This Day In Gay Utah History February 28th and 29th

28 February 

Henry James Add caption

1916- Closeted homosexual, Writer Henry James, (1843-1916) one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism, died of pneumonia.

1950-US State Department officials began a broad purge of sexual deviants working for the federal government. Previous purges involved only those who worked in departments in which security leaks could be a risk to national security.

1973 Citizens Applaud as Senate Panel Supports Strict Pornography Bill- A burst of applause greeted a Senate Committee‘s enthusiastic decision Tuesday to recommend for passage a tough anti-pornography bill. Proponents of the measure many representing Citizens for Decent Literature, a national anti-smut lobby, attended a meeting of the judiciary committee in force to hear discussion on the bill sponsored by Senator E. LaMar Buckner R-Ogden.  Committee members heard an alternate proposal from a visiting attorney and agreed to include his recommendations by amendment on the Senate floor which will make the bill even tougher. “Pornography is a very serious evil,” said Gary Joslin, a lawyer from Roosevelt, Utah who helped draft a tougher bill that the CDL had hoped to see introduced. Joslin said, “Los Angeles is the smut capital of the world” where many sexual acts ranging from simple nudity to bestiality can be can be viewed live. “The moral degradation undermines society and the state,” he said. “This stems from a lack of moral direction from judges and legislators. The only answer is to boldly step forward and make aggressive efforts. “We must pass legislation that is clear and morally directional and that states the intent of the state to act forcefully,” he said. Joslin said the way to get around liberal court decisions is to flatly prohibit certain acts and leave out the questions that have after been cited in past decisions such as “prurient interest” and even the meaning of the word “obscene”.  “The meaning of prurient interest may change in various court decisions,” he said, “but sexual intercourse doesn’t change. Sodomy doesn’t change. We have to tie the law to specific definitions” I suggest we move our bill forward and then amend it to put some teeth in it as this man has suggested,” said Senator Allen E Mecham R-SL committee chairman. No one at the hearing opposed the bill. Ogden Standard Examiner

1975, in a comprehensive revision of mental health laws, Utah removed the castration clause for sex offenders and limited its sterilization law’s reach to the mentally retarded in state institutions, and then only under certain circumstances.Laws of Utah 1975, page 258, ch. 67, enacted Feb. 28, 1975, effective May 13, 1975

1977 Monday Gay Consciousness Raising Group tonight at 7:30 p.m. Also Gay Student Union meets each Friday at 1:00 p.m. Student Union Building 324. Ad paid by Joe Redburn owner of The Sun.

Nikki Boyer

1985-First meeting for Utah Gay and Lesbian Pride Day ‘85 was held at the Salt Lake Public Library with Nikki Boyer director.

1985- Salt Lake Tribune ran an article: AIDS Utah AIDS Casualty Got Disease From Infected Transfusion A woman who became the state's first female victim of AIDS last December was also the first person to contract the disease from a transfusion of infected blood. The unidentified woman who was diagnosed at the time of her death was the 8th case of AIDS reported in Utah during 1984.

1988 Sunday In the evening Becky Moss and I interviewed the guys from the Utah Valley Men’s Group. Becky Moss thought that they were anti-Lesbian. I think it will be a good program however. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1988 The Royal Court’s Grand Duke and Duchess Ball at Backstreet  in SLC UT

John Reeves

1988- - Lyle Bradley called me to see if I’d run for an office on Community Council. I said no way with all I am involved with however I told him to call Dr. John Reeves Ph.D.  I want to see John Reeves in a responsible position and the vice chair of the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah would be excellent. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1989 At Unconditional Support of Utah, officer Alan Peterson led the meeting on the topic of Dating. “I attended Unconditional Support where Alan Peterson led the meeting again on the topic of Dating. We went to coffee after the meeting at Dee’s. Wayne Schnyder of the Restoration Church was back in town with Tony Feliz. At coffee Derek Streeter asked me about the Restoration Church and I told him about my former association with the church and what it then believed. Derek said it was the first time he ever heard me talk serious about Religion. I told Derek Streeter that all I have ever done in the Gay community or tried to do in the Gay Community is from a personal love for Christ. Very few people know that because I keep my spiritual beliefs concealed like at yesterday’s meeting when I said “My life is my light”. [1989 Journal of Ben Williams

1990 - I was bouncing off the walls this evening so about 7 PM I drove over to the Wasatch Springs on Victory Road. It was a crystal clear starry night with a beautiful crescent moon.  No one was at the Springs so I just soaked in the sulfurous waters, contemplated my life and meditated while suspended in a fluid web of warmth.  It felt wonderful and its kind of miraculous to have such a spring only about one and a half miles from downtown Salt Lake City and yet feel like you are in a far away place and isolated enough to skinny dip 

1994-The US Military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy went into effect.

Tomm Rudd

1994 Salt Lake Tribune Page: C5 EX-BALLET WEST DANCER

TOMM RUUD DIES OF AIDS Tomm Ruud, a former principal dancer with Ballet West, died at his home in San Francisco Monday of AIDS-related illnesses. He was 50.   Ruud, born in Pasadena, Calif., and raised in Afton, Wyo., earned his bachelor's and master's of fine arts degrees from the University of Utah. He joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1975, after 10 years as a principal dancers with Willam Christensen at Ballet West.   A versatile and dramatic dancer, Ruud was named a principal character dancer at the San Francisco Ballet in 1987.He was noted for his performances as Drosselmeyer in ``The Nutcracker,'' Lord Capulet in Michael Smuin's ``Romeo and Juliet'' and the tutor in Helgi Tomasson's ``Swan Lake,'' among others. He was also a choreographer whose works included ``Metamorphoses,'' ``Trilogy,'' ``Introduction and Allegro,''``Richmond Diary,'' ``Step for Two'' and ``Mobile,'' the latter of which was performed by Ballet West in the 1970s. Ruud is survived by his son, Christopher; his mother, Gladys Papworth; two brothers and one half-sister.   A public requiem eucharist will be at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral Monday at 3 p.m. Donations in his memory maybe made to the AIDS Ministry at Grace Cathedral or any other AIDS organization.

Clayton Vetter

1996 The Salt Lake Tribune Skyline High teacher Clayton K. Vetter says that ``to not stand up now. . [and acknowledge he is gay] would go against everything I have tried to teach.'' Skyline Teacher Tells Capitol Crowd He's Gay Teacher Tells Crowd at Capitol He's Gay Byline: By Samuel A. Autman THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Skyline High School teacher Clayton K. Vetter enjoys debating so much that Tuesday he placed himself in the middle of Utah's fiery discourse on morality, human rights and homosexuality. Vetter, a 12-year veteran of the Granite School District and Skyline's debate teacher, announced at the Utah state Capitol to a throng of reporters, students and citizens that he is gay. His announcement coincides with the creation of the Utah chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Teachers' Alliance. ``To not stand up now, when there are so many misconceptions and questions concerning gay issues, would go against everything I have tried to teach,'' Vetter said. ``This is why I feel I have to come forward. There is too much hope in the world not to come forward. I owe it to my profession and to my students.'' He was joined by Doug Wortham, an openly gay teacher at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's, a private

Doug Wortham

school; and Scott Nelson, an East High special-education teacher who is straight. Wortham refused to reveal how many teachers are part of the new alliance, but said there are members throughout the Salt Lake Valley. His announcement came a week after the Salt Lake City School Board voted to ban all noncurricular school clubs rather than allow East High students to form a gay-lesbian-straight student alliance. Since then, students on both sides of the issue, as well as civil-rights groups, have protested. Those opposing such clubs have steadfastly resisted arguments that such groups help not only their members but other students to understand homosexuality.  And the Salt Lake City School Board invited in a consultant Sunday to help ease tensions among its seven members, who voted 4-3 to ban the clubs. In disclosing his sexual orientation, Vetter compared himself to Mormon pioneers who fled to the Salt Lake Valley to escape religious persecution and to Rosa Parks, the Alabama black woman whose refusal to sit in the back of a public bus ignited the civil-rights movement in the late 1950s. Vetter called himself a role model, a teacher and a ``hero'' for coming out. Nevertheless, he said his life is so remarkably boring ``it would scare your pants off.'' He began his teaching career in 1984 and has taught at Granite Park and Olympus junior high schools and at Cottonwood High. This is his fourth year at Skyline, where the debate team has won awards since he took over. District spokesman Kent Gardner said Vetter would not be fired for announcing he is gay, but Vetter is taking a wait-and-see attitude. According to Doug Bates, an attorney with the State Office of Education, Vetter could be sanctioned if his announcement causes disruption at Skyline. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public employees have no right to speak or act in ways that disrupt their workplaces, he said. ``Does a public employee have a right to speak on issues that concern him? The answer is yes,'' Bates said. ``Does that person have a right to both speak and be a public employee? Not necessarily.'' While most at the news conference appeared to support Vetter, Orem resident Mili Peters said she could ``no longer be quiet'' about what she called a national gay agenda. She said she had learned of that agenda while working as a legislative aide in Hawaii when that state's Legislature was debating a proposal to allow same-sex marriages. Vetter said he knew nothing of a national gay agenda and that his twelve years in the classroom proves he knows what is appropriate conversation. Gayle Ruzicka, president of the archconservative Utah Eagle Forum, quietly found a spot in the rear of the room during the news conference. While she never spoke out during the meeting, she had plenty to say afterward.  ``I certainly resent Mr. Vetter calling himself a hero and comparing himself to Rosa Parks,'' Ruzicka said heatedly. ``He is a homosexual because of who he chooses to sleep with. That is immoral.'' She said she would not object to Vetter teaching in a private school or even remaining in the public-school system, so long as he keeps his orientation to himself and never acts on it. ``There are parents out there who don't want their children to have gay teachers,'' she said. More than 30 Skyline students greeted Vetter in the hallway afterward, and many cried and embraced him. ``There are a lot of people who would want it understood that we are here to support Mr. Vetter,'' said senior Blake Barlow. ``We are not here for some gay-straight club, but for Mr. Vetter, who has supported us through the years of competition.'' Earlier on Tuesday, Salt Lake City School Superintendent Darline Robles and board members Clifford Higbee, Karen Derrick, Diane Barlow and Kent Michie met with hundreds of students at West, Highland and East high schools to talk about the board's decision and its ramifications. Reporters were banned from the sessions, but Robles said later that many students asked the board members why they voted the way they did. Some East students delivered a petition with 700 names asking the board to reconsider its vote. That's not likely, said Robles, who had recommended that the board permit gay-straight alliances in order to leave the other clubs intact.  ``My job is to make recommendations that fit into the law,'' she said. ``After the board made its decision, my job is to make that decision work.'' Part of Robles' goal was to gauge student views and to help find ways to re-examine the district's curriculum to see which clubs might remain after the decision takes effect this fall.  After meeting with Robles and the board members, East student Jennifer Stevens, a ninth-grader who is not involved in any clubs, said she still strongly disagreed with the board's decision.  ``They should allow all of the clubs,'' she said. ``It's not fair what the board has done to everybody else. We got our chance to speak, but we did not get to vote.'' Dan McConkie, an East senior and former student representative on the Salt Lake school board, initially disagreed with the board's decision. Tuesday's meeting changed his mind. ``It was a good, rational dialogue between students and the school board,'' he said. ``I understand why they voted the way they did, but they did not change everyone's mind.''

