some work, I do not know when, if at all, I shall be able to
stand the full drain upon my energy incident to the office of Patriarch to
the Church. As you know the duties of the Patriarch entail heavy
exhaustion. Since but one man holds that office, if he is measurable
incapacitated, its work must in that degree suffer. I know, of course,
that one neither resigns nor asks to be released from such a calling out
of personal considerations, any more than one requests appointment or asks
for office. My chief desire is that the work of the Lord shall prosper. Bearing
these things in mind, I am writing to say that if you desire me to carry
on I shall do my best. If, however, in the circumstances, you should feel
that the interests of the Church would be best served by releasing me at
this time, I want you to feel at liberty to do that. I am therefore
writing this letter to let you know you have my full support for whatever
you decide. I am grateful for the Lord's goodness to me and mine. Ever
praying the Lord's choicest blessings upon you, I am sincerely your
brother, Joseph F. Smith After quoting this letter in The Improvement Era,
The First Presidency made the following formal response: "After
careful and prayerful consideration, and with deep regret and sympathy for
his condition, the First Presidency with the expressed assent and approval
of the Council of the Twelve, have decided, under all the circumstances,
that Brother Joseph F. Smith shall be released from his duties as
Patriarch to the Church."
- 1946 - October 6 "Tabernacle &
Assembly hall filled [--] Jos F. Smith released. A sad happening."
(GASD)
- 1946 - October 25 "Orval Adams
called to say that Wallace and George Spencer wanted him to speak to the
father of 'this boy' and if the father said no, the boy would not need to
be spoken to. Pres. Clark agreed with Mr. Adams that he should not do this
but that Pres. Smith was the one. Bro. Adams said he would tell Geo. that
Bro. Smith would do that." (COD) "Phoned Joseph Patriarch [--]
he feels better." (GASD)
- 1946 - November 29 "Took Jos F
Smith to Am Fork to funeral of Irving Llewelyn Pratt [--] Levi C. Snow
drove us." (GASD) [Quinn believes this refers to Apostle Joseph F.
Smith, as do I]
- 1947 - January 25 "Talked on Phone
to Ruth Smith". (GASD)
- 1947 - January 31"Ruth P Smith came
in to talk about Joseph." (GASD)
- 1947 - March 19 George Albert Smith
instructed that the ex-patriarch's salary continue to be sent to him
monthly until the end of December, when it should stop. (Frank Evans
diary)
- 1947 - April 3 "Voted to
sustain…Eldred Smith" as the new Patriarch to the Church. (GASD)
- 1947 - April 6 "(sustained) Eldred
Smith as Patriarch to the Church." (GASD)
- 1947 - April 10 "(set
apart)...Eldred G. Smith Patriarch to the Church." (GASD)
- 1947 - August 6 "After supper
walked and called to see Jos. Fielding." (GASD)
- 1947 - August 20 "Talked to Ruth
Smith on phone". (GASD)
- 1947 — December 6 While at Honolulu,
Apostle George F. Richards noted in his diary that "Pres.
Woolley" (Ralph Woolley, the mission president) showed him a First
Presidency letter instructing that ex-Patriarch Joseph F. Smith not
function in any church capacity. (George F. Richards diary)
- 1947 — December 31 "Had long
interview at 11:00 am with Jos. F. Smith, who flew here from Hawaii to
attend the Nat'l Speech Ass'n Convention". (GASD)
- 1948 - January 7 "Interview
with...Jos. Fielding Smith at 10:30 am". (GASD) [Quinn believes this
refers to Apostle Joseph F. Smith, however I do believe it refers to the
former Patriarch]
- 1948 - March 15 George Albert Smith
authorized retroactive payment of ex-Patriarch Smith's monthly allowance
up to March 1. This was in response to Joseph's request for this financial
assistance. (FED)
- 1950 - August 16 At Honolulu, "In
the afternoon, by prearrangement, Joseph F. Smith, former patriarch of the
Church, came to the Woolley home, and he and I stayed up in my room and
had a long talk together concerning many things, particularly with
reference to his problems." (GASD)
- 1952 – 1954 John Reeves, a then-closeted
Gay Mormon from Utah, lived in the Honolulu Stake with Joseph F. and Ruth
Smith and befriended them (especially Ruth). Ruth eventually revealed to
John that her husband had been having homosexual affairs and that is why
he had been released. John understood that they had been "exiled to
Hawaii" by church leaders, to keep Joseph out of the spotlight of
scandal. He was told that one of Joseph's sexual partners was a man named
Wallace. (A man named Wallace A. G-------, born in 1907 and married in
1931, was a close colleague of Smith's in the Drama Department at the
University of Utah for several years. Wallace was the manager of the Drama
Club while Joseph was the president.)
