This Day in Gay Utah History February 18th

18 February 

1564-Renaissance Artist Michelangelo died. It is impossible to know for certain whether Michelangelo had physical relationships (Condivi ascribed to him a "monk-like chastity"), but the nature of his sexuality is made apparent in his poetry. He wrote over three hundred sonnets and madrigals. The longest sequence displaying a great romantic friendship, was written to Tommaso dei Cavalieri (c. 1509–1587), who was 23 years old when Michelangelo met him in 1532, at the age of 57. These make up the first large sequence of poems in any modern tongue addressed by one man to another; they predate by fifty years Shakespeare's sonnets to the fair youth: “I feel as lit by fire a cold countenance-That burns me from afar and keeps itself ice-chill; A strength I feel two shapely arms to fill-Which without motion moves every balance.” Cavalieri replied: "I swear to return your love. Never have I loved a man more than I love you, never have I wished for a friendship more than I wish for yours." Cavalieri remained devoted to Michelangelo until his death.  In 1542, Michelangelo met Cecchino dei Bracci who died only a year later, inspiring Michelangelo to write forty-eight funeral epigrams. Some of the objects of Michelangelo's affections, and subjects of his poetry, took advantage of him: the model Febo di Poggio asked for money in response to a love-poem, and a second model, Gherardo Perini, stole from him shamelessly. The openly homoerotic nature of the poems has been a source of discomfort to later generations. Michelangelo's grandnephew, Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, published the poems in 1623 with the gender of pronouns changed, and it was not until John Addington Symonds translated them into English in 1893 that the original genders were restored. Even in modern times some  heterosexual scholars continue to insist that, despite the restoration of the pronouns, they represent "an emotionless and elegant re-imagining of Platonic dialogue, whereby erotic poetry was seen as an expression of refined sensibilities". 

1876 Sodomy or the Crime against Nature became illegal in Utah Territory.  It was then indirectly defined as heterosexual and homosexual anal intercourse. As a felony it was punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years.

1897 An all-male house of prostitution is raided in Eureka, Utah. The owner and three prostitutes are arrested.

1903 Ogden Utah The case of the state vs J F Harrington charged with committing a heinous crime against nature was heard before Judge Rolapp and a jury this morning. Young Peterson, the victim of the crime, was in such a deplorable condition that he had to be brought into the court on a stretcher.  At 11:30 the jury filed into court with the verdict which was guilty as charged in the complaint. Deseret News

1910 Dr T B Beatty secretary of the state board of health has pronounced views on the wisdom of the passage of one of the proposed measures by the next legislature and stated that he would go before the members of the next state law making body and urge the passage of such a bill. “It is high time,” said Dr Beatty, “that the states of the union took some action to prevent reproduction by habitual criminals and to prevent repetition of such heinous crimes a Incest sodomy and rape by men once convicted of such crimes.” The Ogden standard. (Ogden City, Utah)

1930 Comedian Carries On Though Mother Dies Des Moines IA Feb 18 The dazzling white electric lights of an actors dressing room picked out each line in the haggard face of Francis Renault as he daubed at his make-up and fought to keep back the tears that would ruin his costume. A few minutes before Renault had put in a long distance telephone call to New York City where his mother had suddenly taken ill but whose condition was not suppose to be serious. "Let me speak to room 216" he had said. "Your mother died just a moment ago," came the response. So Renault- female impersonator extraordinary- dragged himself to the dressing room with the heaviest burden his heart had ever carried and went before a crowded house to bring laughter that echoed among the balconies. “Ogden’s Amusement World” Ogden Standard Examiner  

1937-Heinrich Himmler issued a decree that anyone in the SS who was found to be homosexual be publicly degraded and sent to a concentration camp, where they would be shot while trying to escape. It stated that there were 8-10 cases of homosexuality per year in the SS.

1978- Women Aware held a Women's Disco Dance at the Unitarian Church 13th East SLC UT

1982-Austin Texas became the 17th US city to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing.

1986 State Senator Jack Bangerter (R-Bountiful) introduced bill in Utah Legislature to make it a 3rd degree felony to knowingly transmit a communicable disease.. Bill was killed in Senate 10-14. Bangerter suggested that people with AIDS be painted red and quarantined on Antelope Island.