Kelli Peterson 

1996 To Be Young, Gay and Going to High School in Utah By JAMES BROOKE For Kelli Peterson, a 17-year-old senior at East High School here, the Aztec and U.F.O. clubs held no appeal; her primary concern was intensely personal -- easing the loneliness she felt as a gay student. I thought I was the only lesbian student in East High," she said outside school here today. "As a sophomore I was really pressured by my friends to date. I came out that year, and immediately lost all my friends. I watched the same cycle of denial, trying to hide, acceptance, then your friends abandoning you." So last fall, she and two other gay students formed an extracurricular club called the Gay/Straight Alliance. With that, the three set off a furor that now involves national conservative leaders, the State Legislature and the local school board. Anti-gay leaders believe that a strong stand in Utah will help turn the national tide against gay clubs in high schools, which have sprung up in the last decade from Boston and New York to San Francisco and Los Angeles. They point to Utah's precedent-setting legislation last year that formally banned same-sex marriages. Although Utah is politically more conservative than most states, this year, 15 other state legislatures are debating similar bans. "We are going to win this battle -- and Utah will again be in the forefront," said Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, an affiliate of Phyllis Schlafly's national organization. "Homosexuals can't reproduce, so they recruit. And they are not going to use Utah high school and junior high school campuses to recruit." Ms. Peterson scoffs at the idea: "Nobody led me to become a lesbian. My parents are heterosexual. I was taught to be heterosexual. I was taught to get married and to have children." Paradoxically, 12-year-old conservative-sponsored Federal legislation would have forced the district to allow Ms. Peterson's club to meet in the school. The law, the Federal Equal Access Act of 1984, was intended to allow Bible clubs to meet in schools. Sponsored by Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, the law says local school boards cannot pick among campus clubs. Last week, Mr. Hatch, a Republican, fumed. "The act was never intended to promulgate immoral speech or activity," he said. Fearing lawsuits -- and loss of Federal aid -- Salt Lake City's Board of Education chose last week to ban all clubs from city high schools, from the Polynesian Club to Students Against Drunk Driving. In response, hundreds of students poured out of city high schools last Friday, marching on the State Capitol. In the protest, one 14-year-old girl was run over by a car and critically injured. Last month, as anti-gay feelings started to crystallize, Utah's Senate violated the state's public meetings law and met in secret to watch an anti-gay video. Senators later said they were so shocked that they would vote to ban gay clubs in schools, even if it meant risking $100 million a year in Federal aid to Utah schools. Last week, the Senate easily approved a bill forbidding teachers from "encouraging, condoning or supporting illegal conduct." An amendment to preach "tolerance" was defeated. With sodomy a misdemeanor in Utah, the bill's sponsor said the measure was aimed at keeping avowed homosexuals out of public schools. "Young people reach their teen-age years, and their sexuality starts developing," said State Senator Craig Taylor, the sponsor. "And I believe they can be led down that road to homosexuality." Earlier this month, a political group, Gay Lesbian Utah Democrats, pressured Democratic legislators to try to legalize sodomy. In response, the state's party leadership demanded that the group drop "Democrats" from its name. With battle lines drawn sharply, both sides believe that a struggle of national importance is being fought in this desert state of two million people. Defenders of gay high school clubs say that Utah's opponents are fighting a doomed battle. Nationwide, the number of high school gay clubs have mushroomed from a handful in 1992 to hundreds today, according to the Gay Lesbian Straight Teachers Network, a group based in New York. Today, a member of this group, Clayton K. Vetter, became the first Utah public school teacher to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality. Mr. Vetter, a debate teacher, said gay issues were everywhere. "The best way to deal with them is through openness," he said, before holding a news conference at the State Capitol. Under the "illegal conduct" bill that is expected to be passed this week by Utah's House of Representatives, Mr. Vetter risks dismissal. In Salt Lake City, the population is roughly evenly divided between Mormons and non-Mormons. In 1991, Mormon church leaders issued a statement condemning homosexuality, saying, "Such thoughts and feelings, regardless of their causes, can and should be overcome and sinful behavior should be eliminated." At last week's school board meeting, protesters held up signs reading "Down with homophobic clergy." Calling homosexuality an "abomination," The Deseret News, which is owned by the Mormon Church, said that a ban on high school gay groups reflected community "values that have long viewed homosexual practices as a serious problem to be combatted, rather than merely pitied or tolerated, let alone abetted." In retort, The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest-selling newspaper called the campus ban "small-minded, uncharitable and cruel." Ms. Peterson, who is herself Mormon, says she is taking steps to formally leave the church. But even in Salt Lake City, some gay activists say that tolerance is inexorably spreading. "I am seeing more and more public support for what the students are doing," said Charlene Orchard, a lesbian who last month founded a support group here for the high school students, the Citizen's Alliance for Hate-Free Schools. At East High, a neo-Gothic structure that disgorged student protesters last Friday, the divisions of Utah's larger society are mirrored among the 1,400 students. Last week, several students asked the principal for permission to form a club called "the Anti-Homosexual League." Then, at last Friday's walkout, some boys threw snowballs at their protesting classmates. "I'd rather do away with all the clubs, than have that club," Joseph Emerson, a high school senior, said Monday in the warmth of his pickup truck in the school parking lot. "It's against our religion," the senior, a Mormon, said as two friends nodded assent. "Ban homosexuality, not clubs -- we should have a demonstration like that." Students like Ms. Peterson say that it was precisely these sentiments that led them to form the Gay/Straight Alliance last fall. Erin Wiser, a 17-year-old lesbian, said, "When my girlfriends would talk about marriage or boys, I would feel isolated." A 16-year-old bisexual girl who asked not to be identified said that the alliance had sought a low profile, meeting quietly in classrooms, coffee houses or family living rooms. "All we asked for is classroom time," said the girl, a junior. "We never used the intercom at student announcement time. We didn't ask for a picture in the yearbook." Denying accusations that they were forming a "sex club," Ms. Peterson said the alliance is not about "technique," but about "identity." Kelli's mother, Dee Peterson, recalled Kelli's hospitalization for depression last year after realizing her orientation. "Being gay you don't have a choice," Mrs. Peterson said. "You either are or you aren't." While state officials may succeed in keeping homosexuality out of the state sphere, gay high school students vow to keep meeting, either on campus in school hallways or off-campus in coffeehouses. And on graduation, they will find a full-fledged gay community that has grown in recent years in this city of half a million people. Last June, about 5,000 people attended Salt Lake City's annual gay pride march. Every month, The Pillar, a gay tabloid carries advertisements for gay bars and gay personals. A full page of "Support and Social Groups" includes gay bowling and volleyball teams, a gay square dancing club, and such groups as the Rocky Mountain Cruisers and the Utah Gay Rodeo Association. Photo: Kay Peterson principal of East High School in Salt Lake City,talking to about 400 students protesting the school board's ban of all school clubs in an effort to prevent clubs for gay students from forming. (Associated Press)

2003  Members of the Utah House of Representatives voted today at 3:46 p.m. to adopt a Motion to Reconsider HB0085 Hate Crimes Amendments (Litvack, D.) The bill returns now for another House of Representatives floor  vote. As we applaud Utah Rep. David Litvack and the efforts of all those who have been instrumental in the passage of effective hate- crimes legislation in the state House of Representatives this legislative session, it is important that we also take a  moment to recognize David Nelson. David was at the heart of the original efforts to pass hate-crimes legislation over a decade ago. Without his efforts, hates-crimes legislation may well have not entered the collective conscience of our state Legislature and the public until years later. His continued work since then has been vital. David's determined work on behalf of all of the people of our state is to be saluted. Thank you to all those who supported David during those early and difficult years when the foundation for the passage of this important legislation was so effectively laid I, for one, recognize his efforts and thank him publicly. Now, on to the state Senate where David's many earlier efforts will be rewarded, where state Sen. Pete Suazo will be honored, and where a higher level of community and human standards will be set. Regardless of a variety of opinions that divide us at times (and certainly too often), let us stand together to recognize David, Sen. Pete Suazo, Rep. David Litvack and the many others who have contributed to this current success. May we share their determination to see this legislation through. Doug Wortham

2003 As an ongoing gift to the association I have made arrangements with a company to have the images of each of the Rodeos placed on these great fabric banners.  The gift really is a test to see how the stuff looks....and since UGRA is becoming Queen of the Gimme Freebies....I couldn't resist.  Besides history believe it or not is important. The design of these banners will also include the name of the Grand Marshal, the Rodeo Director, and possibly the president....Grand Marshal for sure....the rest will depend on the mood of the company and of course what my UGRA mood ring is indicating...and lately...the color is fading fast... I have the 2001 image and it has been forwarded.  The 2003 image has been forwarded as well as it was completed this week.  I think everyone will be surprised at the direction, and the concept. All I need are the 2002 Image  (sparrow on a fence...lol) and the 2000 image created by Ron Johnson.  Does anyone have these, and can I make arrangements to pick it up on a disk or zip format (later prefered) Thanks! Chad Keller

 

2003 Eagle Forum Wings Clipped Twice in Week BY PAUL ROLLY and JoANN JACOBSEN-WELLS   Not only did her statement about the LDS Church's stand on hate-crimes legislation generate a church response that she was "wrong," but she has been ordered by the publisher of Heather Has Two Mommies to "cease and desist" distributing photocopies of the copyrighted pro-gay and lesbian book.  Gayle Ruzicka said Monday the church's statement that it did not oppose the bill was actually made to quash rumors that it endorsed the bill. A church statement Wednesday denied her claim. Meanwhile, Greg Constante, publisher of Alyson Publications in Los Angeles, sent an e-mail to the Eagle Forum Web site stating those who distributed photocopies of the book at the rally were violating copyright laws.  Constante noted, however, that attempts in the past to showcase the book in a negative light have generated additional sales.

