This Day In Gay Utah History January 31st

January 31

1729-In Prussia a baker named Ephraim Ostermann was sentenced to death after confessing to fellating another man, Martin Kohler. Kohler died soon after, and his death was attributed to unnatural loss of semen.

Mae West's Drag cast being arrested

1927-The Drag, Mae West's play about gay men, opened in Bridgeport Connecticut. West said she wrote the play to call attention to the great problem of homosexuality ans called a "comedy-dramas of life".After a series of try-outs in Connecticut and New Jersey, West announced she would open the play in New York. However, The Drag never opened on Broadway due to the Society for the Prevention of Vice vows to ban it if West attempted to stage it. West was an early supporter of the women's liberation movement, but stated she was not a feminist. She was also a supporter of gay rights. A gay cabaret at PAUL & JOE's inspired West to write "The Drag." She hired some of their drag queens to play themselves. Even though this was against EQUITY'S rules. During the 1920s, homosexuals were restricted to non-speaking roles in the chorus because they were banned from joining the union.

Derek Jarman

1942-Derek Jarman (1942-1994), Gay film director was born. During the 1980s Jarman was still one of the few openly gay public figures in Britain and so was a leading campaigner against "anti-gay" legislation and to raise awareness of AIDS.

1968 Six pornographic films, used to convict Larry Mitchell who was charged with showing obscene films in a Salt Lake Tavern, were stolen from the evidence room

1970 Salt Lake Police Chief Dewey J. Fillis resigns  (01/30/1970 SLTribune B-1)Dewey joined the Salt Lake Police Department in July of 1947 and served in nearly every division. The last 15 years of his career were spent in administration as Captain, Assistant Chief and Chief of Police

1975-A resolution was passed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science condemning discrimination against Gays, saying that discrimination robs society of their contributions and is unjust.

1977-Monday The Boise Seven:  Seven women were fired from the Boise, Idaho Police Department by Chief John Church for “activities relating to crimes against nature” The chief feared that the women might be Lesbians which department claimed was damaging to police morale. The seven female police officers were fired after the police department tapped a phone the officers were told was for personal calls. "The police department collected 3,000 feet of illegal wiretap tape. The firings engendered protests and petition drives from Idaho and Utah's gay communities, one of the first instances of open gay activism in Idaho.Bars in Utah helped raise money for much of their lawsuit. The women fought  back with suit in federal court and sued the police department for $16 million. The district judge called the police department's actions "an abysmal operation." He ordered the department to pay the seven women the full $16 million, saying "I cannot imagine a city of Boise's size lowering itself to such shenanigans in the 1970's. 

1977 Monday- Utah Daily Chronicle pg. 2 After 135 million dollars and 3 months of immunizing American citizens, health officials are saying there may not be an epidemic. “It looks like less and less likely that the swine flu will breakout this year.” After two soldiers at Fort Dix Army base contracted Guillian Barre Syndrome in October 1976 the United States Congress authorized a nationwide immunization program after health officials warned of a world wide Swine Flu Viral epidemic.  While no cases of swine flu were ever reported in Utah, there were 11 confirmed cases of Gullian Barre Syndrome in Utah.