1989 Saturday- A benefit was held at Back Street for the Names Project. Michael Anderson and I went to the Crossroads Urban Center to meet people from Unconditional Support. But only Derek Streeter showed. So we caught a ride from him. At Back Street the benefit raised $2500 for the AIDS Quilt. That was wonderful. Darryl Webber took me home. [1988 Journal of Ben Williams]

1989 Saturday, WEST-SIDE RESIDENTS WANT CLEANER RIVER  Several Salt Lake residents who live near the Jordan River told park and water officials Thursday their west-side neighborhoods are ignored and demanded that the river be cleaned. But the residents were told they are the ones who must take the initiative by organizing clean-up projects and lobbying elected officials for funds. "We can't keep up with all the junk that's thrown in the river. There's no way. That's what the people who live along the river have to do," said Bard Ferrin, Jordan State Park superintendent.  Ferrin said that between June and September, three employees spend a half day each week cleaning debris from the river. Until 1982, 20 employees worked on cleaning the river, but lack of funding has cut back upkeep and developments. Residents complained that their area is particularly ignored and asked for their "fair share" of a clean river. "Why it is the west-side neighborhoods always have the garbage?" said Michael Ortega, community organizer of the Salt Lake Citizens Congress. "You go north and you go south and it's much cleaner." But Ferrin denied that more effort is spent cleaning one area over another. "It's exactly the same care," he said. Steve Jensen, water quality planning coordinator of the Salt Lake City/County Health Department, told the gathering of about 50 residents that while the river is not safe for swimming, it is safe for fish and other aquatic life. "We still have a bacteria problem on the lower part of the river, though. We don't know why," he said, adding that storm drains and illegal dumping are causing some of those problems. [Michael Ortega, a Gay man, was director of Cross Road Urban Center in mid-80’s]

1989 A benefit was held at Back Street for the Names Project which raised $2500 for the AIDS Quilt.

1992 Utah’s Gay and Lesbian Youth Group’s “Cutting Through the Silence” poetry reading presented at Utah Stonewall Center, SLC UT

1999 Lesbian Utah Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, former state gay and lesbian Anti-Violence Project director Laura Milliken Gray, and gay state Democratic leader David Nelson discussed "Gay and Lesbian Rights" at a Coffee and Politics program of the University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics at 251 Orson Spencer Hall.

2000-gfn.com became the first Gay-specific company to place a national ad in the Wall Street Journal.

2003 Measure aims to beef up hate-crime laws By Jennifer Dobner Deseret News staff writer Published: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 HB85 has a message for Utah criminals motivated by hate: This is not the place. Sponsored by Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, the bill seeks to amend existing hate-crime law to provide stiffer sentences for those whose crimes are motivated by bias or prejudice. The bill directs the courts to increase the penalty for the crime one step — for example, from a class B misdemeanor to a class A, or from a second- to a first-degree felony. "This is about accountability for those who commit crimes solely out of hatred," Litvack said at a Monday press conference. Utah has its fair share of these crimes, Litvack said. Statistically, as many as 120 have been reported in a single year. But current statutes have been called too vague and difficult to enforce by police and prosecutors. HB85 would not trample a person's constitutional right to think what they want but would give police and prosecutors a tool to use when they act on those thoughts against another person or group of people.  Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said hate crimes have a far greater impact than most people realize. "When someone commits a hate crime, that crime is against everybody . . . everybody of that race, everybody of that religion, everybody of that gender," Shurtleff said Monday. Under HB85, prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the race, color, disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, age or gender of the victim was a motivating factor in the crime. Litvack has the support of the Catholic Diocese and other religious groups, as well as gay and lesbian groups and Hispanic activists. This will be the sixth run at getting a beefed-up hate crimes bill into Utah law. Litvack has twice carried versions of the bill, and the now-deceased Sen. Pete Suazo tried and failed three times before his death in an ATV accident in August 2001. His wife, Alicia, who completed her husband's term, also attempted the bill. The historical argument against hate-crimes legislation has been that it seeks to create a protected class of people. Legislators have not wanted to do that. However, even versions of the bill that did not include specific group definitions were not passed. Litvack argues, however, that the bill does not create any legal status or rights that don't already exist in law. Some have said that including sexual orientation in the bill has hampered its progress because the mostly Republican and Mormon Legislature does not endorse or support homosexuality. But bill co-sponsor Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, says HB85 is not about promoting a homosexual political agenda but is about fairness and equal protections for everyone.