- 1957 - April 10 Jay A. Quealy Jr.,
president of the Honolulu Stake, asked to restore ex-patriarch Joseph F.
Smith to church activity. President David O. McKay answered that his
decision "will have to await the outcome of my talking with other
people involved in this case." (David O. McKay office diary,
"MOD")
- [1957? - April] Typed, undated document,
with no explanation except that it's heading is "Joseph F. Smith of
Honolulu", found in the 1959 First Presidency files, although it's
from 1957: "The parents L. Dow
Browning - 13185 W******** Place, Garden Grove, Calif. "The boy —
Byram Browning - 1102 East N****** - Fullerton, California. married and
two children."
- 1957 - May 9 In a telephone
conversation, Pres. McKay gave permission to Pres. Quealy of the Honolulu
Stake for Joseph F. Smith to speak at his son's missionary farewell. (MOD)
- 1957 - July 10 The First Presidency
instructed Bishop Lowell Christensen of the Waikiki Ward that Joseph F.
Smith may have ward responsibilities because Joseph had already confessed
"and has forsaken his sins." Pres. McKay stated that Joseph F.
Smith had never been formally disfellowshipped or excommunicated. (MOD)
- 1957 — December 9 Pres. McKay authorized
Pres. Quealy to use his own judgment in allowing Smith to serve in the
church, inasmuch as "Joseph F. Smith has recently confessed to his
wife and wrote a full confession to the First Presidency." President
McKay said that there need not be any formal announcement or action for
this reinstatement, since no formal action had ever been taken against
him. (MOD) According to Quinn's correspondence with me, Smith soon became
a member of the Stake High Council.
- 1958 - April 13 Ruth Pingree Smith wrote
Pres. McKay, expressing appreciation that her husband could now serve
actively in the Church. She added, "I know, better than anyone else,
the trial our family has been to you and to the authorities." [Ruth
P. Smith to McKay letter, also misfiled under 1959]
- Joseph Field Smith died 20 Aug 1964 Salt
Lake City, Utah
- 1979 - October 4 Eldred Gee Smith was
placed on emeritus status by the First Presidency and no new Patriarch was
called to replace him. At his death, the office of Patriarch to the
Church, which once rivaled that of the President of the Church, will cease
to exist.
Sources: Bergera, Gary J., "Grey Matters", 7th East Press,
November 27, 1982, p. 15 Blood, Cynthia, University of Utah transcripts, copy
in my possession Blood, Cynthia, interview with Connell O'Donovan, August 19,
1989, notes in possession Browning, Byram Dow, Naval records and University of
Utah transcripts, copies in my possession Clark, J. Reuben, Office Diary (COD),
transcript from D. Michael Quinn, copy in my possession Conference Reports,
October 3, 1942, p. 17 (quoted in Bergera, "Grey Matters") Deseret
News, October 7, 1946, p. 1 Evans, Frank, Diary, transcript from D. Michael
Quinn, copy in my possession First Presidency papers, transcript from D.
