25 February 25-
1892 Salt Lake News James Conley is accused of having made an
indecent exposure of his person and will have the opportunity to explain
himself tomorrow. The Standard Ogden Utah
1950 The problem of control and
punishment of sex offenders in Utah does not call for new
legislation but for
better administration of existing laws. Dr. Arthur L. Beely told Utah Committee
of Children and Youth, Friday, at the capitol.
The committee was named by Gov. J. Bracken Lee and asked to study the
problem of controlling sex offenders. (SLTribune 02/25/50 page 13 col.6)
 |
| J Bracken Lee |
1975, in State v. Atkinson, the Utah Supreme Court
refused to reduce the sentence of a man sentenced to 1-15 years in prison for
sodomy with a minor. The curious aspect of this case is that Atkinson had been
sentenced in 1974, allegedly under a felony sodomy law. However, in 1969, the
penalty had been reduced to a misdemeanor (q.v.) and the trial judge and the
Court of Appeals were both apparently unaware of that fact. The trial court
decided on its own that force had been used by Atkinson in his sexual act, and
sentenced him to 1-15 years. The Utah Supreme Court noted that the 1-15 year
sentence was less than the 3-20 years he could have gotten under the old law.
"Inasmuch as the defendant actually has a lesser sentence than would have
been warranted under the law, we do not see wherein he has any just cause for
complaint." Atkinson then went into federal court. In
1978, in Atkinson v. Smith, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously
directed that he have his sentence reduced, pointing out that there was no
evidence of the use of force by Atkinson. The per curiam decision tersely
stated that it was axiomatic that due process does not permit one to be tried,
convicted or sentenced for a crime with which he has not been charged or about
which he has not been properly notified. The federal court maintained the error
about the applicable law, also overlooking the 1969 misdemeanor statute.
1977 Utah Daily Chronicle pg. 4 GAYS ARE PEOPLE
As much as society and its institutions seem intent on fighting it, there is
still only one conclusion ultimately possible about homosexuals-they are human
beings with the same basic needs, desires, emotions, and wants as anyone else.
No better no worse. But there are those refuse to see that . The MCC of Salt
lake recently applied to use the capitol Rotunda for a dance. Renting the
rotunda for social events is a common practice among churches, fraternal
organizations, etc. Originally the church was granted permission. Then a few days later Lt. Gov. David Monson
reversed the decision and told the church that “because of the nature of their
organization,” they would not be allowed to rent the facility. Why? Because the
MCC openly admits that many of its members are Gay. So what? Gay or not, the
members of the church pays taxes to support the up keep of state offices like
the Capitol building. And if other churches comprised of tax paying citizens
are allowed to rent the capitol rotunda for a dance, why shouldn’t the MCC be
accorded the same privilege? In recent statements, Lt. Gov., Monson has said
that in denying the church’s application he was fulfilling an “obligation to
see that public buildings are used for purposes that meet the approval of the
majority of the community.” We are to actually believe that a dance in the
capitol rotunda sponsored by a Protestant
Church is actually going
to offend the community? Monson admitted that his actions were discriminatory
but also benevolently offered to reconsider if the group can “demonstrate it is
not a homosexual organization.” What would Monson have them do? Take lie
detector tests? Perform a heterosexual sex before being admitted to the
dance? Such a suggestion is symptomatic
of his lack of understanding of the situation. Monson’s actions and attitudes
are an ugly reminder of the social stigma that are all too common place in our
society. We seem intent on forever
keeping certain social minorities in their oppressed positions as 2nd class
citizens. When public officials openly
endorse and enforce discrimination, the hope of it ever being eliminated
becomes frightenly dim. We hope that the MCC has the resources to win a legal
battle over the state’s discriminatory practices. The location of the dance is a minor matter.
The oppression of people is not.
1982-Wisconsin became the first state to pass a state wide Gay
civil rights law. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Lee S. Dreyfus ( R).
1983-Gay Playwright Tennessee Williams died in New York City at age 71. By the late
1930s Williams had finally accepted his homosexuality. In New York City he joined a gay social circle.