2004 USU heterosexuals held a mock wedding to protest Gay marriage. A crowd of about 25 dissenters stood near the table and jeered at supporters of traditional marriage, shouting "Cake for segregation!" "Hate speech!" and "Students for zombie thinking!"

2005 The fundraising chair of the UGRA would like to invite you to the Paper Moon on February 18th for a very different and new kind of fund raiser for the UGRA.   Shaun Dee is a group hypnotist who puts on a very funny, very entertaining show.  He has generously donated his time and talents to put on a show for the UGRA and Salt City Kings.  There is a buffet hosted by the UGRA Board of Directors prior to the show.  The buffet starts at 6:00 with the show starting promptly at 7:00.  We'd love to see you all down  there and please bring some friends.

2005 Gay-free texts a dilemma for school district Nebo: Homosexuality is a taboo topic; virtually all psychology texts now cover it to some degree By Mark Eddington The Salt Lake Tribune: 2/18/2005 The topic of homosexuality is taboo in the Nebo School District. So the school district in southern Utah County is having trouble finding a replacement for outmoded psychology textbooks at its three high schools. Priscilla Leek, a Springville High School psychology teacher who sits on a district committee that reviews teaching materials, says the world has changed in the seven years since the district last chose a psychology textbook. "Most publishers have now included small amounts - a paragraph or couple of pages - in texts about homosexuality," Leek said. "I don't teach homosexuality. But if it appears in a textbook, there's nothing I can do to keep students from reading it." Despite their difficulty in finding new basic-level psychology schoolbooks, Nebo school board members told Leek and others this week to keep on looking. State law bans teachers or texts from advocating homosexuality, but Nebo District's policy is more restrictive. "Our policy is that it will not be taught unless it is teaching the negative consequences thereof," said Nedra Call, Nebo's director of curriculum. "Our teachers would rather not get into teaching about it because it is a very sensitive issue." Except for the psychology books used by advanced placement students at Nebo's high schools, district officials are unaware of any book that mentions homosexuality. District leaders, however, note parents must give written permission before their students enroll in AP psychology classes at Springville, Spanish Fork and Payson high schools. In replacing the texts for general psychology classes, Nebo board members want to steer clear of the subject altogether. Leek says that might prove impossible, but says students' educational experience will not be adversely impacted if they are forced to do without a book. "I can find current research material, selected readings and we have the Internet," Leek said. "I mean we're not living in a cave." School board member Randy Boothe does not see teaching sans texts as an option. If gay-free texts cannot be found, he favors requiring students to get parental permission to take the course. Even then, he added, teachers probably would teach around the topic. "They would just skip that chapter," Boothe said. Gay-rights activist Chris Johnson of Salt Lake City is appalled by the efforts to avoid the subject of homosexuality. "To ignore something does not make it go away," said Johnson, whose 12-year-old daughter is an honors student enrolled in high school-level courses. "There are students [in the Nebo District] who will grow up to be gay. To not give them any exposure or education on homosexuality is unfortunate and only contributes to the difficulty gay people have in our society." Valerie Larabee, executive director of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah in Salt Lake City, agrees. "It's very possible for educators to be committed to a good education and also believe in having a frank and respectful discussion of gay and lesbian issues," she said. " 'Education about' does not mean 'advocating for.' " Brett Moulding, curriculum director of the state Office of Education, said Nebo is within its rights to have a tougher standard than the state on instruction about homosexuality. "They know their community better than the state office," he said. A sampling of several other Utah school districts shows Nebo's rules are not the norm. Teachers in Alpine School District in Utah County, the state's fourth-largest, employ a more lenient standard. "We don't exclude the mention of homosexuality," said Sam Jarman, Alpine District administrator over high schools and adult education. Nor does Alpine require teachers to talk about the "negative consequences" of being gay if the topic is raised. Neither do the Provo and Salt Lake City school districts. "Our policy is that if any material might be sensitive or offensive, a reading list of books is put together for parents to read and opt out [of enrolling their students] if they want to," Salt Lake City District spokesman Jason Olsen said. Based on her understanding of Nebo's standard, Leek is leery about discussing gays or lesbians. "If I have a student who asks a question, I'm allowed to give an honest and correct answer. Then I'm supposed to close the discussion. But I am not to bring up the information. We don't discuss it."