2004 Sheri Dew, President of the LDS-owned Deseret Book, and former Mormon Relief Society President likened those who do not oppose gay marriage to those who did nothing to oppose Hitler's rise to power at a Republican Conference in Washington DC. An event sponsored by a conservative religious coalition. Dew showed the audience a picture of a same-sex wedding; the photograph depicted two men getting married at the San Francisco City Hall and holding their adopted infant twin daughters in their arms. “This is hard for me to stomach,” said Dew. “What kind of chance do these girls have being raised in that kind of setting?” In the same speech Dew suggested a comparison between not having done anything to oppose the rise of Adolf Hitler and not doing anything to oppose the rise of families headed by same-sex partners: “At first it may seem a bit extreme to imply a comparison between the atrocities of Hitler and what is happening in terms of contemporary threats against the family—but maybe not.”

2004 - Film with gay-LDS theme will screen By Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune The movie "Latter Days," a romantic comedy centering on a gay LDS missionary, will be seen in Salt Lake City after all -- opening March 26, most likely at the Tower Theatre. "We are thrilled that 'Latter Days' will have an opportunity to tell its story to Salt Lake City audiences," Raymond Murray, president of the film's distributor, TLA Releasing, said in a news release Thursday. The movie had been slated to open at the Madstone Trolley Square Theaters on Jan. 30, but Madstone's New York management -- reportedly after pressure from protesters -- abruptly pulled the film two weeks before opening. At the time, Brooke Harper of the Salt Lake Film Society, which operates the Tower and Broadway Centre Cinemas, had rejected the movie, calling it "awful" and "embarrassing." In Thursday's release, Harper said, "while our initial decision with respect to the exhibition of 'Latter Days' in Salt Lake was based solely on our estimation of the film's quality, we recognize that others' decisions on this matter may have been less honest and straightforward. In light of this fact and in support of the battles that gay and lesbian people must continue to fight in communities across the country, we are pleased to partner with TLA Releasing to present 'Latter Days' in Salt Lake." Harper refused to elaborate when contacted by The Salt Lake Tribune. Michael Mitchell, executive director of the gay/lesbian organization Equality Utah, is pleased a few protesters won't keep the movie out of Salt Lake City. "Audiences should decide whether movies should be seen, and they should decide with their ticket sales," he said. "Latter Days" tells of an LDS missionary who confronts his homosexuality after meeting a West Hollywood party boy. The movie was directed and written by C. Jay Cox, the writer of "Sweet Home Alabama." Cox is tentatively scheduled to visit Salt Lake City for the film's debut.

2005 Interfaith gathering hails 'Utah Day' in D.C. Calls for unity echo in National Cathedral By Christopher Smith The Salt Lake Tribune: "Utah Day" at the majestic National Cathedral was a cross-pollination of faiths and religious viewpoints unlike anything likely to be found in one of the state's own churches on a Sunday morning. The Salt Lake Men's Choir, a group of mostly gay Utah men, sang a signature Mormon hymn during the choral prelude. The daughter of a Ute Indian tribal elder read a passage from the New Testament. And the bishop of the Utah Episcopal Diocese celebrated communion with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and his wife, Mary Kaye, both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After delivering a thunderous sermon, the Rev. France Davis of the predominantly black Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City marveled at the diversity of Utah beliefs represented for 800 worshippers in attendance. "As we came together, it's what we expect heaven will be like," said Davis. "It allows us to realize we have more in common than we have differences." Known as the nation's "House of Prayer for All People," the cathedral is open to all faiths and hosts a special service honoring each state in the union once every four years, usually featuring celebrants and worshippers with ties to the featured state. On Sunday, the Utah state flag was displayed on the chancel steps next to the ornate pulpit in the nave, dwarfed beneath soaring limestone pillars that meet in arcs more than 102 feet overhead, the centerpiece of the Gothic architectural showpiece that took more than 80 years to build. "To stand before this congregation in such awe-inspiring surroundings was an extraordinary experience and I was honored to participate," Huntsman said after the 90-minute service. "It was a celebration of our interfaith strengths in the state, which sometimes are unrecognized but are significant at the end of the day." Added Utah's first lady: "It represents what we are trying to do in Utah, to strengthen the interfaith community, which is something we both feel very strongly about." The governor read an opening scripture recounting the Old Testament miracle of God saving the Israelites wandering in the desert by telling Moses to strike a rock, producing a gusher of fresh water. Another reading by Lena Duncan, director of the National American Indian Housing Council and the daughter of Ute tribal elder Clifford Duncan, also dealt with the spiritual meaning of water, a theme relevant to commemorating the second most arid state in the union. "Utah is a desert land, and we are constantly praying and hoping that enough snow will fall in the mountain that it will melt and then the runoff will fill the rivers so everybody has enough to drink," Davis told the congregation. In a reference to the Mormon pioneers who fled religious persecution in the 19th century to settle in what would become Utah, Davis said the "state was discovered . . . by those in search for a drink of spiritual waters." As a former staff member of the National Cathedral, the Right Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish, bishop of the Utah Episcopal Diocese, said the service was special not just because of the surroundings. "It doesn't matter if I'm in a church in small-town Utah or here in the national cathedral, it's a privilege always to break bread with the people of Utah," said Irish. For Lane Cheney, director of the 36-member Salt Lake Men's Choir, the cathedral represented neutral ground in battles among faiths over social and moral issues. Some of the participants and "the members of our choir, most of whom are gay, have quite different views regarding homosexuality," said Cheney, who directed the group in African-American spirituals, Protestant hymns and the LDS standard "Come, Come Ye Saints" prior to the service. "But the point of a national house of prayer is that all of God's children are welcome to come through the door," he said. "It's a place where we can overlook our differences and celebrate the fact we are all God's children."

 2005  Subject: New Organization for HIV + Gay men  Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, and the group I represent. My name is Jon, and I'm the chapter captain of Strength In Numbers--Salt Lake City (SIN-SLC), a social group for HIV+ gay men. SIN started in Los Angeles in September of 2002, and now has 23 chapters internationally. To find out more about Strength In Numbers, you can visit our main website at www.strengthinnumbers.org. Part of the philosophy of SIN is help poz guys be more open and honest about their sero-status, help poz guys form longer and more meaningful social and romantic relationships, and to promote a better image of gay men living with HIV and AIDS. It has always been my opinion, that when positive men support each other, they are stronger for it. SIN-SLC started really started going last fall, and now has a membership of over 40 guys, and growing. As with all SIN chapters, we are a not-for-profit, on-line organizing group, devoted to the social and educational needs of HIV positive gay men. Our chapter has a Yahoo! group were we post messages about upcoming activities and current events. We are currently meeting twice a month; on the second Saturday for a house party, hosted by different members of the group, and on the third Saturday for brunch. Our membership is a diverse and vibrant group of men, coming from different ages, races, cultural backgrounds, political beliefs, and lengths in time of HIV infection. While we do encourage all positive men to be more open and honest about their status, we also respect the varying lengths of experience living with HIV. Therefore, SIN is a group where we honor every member's desire for discretion and confidentiality. HIV is always a part of our lives, and often discussed at our events. But we also strive to have a casual environment, where we can talk and laugh, and remember that we are still social men, with the same needs that any other man has. So many men with HIV and AIDS have a hard time forming relationships with the added hurdle of HIV infection; it is wonderful to be a member of a group where that isn't a consideration! I'd like to make a special invitation to any positive men to join our group. I will post general information about upcoming SIN activities on this calendar, but you will need to be a member of SIN-SLC to get all the juicy details! And, if you've got something you would like to share with the members of SIN-SLC, just e-mail me. Thanks for your time, and take care!! Jon

Duane Jennings

2005 Dear Friends in/to the GLBT Community: We invite you to join us for the first meeting of the Utah Interfaith Pride Celebration planning, to be held Sunday, February 6, at 4:00 pm, at the home of Duane Jennings:  Salt Lake City. The 2005 service is tentatively scheduled for June 11--the day before Pride. Thank you for your participation, Duane Jennings 2005 Utah Interfaith Pride Celebration Committee

2006 ‘Natural family’ resolution foes take stage in Kanab Hearing: A documentary filmmaker will be on hand as opponents address the City Council tonight By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune Kanab resident Sky Chaney says opponents of the city’s “natural family” resolution will get their opportunity tonight – before a documentary-film crew – to ask the City Council to rescind the measure. “We expect a lot of people to show up,” opposition organizer Chaney said Monday. “We have been given 10 minutes on the agenda and hope the mayor doesn’t cut us short.” The city’s nonbinding resolution about how families should be structured has drawn attention well beyond its boundaries. Filmmakers will record the action at the meeting and interview residents about their impressions of the resolution. Passed unanimously Jan. 10 by the five-member council, the resolution was written by the conservative Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City and offered to every Utah community. Kanab has been the only one to adopt the measure, which was introduced by Mayor Kim Lawson. The resolution declares marriage between a man and woman as fundamental to a civil society and the only one ordained of God. The measure also envisions young women “growing into wives, homemakers and mothers” and young men becoming “husbands, home builders and fathers.” It drew immediate criticism from inside the city and around the nation by people who found its definition of marriage narrow and exclusionary. Others complained that City Hall was meddling where it doesn’t belong. E-mails to Kanab and Kane County officials flowed in from people threatening to cancel travel plans to the southern Utah area, whose economy relies heavily on tourists visiting surrounding national parks and nearby Lake Powell. Troy Williams, of Powerline Films in Salt Lake City, said Monday that he had been working on a documentary with historian Michael Quinn on marriage in Utah before the Kanab issue surfaced. “It [the film] looks at the diversity of marriage in Utah, including from a gay perspective, polygamy and interracial marriage,” Williams said. Meanwhile, Chaney said his group plans on three speakers tonight. He said Dan Gallagher will ask the council to rescind the resolution. JoAnne Rando-Moon will offer her thoughts, and Chaney will read a resolution he drafted to counter the one passed by the council. Late on Monday afternoon, Lawson said that for the resolution to be rescinded, a council member must make a motion and another council member must second it. Then, he said, it would take a simple majority to rescind. He declined to comment on the opponents’ plans, saying, “A statement will be made by me on the issue” during the meeting.  Council meeting will be held at Kanab library Because of the large turnout expected, tonight’s Kanab CityCouncil meeting will be held at the City Library, 300 N. Main St. The meeting begins at 7.