1978- The U of U Chronicle printed as their front page a letter entitled “Mormon and Gay…One Man’s Tale of Bloody Knuckles” edited by Jeff Howrey. The Bloody Knuckles reference was to Spencer W. Kimball’s Miracle of Forgiveness. Mormon and Gay “...One man's tale of bloody knuckles' edited by Jeff Howrey, associate editor Utah Chronicle  The pseudonym LML stands for Let Me Live, but Donald Attridge was the real author. " To those who say that (homosexuality ) is incurable, I respond: How can you say the door cannot be opened until your knuckles are bloody, till your head is bruised, till your muscles are sore? It can be done. " Mormon Church President Spencer Kimball It has been a tough life of " bloody knuckles " for L.M.L. His years of agonized vigilance waiting for " the door " to open have been in vain. Instead, his lonely wait has resulted only in the realization that there will never be a place for him within the Church he loves. L.M.L.'s story is a personal one. So much so, in fact, that it would be unfair - perhaps even impossible - to try to tell it for him. Thus, in the following letter addressed to his " Brothers and Sisters, " L.M.L. relates his own tale in his own words. L.M.L.'s story is also a very emotional experience, passions undoubtedly color one's recollection and interpretations of events. In fairness to those who play a part in his story - particularly Mormon Church officials- it probably merits mentioning that their interpretations of the events L.M.L. relates would probably not completely correspond with his. But as far as the events themselves are concerned, the Chronicle has yet to be presented with any evidence that they did not occur as he relates them... Editor's note: The letter written by the young male homosexual " L.M.L." which is the focus of the story on this page was referred to The Chronicle Associate Editor Jeff Howrey by a friend who is an employee of a local radio station. That station refused to broadcast the letter because, according to the employee," Our owner is very L.D.S. and wouldn't let it on the air...for fear of the controversy sure to follow." We subsequently discovered that that radio station was not the only local media outlet which had shied away from using the letter. As it turned out, " L.M.L. " had approached almost every newspaper in the state, including the Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, Provo Herald, Ogden Standard-Examiner and the Daily Universe, ( the Brigham Young University daily student newspaper.). But none would print it. And that, in light of the letter's undeniable relevance to the social and cultural climate of this state, perplexes us at the Chronicle.  While it is impossible, of course, to speculate confidently as to the reasons the papers cited above had for not printing the young man's story, we can only hope that the motive was not the same as that of the radio station's owner. Because “fear of controversy “by itself can never serve as an acceptable reason for restraining information or ideas from entering the free-flowing stream of news which the press supposedly provides for this country.

• Dear Brother and Sisters: I have been counseled to knock at the door leading out of homosexuality until my knuckles are bloody. I have had 10 years of intermittent psychotherapy, aversion shock therapy , fasting, praying, marriage, fatherhood, spiritual experiences, extreme activity in the Mormon Church and in its Temple. I now wash the blood from my hands, anoint them, wrap them, and wait for them to heal. As soon as the scars have receded, my hands will once again be whole from the palsied, masochistic beating I gave them at the Master's door. I retreat from my self-destruction. Knocking quietly now, I pray he who has ears, let him hear. This account centers on events which happened a decade ago while I was a student at Brigham Young University ( B.Y.U.) and the vicious act I committed against my fellow men. My soul begs forgiveness for that act... But first I should probably tell you a bit about my life before B.Y.U. ( the editor wrote this line only ) Conversion to the Church was like a ray of light to me. Fatherless as an infant and as a young man, burdened by my mother's intimacy, the abounding light of conversion soon dimmed as I came to understand that my homosexuality was diametrically opposed to The Plan. But somehow God tolerated my condition as He led me through a full time Mormon mission during which we converted several dozen souls to His Church.  I loved the feeling of being useful to the missionary effort of the Church--I thought of myself as a talented human being who, incidentally, had a sexual preference for men. While on my mission I confided to a few others that I was gay. Consequently, upon completion of my mission, I was instructed to meet with Church President Kimball. At our meeting, he let me tell my whole story and then told me that I was too good for that kind of behavior and added that I didn't look like a homosexual. He then gave me an intimate, beautiful, loving blessing and counseled me not to be taught by Satan and become in his power of force. I wept.  Not tears of joy but sorrow because no one understood my situation. And despite all of President Kimball's good intentions and help, I was attracted to men, not women, and I knew I would have to force myself to live a heterosexual life. I did not look forward to the life of hypocrisy which it seemed the role would demand of me. Shortly thereafter I entered B.Y.U. and made gay acquaintances who subsequently made me aware of the paranoia homosexuals at that institution were by necessity forced to live with. I desperately needed friends, but the gays there were so afraid and paranoid that establishing friendships proved to be virtually impossible.  As a result, I was more alone than ever... I felt as though I would be forced to remain alone for the rest of my earth life--unfeeling, unsharing, and with no one to share the intimacy of life. Shortly thereafter I had a sexual experience with a 19 year old student who was mutually attracted to me. But he subsequently felt compelled to speak to his Bishop about it and I was soon expelled from B.Y.U. and then I was asked to officially withdraw, but not before my Bishop examined me as some sort of curious specimen and President Kimball met with me and pleaded for the names of other homosexuals I knew of at B.Y.U. so he could help them. The kind of help I assumed he meant was some sort of apostolic counseling, perhaps therapy for the whole group of us so we could get to the truth of the matter and maybe I could even come to understand my burden in life. But when I supplied the list of names, no such help came. No counseling resulted. No Bishops' concern.  Nothing.  Nothing, that is, except the hell that broke loose in the lives of those I had revealed. Hell such as excommunications, degrees denied, careers interrupted or even ruined, and lives ended. Conspicuously, I was not excommunicated. Ironically, one other thing that happened after I gave President Kimball the list of names was that he loaned me $ 30.00 to help ease the financial burden of being out of school and out of work. Soon, thereafter, the most severe period of mental depression I've ever known engulfed me. As I walked the wet, slushy streets of Salt Lake City with no place to sleep or eat, I realized that the Church was giving me the decree of punishment Moses uttered: death.  I did not sleep. I still do not sleep because of my agony over the lives of those former B.Y.U. students I selfishly interrupted. I wonder if they have forgiven me. And I still live in the paranoia of their possible retaliation.... Years passed, I married, fathered children and as President Kimball had counseled me to, I became extremely active in the Church program of " too busy to sin. " During these years I have had many spiritual experiences in the Temple and in my private chambers yet I have never been convinced to not be who I am...  I love my wife but I am not her lover... I need my family, we depend on each other, and my children need me. I am a good father, but I need to love and be loved both biologically and emotionally in the way my heart and hormones lead me.  I have never felt conscious desire for women, yet out of love and respect I gave. I can force this no longer. I wish that I could sit down within the bounds of the Church and talk with other gay members of my ward without fearing excommunication... I wish the Brethren would call a solemn assembly for us, an assembly so intense and spiritual that we would come to know what the Lord meant to our lives... I believe such a solemn assembly could be kept within the bounds of propriety and perhaps because of it a few lives could be save. Who in the Church can I trust now? Who can I talk to without fear of spiritual annihilation? The punishment I would receive for being honest would undoubtedly be excommunication. If salvation and exaltation are so important to the Lord's Church, why doesn't the Church open a door to us...instead of slapping our bloody knuckles? I have no choice now.   am forced to live in hypocrisy.  I do not fit into the Plan-- I am lost for eternity to live with murderers in the telestial kingdom.  However, I am not prompted to self-destruction, but to build on my own from what is left in this world. I will raise my children with understanding and communication and treat my wife with honesty and care. I want to become all that I am capable of becoming despite the discomfort to Zion. This life is certainly no Shangri-La, but I do have certain peace now with the spirit inside this body of mine which I've never known before.  I want to walk with dignity, the kind of dignity I was born with...the right of any human being to live.   --L.M.L. ( Let Me Live )