2005 Friday Subject: [slmetro_staff] Utah's Best of 2005 Awards Ceremony Dear friends, You may have seen the latest edition of Salt Lake Metro on stands now, announcing the winners of our readers’ choice “Utah’s Best of 2005” contest. We were excited by the overwhelming level of reader interest in identifying the best restaurants, places, businesses, organizations, and individuals in the state. If you haven’t seen the issue yet, you can read about it at www.slmetro.com. Check it out, you just might have made the list! We’d like to invite the community to come out and recognize these amazing award winners. On Saturday, March 5 at 7pm, in the Black Box at The Center (235 N 300 W, SLC), we will be holding an awards ceremony for all those names our readers have chosen to honor. A $5 donation at the door will benefit The Center. Whether you are an award winner, or just want to mingle with Utah’s Best, all are welcome to attend.

2006 Saturday Panel Oks bill on gay clubs School issue: The House version is not as strong as the Senate’s and sponsors will need to negotiate By Matt Canham The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune A House committee approved a toned-down version of a bill targeting gay support clubs in high schools Friday on an 8-4 party line vote. This bill wasn’t the one offered by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, who returned to the Capitol on Friday after an illness. His proposal will go before a Senate committee Monday. Rep. Aaron Tilton’s HB393 is similar, though it now includes amendments that would attempt to rid the bill of possible constitutional challenges. That doesn’t mean the bill has escaped controversy. Tilton, a Springville Republican, said the bill wouldn’t prohibit Gay-Straight Alliances, just place restrictions on how they operate. But members and supporters of Utah’s 14 active Gay-Straight Alliances say the bill still threatens their clubs and the students who participate. “These students are concerned that the end of their club would be the end of a safe place and the beginning of finding a place to hide,” said Chris Johnson, a parent of a straight West High School student who is an alliance member. HB393 requires a student to obtain written parental permission before joining any school-sanctioned club. Those clubs cannot “encourage criminal or delinquent content,” “promote bigotry,” or “involve human sexuality.” At the request of Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Tilton offered amendments changing the definition of the phrase “involve human sexuality.” The original version would have prohibited students from identifying their sexual orientation or disclosing their opinions about sexual preference. Shurtleff was concerned that these provisions violated the federal Equal Access Act. The amended version would restrict students from advocating premarital sex, discussing the use of contraceptives or exceeding legally accepted sexual education standards, which Shurtleff said simply reinforces current law. It was unclear if the amendments would allow the clubs to keep their names. Shurtleff is happy with the revisions but not completely satisfied with the bill. HB393 would require the state to handle any lawsuit filed against school districts involving the acceptance or denial of any school club. Tilton said this was necessary because school districts have felt coerced by legal threats into accepting clubs they would have rather rejected. Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka testified about Provo High’s new Gay-Straight Alliance and how the law would have given the school board a way to combat a community-opposed club. But the bill is opposed by the Utah School Boards and Utah School Superintendents associations, as an “unnecessary encroachment” into public schools. Daniel Holsinger, a University of Utah medical student, said he was most concerned about the parental consent forms. He worries that some students would feel compelled to tell their parents they are homosexual before they are ready to emotionally handle the backlash. Otherwise, the students could not participate in club meetings. “That bill is a social disaster,” Holsinger said, which could result in an isolating environment leading to more teen suicide. Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, felt it was important for parents to know what clubs their teenagers join. He hoped that the Gay-Straight Alliances, which participants said regularly discuss diversity, discrimination and safety, would broaden their focus to encompass more students. He also hopes they would drop “the lightning-rod name.” Tilton said he will work with Buttars on which version they would jointly push. Buttars has said he is against Gay-Straight Alliances because they are “conditioning clubs” meant to create sympathizers to a social group that goes against his morals. mcanham@sltrib.com