Michael Quinn, copy in my possession Improvement Era, November 1942, p. 738 and
November 1946, pp. 685 and 708 McKay, David O., Office Diary (MOD), transcript
from D. Michael Quinn, copy in my possession Richards, George F., Diary,
transcript from D. Michael Quinn, copy in my possession Smith, George Albert
Smith, Diary (GASD), Special Collections, Marriott Library; complete xerox copy
in my possession Smith, Joseph Fielding, Diary, transcript from D. Michael
Quinn, copy in my possession Quinn, D. Michael to "Rocky" (Connell)
O'Donovan, July 19, 1991 Quinn, D. Michael, Same Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth
Century Americans: A Mormon Example (Univ.
1965 Saturday- Four
more witnessed testified at the preliminary hearing of Gary Horning and Leon
Dyer before Judge Charles H. Sneddon who after the hearing bound the pair over
for trial in the 2nd District Court Ogden. (01/31/65 page C6 col. 4
SLTribune)
.jpg) |
| Trevor Southey |
1988 Saturday- In the afternoon about 1 p.m. I met with
David Malmstrom of Affirmation and Chris Brown of LGSU to discuss issues
concerning our 3 groups. We decided to
hold a group dance on Saturday the 29th as a fund raiser charging $3.00 and
splitting the cost among the three of us.
We are checking out Bryant Intermediate, the Unitarian Church, Salt Lake
Acting Company, The YWCA, and the Central City Community Center for a permanent
location for the dances. We discussed
the Fairy Gathering this summer and both Affirmation and LGSU seemed
supportive. Chris Brown voiced concerns about the Youth Group and we all
decided to support it as long as we have some input. We want to make sure it’s
a support group and not a youth cruising ground. We have some problems with the
legality of including minors in such a group. We are getting together with
Garth Chamberlain and the rest tomorrow to express these concerns. We feel that
if this youth group is not handled right, it could blow up in our faces and
perhaps damage the Gay Community’s image. We are already stereotyped as child
molesters and youth recruiters. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]
1991 Wednesday After going to bed, I got a call from David
Sharpton who called just to visit. He sounded really in poor health but he said
actually he was feeling better. He's going on DDC soon and will be the first person
with AIDS in Utah to try the experimental drug as soon as the bureaucracy
releases it. He said that he heard from his contacts in Denver that Greg
Stanger died there of AIDS. I didn't even know that he had it. [Journal of Ben
Williams]
1993-A march was held in New York to protest the
ban on gays and lesbians in the US military.
1996-In a secret, illegal meeting on Capitol
Hill, Mormon members of the Utah Senate confronted the state's top public- and
higher-education officials with accusations that Utah schools are undermining
family values and promoting homosexual acts.
1998- -Friday.
Charles B. Baxter, 25, was pronounced dead at LDS Hospital Salt Lake City police took
the protection of gay people from violence seriously, this area known to be
frequented by gay people would have regular patrols to protect the Club's
patrons --and none of this would have ever happened. Instead, the Deseret News
blames the gay victims for their victimization by anti-gay bigots, a bigotry
actively promoted by the Deseret News.” According to police officers and
individuals who frequent the area, Exchange
Place is well known as a gathering place for
various types of illicit activity, including prostitution and drug dealing.
Police are often called to the block, which houses Bob's Magazine Corner, 360
S. State, at one end and The Vortex dance club, 32 E. Exchange Place, on the
other...(Deseret News 30 JAN 1998)
1999 GAY FAMILY ADOPTION SLTribune editorial A
Child's Lost Chance The Division of Child and Family Services, arguably Utah's
most distressed agency of the '90s, prospected for more trouble last week when
its board of trustees voted to ban adoptions of children in state care by homosexual
couples or unmarried heterosexual couples. The new policy is unnecessary
unwise. The board's vote, taken under the watchful eye of right-wing scold
Gayle Ruzicka, amounts to another anti-gay public policy statement made simply
for effect in the absence of any pressing need. Last year, 93 percent of the
DCFS's 328 adoptions were to married couples, while the rest were to single
parents. By those numbers, there is no evidence of a problem in this
regard. But Scott Clark, the chairman of
the DCFS board, created the problem, contending that gay parents expose their
children to "gender confusion" and that unmarried straight couples
have a statistically higher incidence of spousal abuse than do married couples.