1980 Utah revised its psychopathic offender law, removing the possibility of consensual sodomy from being a triggering offense. Laws of Utah 1980, page 110, ch. 15, enacted Jan. 31, 1980, effective July 1, 1980

1988 Sunday Dr. John Reeves, Ph.D., Chris Brown President of LGSU, Dave Malmstrom Director of Wasatch Affirmation, and Ben Williams Director of Unconditional Support met with Garth Chamberlain, Tim Wansee, and Bryce the primary organizers of the new Youth Group. Concerns about certain legalities of forming such a group were expressed. It was felt by LGSU, Affirmation, and US that the Youth Group needed an adult advisor in the group from the non Gay community such as a parent, a pastor, or a psychologist.  John Reeves contacted Dr. Michael Elliott who agreed to be one of the sponsors.  It was felt the Youth Group needed a Statement of Purpose and a neutral meeting place other than someone’s home. The Youth Group representatives agreed to these suggestions and to the changing of the age limit down from 23 years to 21 years. The heads of Unconditional Support, Wasatch Affirmation, and LGSU then agreed to support the Youth Group and to send them referrals. “At 6 p.m. Dr. John Reeves, Ph.D., Chris Brown President of LGSU, Dave Malmstrom Director of Wasatch Affirmation, and myself Director of Unconditional Support met with Garth Chamberlain, Tim, and Bryce the primary organizers of the new Youth Group. We listed our concerns about certain legalities of forming such a group and expressed how we felt the need of an adult advisor in the group from the non Gay community such as a parent, a pastor, or a psychologist.  John Reeves said that he had called Dr. Michael Elliott and he would be happy to be one of the sponsors.  We also felt the need of a Statement of Purpose from the group and a neutral meeting place other than someone’s home. The Youth Group representatives agreed to these suggestions and to the changing of the age limit down from 23 years to 21 years. The heads of Unconditional Support, Wasatch Affirmation, and LGSU then agreed to support the Youth Group and to send them referrals. I said I would meet  with them again this Friday. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1988- Wasatch Affirmation held The Gong Show: A night of comedy entertainment. Sponsored by Neil Hoyt. “I went to Wasatch Affirmation tonight because I wanted to see Neil Hoyt, the cute kid who I heard was the new activity director. When I got there a talent show was going on with the Love Birds performing. They were a hoot. After the show, I visited with Dave Malmstrom who said he was glad I came. I said that he’s bringing a good feeling back to the group.  After the meeting at Affirmation I sat and talked with David Sharpton. He wanted me to meet with this Allan Gundry from the LDS Social Services who is suppose to be trying to open a dialogue between the LDS Church and Gay people. I said I would but only if Chris Brown, President of the Lesbian and Gay Student Union, and Dave Malmstrom, Director Affirmation, were invited too. David Sharpton is really jumping into things. He's not so bad once you get to know him. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1988-Rocky [Connell] O’Donovan said he approached his Relief Society people about making a quilt and they said they would and would teach Affirmation people to quilt! This AIDS Quilt is going to be big and perhaps a bridge between the Gay and non Gay world. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1989-AIDS activists blocked traffic for forty-six minutes on the Golden Gate Bridge to protest low federal funding for AIDS research. Twenty-six people were arrested.