2006 Rallying for Their Rights: Teens denounce proposed gay-club ban GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCES; SB97: The House has yet to vote on the bill By Jennifer W. Sanchez The Salt Lake Tribune  They meet in secret after dinner at Wasatch Academy. At the private boarding high school about a two-hour drive south of Salt Lake City, students are not allowed to publicly organize gay-straight clubs. But each week, some 15 students gather to discuss issues, such as state legislation to eliminate groups like theirs. “We know who we are and we know what we believe,” said Meisja Turner, 18. “This is a way to let everyone know it’s not a secret –it’s no big deal [to be gay.]” To show her support, Turner joined roughly 300 people, mostly teenagers and young adults, to rally for gay rights and equality at the State Capitol on Monday. Under a clear sky, many people sported blue “equality” buttons and put yellow tape in the shape of an equal sign on their backs. Some carried homemade signs that read “I love and support my gay son” and “Equality – a fair and just Utah!” And flyers that read “Why is (Sen.) Chris Buttars obsessed with gay sex?” were put on car windshields around the Capitol. Supporters said it was time that community members, regardless of sexual orientation, speak out against SB97, a proposed law sponsored by Buttars, that would give school districts the ability to eliminate gay support groups. The bill is waiting for a House vote. Sen. Scott McCoy, a Salt Lake City Democrat and the state’s only openly gay senator, told the crowd: “This is family day at the Legislature,” adding that gay families deserve the same respect by lawmakers and protection by the law. A. J. Barney, a gay college freshman, said he would have loved to have had a gay-straight alliance in high school. “It would have been nice to have people support me for who I was instead of who I was pretending to be,” Barney said. Chris Johnson, a lesbian mother of a straight teenager, encouraged young people to be proud and stay involved in politics because social change takes time. “It takes character to be who you are,” she told the crowd. “Hatred and bigotry are bad for Utah.”

 2006 Activists rally for gay rights in 'family state' Groups use 1,000 paper cranes to send message of tolerance By Deborah Bulkeley Deseret Morning News The saying goes, if you make 1,000 cranes your wish will come true. A couple attends a gay/lesbian rights rally at the state Capitol Monday in support of the Gay/Straight Alliance. Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News  For members of gay-straight alliances and Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays, that wish is for more tolerance and acceptance. Armed with 1,000 white origami cranes, dozens rallied at the state Capitol Monday against bills they say will make it tougher on their families. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, said Utah needs to "put its money where its mouth is" when defining itself as a family state. "This is family day up here at the Utah Legislature," McCoy said. "Every type of family deserves equal protection under the law."  The bills opposed by gay rights advocates were still pending as the end of the Legislative session neared.  They include an effort to allow school boards to ban gay-straight alliances at public schools, a bill to bar public employers from paying for unmarried partner insurance, and legislation to keep courts from granting custody or visitation rights against a biological or adoptive parent's wishes. Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said the bills are designed to protect families and children in school. "We want to protect the right of good, fit, biological parents," Ruzicka said. "All biological mothers and fathers, and adoptive mothers and fathers would be terrorized if these bills don't pass." But those at the rally said the bills make it even harder to raise a family in a state where same-sex marriage and other domestic unions are already clearly barred by a state constitutional marriage. Geralynn Barney, vice president of the Salt Lake PFLAG chapter, said many lawmakers had used hostile language toward gays and lesbians as they debated gay-straight alliances. Kelly Beeny watches as the wind catches her gay pride flag. She and her partner, Kaye Christensen, right, attended the rally. Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning News  "I have a gay son," Barney said. "I am mad as hell about what is being said on the hill about my son."

  

2009 Group storms Capitol for 'Buttars-Palooza' More than a thousand people converged on the Utah Capitol on Saturday, not for legislative protest, but to party. Couples, families and individuals danced on the south lawn to live music at "Buttars-Palooza," a festival meant to exploit the audacity of Utah Sen. Chris Buttars' now-famous comments about gays. Saying that the Republican senators' comments comparing gay activists to Islamic extremists were so ridiculous that they needed no response. "I thought about not even coming today," deadpanned Jude McNeil, looking across the crowd of peaceful partiers. "I know I'm risking

Jude McNeil 

my life, but hey, I'm here." Jennilynn Peterson said she brought her toddler son to the party in express defiance of the idea that gay activists were somehow dangerous. "I think it's a great thing for him to experience," said Peterson, a resident of Bountiful. "I'm not going to hide the world from him." Peterson, who grew up in Utah, said she resented how Buttars' comments might be interpreted outside of the Beehive State. "He doesn't speak for Utah," she said. "I really hate that all over the United States, people think we're all like him. We're not." Saturday's festival comes following statements Buttars made to a documentary filmmaker in which he compared homosexuals to radical Muslims, called them the greatest internal threat to America and said they had no morals. Tobin Atkinson, a former member of the Army's First Infantry Division, said Buttar's words don't just reflect badly on Utahns, but all Americans. "The greatest threat to America? I find that offensive," said Atkinson, a veteran of the Iraq war. "It's really revolting, and it's not what I signed up to defend." Atkinson's wife, Marynell Hinton, noted Buttars' lack of military service, saying: "for someone to say this is the greatest threat to America is clearly not someone who has ever faced an actual threat in his life."

February 29-

1976 The Grand opening of The Name of the Game Jr. located at 535 South State was held. The bar began as a transition from a straight bar to a Gay Bar last December. Owned by Harold and David and managed by Max. Max stated, "Our initial motive was for purely business reasons. We would rather have an open crowd so that Gay did not feel alienated. Gays get down a lot more and are less trashy than some of the straight street people we get in here." The bar offered free drinks on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8-10 PM for ladies, and men in drag, a first for any Gay Bar.

1988  Neil Hoyt bought the first ticket for Beyond Stonewall for $45. Rocky O’Donavan brought the money to me so now I have $45 out of the $150 I put up out of my own pocket for the deposit. Since Utah Title folded without paying me my last pay check this is all the money I have to live on. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1988 I went over to Barbara Stockton’s for an AIDS Quilt meeting but Ben Barr didn’t show up with the video about the national showing of the Names Project Quilt so we just talked about the March 12^th open house we will be hosting. Bruce Harmon has gotten us all incorporated now also. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1996  CLAYTON VETTER Gay Teacher Encounters No Ill Will Byline: By Robert Bryson THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Skyline High School debate teacher Clayton Vetter said Wednesday he has experienced no ill will since he went public about being gay. Vetter's announcement at a state Capitol news conference Tuesday constituted the latest development in a months-long debate over whether gay and lesbian students should be able to form clubs in Salt Lake City School District junior and senior high schools. ``The vast majority of people, students, faculty and parents, are supportive,'' Vetter said. ``People are tolerant and open to the fact that teachers may be gay or straight and should be judged on their merits as teachers.'' Granite spokesman Kent Gardner, however, said people who called the district Wednesday were mixed in their reaction. Some said they did not condone an openly gay teacher in the classroom, while others ``were supportive of him and showed compassion for his situation,'' he said. ``This teacher made a public announcement about his personal life,'' Gardner said. ``He is a good teacher. This may not have an impact on his classroom, but we will have to wait and see.'' Vetter, who has taught in the Granite District for 12 years and has been at Skyline for four, also announced the formation of a Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers' Alliance. He was joined Tuesday by Doug Wortham, an openly gay teacher at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's, a private school, and Scott Nelson, an East High education teacher who is straight.    Wortham has refused to reveal how many teachers are part of the new alliance. On Feb. 20, the Salt Lake City School Board banned noncurricular clubs at secondary schools. The ban was initiated after East High students petitioned to form a student gay-straight alliance. Vetter said many gay or lesbian teachers may think that coming out will cost them their jobs. However, he said, if their ``conduct is appropriate, they will not lose their jobs.'' But he said it is up to individuals to decide whether to disclose their sexual orientation.

1996 Legislators Criticize Board's Vote on Clubs Byline: By Dan Harrie THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Ten Utah Democratic lawmakers representing Salt Lake City have fired off a letter to the Salt Lake City School Board criticizing its decision to ban all noncurricular clubs and urging members to lift the prohibition.  ``This decision will be harmful to a majority of younger adults and will not protect anyone,'' said the letter on House of Representatives stationery. ``It is our opinion that more thought should be given to the long-term and damaging consequences.'' The legislators who signed the letter, dated Tuesday, are Sens. Bob Steiner, Rex Black and Blaze Wharton and Reps. Frank Pignanelli, Gene Davis, Dave Jones, Mary Carlson, Steve Barth, Loretta Baca and Pete Suazo. Two Republicans from Salt Lake City -- Sen. David Buhler and Rep. Afton Bradshaw -- declined to sign, said Davis. In their letter, Democrats offered to meet with school-board members if they desired, adding, ``It is our sincere hope that we will work toward a community and state that fosters unity and tolerance, not division and hate.'' They argued school-based clubs encourage good citizenship, provide coping skills and sometimes are essential to receiving scholarships or gaining admission to college. In addition to recommending a policy allowing noncurricular clubs, the 10 lawmakers said East High students who petitioned for creation of a gay-straight alliance club ``make a good case as to why resources and assistance must be expanded to certain individuals.'' The letter suggests establishment of a ``district-sponsored program to help these students.''

2004 The 14th annual Oscar Night America hosted by Utah AIDS Foundation held at Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in SLC

2004 Gay unions accepted as routine in cultures for centuries Will Bagley HISTORY MATTERS Marriage, says BYU law professor Richard G. Wilkins, "has always been about one sexual relationship -- the union of a man and a woman." Of course, this would be news to Brigham Young, who said "I do" to some 56 women. Consider the furor and outrage Mormon polygamy evoked in the 19^th century. The laws sanctifying the one-man, one-woman model of marriage had forced millions upon millions of women "to become a prey to man's lust and a consuming sacrifice upon the altar of illicit passion," the Deseret Evening News thundered in December 1885. "One man to one woman only," the newspaper proclaimed, was "the exception in Christendom as well as  heathendom" and was "one impracticable standard." The News argued that polygamous marriage "prevails all over the world, and those who pretend to the contrary are very simple or very untruthful." That's a debatable point, even though it appeared in the pages of what The Salt Lake Tribune used to call "the font of truth," but marriage has been a flexible institution throughout history. Much of the current debate over same-sex marriage reflects a relatively new tradition of fear and hatred of homosexuals in American culture. The concept of homosexuality only appeared in European medical literature in the late 1860s and reached the United States by 1892, but it was the sodomy trial of British poet Oscar Wilde in 1895 that introduced the concept to popular culture. The "queer eye" was nothing new, however, even in Utah. When Wilde (popularly known as the "Sunflower Apostle") visited Salt Lake City in 1882, he complimented LDS Church President John Taylor for his fine aesthetic judgment, and the Deseret News reported that young men adorned with enormous sunflowers filled the front row of his crowded lecture on interior decorating. (None of this was a stereotype in 1882.) The Victorians turned it into an identity, but same-sex sex has been going on since time immemorial and was considered entirely natural in ancient Greece and Rome. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill didn't actually say "the only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash," but he may have wished he had. Rather than treat gay people as social outcasts, many cultures integrated men and women with transsexual natures into their societies. When French Jesuit missionaries found men among the Iroquois who dressed and acted as women, they called them berdache, incorrectly equating them with male prostitutes. Many scholars now prefer the term "two-spirit." American Indian languages had a variety of terms -- winkte (Lakota), nadleeh (Navajo), hemanah (Cheyenne), kwid-(Tewa), tainna wa'ippe (Shoshone), dubuds (Paiute) and lhamana (Zuni) to identify "a person who has both male and female spirits within," notes Lakota scholar Beatrice Medicine. Anthropologists such as Elsie Parsons long ago observed that two- spirited men often married other men. Even earlier, William Clark told the first editor of the Lewis and Clark journals that Hidatsa boys who showed "girlish inclinations" were raised as women and married men. Somehow, male-female marriage managed to survive in these cultures. Marriage even survived polygamy, which had extended the "blessings of matrimony and of home instead of discarding or destroying them," the Deseret News argued. "It surrounds the domestic relations with safeguards and a sacredness that are stronger and more enduring than any others." Restricting such a good thing seems selfish. ---- Historian Will Bagley is happily married.