He believes that children in the state's care should be placed in "the
very best of homes" -- and he obviously knows who doesn't belong in that
category. Look, there is little argument
that a household with a mother and a father is the ideal home for a child. But
the very existence of state child-welfare agencies testifies that all such
households are not "the very best of homes," or else there would be
no need for DCFS. More to the point, if
there were a glut of these homes, where the parents were willing to step up and
help the state's abused children, then presumably Gov. Mike Leavitt would not
have had to appeal for a tripling in the number of foster homes at his
volunteer summit 15 months ago. The reality is, there is no surfeit of such
homes. All Clark
has done with his new policy is limit the pool of them. It is absurd on its
face to suppose, as Clark apparently does, that even the most dysfunctional
home with married parents, the kind of home that pushes children into the DCFS
system in the first place, is a more ideal setting for an abused child than any
home headed by homosexuals or unmarried heterosexuals. More ominously, though, it seems equally
absurd to suppose that any home headed by gays or unmarried straights is a
worse setting for an abused child than continued state custody. And that's
where the damage of this new policy lies: Some desperate child will be denied a
better chance at life because there aren't enough of "the very best of
homes" available. The generality
that the best homes for children are those headed by married couples is sound.
But the problem is that child-welfare agencies don't deal in generalities but
in individual cases, each one a tragedy. The DCFS's obligation is to find the
best solution for each case, one by one; it has just inhibited its ability to
meet that obligation by passing its new adoption policy.
30 January 2000 Page: B6 Panel Raises Funds to Create
Matthew Shepard Scholarship THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GDEN -- An independent
committee including students and faculty at Weber State
University Laramie , Wyo. Weber State
2003 Dear Ben: This is Hugo Salinas, we met about
two years ago as I was getting ready to research the issue of suicide among gay
Mormons. As a result of that research, I produced a Memorial for gay Mormon
suicides and I also wrote a paper that was awarded at the National Affirmation
Conference last year. Thank you again for all your help in researching this
very important issue! Ben, I recently started a project of taping interviews
and donating them to the Special Collections at the Marriot Library. Would it
be possible to meet with you sometime and tape an interview? I would like your
reflections and impressions not only on the gay suicide epidemics, but if
possible also on other issues you have witnessed as a gay Mormon man, including
your recollections of the first AIDS victims, the history of Affirmation: Gay
and Lesbian Mormons, and the history of the Restoration Church
- Dear Hugo, Yes
I remember you. Hope you are doing well. I would be happy to help with your
project. Have you interviewed
2004 SLC Premier of “Latter Days" was
canceled at SLC Madstone Theaters the film because "it lacked artistic
merit."
2004 Author: Dan Harrie The Salt Lake Tribune Page: A10A toughened gay-marriage ban gets
quick 'I do' in the Senate The Capitol Hill debate over a controversial plan to
toughen Utah's ban on gay marriage turned out to be no debate at all Thursday
in the Senate. Floor consideration of the measure lasted less than five
minutes, no one spoke against it and the bill advanced on a 27-1 vote. Sen.
Karen Hale, D-Salt
Lake City
2005 FOR
THE STRENGTH OF GAY YOUTH 30 January 2005 @ 5:00pm Social Work Auditorium 395 S
1500 EAST (1500 E.) University
of Utah
2005 Family Fellowship Forum University of Utah
Social Work Auditorium 5:00 p.m. Free of charge Building Bridges - Healing
Relationships - Loving and Serving All Dear Friend of Family Fellowship, The quarterly Family Fellowship Forum will
be held on Sunday, January 30th in the Graduate School of Social Work
Auditorium on the University Of Utah campus at 5:00 p.m. The Social Work
Auditorium is just northeast of Rice-Eccles Stadium and is best accessed by
turning north at 5th South and Guardsman Way with parking in the lot
immediately south of the auditorium.