1989 Tuesday At Unconditional Support there was a decent turn out. Darryl Webber led the meeting where the discussion developed around Gay dating. Brook Hallock and another woman were at the meeting tonight. I think I’m the only romantic at Unconditional Support sometimes. Everyone talks about taking relationships slow. I’m sorry I can’t. I think of Andrew Marvell’s “Coy Mistress” I said I felt like this is the time I am alive! Now is the time I want to hold someone and feel his body next to mine. I also continued to defend my position of metaphorically “knee dropping” guys who after three or four dates say lets just be friends.  I am amazed at what so many people consider a date.  They think anybody they go out with, whether just friends, or girls, is a date. I thought only someone to whom you have romantic feelings constitutes a date. The expectation of something wonderful happening.  You don’t have that when you ask a buddy out.

1992- The Utah AIDS Foundation moved from office space on 9th East to its first permanent home located at 1408 South 1100 East in Salt Lake City. The new offices were decorated with donations solicited by the American Society of Interior Designers, Utah Chapter, which made the foundation its 1992 project. The agency moved into its new home on Saturday.

1995 Tuesday, Defense says suspect in slaying may have an organic brain disorder. COMPETENCY TESTS ORDERED FOR TEEN INMURDER CASE A Salt Lake teenager charged with killing Chet O. Harris may have been suffering from "organic brain disorder" when he shot the man, according to a defense attorney. Accordingly, Tam T. Nguyen, 17, will undergo a psychological evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on the charge, which carries a possible death penalty. Nguyen's lawyer, Paul Gotay, says the teen ingested gasoline when he was a child. "That combined with his environment may have caused this disorder that impairs judgment," Gotay said. Nguyen was charged Sept. 29 with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery after police found Harris' body in an alley behind 320 S. Jeremy St. (840 West). Harris had been shot once in the head and once in the throat. The teenager told detectives he and a friend met Harris about 1 a.m. near a downtown area frequented by homosexual men looking for dates. The trio soon after left in Harris' car, parking behind a nearby apartment building. "He (Nguyen) said there was some touching and stuff and it's my impression that upset him," Salt Lake detective Chuck Oliver testified during a preliminary hearing. "He was somewhat embarrassed about getting into what happened." After a trip to Nguyen's home, he and his friend, Taun Ly, and Harris pulled into the alley, where they shot Harris once with a .22 caliber pistol. They drove a block before returning to the alley to shoot Harris again in the head, according to testimony. Prosecutors have no evidence to connect Ly to the shooting, though Nguyen has said he was the triggerman. Nguyen will be in court again Feb. 27 for a ruling on whether he is competent to stand trial.  © 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.

1997-The US General Accounting Office presented a report requested by Rep. Henry Hyde identifying federal laws in which rights, benefits, and privileges depend on marital status.