2006 From LDS missionary to gay escort to the New York stage R e v I e w Steven Fales’ struggles to find himself make for powerful theater in ‘Mormon Boy’ By Justin Bergman The Associated Press Salt Lake Tribune NEW YORK – Steven Fales has lived two lives. He was brought up Mormon in Utah and taught to obey the church, find a good woman and live an upright life. After he was excommunicated for being gay, Fales became an escort in New York City. A true story, Fales’ life is the stuff of great theater. Fortunately, the former Mormon boy with the penchant for singing Donny and Marie Osmond songs also has an easy and refined stage presence, making his tale all the more riveting to watch in his solo off-Broadway show, ‘’Confessions of a Mormon Boy,’’ playing at the Soho Theatre. The show, written and created by Fales, was a breakout hit at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and toured the country, including a three-performance stop in Salt Lake City. Fales begins his story with an introduction – ‘’I’m a gay Mormon, which I think makes me an oxy-Mormon’’ – and a wide, earnest smile that suggests an adolescence of innocence in Utah, the heart of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although Fales knows something is different about him, he faithfully follows the Mormon life set before him, going on a two-year mission to Portugal, attending Brigham Young University, finding a wife and having children. As he begins questioning his sexuality, he meets with a parade of counselors who all profess to know how to ‘’cure’’ him of his affliction of ‘’same-sex attraction,’’ or SSA. Eventually, Fales’ experimentation leads him to being excommunicated from the church, which causes his good Mormon life to unravel. He leaves his wife and goes to New York, where he becomes a gay escort – seemingly in an attempt to make up for lost time. Not lost, however, is Fales’ strict, moral upbringing, which rears itself in a surprising way and makes him question and ultimately reject certain aspects of his new life. Frankly, Fales’ story would not be as interesting or even novel without the remarkable transformation he undergoes from Utah husband and father to New York City prostitute. Billing himself as a 24-year- old with Mormon manners and a Donny Osmond smile, Fales becomes quite successful on the New York escort scene and succumbs to the trappings of the stereotypical urban gay male life: drugs, random hookups and eventual self-loathing. It’s at this point when the audience begins to lose its sympathy for the confused, suppressed Mormon boy and starts to wonder how someone who professes to love his children so much could live such a self-destructive and self-obsessed lifestyle. It’s a strangely intriguing dichotomy that Fales expertly brings to the stage; in a sense, he is reliving his own Madonna-whore complex. Even though he appears to reach an epiphany about his life, clearly questions remain. Does he still blame others for his calamitous downfall? Did he really give up escorting for his children, or was it because he was simply too old? Does Fales finally have a sense of who he is, or does the struggle continue? The lingering sense of an unresolved story gives the play a depth that it may not appear to have at the outset. Fales has a buoyant personality that easily engages an audience, and director Jack Hofsiss keeps the pacing brisk and the staging lively. Were it not for Fales’ decision to divulge all the sordid details of his past in such a painfully honest way, though, the show may not have worked as well.

2006 The Utah AIDS Foundation invites you to join them in supporting:QUACQueer Utah Aquatic Club  Where:  Gallivan Plaza Ice Skating Ring(~220 S. State St)  When:  This Saturday, February 18th 2006 Time:     2:15 – 4:15 pmWho:    All those that want to support an amazing club: QUAC  All those who want to see the Quacapades skating on ice  All those who would like some free world famous Chili  All those who want to experience their own Serendipitymoment on ice    All those that want to meet local and out of State BOYSWhy:    This will be a fundraising event for Queer Utah Aquatic ClubCost:    $12 to Skate  ---- Food is Free                                     For more  information…..Call Simon Pugh at UAF 801-487-2323

2009 SLC police investigating weekend burglary at Utah Pride Center Police are investigating a weekend break-in at the Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City. On Friday night, someone burglarized an administrative office at the center near 400 North and 300 West. Center spokesman Doug Jennings said the burglar or burglars "mangled the door" and got away with $2,000 worth of "items," but he refused to specify what was stolen. Salt Lake City Sgt. Robin Snyder said it appears only one person was involved... Author:    Steve Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune

2009 All gay-rights bills fall short, but neither side is giving up Common Ground has been buried for now. But gay-rights advocates vow their campaign will spring back next year and the year after that -- if that's what it takes. Trouble for them is, opponents are pledging the same thing. "They keep coming back," said conservative Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka. "And we keep coming back to oppose them." On Wednesday, the Legislature dealt its final blow to this years effort...Author:    Rosemary Winters The Salt Lake Tribune