(see map on other side- building is labeled SW) We have invited Aaron Cloward to speak and
moderate a panel entitled "For The Strength of Our Gay Youth." The panel will include other young gay and
lesbian Mormons or former Mormons who will provide their perspectives about
being gay in our Mormon culture and how they are and have been coping. It will be a very interesting panel
discussion not to be missed! As is our custom, a light buffet will be served at
the conclusion of the program. Family Fellowship is a volunteer service
organization, a diverse collection of primarily Mormon families engaged in the
cause of strengthening families with homosexual members. We share our witness that gay and lesbian
Mormons can be great blessings in the lives of their families, and that
families can be great blessings in the lives of the gay and lesbian
members. We strive to become more
understanding and appreciative of each other.
We seek to put behind us all attitudes which are anti-family or which
threaten loving relationships. All who
can support these goals are welcome to contribute. Sincerely, Family Fellowship
2005 Family Fellowship Forum University of Utah
Social Work Auditorium 5:00 p.m. Free of charge Building Bridges - Healing
Relationships - Loving and Serving All Dear Friend of Family Fellowship, The
quarterly Family Fellowship Forum will be held on Sunday, January 30th in the
Graduate School of Social Work Auditorium on the University Of Utah campus at
5:00 p.m. The Social Work Auditorium is just northeast of Rice-Eccles Stadium
and is best accessed by turning north at 5th South and Guardsman Way with parking
in the lot immediately south of the auditorium.
(see map on other side- building is labeled SW) We have invited Aaron
Cloward to speak and moderate a panel entitled "For The Strength of Our
Gay Youth." The panel will include
other young gay and lesbian Mormons or former Mormons who will provide their
perspectives about being gay in our Mormon culture and how they are and have
been coping. It will be a very
interesting panel discussion not to be missed! As is our custom, a light buffet
will be served at the conclusion of the program. Family Fellowship is a
volunteer service organization, a diverse collection of primarily Mormon
families engaged in the cause of strengthening families with homosexual
members. We share our witness that gay
and lesbian Mormons can be great blessings in the lives of their families, and
that families can be great blessings in the lives of the gay and lesbian
members. We strive to become more
understanding and appreciative of each other.
We seek to put behind us all attitudes which are anti-family or which
threaten loving relationships. All who
can support these goals are welcome to contribute. Sincerely, Family Fellowship
2006 Monday Salt Lake Metro presents the first annual
Salt Lake City Gay and Lesbian Film Festival January 30-February 5 Snuggled in
between Sundance and the new Winterfest, the Salt Lake City Gay and Lesbian
Film Festival will feature over 20 films over seven days. Almost all of these
films have never been shown in Salt
Lake City , and many would never make it here without
this festival. Most screenings take place at Brewvies Cinema and Pub - enjoy a
beer and pizza while watching the films! You must be 21 to enter Brewvies. The
final weekend also features Sundance FIlm Festival favorite "Loggerheads"
at teh Regency Theatres Trolley
Square . For more information, go to
http://saltfest.org
2006 PWACU is Moving Beginning January 30, 2006 we
will be at 175 W. 200 S., Suite 2010 SLC, UT 84101 Special thanks to Firestone
Building Partners Ltd, for giving us the opportunity to be in a great new
location downtown.
2006 Heads Up Reopens: Come check out the new
venue located at 1330 South State, The space is the same size at out old
location on Pierpont, However we will be doing a lot of renovations on the back
portion of the space for show and fund
raiser, David is open to suggestions on the renovation from the court and would love to get your input.
Monday Karaoke Tuesday fifty cent draft night Wed night ABFAB Night (Feb. only)
Thursday Karaoke (Crazy) Friday 80's night Saturday Night Suicide karaoke
Sunday Fuck off night ( any thing goes Sunday Superbowl Night: Choose your
screen. More TV's than any other club in Salt Lake
2007 Dear Community
Member: Tomorrow Equality Utah will be hosting our first Lobby Day of the 2007
Legislative session from 9:30am-Noon and 2:00pm–4:00pm. Our focus tomorrow
morning will be lobbying members of the House in support of HB168 School Safety
Amendments which deals with school bullying.