1998 Page: B2 Neighborhood Watch Leads to Arrest Byline: BY GREG BURTON THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE   It's not the first time Darlene Averett's eyes have zeroed in on a crook, but it may have been the sweetest for the 60-year-old Neighborhood Watch chairwoman.   Acting on a tip from Averett, West Valley City detectives arrested a 40-year-old convicted sodomizer on Thursday -- just as the man cruised through a Harvey Street neighborhood (3650 South) with two teen-age boys.   ``It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen,'' Averett said. ``I was waiting for him because he had picked up a juvenile there before. I knew he would return.''   West Valley City police arrested Kenny F. Vieregge just one day earlier for allegedly buying cigarettes and beer for three other teen-age boys who were passengers in his car.  Vieregge was booked on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of minors and released from jail.   Early Thursday, detectives got word Vieregge was a suspect in a pair of sodomy cases and told Averett they were looking for him.   ``I waited for six hours,'' Averett said. ``And there he was.''   After West Valley City arrested him a second time, detectives said Vieregge confessed to sodomizing two boys and was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of two counts of forcible sodomy.   ``The frightening part is he had only been out a short time and was right back at it,'' said West Valley City Lt. Charles Illsley. ``Now we're looking at him on any unsolved cases involving a threat to a child. We are not eliminating him as a suspect in any unsolved cases.''   Police said Vieregge resembles two composite drawings of suspects in a pair of recent attempted abductions in Salt Lake County.  Vieregge has prior convictions for burglary and forcible sodomy. While serving sentences at the Utah State Prison, the Board of Pardons set and then revoked two early release dates. He eventually served his sentence, was released earlier this month and is on parole.   Illsley heaped most of the credit for Thursday's arrest on Neighborhood Watch volunteers and the Harvey Street Community Oriented Policing team.   ``These folks are like gold,'' Illsley said. [Kenny Vieregge  Birthday:  1958-12-02 5' 6" My weight:  140 lbs.My hair:  Bald My eyes:  Brown ]

1999-Gay author Robert Drake was attacked in Dublin. He would remain hospitalized in Ireland for two months before being stable enough to be moved to Philadelphia, where he would be hospitalized for an additional five months. Two men, Glen Mahon and Ian Monaghan, would be found guilty of recklessly causing serious harm. They claimed they punched him three times after he made a pass.

1999-European Parliament member Tom Spencer (from England) came out after customs officials at London's Heathrow Airport found marijuana and gay porn in his suitcase.

2004 Thank you for taking the time to write us concerning our recent decision not to screen the film "Latter Days.” The decision not to play "Latter Days" was based solely on the film’s cinematic merit and appeal. Prior to this decision, Madstone had not received any negative pressure or threats from patrons or local religious/interest groups regarding the film. Any reports that indicate otherwise are incorrect. Any reports that claim that this film is scheduled to play in any other Madstone theaters is also untrue. Madstone's programming strategy hinges on selecting the best films available, regardless of their perceived controversial nature. In fact, we have on many occasions shown films and hosted festivals that address a wide variety of topics -- ranging from religion to politics to