1988-I had to be out to Salt Lake Community College to be
on a panel for John Reeve’s Sociology class. The class wanted to speak to a
panel of homosexuals and on the panel were Curtis Jensen, Chris Brown, and Joe
Dewey all from LGSU and myself.. I think we performed well and John Reeves was
pleased. I hope we destroyed some
stereotypes.
1991 Monday In the evening I went
to LGSU and David Sharpton was at the meeting. It was good to see him up and
about but he's so frail looking compared to what he was. [Journal of Ben
Williams]
 |
| Robert Austin |
1996 By DeAnn Evans Last year about this
time I wrote, ``Everything appears to be on schedule in this year's
Legislature. The system is clogged with bills, major money decisions have yet
to be made -- and legislators are plotting revenge against the news media.''
This year, with a few subtle differences, I could simply write, ``Ditto.''
Legislators once again are angry at journalists. The issues and the revenge
factor have changed. This year's prime reason involves reports on the Senate's
closed-door meeting to discuss the gay/lesbian-club controversy. And
legislators have not yet stooped to the level of the silly list some circulated
last year to rate journalists. It's hard to be sympathetic toward senators in
the current controversy. After all, even those responsible for the closed
caucus admit that it violated Utah's
Open Meetings Act. It's always ludicrous when those who pass the laws end up
violating them. Even if one accepts the senators' contention that the meeting
fell within an exemption allowed under the open-meetings law -- to discuss
pending litigation -- senators still should be criticized for failing to vote
on whether the meeting should be closed and neglecting to keep minutes or
record the proceedings. These are all requirements of the law -- you know,
those things senators swear to uphold as they begin their service. However pure
the senators' intentions were, they looked nefarious, especially since the
joint caucus topic was announced on the Senate floor as the State Uniform
School Fund. If this was a discussion so vital to their role as the public's
representatives, why weren't the senators upfront enough to announce that the
topic would be pending litigation regarding school clubs? Citizens -- and
journalists -- were locked out of the meeting, so we can only rely on reports
from those who attended and didn't like what they heard. Admittedly, many of
these sources have vested interests. Probably most are Democrats who like
nothing better than seeing their Republican counterparts shellacked by the news
media. Ironically, the key senators behind the closed meeting have complained
that the proceedings have been distorted in media reports. Those things happen
when the public is kept out and journalists have to rely on unnamed sources'
versions of how the public's business was transacted. Sen. Howard Stephenson,
R-Draper, has written letters to the editor and appeared on talk shows to call
news reports ``full of false information.'' Has it dawned on Stephenson that
the open-meetings law is designed to protect him, and all public officials,
against erroneous reports just as clearly as it protects citizens? If the
actions and intentions of those who conducted this meeting have been
misunderstood, perhaps they'll be more apt to include citizens the next time
they have a public issue to discuss. In fairness to the senators, they may not
be the worst violators of the open-meetings law. The Summit County Commission
conducted 64 ``executive,'' or closed-door, sessions in the first 10 months of
1995. But legislators, who make the laws, should be exemplary in upholding
those laws, especially the open-meetings law. The episode underscores the need
to strengthen Utah's
open-meetings law, which is toothless because it specifies no penalties. The only recourse for citizens is to bring a
lawsuit, as the ACLU has done against the Utah Senate.Journalists serve as
protectors of public rights by calling the public's attention to violations of
the open-meetings law -- but, to be fair, their motives are not entirely pure
because they get a hot story out of the deal. Caught in the middle of this
legislators/journalists tug-of-war are Utah's
citizens, who deserve to have their representatives conduct their business in
public -- not in secret. DeAnn Evans, a former newspaper managing editor, is an
assistant professor in the University of Utah Department of Communication.