 2004 The Salt Lake Metro will be hitting the streets in May and we are busy gearing up for it. This Yahoo group is being set up to give people some sneak peaks, notices of things like drastically-reduced classifieds for the first few issues, and to solicit ideas and feedback as we shape this thing. We will also be having a members-only launch party being co-sponsored by Red Bull and Absolut. Please join and help us make this newspaper something great for Salt Lake.-Michael Aaron

This Day In Gay Utah History February 27th

February 27-

1778-Lt Col. Aaron Burr presided over the court martial of Ensign Anthony Maxwell, who was charged with filing a scandalous report about Lt. Gotthold Frederick Enslin (who he accused of having sexual relations with Private John Monhart). He was acquitted.

1889 - LDS political newspaper Salt Lake Herald's article titled, "FAILED MARRIAGES," regarding "the report of the Labor Commissioner Wright, presented last week, on the statistics of marriage and divorce in the United States from 1867 to 1886 inclusive," with following: In 1870 Utah had highest rate of divorce out of all states and territories. In 1870 Utah's rate was one divorce per 185 marriages. National averages was 1:664. States with lowest divorce rates are South Carolina at 1:4,938, Delaware at 1:123,672, New Mexico at 1:16,077, North Carolina at 1:4,938, and Louisiana at 1:4,579. In 1880 Utah had tenth highest rate of divorce out of all states and territories. In 1880 Utah's rate was one divorce per 219 marriages, which was more than twice the national average of 1:479. In twentieth century, divorce rates for LDS temple marriages starts out three times higher than this "divorce mill" rate for early Utah civil marriages.

1933- Two employees of Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin, Dr. Max Hodann and Felix Helle, were arrested and sent to a concentration camp with the pink triangle. Max Hodann was a City physician in Berlin. 

Russ Lane

1986- Russ Lane, founder of Wasatch Affirmation, arrived in Utah on a bus from San Jose, California because he felt that he had a calling to come to Utah to start a chapter of Affirmation that was following the general charter.

1989  AIDS FOUNDATION ELECTS SLATE OF OFFICERS John Seaman, a professor in the University of Utah Graduate School of Social Work, is the new chairman of the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation. Vice chairman is Bruce Harmon, a professional fund-raiser for a major national health agency. Elected secretary was Cindy Kindred, program underwriting director at KUTV. Terry Chin, vice president of finance at Holy Cross Hospital, is treasurer. (Deseret News)

1989 University of Utah’s Lesbian and Gay Student Union's topic was Gay Paganism and Wicca presented by Brook Hallock and Nancy Diatima Perez, Tom Abizu Jensen, and Becky Moorman.  “I went to Lesbian and Gay Student Union where the topic was Paganism and Wicca. Brook Hallock and Nancy Diatima Perez, Tom Abizu Jensen and Becky Moorman were the presenters.  It was interesting but the room was filled with attitude. I was very, very good at keeping my mouth shut until  The meeting closed with a Pagan candle lighting circle.  When each person lit their candle I declined and simply said “my life is my light.” [1989 Journal of Ben Williams]

1989 Held a Beyond Stonewall meeting with Michael Anderson and Neil Hoyt. John Bush couldn’t make it. Michael is publicity and Neil is promotion chair. Basically discussed dead lines for The Triangle and getting together something together for Coronation. I also made a list of people I’m considering asking to be facilitator at Beyond Stonewall. Marc Potter, Brook Hallocks, Dr. Patty Reagan, Michael Elliott, John Reeves, Richard Rodriguez, Ben Barr, Bruce Barton, Dr. Kristen Reis, Becky Moss, Mark Winter and Rocky O’Donavan [1989 Journal of Ben Williams]

Gordon Church

1990 FORMER GIRLFRIEND OF ARCHULETA TESTIFIES WOOD WAS AFRAID OF HIM By Lane Williams, Staff Writer Michael Anthony Archuleta's ex-girlfriend testified Wednesday that Lance Conway Wood said he was afraid of Archuleta.  Paula Sue Jones was one of 10 witnesses during the opening day of testimony in Wood's capital-homicide trial. Archuleta, 27, was found guilty in December and sentenced to death in the torture-slaying of former Southern Utah State College student Gordon Ray Church on Nov. 22, 1988. Under questioning from prosecutor Warren Peterson, Jones told the 10-woman, two-man jury that the relationship between Wood, 21, and Archuleta was not one based on fear. She said the pair often played video games and basketball together. Under cross-examination from defense attorney Marcus Taylor, however, she testified that Wood had said he was afraid of Archuleta. The defense has said it intends to prove that Archuleta was the one who killed Church, and Wood didn't lift a finger during the murder. Wood's ex-girlfriend, Brenda Stapley, was expected to testify Tuesday.  Archuleta also is expected to testify in the case, but prosecutors refused Monday to verify that report. Other witnesses Monday included Church's parents, David and Nancy Church. (Deseret News)

1993 A Highland High School counselor was charged with forcing two male students to fondle him during a meeting with the youths in his Salt Lake City school office. Lynn T. Wood, 54, grabbed the boy’s hands and placed them on his genitals during a Jan. 25 meeting, investigators allege. Wood was also the Mormon bishop of his Murray ward, in Murray UT

1994- -The SLCC Gay & Lesbian Student Association held a benefit show at Salt Lake Community College for The Utah AIDS Foundation called ``A Night to Remember.'' which' was presented in the SLCC Grand Theatre,. Event featured the gay singing and comedy duo Ron Romanovsky and Paul Phillips; lesbian comedian Marilyn Pittman; and Salt Lake City-based folk singer and song-writer J. Nelson Ramsey.  Romanovsky and Phillips began their careers in San Francisco, performing as the musical break for Gay Comedy Open Mike Night at the Valencia Rose Cafe in 1982. The duo's first album, ``I Thought You'd Be Taller,'' was released in 1984. In 1988, Romanovsky and Phillips recorded ``Emotional Rollercoaster.'' The album included a cut ``Living With AIDS,'' used in a documentary film, ``Testing the Limits.''  Pittman, who has worked in straight and gay comedy clubs, has been the host and producer of two nationally syndicated radio programs --``By a Woman's Writ'' and ``Radio Free America's New Music Show.'' Pittman also is featured on two videos, ``Out for Laughs'' and ``All Out Comedy.'' Ramsey, who works in various festivals, clubs and restaurants in Utah, has released one  album, ``Where Am I Now,'' and is in the process of completing a second work. John Johnson, development coordinator for the Salt Lake City-based foundation, said the Utah AIDS Foundation is thankful for support from gay or lesbian organizations. However, he stressed that the foundation seeks to be identified with more than just homosexual groups. Johnson said the foundation supports any community activity that educates about   AIDS. ``Our purpose here is to help people with  AIDS or HIV,'' Johnson said, stressing that the foundation is trying to educate the public that AIDS is not just a homosexual disease. ``[Public awareness] has gone away from that,'' he said. ``More people have family members who aren't gay and have AIDS. It makes it more real to them.'' (02/25/94  Page: F1  SLTribune)

1994  Todd M. Phillips age 29 died at his home from complications of AIDS. He attended Judge Memorial High School; and the University of Utah. Todd has been employed by Western Analytical, Inc. for the past six years, working as a chemist.  Survived by companion, Richard Kiehl.

1996-According to a report from the Service members Legal Defense Network, 722 people were discharged from the US military during 1995, the highest in four years. Reports of witch-hunts were as prevalent as before "don't ask, don't tell" was enacted.

1996  ANTI GAY OPINION PUT STOP TO GAY-LESBIAN AGENDA An Arab and his camel were stuck in the middle of the desert during a fierce sandstorm. The Arab pitched his tent, leaving the camel outside. The camel persistently asked the Arab if he could put his nose in the tent to keep the dust out of his nostrils; the Arab finally consented. By exerting constant pressure and persuasion, the camel eventually got more and more of his body into the tent. Eventually there was no room for the Arab, who was forced out to die in the sandstorm. The East High gay and lesbian club proposal is like a camel's initial proposal to put his nose into the "tent" of Utah schools. The ultimate goal is to infiltrate all Utah schools, forcing traditional moral values to die out as the rising generation pities, endures, then embraces their lifestyle. Homosexuals say that they are entitled to the same rights as any other school club. But no other school club's sole purpose is to advocate and, yes, recruit minors to perform illegal activities. In Utah, sodomy is illegal, along with pedophilia and other sexual perversions. Homosexuals argue that scientific evidence indicates that they are fundamentally different. If indeed there are differences at birth (which I doubt), they would be classified with hereditary tendencies toward such disorders as alcoholism. It would be irresponsible to create clubs for school-age children that lure potential alcoholics to join in the revelry of heavy drinkers. In that company, it is unlikely that they would be informed of the significant health risks, psychological damage to self and family, and immense cost to everyone. The morally responsible thing for the rest of us to do is work through our schools and Legislature to not allow the formation of any club that promotes illegal activities, directly or indirectly. I urge all readers to contact your local and state school boards and your state representative and senator to make your feelings known. Otherwise, your silence is implied consent to the gay-lesbian agenda. Stan Covington Orem Deseret News 

2000- Hank Tavera, co-founder of the National Latina/o LBG & T Organization, died of kidney cancer at age 56.

27 February 2000 Family Fellowship Quarterly Forum at the University of Utah Social Work Auditorium. Robert A. Rees, former LDS bishop in Los Angeles who wrote 'No More Strangers and Foreigners: A  Mormon Christian Response to Homosexuality', will be the guest speaker. A light buffet will follow the meeting. Robert A. Rees, Ph.D., will be the speaker. His talk is entitled, "In a Dark Time the Eye Begins to See: Personal Reflections on Homosexuality and the  Mormon Church at the Beginning of the New Millennium." Dr. Rees is a  scholar, teacher, university administrator, and educational entrepreneur. He taught and worked in administration at UCLA for twenty-five years before taking early retirement in 1992. Following his retirement, he and his wife Ruth (a musicologist and choral musician) served as humanitarian service and education missionaries in the Baltics for nearly four years. They moved to the Santa Cruz area in 1996.