sexuality. We hope this has clarified our position on programming, and we thank

you for writing to us. Best, Madstone Theaters

2004-SATURDAY January 31, 2004Gay LDS find comfort in 'Latter Days' Aaron (Steve Sandvoss), left, and Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) explain the mission of the LDS church in C. Jay Cox's film, "Latter Days." By Jennifer Flowers Religion News Service Film director C. Jay Cox, a gay former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, usually shies away from his religious background. But he says he wanted to meet a long-gone version of himself while directing his first movie, Latter Days." "By making this movie, I hoped I would send a message back to that 19-year-old who was so uncertain about himself that everything was going to be OK," said Cox, who went to the Philippines as a teenager on his LDS mission. "But he ended up having just as much to say to me. I was able to reaffirm a lot of spiritual tenets that I've kind of rediscovered because of him, because of the movie." "Latter Days" tells the story of a young, sexually confused Mormon named Aaron who is seduced by a gay man while on his Mormon mission in Los Angeles. While the story is mostly comedic, one of its darker scenes depicts Aaron receiving shock therapy from church members intending to inhibit homosexual desire. The film made waves at several gay-themed film festivals before its official opening in New York and Los Angeles on Jan. 30. But Salt Lake City's Madstone Trolley Square Theater canned the film two weeks before it had planned to screen "Latter Days." Madstone co-CEO, Chip Seelig, said the theater dropped the film because "it lacked artistic merit." Film promoters charged that the theater bowed to Mormons who threatened to boycott and protest at the theater. Church officials declined to comment on the film. Members of Affirmation, an organization of gay and lesbian Mormons, believe "Latter Days" can show many homosexuals who grew up in the LDS Church that they are not alone.” That movie will shake gay Mormons," said Scott MacKay, Affirmation’s former executive director. Michael Lambert, MacKay's partner and an inactive LDS member, attended the Seattle premiere. He said the film would generate discussion within and outside the Mormon Church. "From the day you're born, you're taught that you want to find a mate of the opposite sex and procreate and have children, and it's a very important part of God's plan in the church," Lambert said. "Even to the point that in the Mormon Church the only way to get into heaven is to be married to someone of the opposite sex. So if you're gay, well, you're screwed." Tom Lefler, associate chair of the Department of Theater and Media Arts at Brigham Young University, said that while Mormon homosexuals might be "encouraged or delighted by the film," that wouldn't be enough to get the attention of his students. “If you said to most Mormons that this is a film about a missionary who gets seduced by a homosexual, who comes home and gets shock therapy, they'd probably think you're crazy," Lefler said. "It's so atypical. It sounds bizarre.” Affirmation members say gay Mormons' alienation from their cultural identity can be one of the most difficult parts of leaving the church. Ben Jarvis, an actively gay Affirmation outreach coordinator whose LDS lineage goes back seven generations to the beginning of the religion, said he understands why some inactive gay and lesbian members of the church would want their children to be raised in the denomination so they could learn about their heritage. "There's a place inside of me that is empty and hollow because the[LDS church] is no longer there, and there's nothing in my life that will ever replace that void," Jarvis said. "My experience in the Mormon community was extremely significant and meaningful in my life. It still is, but having said that, I can never go back to the church."

 2004-Hey folks,  Why all you people are worried about a movie, I wonder if you think about your future and think about our community and our Civil Rights?  I'm curious, when there's all this talk about a Movie we all want to do something about it.  Our Utah State Senators are calling us perverted alcoholic, pedophiles.  I don't know about anyone else.  But I'm pissed off about this.  If anyone of you want to go see the movie.  Jump on a bus, in a car or hop a plane and go see the movie in Los Angeles or New York.  Or better yet, wait until it comes out on DVD and buy it.  Read the latest Salt Lake Trib article.  I think I'll start a law suit for Defamation of Character and sue Mr. Butters until he doesn't have a pot to piss in! Salt Lake Tribune Article: A toughened gay-marriage ban gets quick 'I do' in the Senate