We’ll also be expressing our opposition to HB236, Rep. Tilton’s School
Clubs bill. On the Senate side, we’ll be
speaking with Senators to express our support of SB75 Advanced Healthcare
Directives Act which allows persons to designate a surrogate healthcare
decision maker. We’re also supporting
HB205 Public Demonstrations at Funerals which is now before the Senate
Government Operations & Political Subdivisions Committee. Legislators will
be in committee hearings tomorrow afternoon which limits our ability to speak
with them. Therefore, we’ll be sitting
in on these hearings. This is a great
opportunity to see how things work on The Hill. Whether you’re an experienced
veteran or a Capitol Hill first-timer, join us tomorrow. We’ll be hosting a table in the cafeteria,
which is on the first floor of the East building. Stop by, pickup a copy of our Talking Points,
put on an “Equality” pin and head over to the West building to lobby. Don’t be intimidated if you are coming up
alone, we’ll have people there who can lobby with you. Thank you for your support during the
legislative session. Working for a fair & just Utah , Mike Thompson Executive Director Have
you joined Equality Utah or renewed your 2007 membership? You can do so today at
www.equalityutah.org
2010 'Dramatic jump' with Utahns for gay rights More want SLC's
rules to go statewide; marriage, adoption don't gain traction. By Rosemary
Winters The Salt Lake Tribune 01/30/2010 When Salt Lake City embraced
anti-discrimination ordinances for gay and transgender residents last fall --
snagging a landmark endorsement by the LDS Church and widespread support from
city officials -- more shifted than public policy. Public opinion -- throughout
Utah -- jumped, too. Support for some gay rights,
short of marriage, climbed 11 percentage points across the state from a year
ago, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune poll, and shot up by 10 percent among
Mormons. Two-thirds of Utahns (67 percent) favor employment protections and
safeguards for same-sex couples such as hospital visitation and inheritance
rights, up from 56 percent in January 2009, when pollsters asked the same
question. (This year's survey of 625 frequent Utah voters has an error margin
of plus or minus 4 percentage points; last year's was 4.5 percent.) Opposition
dropped, overall, from 40 percent to 23 percent. Among LDS respondents, it
plummeted from 48 percent to 28 percent. "This isn't a gradual change of
attitudes. This is a fairly dramatic jump," says Matthew Burbank, chairman
of the University of Utah's political science department. "Clearly, the
fact that the LDS Church was officially endorsing this position had an impact
on people." A similar number of respondents, 66 percent, also say they
support expanding Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination policy -- the first of
its kind in Utah and already mimicked in Salt Lake County -- throughout the
state. In November, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, making good on a campaign
promise, and the City Council approved two ordinances that ban housing and
employment discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation or gender
identity (with exemptions for religious organizations, small businesses and
landlords). Becker, too, deserves credit for swaying public opinion, says Quin
Monson, associate director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study
of Elections and Democracy. It's likely, Monson says, that the LDS Church's
endorsement influenced many members of the faith, but opinions among
non-Mormons changed, too. "Perhaps the whole discussion around what
happened in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County did as much to change minds
among voters" as the endorsement, Monson says. "You can think of our
political leaders leading out, taking some leadership and taking public opinion
along with them." In the 2009 poll, Mormon opinion of protections for
same-sex couples, short of marriage, was in a dead heat: 49 percent of LDS
respondents were in favor and 48 percent against. A year later, when asked the
same question, 59 percent voiced support and 28 percent declared opposition,
with 13 percent unsure. Support among non-LDS respondents spurted from 68
percent to 84 percent. "This shift," Monson says, "certainly
ought to get the attention of the state Legislature and the governor." But
despite that widespread public support, state lawmakers won't to be passing an
anti-discrimination law this year. On Friday, Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt
Lake City, announced a "compromise" in which she is shelving, until
2011, her bill to ban housing and employment discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity. "There's more educating and more work to
be done," Johnson says, "to get to the point where we can run a bill confidently,
assured that the Legislature will support it." In the latest poll, Utahns
do not show more openness toward two other gay-rights questions: civil unions
and adoption. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a popular Republican who declared
his support for civil unions in February 2009, appears not to have budged
opinion on the issue. This year, 28 percent of Utahns polled say they support
amending the Utah Constitution to permit civil unions for same-sex couples. (In
2009, 25 percent backed such a move, but the change falls within the poll's
error margin.) Similarly, 33 percent say they favor changing state law to allow
unmarried, cohabiting couples -- including same-sex partners -- to adopt and
foster children. (In 2009, the number was 35 percent.) "That's an area
where we need to continue to do work," says Equality Utah Executive
Director Brandie Balken, "to educate people about how happy and healthy
our families are and how happy and healthy our kids are." But Balken was
pleased by the widespread support for more basic protections. One factor
prodding the change in attitudes, she says, is the increasing openness of
people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. "Once you know
someone who is gay or transgender, you're much less likely to have a negative
opinion of them," she says. "People have started to recognize that
this really is a basic issue of fairness."