27 February 2000  Page: AA1 Intolerance on Adoption -The 21st century is not starting off as a new era of tolerance in Utah, not after the Senate and House last week passed bills banning adoptions to Gay and lesbian couples and to unmarried straight couples. These bills, spurred by an overwrought concern that lack of such restrictions could hurt the state if it is ever sued over same-sex marriage, are mean spirited and misguided. Assuming the Gay-adoption ban is signed into law by Gov. Mike Leavitt, Utah will join a very short list of states that officially discriminate against homosexuals on the matter of adoption. While four other states are debating legislation on the issue this year, only Florida has a statute outlawing Gay adoptions; it reads, "No person eligible to adopt under this statute may adopt if that person is a homosexual." Of course, Utahns are not quite that direct. The two bills would outlaw foster and adoptive placements of state-protected children, and adoption through private agencies, to cohabiting couples whose relationship is not recognized by the state, which by definition means any homosexual couple. The bills would codify a ban already enacted last year by the Division of Child and Family Services board, a rule which is currently being challenged in court. Utahns can thank the majority Republicans for the expected legal fallout from this legislation, since the votes in both chambers broke mostly over party lines. On Monday the Senate passed S.B. 63 by 17-9, and on Wednesday the House passed H.B. 103 by 49-19. Of the 28 dissenting voters, only two of them -- Reps. Lloyd Frandsen and Jordan Tanner -- were Republicans. Other than Rep. Jackie Biskupski's emotional speech on the House floor Wednesday, which correctly put a human-rights focus on the legislation, there was not much clear, logical thought put into this by lawmakers. Take, for instance, the rationale of Rep. Nora Stephens, the sponsor of H.B. 103. In a House committee hearing on H.B. 103, a Springville woman testified to the difficulties she encountered while growing up with a lesbian mother. Rep. Stephens said that this woman's unfortunate tale "verifies what the bill tries to do." Say what? If Rep. Stephens and her GOP colleagues want to make law on the basis of that anecdote, no matter how moving, then would they also want to line up the hundreds of children in the state's beleaguered child-welfare system and listen to their tales of abuse and neglect at the hands of their married parents? Would such testimony inspire a ban on adoptions to married couples? Of course not. The real issue here is that in Utah's climate of Gay intolerance, it might be unavoidable for a child to grow up with shame for a lesbian mother. And legislation like the Gay-adoption ban only exacerbates that environment.

27 February 2000 Page: Battle Lines Drawn on Gay Adoption Bills  Opposing sides debate proposed legislation that would ban cohabiting couples from adopting BY ROBERT GEHRKE   THE ASSOCIATED PRESS On the heels of a Mormon crusade against same-sex marriage in Hawaii, California and Alaska, Utah's predominantly Mormon Legislature is poised to stamp out a nagging reminder of homosexual lifestyles at home. A pair of bills would ban all adoptions by sexually involved couples living together. The ban is broad enough to cover heterosexual and homosexual partners. But Gay couples say they are squarely in the bill's crosshairs. "Although it's aimed at morality -- it's aimed at Gay and lesbian couples and it's aimed at couples living together -- the people it's hurting is kids," said Hazel Jensen-Wysinger. She and her partner adopted each other's biological children. But Scott Clark, chairman of the board of the state's Division of Child and Family Services, said the sole purpose of the ban is to protect children, not deny homosexuals adoption rights. "They've hijacked the dialogue and talked just about same-sex couples," said Clark. Clark said the change was brought about by cases where live-in boyfriends abused adopted children and a 1991 case in which the state placed the children of a deceased polygamous wife in the home of her fellow wives. The placement was challenged in court.    Regardless of the intent, the debate is clearly focused on the same-sex issue.    "I think [legislators] have this firm-rooted religiously based conviction and it is disingenuous to say [the law] is not aimed at Gay people," said attorney Laura Milliken Gray.  Gray's office wall is lined with pictures of some of the roughly 20 same-sex couples -- including the Jensen-Wysingers and Robert Austin and his partner Bradley Weischedel-- whom she helped with adoptions. Austin and Weischedel have a 10-year-old son they adopted from an abusive married couple in October 1998. "We are working on a daily basis fixing the damage that was done to a child in the home of married couple," said Austin. "We know firsthand that marriage is not the deciding factor." Under existing Utah law, marriage is not the deciding factor. Instead, social workers screen for a criminal or child abuse history, then go before a judge who decides if the adoption is in the child's best interests. Gray argues the bill usurps judicial screening. But Brigham Young University law professor Lynn Wardle, a proponent of the law, said Gay couples have secretly taken advantage of the law, their ultimate goal being legalizing same-sex marriage. He said studies of cohabiting couples who would be affected by the bill show a child in a same-sex household is more likely to use drugs and alcohol, be exposed to sex, contract sexually transmitted disease, fail at school and exhibit criminal behavior. But while research on Gay and lesbian parenting is scarce, it shows Gay and lesbian biological parents are as good as heterosexual couples at raising children, said Devon Brooks, a social work professor at University of Southern California. Utah's bills, sponsored by Rep. Nora Stephens, R-Sunset, and Sen. Howard Nielson, R-Orem, would codify existing administrative rules prohibiting adoptions by cohabiting couples and a proposed rule against such foster placements. The law would allow child placements in single-parent homes.

2003 Dear Mr. Webb, This is Ben Williams from the Historical Society. I am truly dishearted by your circumstances and feel your club (Club Blue) is a loss to our community. When the SL City Weekly once wrote an article by Phil Jacobsen about women being excluded from the club, I wrote them a letter that was published, taking them to task. Unfortunately Utah is a dysfunctional sexphobic society and many Gay men are also infected with that mental disorder. I will get off my soap box and get to the point. When you are clearing out your club will you consider donating items like the WLMC flags or logos, signs, photographs, flyers, calendars, etc. from the business to the Stonewall Historical Society? We, as you know, are dedicated to preserving our historical identity in this culture and since sadly Club Blue is now relegated to "history" we would feel it a great loss not to have some items for preservation. Years from now people will be shocked and amazed that such Gestapo Tactics were still being used in Utah at the beginning of the 21st Century. Thank you for your consideration. Best Wishes in all your future and happier (Gay-er) endeavors. Ben  Williams Utah Stonewall Historical Society

• Thanks for the kind words. I agree completely. I have saved many items that I would love to see preserved. Give me a few weeks to get stuff in order; I'm still settling small details with respect to the closing of the club.  I'm not sure who you are, Ben and I'd love to make your  acquaintance. If you see me out somewhere before I get these items compiled, please  say hello. Thanks, Mike Webb
  

2003 Dear Friend, Your emails, letters and phone calls have been very important in this legislative session. It's imperative that our elected officials hear from us about issues that concern us. As a representative myself, I am acutely aware how important it is to hear from my constituents. I'm also very aware of how an ill-spoken communication from a constituent, even when it's well meaning, can turn me off to a particular issue. We have an incredible opportunity this year to pass a hate crimes bill, HB 85, which his being sponsored by Rep. David Litvack (D-SLC) and Rep. Jim Ferrin (R-Orem). Your communication with your representatives on this particular bill has been great, but there sometimes arises a situation around an issue when it's important to do what will make a difference on a bill as opposed to say exactly what is on your mind. The hate crimes measure is being framed as a law enforcement issue, not a civil rights one – and especially not a gay rights issue. People who are opposing HB 85 are couching their arguments mainly from the point of view that if passed, HB 85 would give `special rights' or a special designation to people because of their sexual orientation. You and I both know that this is not true. Many legislators do not feel this is true either. However, the opposition is saying that by recognizing sexual orientation as a protected group in the bill, it gives legal status to the GLBT community – and they are playing on the fears of Utahns who don't know better. Indeed, I can tell you from personal conversations with representatives who are on the fence on this issue that if it's seen as forwarding GLBT rights at all, they will need to vote against it. I encourage you to contact your representatives about HB 85 immediately. When you do, stress that it is about increasing tools for law enforcement and an attack on hate in Utah. I strongly suggest that you not couch it as a gay rights issue at all. Will it be good for our community if it passes? Certainly – as it will be good for all Utahns, but most of our elected officials are leery of GLBT issues and shy away from the mere mention of them. If we are going to get HB 85 through, we need to respectfully speak in their language and at their level. It's easy to say something snippy, mean or defensive because, as a community, we all feel attacked most of the time. That said, snippy, mean and defensive emails will work against this bill, the work that people have put into it and the future that it has. Thank you for letting me have this frank conversation with you. I deeply appreciate your support and your partnership, as I know Rep. Litvack and Rep. Ferrin do. HB 85 is a good and necessary bill and has the best chance of passage it has ever had. Continue to be involved in the process.  Warmest Regards,  Jackie [Biskupski]

2003  Hate Crimes - In a perfect world, even in a world that could be seen from a perfect world, a law that made it a special kind of crime to attack someone out of racial, religious or sexual hatred would not be necessary.  In such a world, the normal laws against murder, assault and vandalism would suffice. People who hurt other people would be dealt with under the law, without fear or favor. No person who happened to be a member of a minority or disadvantaged class would have to worry that their suffering would be seen as any less serious than the suffering of anyone else. In a perfect world, Utah House Bill 85, sponsored by Rep. David Litvack, is the kind of law that wouldn't be necessary. It could even be hoped that his bill, which ratchets up the penalties for crimes that are motivated by hatred of a particular group of human beings, wouldn't be necessary in our little corner of this world. There is no particular pattern here of people who victimize blacks, Jews, gays or other groups -- and get away with it.   But now that Litvack, a Salt Lake City Democrat, has respectfully placed the issue before us, now that the measure has won the approval of the the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee -- and the passive backing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- it becomes clear that this particular bill should, indeed, become law. In a perfect world, we would not see the situation we have here, where the strongest argument for Litvack's bill has been made, Bizarro-style, by those who most vehemently oppose it. That opposition, expressed at a Capitol Hill rally on Monday, is the fear that, by stating formal disapproval of violence against homosexuals, the state would somehow be making a special statement in favor of gays and lesbians, up to and including same-sex marriage.  That is false. And, significantly, the state's dominant religion sees that. LDS Church leaders, who have actively opposed same-sex marriage in this and other states, are correctly taking some pains to point out that the faith's much-criticized general stance on gays and lesbians should not be read as anything that might forgive or condone violence against any person.  In a perfect world, the LDS Church would not have to spell that out. But this is not a perfect world.   The law does not confer "special rights" upon gays -- or blacks, or Jews, or the elderly, or the handicapped, or Mormons. All it does is make it crystal clear, in the few cases where it may be necessary, that hate crimes are taken seriously by this state, that they will not be swept under the rug or dismissed as "boys will be boys" hijinx.   In a perfect world, no one would have to say that. But this is not a perfect world, and to kill Litvack's bill now would, sadly, be taken as a signal that Utah doesn't care about hate crimes.  Utah is not perfect, but it does care. Passing this law would say so.