2006 Tuesday Will 'Brokeback' ban hurt Utah tourism? By Mike Gorrell The Salt Lake Tribune As tourism officials hustle to pick a different slogan for their new out-of-state marketing campaign, one that doesn't parallel a phrase already in use in Colorado, another disconcerting issue looms in the background. Will negative national publicity about businessman Larry H. Miller's decision last month to pull "Brokeback Mountain" from his Sandy movie theaters undo Utah's $18 million effort to project a revitalized image that will lure more visitors and their money to the state? Opinions differ. Utah Tourism Office Director Leigh von der Esch doesn't think so. She believes decisions about where to vacation are too complex for that. If the whole state banned the movie, maybe. Because only one theater owner pulled the story about a male romance between two ranch hands - nominated Tuesday for eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actor – she doubts outsiders will let that fleeting news story determine whether they visit Utah's redrock desert or Wasatch Mountain ski slopes. Deer Valley Lodging executive Kim McClelland, chairman of the state Board of Tourism Development, agrees. In his view, Utahns have a bigger challenge just trying to get the outside world to recognize the state exists. But Ed Salvato, who rated Salt Lake City a surprisingly friendly place for gay and lesbian vacationers in a survey last fall for the San Francisco-based online media service PlanetOut Inc., said Miller's decision undermines every other effort in the state to portray Utah as diverse and open-minded. And to Mickey Gallivan, who spent decades trying to build the state's image when his firm - first known as Harris & Love, then Riester Robb - had the state contract to develop the out-of-state campaign, "it is 20 times harder to overcome a negative perception than it is to create a positive one." He knows all too well that stereotypes plague Utah. "Women in Utah dress in burqas. Utahns are intolerant. We know that it's not true," Gallivan says. "But every time we run into a situation like the banning of 'Brokeback Mountain,' we seem to be delivering on the stereotype that we are intolerant. You end up spending all of this money trying to create a believable stereotype and then something like this happens. It's the negative stereotypes that tend to be believed. "We keep shooting ourselves in the foot." PlanetOut's Salvato thinks that's the case, too. "Even we at [PlanetOut] said, 'Hey, look, Salt Lake City's not so bad.' It's got surprisingly great gay clubs. You have this cool gay and lesbian film festival, a fun gay pride day in June. Park City has a 'Gay Ski Week,' " says Salvato. "For a lot of reasons then, when someone hears about this, it sounds so petty and small-minded and strange," he says. "This sort of gesture, even though it's one person who decided this, it really just flies in the face of that major effort everyone is trying to make. " Or for someone such as businessman Michael Gonzales, a trade show coordinator for Wencor, a commercial aircraft parts distributor. In an e-mail to The Salt Lake Tribune, he says Miller's "stance is hurting the overall image of Mormons, like myself, that have spent a lifetime trying to overcome stereotypes and images of an intolerant society." Von der Esch is skeptical that many people will perceive Miller's decision to pull the movie about gay Wyoming cowboys as a reflection of a state bias against homosexuals. "Mr. Miller made the choice. He owns the theater and that's within his rights," said von der Esch, who knows the movie industry well from years of leading the Utah Film Commission. "You can still see the movie in Utah, even if one business owner decided not to show it." She said controversial movies are shown in Utah all the time, pointing to scores of films featured in the always-popular Sundance Film Festival. So she dismisses the notion that "Brokeback Mountain" fallout will undermine the brand campaign her staff and contractor W Communications have been working overtime to create. "I'm more optimistic about it than that," she says. "I don't think [the controversy] will carry much weight." Deer Valley's McClelland says the subject came up briefly last week at a meeting he attended with 18 tourism industry officials. "Their question to me was, 'Did they pull it from all the theaters in the state?' I said no, it was just one theater owner's decision. And they said, 'So what's the big deal?' " It is a big deal to Utahns, he thinks, because Larry Miller is one of the state's "significant business icons." But outside the state, "it doesn't register with people." In McClelland's mind, the trouble is that Utah generally doesn't register much with outsiders. "It's not that we have an identity problem. I don't think that we have an identity of any significance outside the state," he says. " 'Brokeback Mountain' and Larry Miller are a blip on the radar screen and, from a branding perspective, it's insignificant. We have bigger fish to fry." Over in Wyoming, Travel and Tourism Director Diane Shober says she could not be happier about the way her state is portrayed as the backdrop for "Brokeback Mountain." Although her agency has received several calls from prospective visitors wanting to know where in the state the fictitious mountain is, she shares von der Esch's perception that attractiveness as a tourist destination is determined by factors much bigger than a single film. "Movies are not the motivation for travel planning," she says. "They can inspire an interest. I think we are seeing that. But the scope of our business is much bigger than what one movie can do." mikeg@sltrib.com

2006 Please join us at the GLBT Community Center of Utah for a lively discussion on H.B. 90, Criminal Penalty Amendment – this is the modification of the Hate Crimes legislation that Utah has been trying to pass for several years.  Representative David Litvack is coming to discuss the proposed legislation with our community.  He will be able to explain why they backed away from calling it “Hate Crimes Legislation” and what the proposed bill will accomplish if passed.  How effective will this legislation be in prosecuting crimes motivated by hate?  He will also give an update at where the bill is at in the process and how likely it is to pass as written.  Come and get your questions answered!  Mike Thompson, Executive Director of Equality Utah will be there to explain Equality Utah’s support of HB90. Tuesday January 31st 6:30 pm GLBT Community Center 361 N. 300 W. SLC UT 84104