1996 PRO GAY OPINION GAY STUDENT CLUBS MORALITY
ISN'T ISSUE ON GAY CLUBS Lately I have seen many articles in the Deseret News
that are against the forming of a club that has the constitutional right to be
formed. People opposed to the gay and lesbian clubs have argued that the club
is illegal, immoral and controversial. Some people even prefer getting rid of
all clubs, for the sole purpose of keeping gays and lesbians from forming a
club. These people, who argue that homosexuality is sodomy and therefore
illegal, seem to miss the fact that sodomy is any unnatural sex. They therefore
seem to advocate that any sex that does not result in a pregnancy is illegal. I
personally don't understand why people are so upset about giving equal rights
to their fellow human beings. There is even proposed legislation to allow
elected officials to control what happens in schools by deciding if it is moral
or not. If this gay-bashing is promoted by our elected officials, who will be
their next target? You can't give the government the right to take away
freedoms based on it being "immoral." If you do, you are only a few
steps away from total communism. By giving the government the power to decide
what is moral, you can be assured that the many corrupt politicians out there
will want to decide that it is "immoral" not to allow them to give
themselves million-dollar raises. Jaron Lindow Highland Deseret News
1996 SAYING GOODBYE By Joseph Bauman, Staff Writer Assigned to
write a school report, Amanda Kidd was ready. The 10-year-old wrote it straight
from the heart. "My mom died of AIDS. Her name was Cindy Jean Kidd. My mom
died Jan. 17, 1996, at 6:16 p.m.," Amanda said, carefully reading the
report aloud for the Deseret News. “I came home from swim team and was waiting
for my mom to get home from the hospital. She wanted to die in her bed at home
with me and my brother Walter watching her, but she didn't. She died with my
older sister. My sister is 20. "She was in a van on her way coming home.
She took two breaths and then passed away. She was about two blocks away from
my house." The hospital people brought her in the house and put her in her
bed . . . "Me and my brother went in the room to hug my mom even though
she was dead. Each person in our family got a lock of hair. The hair was
braided. Then the cremators – whatever they're called, mortuary (people) - came
and took her away." I was mad and sad because I didn't want the mortuary
to come and take her away because I wanted my mom to stay with me until I was
at least a teenager, but I guess I don't always get my own way." Amanda
was able to express herself about such a traumatic and tragic loss because
Cindy and her husband, Brian Kidd, had prepared the children to cope with the
horror of AIDS and death. Cindy and Brian were married only two months when she
was diagnosed with the disease. Four years later, Cindy was dead at age 39.In
the meantime she had become one of Utah's
leading AIDS activists. She edited the Positive Press, a monthly newsletter for
people who are HIV positive or have AIDS and others who are concerned about the
disease. She and another woman sued to overturn a state law that banned the
marriage of AIDS victims. The suit wasn't symbolic, Brian Kidd said during an
interview at the family's two-story brick home. "As far as the law was written,
it would have made our marriage void - you know, automatic annulment whether
you want it or not." He spoke in a quiet, sad voice, leaning back in an
easy chair, once or twice brushing away tears. Close above on the mantelpiece
stood photos; a glass globe with a ribbon engraved on the surface, an award
from the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah; a bronze-colored urn that held her
ashes. When Brian and Cindy were married, they didn't know she had AIDS or that
the Utah Legislature had passed a law in 1987 that would invalidate the
marriage of people with AIDS. Later, Brian legally adopted Cindy's twins,
Amanda and Walter. When they found out about the law, they felt the marriage
had to be fully legal in order for the adoptions to be valid. (Besides the
twins, Cindy Kidd had a son, Michael Vincent, whom she placed for adoption in
1982, and a daughter, Beverly Stoddard, who was 20 when Cindy died.) "It
was really important for us," he said of the suit. "Actually, it was
kind of fun, being able to go against the government and win. Go against the
establishment and say, "Hey, that's not right.' "In late 1993, U.S.
District Judge Aldon J. Anderson ruled the AIDS law was unconstitutional.
"Oh, we were both very excited about it. . . . It was a good
victory." Although it was hard to do, she quit her work with the Positive
Press in May 1995 so she could spend time with the family and say goodbye. The
twins were getting counseling to help them understand and deal with her coming
death. And Brian and Cindy helped them cope by being as honest as possible with
them. "We never held anything back," he said. "Anytime there was
any news that something was going good or bad or whatever, we always made sure
we were upfront with the twins, that they knew everything that was going on. "That
way, he said, they would not have to face any terrible surprises. Not that her
illness and death didn't wrack the entire family. As Beverly wrote in her journal two days after
her mother's death, "So if I was ever supposed to learn and fully
understand pain - sadness, sorrow, hurt, anger, confusion . . . this is the
time. I don't think I can put into words how incredibly bad I'm hurting inside.