2013  18 February 2013 SL CITY Weekly Gay Ol' Utah Being LGBT in a red state Doesn't Have to Give you the Blues by Babs De Lay  If you are an LGBT person moving to Utah or have just arrived, do not panic. Breathe—deeper. Sit down, have a latte and read. Utah is both one of the best and worst places to be an LGBT person in America. People have told me that Salt Lake City has more gays per capita than any other city in the country. It is indeed a red state, but if you live in the capital city proper, you are in a lovely blue dot of liberals, “gayborhoods,” Democrats and Jews. The mayors of Salt Lake City in the past several decades have been Democrats.  Most people say Salt Lake City proper extends from the airport up to the University of Utah and south to about 2100 South. Anywhere else is actually the county or other towns within this 800-square-mile mountain-surrounded ancient lakebed known to some as the Great Western Jell-O Bowl.   wasn’t born here, but was sent here to “reform.” I went to a boarding school in central Utah, far away from home. I stayed in Utah to go to college and came out of the closet in my freshman year. I was actually shoved out in the 1970s and was raised by drag queens in gay bars, where I eventually ended up being a DJ.  KINGS, QUEENS & GAY BARS The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire was established in 1976 (back when RuPaul was working through puberty at Gompers Junior High School in San Diego). I was the first grand duke of the organization and was publishing Utah’s first gay newspaper, The Salt Lick.  The drag-queen tradition lives on to this day. If you care to compete for crowns or just love a tucked and freshly plucked Judy Garland impersonator, the Coronation of the Emperor & Empress is held every Memorial Day weekend by the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire. There are Cyber Slut drag bingo parties, too, held the second Friday of every month, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Fraternal Order of Eagles (1104 W. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, 801-972-1595, UtahCyberSluts.org). Utah claimed what is said to be the oldest gay bar west of the Mississippi from 1948 to 2009: The Radio City Lounge. Known as the RC, the bar opened right after the end of World War II and was the place for soldiers and, later, Leathermen to go see a drag show and meet up with other guys. It wasn’t a men-only bar, though. Rose [Carrier] was a bartender there for decades, and even I won a drag show there myself as the first “drag king” to perform there. In the 1970s, we had a women’s bar named Perky’s, located under what is now the new North Temple overpass. It was torn down 30 years ago, after Perky retired to Idaho. The Sun Tavern originally stood on the northwest corner of what is now EnergySolutions Arena. After the building was demolished, it moved to 200 South and 600 West before a freak tornado blew it down in 1999. Religious zealots said it was God’s way of punishing the sinners who frequented that “homo-sexshul” establishment, although the windows in front of the Christus statue on Temple Square were also cracked. Salt Lake City remains “blessed” with many gay bars. We still have a women’s bar in Paper Moon (3737 S. State, Salt Lake City). Most big cities can only claim they have a “gay women’s night” at a men’s club.  There’s also The Trapp (102 S. 600 West, Salt Lake City, 801-531-8727, TheTrappSLC.com, where the old Sun Tavern blew to), Jam (751 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City, JamSLC.com), Try-Angles (251 W. 900 South, Salt Lake City, 801-364-3203, ClubTry-Angles.com) and many other liberal, nongay, blended-orientation clubs. I’ve never been in a Utah gay bar and felt like it was “men-only” or “women-only.” We were such a closeted minority here for so many years that we all stuck together and supported one another. That’s what makes Utah different to me—no exclusivity among my peoples. I don’t know of any exclusively gay bars anywhere else in the state, but I know that Ogden, Moab and Springdale have very gay friendly bars/gastropubs. (Provo, um, maybe not so much.) TAKE PART IN PRIDE If you’re not a bar person, get to know the LGBT community by hanging out at Café Marmalade, in the same building as the Pride Center (361 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City, 801-539-8800, UtahPrideCenter.com), which has groups, classes and events. It also now has a fully funded Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders program for senior gays. Best of all, the Pride Center puts on the main Gay Pride festivities for the state and organizes one hell of a big parade every year, held on the first Sunday in June in downtown Salt Lake City. What started out as a beer bash by a bunch of us in 1977 [1974] now has a Dyke/Trans March, a 5K charity run and more than 50,000 people standing on the streets watching “the gays” march and sashay in the heart of downtown’s parade route that ends at the Salt Lake City-County Building. The rainbow flag flies above the whole town that week—put up by order of the mayor.  Pride grand marshals have included Roseanne Barr (she grew up Jewish in Utah) and Utah’s first openly gay state legislator, Jackie Biskupski. Past themes I remember are: “Equal Rights. No More. No Less,” “Pride, Not Prejudice” and “Our History, Our Future.”  Tens of thousands straight and LGBT folks enjoy the festivities together each year. And 2012 saw, for the first time, a group of about 300 straight Mormon men and women march in the Pride Parade, calling themselves Mormons Building Bridges and waving signs with messages like “Mormons love you.” That brave group brought a tear to many a Mormon and non-Mormon eye. There are gay pride days in Moab, too, and Las Vegas is only a six-hour drive south if you really need to get your big gay party on. Besides the bars and the Pride Center, there are plenty of churches across the state, like the Unitarians, that will welcome LGBT folks without judgment. GET ORGANIZED For kids in high school or those attending college, there’s likely an LGBT club already established in your school. If not—start one! The Pink Dot phenomenon is growing. More and more Utah city governments are passing antidiscrimination housing and employment ordinances that protect the rights of LGBT people. In my day, it was OK to fire someone or throw them out of their apartment for being gay. Now, times have changed, and we’ll all have our eyes focused on the U.S. Supreme Court this coming spring to see what they will do with the Defense of Marriage Act, Prop 8 and the other LGBT cases before them. Like politics? Get into a WTF/LOL text war with your friends back home about The Advocate, which named Salt Lake City as the Gayest City in America in 2012. The LDS Church just put up the website MormonsAndGays.org in December 2012.They are trying, bless their little hearts. Really, they are attempting to be “Christ-like” in their own special way. If you are gay and a Mormon, there are support groups and meetings for you. Sadly, gays can’t adopt children as couples or legally get married in Utah. Most kid-hungry homos who can’t birth babies get around the laws and establish a residency in another state to adopt, then move back to Zion with a small human(s) in hand. We’ve got great LGBT attorneys and estate planners to help you get your kid on and plan your family right. I’m a real-estate broker and have used the word “gayborhood” for 30 years. So, where do gays live? Anywhere and everywhere. My opinion is that there are more LGBT people in the Marmalade/Capitol Hill area, downtown, the Avenues, the university neighborhoods, 9th & 9th and Sugar House than in the ’burbs. Yet, the town of Torrey, outside of Capitol Reef National Park, appears to be well on its way to becoming a haven for gay retirees and is the place for the lesbian-oriented Women’s Red Rock Music Festival each August. There’s also a national Gay Ski Week, Feb. 21-24, in Park City, the month after the Sundance Film Festival. I was in charge of transportation and housing for Sundance for years, and I can say it is 10 days of the best “celesbian” watching you can find—mucho man fur, too. There you go. You can breathe now—you’ve got places to visit, dates to remember and a lot of folks wanting you to join the good fight for our rights in Zion! 