2006 Gay Handbook The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Utah (The GLBT Center of Utah) today unveiled the “Gay Handbook,” and it’s putting a new face on Marriage Week in Utah. “In Utah, Marriage Week is a slap in the face for those who can’t marry the one they love”, exclaims Valerie Larabee, Executive Director of The Center. “Today, we’re pulling out our ‘Gay Handbook’ to unveil Utah’s newest winter festival and our initiative to change the face of Marriage Week for members of the gay community and many others in this state.”  “The ‘Gay Handbook’ is a guide to the inaugural Salt Lake City Winterfest – a 10-day festival organized to celebrate community, love, and family” continued Larabee. Winterfest, a program of the GLBT Community Center of Utah, opens February 3 and runs through February 12. National Marriage Week is February 7-14.  Quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune, Senator Chris Buttars, a West Jordan Republican, has disparaged homosexuals, claiming they are “changing the meaning of everything” and that “if you read the homosexual rule book, you’ll find their greatest target is your kids!”  “Sure, our Gay Handbook pokes funs at the notion of a ‘homosexual rule book’, but we’ll happily give Senator Buttars a copy of our Gay Handbook hot off the press and challenge him to join us at the Winterfest Conference or any other Winterfest activity,” states Evelyn Garlington, Board President of the GLBT Community Center. “I think it would be difficult for people of Buttars’ ilk to attend a largely GLBT community event, but if they did, they might learn something in the process – that we are ethical, caring, healthy, tax-paying citizens just like the majority of the people of Utah.”  Salt Lake City Winterfest is a celebration with a broad range of activities designed for GLBT adults, their families, friends, and supporters. A complete listing of activities can be found at www.slcwinterfest.com! Entertainment includes nationally recognized comedians, singer-activist Holly Near, and a reading of Carolyn Pearson’s new play. The Winterfest Conference on Saturday, February 11 th is a day-long event featuring topics like Surviving In The Face of Anti-Gay Politics, Bias and Oppression: An Internal and Personal Examination, and Internalized Homophobia. The Conference also features Holly Near and Matt Foreman (Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) as plenary speakers. All proceeds raised by this festival will directly benefit programs and services of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah.

2009 Off the Agenda: Men driving as women posing 'a big problem' Rep. Carl Wimmer, a Herriman Republican, has dropped his plan -- at least for now -- to stop transgender Utahns from switching the sex designation on their driver licenses until they've absolutely and irreversibly completed a sex-change operation. The state's current policy allows an applicant to swap the "M" for "F," or vise versa, by submitting written verification from a physician, psychiatrist or therapist.  

2012 On Jan. 31, Utah Sen. Benjamin M. McAdams proposes and sponsors a bill to amend the state Code by prohibiting discrimination in business employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Utah Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee members vote 4-2 to table the bill, and it isn't adopted.

2014 House GOP huddles with lawyers on same-sex marriage Options • Leaders seem to like the idea of sitting out same-sex debates for a year. BY LEE DAVIDSON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE House Republicans huddled Thursday behind closed doors with the lawyers defending the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, emerging without any firm decisions on whether to avoid debating bills this year that affect marriage and gay rights. But House Speaker Becky Lockhart said leaders are still strongly considering taking a time-out to wait for courts to rule on the issue, and leaders have said that may be the safest course to ensure any legislation doesn’t hurt the state’s position. “Maybe we should take a step back and see how things go in the court,” Lockhart said after the closed caucus. “What is the right thing to do in terms of where we are in this process? Where we are right now is the court has it, so let the court deal with it.”  But a variety of legislation has been introduced or discussed that deals at least in part with same-sex marriage or gay rights. That includes a constitutional amendment to ensure churches cannot be forced to participate in marriages that violate their religious views; a bill to prohibit housing and employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Utahns; and even a bill to allow an income tax form check-off to help fund the state’s legal battles through a “Marriage Defense Fund.” House Majority Leader Brad Dee, R-Ogden, said the caucus on Thursday did not discuss the content of such legislation, and took no formal votes on whether to pursue them. Lockhart said state lawyers simply “updated us on where the case is and the steps potentially where it could go,” including an expected eventual trip to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lockhart said, “It could be quick. It could be years.”  Attorney General Sean Reyes and Gene Schaerr, the attorney hired to lead the state’s case, met with the caucus.  “We weren’t advising them or mandating to them — just providing information,” Reyes said afterward.  The state has a Monday deadline to file its brief with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on its appeal of U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby’s Dec. 20 ruling that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.  Utah’s oral argument is scheduled for April 10, and the same panel of that court will hear a separate, similar case from Oklahoma on April 17.  Reyes said both states plan to file reciprocal friend-of-the-court briefs in each other’s cases. He said the court “may decide them in a single decision, we don’t know that.”  Lockhart said she feels lawmakers were impressed with Schaerr. “He’s a very impressive person,” Lockhart said about Schaerr. “I think the attorney general has a very impressive team.”