Poll respondent Jania Evans, a 69-year-old Mormon who lives in Draper,
says knowing people who are gay has changed her opinions over time. She
supports basic protections for same-sex couples, anti-discrimination measures
and -- having worked with a gay man parenting two children with his partner --
adoption rights for unmarried couples. Because of her religious beliefs, she
says, she does not support civil unions or gay marriage. "They have as
much love and affection for their soul mates as heterosexuals who are
married," Evans says. "I see no reason why they should be denied
[basic rights]." rwinters@sltrib.com
2010 Utah Dems shelve gay-rights
bills for a year Compromise » Leaders agree to hold off on meddling with SLC's
anti-discrimination measures. By Rosemary Winters The Salt Lake Tribune
01/30/2010 It's going to be a much quieter legislative session for gay rights.
On Friday, three Democratic lawmakers announced they are dropping bills --
until 2011 -- that would provide anti-discrimination protections, probate
rights and adoption rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
Utahns. The move is a "compromise," sanctioned by leaders in the House
and Senate, intended to halt efforts to overturn or weaken the newly minted
anti-discrimination ordinances in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. Instead
of her anti-discrimination bill, Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, is
running one that would assign a legislative committee to study measures -- both
in Utah and other states -- that bar housing and employment discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislators, working with the
Utah Labor Commission, would collect information on instances of bias against
sexual- and gender-based minorities. The committee would be required to issue a
report no later than Nov. 30 and determine whether to recommend and draft
legislation. As part of the compromise, Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, has
dropped plans for a 2010 bill that would enable same-sex partners to sue when a
breadwinner suffers a wrongful death. And Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt
Lake City, has put aside her third-year effort to allow cohabiting, unmarried couples
-- including gay and lesbian partners -- to adopt and foster children.
"That is not an easy pill for us," McAdams said. "It's my hope
that we will shift from a discussion of things we disagree about to a
discussion of things that we agree on." One sign that Republicans also are
on board with the Democrats' compromise: Johnson has a Republican co-sponsor
for her study bill, Sen. Howard Stephenson, of Draper. "It's important now
that we let [Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination policy] work and see how it
works," Stephenson said. "Then we can return next year with data and
science and, hopefully, with greater civility than we've ever experienced
between our communities." Stephenson and Johnson both said they want to
build on the collaborative spirit that produced Salt Lake City's
anti-discrimination ordinances (endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints), which bridged divides between Democrats and Republicans,
Mormons and non-Mormons and the LGBT and straight communities. Clearing a "stressful,"
budget-crunching session of gay-rights measures, Johnson said, will open a
"window for pressure-free conversations" on the topic. Brandie
Balken, executive director of Equality Utah, said her group supports the deal.
"We'll have good data and a much better chance of passing meaningful
legislation [in 2011]," she said. "While I personally would very much
wish for things to move more quickly, I respect this process."
Byram Browning died in Connecticut in 2006, right?
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