2014  I would like to nominate the organization “Restore Our Humanity” for the 2014 Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award. It has been a long time since we awarded a group, but this group deserves the recognition. I don’t know all of the names of the Board of Directors of ROH, but those I do know are all long time community volunteers. Restore Our Humanity took on the horrible Amendment 3, a law in Utah that severely limits the rights of all LGBTQ individuals. Early in 2013, Mark Lawrence the director of “Restore Our Humanity”, approached members of our community and presented the idea of suing the State of Utah to overturn this terrible addition to our State Constitution. Mark received a lot of negative feedback and was told by many that it was impossible. I told him I didn’t have time, but go ahead and give it a try. I was not very helpful. Some courageous community members did join Mark and now we have seen Marriage Equality in Utah, for 17 day we experienced joy and real hope. Over 1300 Utah couples now have United States Federal Marriage Rights!  Most predictions state that because of the work of ROH, we will have full Marriage Equality in all states by summer of 2015. Can you believe this?  Because of their courage, we will see full equality in our lifetimes for all minorities. In the future, people will look back to Utah, the 18th state to bring Marriage Equality to LGBTQ people and they will say “That was the turning point”. LGBTQ will be able to join with all minorities and work to bring real freedoms to all people. Imagine, not worrying that your friend could be fired from their job, based on color of their skin, imagined legality of their citizenship status, the clothing they wear to express their real identities and the photos they show in their work station to express their families. Becky Moss 

 2018  The Club Jam is closed and up for sale. With its closure the remaining Gay Bars in

Salt Lake City are Club Tryangles and the Sun Trapp. There are no more remaining Lesbian Bars.