2003 Hate-Crimes Bill on Track for Debate BY DAN HARRIE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE It appears there will be a floor debate this week on hate crimes legislation.  House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said House Bill 85 will be pulled out of the Rules Committee for a floor debate after sponsors indicated they had the 38 votes to pass the measure. "The same deal [coming out of Rules] goes for any bill with a reasonable chance of passing," Stephens said. HB85 would create stiffer penalties for people who threaten or commit acts of violence or vandalism against someone because of their bias against the victim's race, color, gender, disability, nationality, ancestry, religion or sexual orientation. Sponsoring Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, said the 38 votes are mostly "hard 'Yes' " votes, but not all.   "It's going to be touch and go," Litvack said. "We don't want to get the message out that this is done. . . . I don't want to light the fire under the opposition."   In past years, the legislation has had tough going, at least in part because some groups saw it as giving legal protected status to gays and lesbians. This year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin, issued a statement to lawmakers saying it did not oppose the bill.     "The church's well-known opposition to attempts to legalize same-gender marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group," Mormon leaders said. There still are plenty of opponents to the bill on Capitol Hill, mostly from conservative Republicans who view it as giving special rights to certain classes of people and creating a category of "thought crime."  The Utah Republican Party's Central Committee last weekend resoundingly passed a resolution urging lawmakers to defeat HB85 because it "would establish a dangerous mechanism in Utah law under which freedom of conscience and religious belief is undermined and may be ultimately threatened."  Utah Eagle Forum leader Gayle Ruzicka organized a Capitol rally Monday against the bill. She downplayed the LDS Church statement of "non-opposition" to HB85 as merely an attempt by Mormon leaders to quash rumors that the predominant religion was endorsing the legislation.  That comment prompted a denial Wednesday by the church.  "Ms. Ruzicka's reported assertion regarding the motivation for our statement on proposed hate crimes legislation is wrong," said spokesman Dale Bills. "The statement was made in keeping with our long-standing policy of informing the legislative leadership of both parties on those rare occasions when we comment on pending legislation," he said. "Our statement declared that the church does not oppose HB85 as drafted. Period. Any interpretation beyond that is speculative." 

2004 Hey everyone! I am sending this email out to let everyone know that through food contributions to the Youth Activity Center (YAC) by you and/or your friends, we were able to feed over 1200 young people since May 7, 2003. We started a program called Soup's On, to help young people with little or no access to food. We see many young people in the YAC who are "couch surfing", living on the streets, or have very little money to take care of their basic needs, such as food and hygiene. The community has been great to the YAC in making sure the shelves have stayed full with cans of soup. I am now sending out another email to ask for your donations again. Our shelves are almost empty, yet we still have a consistent flow of young people who access the Center, not only for resources and programs, but for food as well. So, here's the wish list of food items (things that the youth seemed to like):Cup of Noodles Ramen Noodles Fruit Roll Ups Granola Bars Soups, other than tomato Chili Macaroni and Cheese Rice Bread peanut butter Popcorn Vegan or Vegetarian options Anything that can be prepared in a microwave Milk, Soy Milk We are always in need of plastic spoons, paper bowls, (for the soups) and paper towels. Donations can be dropped off at the reception area of the GLBT Community Center of Utah, located at 355 North 300 West. Please leave your contact information with any items that are dropped off so that we can write you a thank you letter. The young people are always appreciative and looking for ways to say thanks. If you have any questions regarding Soup's On, or any of the Youth Activity Center's programs, events, or activities, please contact meat 801.539.8800.x.14 Thank you again for your donations to the YAC. You are helping to provide a safe space for young LGBTQ people and their allies. "bob" Director of Youth Programs GLBT Community Center of Utah 

2005 Brian Joseph Stanislawski, 34, died from pneumonia on Sunday, February 27th in Denver, Colorado. He was surrounded by friends and family at the time. Private services were held. Brian was born in Beaufort, SC at Beaufort County Hospital on June 2, 1970. He was raised in Roy, Utah, attended Valley View Elementary, Sandridge Jr. High and graduated from Roy High School in 1988. At Roy high he was a member of the swim team and was a featured actor in several theatrical productions. He won a number of awards at theater conferences around Utah. He attended Stacy's Beauty College on evenings and weekends during his senior year. The day after graduating from high school he moved to Denver, Colorado. He completed his cosmetology education at Emily Griffith in 1995 and passed his boards that same year. He first cut hair at Diamond Cuts on Downing Street in the Capitol Hill area of Denver. Within a year he bought the salon and renamed it Envy. He owned and operated the salon and served the majority of the clientele until his death. Between 1998 and 2000 he also owned and operated Gallery 13, a shop and gallery around the corner from Envy, where he sold cards, art and gifts. Many of the items sold there were hand made by his parents. Brian's dynamic personality won him many friends and admirers. His annual "costume required" Halloween parties were famous and always well attended. He had a beautiful singing voice and strong stage presence and was regularly seen and heard at the karaoke mic in clubs all over Denver. He is survived by his mother and father, Raylene and Joe Stanislawski, his older sister, Brenda Whitcomb, his older brother Bill Stanislawski, his nephews Robbie Breedlove, Bennet Whitcomb and David Whitcomb, his partner Ken Rales and his extended family and many friends in Utah, Colorado, Minnesota, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Melbourne. He was an original and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. Envy's business manager will keep the salon running. Sympathies and contributions can be sent c/o Envy, 1300 Downing Street, Denver, Colorado 80218. Published in the Standard-Examiner on 3/19/2005.

2008 New Play Focuses on Gay Mormon Suicide “Missa Solemnis” to Be Staged in New York at the End of February by Hugo Salinas February 2008 Roman Feeser, a playwright living in New York City, is the author of Missa Solemnis or The Play About Henry. Four

Roman Feezer

years in the making, Missa Solemnis is based on the story of Stuart Matis, a gay Mormon young man who committed suicide on the steps of his stake center in Los Altos, California, in 2000.  Missa Solemnis will be staged in New York City at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre on February 27, February 29, and March 1, 2008. All shows are at 9 PM. Space is very limited in the 44-seat theater, and the shows are going to sell out.  In the following interview, I ask Roman about his life and his new play. Do you have a Mormon background? What’s your connection with Mormonism? No. I didn't even know what Mormonism was before I started this journey. I was researching gay suicide for my first play The Closet Contender and I accidentally stumbled across the Affirmations website. I asked my writing partner Brett here in New York City if he knew about Mormons and he said, “I'm Mormon!” and I thought this was fate. How did you pick the topic for your play? I read the Newsweek article written by Mark Miller about Stuart and the last sentence said, “The people who had prepared his body for burial were struck by the sight of his knees, calloused from praying for an answer that never came.” and I thought, “Who prays that hard today?” From that point on I heard his voice—Henry Stuart Matis wanted his voice to be heard.  Why did you subtitle your play, “The Play about Henry” and not “The Play about Stuart”? Out of respect. I didn't know him personally, only in spirit. People close to Henry called him Stuart. Stuart was a man who couldn't come terms with his trial. If you read some of his writings you'll find he was an extremely intelligent man. Henry, had he lived, would have been the man to live comfortably in his skin. Three of the characters in your play (Marilyn Matis, Fred Matis, and Robert Rees) are based on real people, and you quote from their writings. Did you try to contact any of them for this project? I did. I was able to track down Robert Rees and interview him. The Matis family was impossible to get near. As I understand the media really did a number on them and they're not so willing to talk. I don't blame them. They lost a son. Some people I met along the way volunteered to get in touch with them for me including Ryan Shattuck, [former staff writer for QSL] Henry's cousin. But I was unsuccessful. I wanted to really give everyone a chance to give their side of the story. I

Ryan Shattuck 

wanted to put up the most honest story I could. Luckily both Fred and Marilyn wrote an essay in the book In Quiet Desperation, telling their side. It helped.  How did you research your topic? One of my dear friends Justin has been a huge help. He grew up in Salt Lake and has been recently excommunicated himself. As I began to research Mormonism, I decided to take a sabbatical and make Salt Lake my second home. I wanted to live with Mormons, break bread with them. I wanted to know EVERYTHING I could. I interviewed David Pruden of Evergreen and with much convincing, he allowed me to attend an Evergreen Conference. I took classes and asked many questions. I spent time with the New York City Chapter of Affirmation and interviewed them. I spoke with closeted gay Mormons who are living in fear and out and proud Mormons who have learned to balance. The process was so cathartic that I decided to write a book called Latter Gay Saints - The Mormon Church and God's Second Class Saints, detailing my experience in this journey along with the stories of others. I'm finishing it now. I liked the scene in which Henry, in his garments, teaches his lover the Mormon mechanics of praying. How was the process of writing that scene? I'm a former Catholic. There were no steps to praying. You knelt, you closed your eyes and you said your prayers. The Mormon religion is very structured and regimented. When I discovered that praying was too, I felt it needed to be addressed. That scene was a reflection from my own life. I dated a Mormon and we went through the same thing. In Affirmation we advise gay or questioning youth to talk with someone they trust about their feelings. Stuart Matis talked with a number of people about his feelings and his frustrations (parents, relatives, compassionate priesthood leaders) and he even made gay friends—yet none of these things saved him. Why do you think he killed himself? The catalyst has never revealed itself. The reasons why are one of the biggest pieces missing from this puzzle. I was not privy to the information that caused Henry to go through with his suicide. This is the only part of this play where I had to take artistic liberty. From Henry's writing, he seems extremely rational. I have never read anything written by him where he feels sorry for himself. His attitude was more, “This is who I am! And these are the circumstances!” I seriously believe he made a conscious decision in doing this—to make a point. He wanted to be an example. It is not typical suicidal behavior. Did you have a chance to see the staging of Carol Lynn Pearson’s Facing East? If so, what did you think of her play? How would you say it compares to yours? Yes. I did see it when it came through NYC. When her show opened in Salt Lake I began getting emails from people saying, “Your show's opening, congratulations!” and I'd reply, “No, it's not mine, but go see it!” Anything to get the message out to people about the epidemic that is happening among gay and lesbian Mormons. Her show was pretty incredible. It captured the raw emotion of people when all is said and done. It challenges regret. Missa Solemnis is sort of a prequel to Facing East. Missa deals with the true nature of the struggle from the source. We get to see the gay Mormon go through the motions. We can stand up and say “Wait, isn't anyone going to do anything about this?” before it's too late. Sadly, for many, it is. Are you planning to take Missa Solemnis to Salt Lake or other cities? My director, Linda S. Nelson, is a non-Mormon from Salt Lake and she is pretty dedicated to getting the show there. I am totally open to the idea of playing Salt Lake because Mormon families that are dealing with a son or daughter, a sister or brother that are gay might see this and a light might go on. That's what it's all about, isn’t it? Getting closer to the Light?  In your previous play, The Closet Contender, the protagonist is also gay, and he also kills himself at the end of the play. Are you going to write some day about a gay hero who finds ways to cope with life’s challenges and survive? I'm sure I will. But I look at Henry Stuart Matis as a survivor. He has survived in our thoughts and in his legacy. He didn't want change—he demanded it. We wouldn't be here talking right now if he wasn't.

2006 Family Night at the Capitol Monday, February 27 at 4:00 P.M. on the West  Plaza Capital Grounds PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) invites you to a peaceful rally of support for the GLBT Community and for Gay/Straight Alliances on Monday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. on the West Plaza Capital Grounds. What our legislators are doing and saying is wrong, immoral, and sending a negative message to our community. Bring friends and family. Wear t-shirts, buttons, and make banners or posters that make a statement of how you feel about the proposed bills that will affect our community and our loved ones. Include positive messages that we want them to know about our friends and family members. Together we can make a difference.  This is the last chance we have during this Legislative session to stand together and have our voices be heard. Please join us! Thanks, Geralynn Barney PFLAG Mom

2009 Gay-rights group drops boycott against Garff A California gay-rights group announced Friday it is formally ending a boycott of one of Utah's most high-profile car dealerships. Californians Against Hate had called for a boycott of Ken Garff Automotive Group's 53 dealerships in six states in retaliation for a $100,000 donation made by Garff family matriarch Katharine Garff in support of Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban, part of a total of $3.8 million donated for and against Prop 8 by Mormons... Author:    Tony Semerad The Salt Lake Tribune

Ruby Ridge

2009 The Bingo Queens Bingo » People from all walks of life get together to play for charity. BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Ruby Ridge works the crowd in the social hall at Salt Lake City's First Baptist Church in his green moss wig, dangly grape-bunch earrings and silver platform pumps. His gray beard peeks out beneath the red lipstick and rouge. Ruby, aka Donald Steward, affectionately greets longtime friends and new associates as "queers" or "lesbians" or "Greek mafia," as he introduces the more than 150 people who show up for the monthly Drag Queen Bingo. The room is awash in helium balloons, shimmering fabrics and double-entendres. Mardi Gras beads adorn many a neck as Ruby's pals in drag circle the room: Petunia Pap Smear waves a wand with gold tassels; Rusty Faucett has a rubber wig with mylar streamers; and Chevy Suburban tiptoes in red tutu and big feather headdress. "Any jewelry left behind is mine," Ruby cackles into the microphone with his slight New Zealand accent, as he calls out the numbers. "G56. G47. B2. N64." Suddenly, in the corner someone stands up and spins around, indicating a winner is near. Then it's back to the game. "E8," followed by shrieks of, "There's no E." Oops. Finally, BINGO. The winner makes his way to the stage amid catcalls and cheers to receive his prize -- assorted toys and candy from All-a-Dollar. Fiddle Faddle, Cheetos, a T-shirt and chocolates. It's a frolicking good time, minus the alcohol. All for a good cause. Surveying the crowded hall with pride, Ruby says, "It's just like Noah's Ark -- two of everything. Gays, lesbians, straights, young, old, middle-aged, teens and even babies." Even more striking, it's in a church. "A lot of gays and lesbians have been really damaged by their churches and don't want to set foot inside a church," says Steward, who has been a member of First Baptist for years. "This is like an inoculation, a dose of comfortable church involvement. Those who want more can pick it up." It started with a skit Steward, a Salt Lake City businessman, and his partner, Dick Dotson, created Drag Queen Bingo some 19 years ago as a spoof entertainment at Camp Pinecliff, a weekend retreat for AIDS patients and their families about 18 miles southeast of Coalville. The drag queen show proved to be such a hit that Steward and Dotson decided to turn it into a fundraising mechanism. For many years, the queens put on a monthly bingo event for the whole gay community and friends at the downtown Stonewall Center, but it eventually grew too large for the space. So they moved it to First Baptist at 755 S. 1300 East. Two years ago, the group split. Those remaining chose to be less raunchy and more sober, Steward said. The gay community is still a very alcohol-drinking and partying group, he says. "For those with sobriety or addiction issues, their opportunities are limited." Every third Friday, then, scores of people gather at the church to play eight rounds, some with names like Loser Bingo, Teaser Bingo and Drag in a Bag Bingo. The first game costs $5; each subsequent round is $3. Then there are the "party fouls," which are called when someone has her elbows or forearms on the table, makes a false claim or lets a cell phone ring. When a foul is called, the entire table must stand up, don a turban and carry a purse around the room, while those at other tables hold up dollar bills to be collected. "It's like a speed trap," Steward jokes. "It's just an excuse to collect tips." All told, a typical bingo evening nets about $1,500, he says. The funds go to a different charity every month. March's event will raise money for an Ethiopian family with three kids. A big tent Sitting at the round table in the front is the Rev. David Henry, First Baptist's interim pastor. This is his first bingo night, and he is clearly enjoying himself. The event fits within everything Henry has worked to accomplish at his longtime church, Wasatch Presbyterian in Salt Lake City, and at his new, temporary abode. First Baptist is a mainstream American Baptist church that sings the old hymns, prays for its members in the military and supports service missions all over the world. It is one of the oldest churches in the valley, with members ranging from young children to families to seniors. It also has a completely integrated and active gay demographic, stretching back almost 20 years. "Ours is an open and encouraging congregation," Henry says, before slipping out the back door, wearing a giant lipstick imprint on his forehead. "This all comes together organically. For two hours a month, this historically conservative church gets a makeover. I see that as healthy." About a quarter of the participants are members at First Baptist; others come from Holladay United Church of Christ, South Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and Salt Lake Metropolitan Community Church, a traditionally gay and lesbian Christian faith. Many of this night's attendees also help out at Pinecliff. Marian Stephen, who describes herself as "hopelessly straight," served as camp chaplain for the first time last September. "This was the most magnificent group of men and women I have ever seen," says Stephen, who brought along her husband of 47 ½ years. " My message to them was that 'God loves you just as you are.' "  Even a Mormon grandmother got into the act, so to speak. "I have been working as a nurse at Pinecliff since it opened 19 years ago," Melanie Bosworth says. "I have brought my whole family, including my daughter, who is now over 30 with two kids, and my mother, who is 80. We've developed some neat friendships." Bosworth is a Relief Society president in the Coalville LDS stake and is well aware of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' positions on homosexuality and gay sex, but finds no contradiction with her support of the queens. "It's not my responsibility to judge," she says. "I am here to love everyone and treat everyone kindly."Author:    Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake Tribune

2014 Utah Pride Center names new executive director, announces mental health clinic.

Steven Ha

February 27, 2014Utah Pride Center leaders chose to extend a one-year contract to Steven Ha, who was named the interim director earlier this year. “This feels like a homecoming to me,” said Steven Ha, “and I am dedicated to collaborating with stakeholders, professionals, and the LGBTQ community to shape a stronger and healthier Utah.” Ha, who will leave his position as treasurer of the Utah Pride Center board of directors, accepted the position at the board meeting held Monday night. Ha helped launch the Utah Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and served as its first vice chair. He also was Director of Family Services at the Asian Association of Utah and serves on the governor’s Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs Commission. Ha was asked by the family of David Phan, the 14-year-old who committed suicide at Bennion Jr. high in Taylorsville in December of 2012, to introduce them to gay community leaders in the hope of assembling a group to address issues faced by gay-ethnic youth. Shortly after, Ha was asked to join the Center’s board of directors and was elected in 2013 and elected treasurer of the organization in December, 2013. “While Steven has been acting as interim executive director these past three months, we have seen his strong leadership skills. We are very happy with the direction Steven has taken and the plans he is putting in place to make the Pride Center stronger while serving the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community,” said UPC Board Chair John Netto, “We are looking forward to the vision, work ethic, and experience he brings to the Center.” With a background in social work, Ha believes the Center should focus more on the mental health well-being of the community. He proposed a Wellness Behavior Health Clinic at the Monday board meeting, for which he has already asked $80,000 in start-up funds from the Bastian Foundation. The clinic will hire therapists to help community members in four areas: general psychological services, therapeutic specialized services, substance abuse and recovery and a 24-hour hotline for referrals. Ha has gotten the Center recognized by the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System and, therefore, they can receive Medicare and Medicaid payments as well as individual insurance and HHS FLEX payments.Community members can also receive treatment on a sliding scale fee, similar to that used by Salt Lake County. Ha hopes to have an open house for the clinic in 45 days.

2019 The February Public Oratory of the Utah Queer Historical Society featured Kevin

Hillman Thanks to all who attended tonight's Oratory series with guest speaker Kevin Clair Hillman. We had a good turn out of 35 people or more who came to hear Kevin share anecdote of his involvement in the LGBT community since 1982. I know I learned a lot about the back story of Pride Day at Murray Park when he was a co chair. Also it was interesting to hear the rich history of the Gay Rodeo in Utah. Ben Williams Journal Excerpts “Tonight is our 2nd Utah Queer Historical Society Oratory with Kevin Clair Hillman speaking. He is always an interesting speaker. I finished making 24 dark chocolate cookies and 24 Sandy Pecan cookies for the meeting. So my duty is done. I posted on Face Book ‘Kevin Clair Hillman is scheduled to speak and we will be meeting at 6:30 downstairs in the Pride Center. As they now require people entering the Pride Center to sign at the front reception area you might want to come a little bit before that. See you there. The Utah Pride Center also has a new exhibit of past Kristen Ries Community Service Award recipients. It’s located on the stairs leading to the second floor. We need to thank and support the center for believing that preserving our history is important. I would also like to thank Rich Kane who video records these events. Last months talk by Luci Malin should be available soon on the Pride Center's site. ” I fronted $30 again for Rich Kane’s service to video tape the talk. Courtney Moser wrote “Tonight I attended the Utah Queer Historical Society Oratory at the Utah Pride Center. I was so moved and honored to see that both Kelly and my photos are on the wall with the other Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award recipients. Thank you Benedgar Williams for putting this together and Pride Center staff for its dignified execution.”