"During an interview nearly a month later, Walter sprawled on the floor
addressing valentines for all the kids in his class. Amanda was busy coloring a
valentine box, and as she talked she kept darkening more of the box with a
black magic marker. Asked what he misses most about Cindy, Walter said simply,
"Her hugs." In the last few months, he and his mother used to
"just go up in her room and talk." They would discuss "what it
would be like when she died: It'd be harder. It'd be kind of hard to go to
school sometimes. "What did she tell him to do at those times? "Be
strong," he said. Also, his mother would take him out to eat "and we
did fun stuff…Like when she took me and my friends swimming. "His folks
were always honest about it, he said. "When you asked, she would say what
was going to happen." Amanda recalled special outings with her mother.
"When the boys went out to, like, games… she would let me pick someplace I
wanted (to visit for dinner). I picked Blimpie's. "Cindy used to give
talks at high schools about the dangers of AIDS. "If she did even save one
person, she accomplished what she was trying to do," Brian said. He
recalled that his wife's deterioration happened in steps. Every time she got
sick, her health dropped a little further. When she recovered, she wasn't quite
as well as she had been before. "And she'd lose a lot of weight," he
said. Despite trying as hard as she could to keep weight on, "she'd lose
10 pounds and gain eight." Two or three weeks before the end, "she
found out that her viral load was beginning to get really high and over powering."
Cindy heard of a new drug that sounded promising and wanted to try it. She was
checking on the possibility of taking the medication when her body failed. "I
think she was incredibly brave about the whole thing…She spent most of her time
trying to help other people that were also infected to try to make it easier on
them to deal with it, and to try to make sure that even more people didn't get
infected," he said. At the hospital, Amanda was scared to see her
"all hooked up to all the tubes." She was afraid to touch her at
first, but then overcame her fears. Finally, as Cindy lay dying and unable to
talk, "she would squeeze my hand when I read to her," Amanda said.
1998-President Clinton accused a group of Republicans of anti-Gay
bias for blocking a vote on the confirmation of James Hormel as ambassador to
Luxembourg.
.bmp) |
| Stuart Matis |
2000 Henry Stuart Matis (1967-2000) Committed suicide- On February
25, 2000, Stuart Matis drove to the LDS chapel in Los Altos, California, and
took his life. He was frustrated by the efforts by the LDS Church Italy
(where he met Clay Whitmer). After graduation, in 1996, he started to work for
Andersen Consulting in California .
Stuart left a suicide note in which he requested that there not be a funeral,
because he wanted to be remembered alive. But his mother said that so many
people came to her home and expressed love and told them that they needed to
use the occasion to educate people about homosexuality, that they decided to
hold the funeral. The day of the funeral the chapel was full. The speakers were
Stuart's mother, his father, and Robert Rees. Stuart's mother talked about the
hurtful things people say about homosexuals. She said that we need to be more
tolerant toward all of God's children. Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
held a service in Salt Lake City .
On March 19, 2000, in the middle of a raging snowstorm, 200 people and the Salt
Lake Men's Choir gave tribute to Stuart and to DJ Thompson. Stuart hoped that
greater understanding would come from his death. His suicide letter reassured
his parents of his love for them and talked about what wonderful parents they
were. He said that he was at peace with himself and was freed from the chains
of his mortality. Stuart is buried at the Orem
City Cemetery
in Utah . His
brother Bill wrote the following: "To those who feel that my brother was
no better than a murderer or an adulterer, I would like to say that the
murderer and adulterer choose to be what they are. My brother didn't choose to
be homosexual any more than you or I chose the color of our skin. Many who knew
him say that he was one of the most Christ-like people they had ever met. He
was a son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and true friend." Words by
Stuart: "I implore the students at BYU [Brigham Young
University Lake Tribune
2003 50 Rally Against
Hate-Crimes Bill About 50 people -- mostly conservative
Republicans -- held a Capitol rally Monday night urging Utah's Legislature to
kill proposed hate-crimes legislation based on opposition from the state GOP's
governing Central Committee. "It's not a correct principle,"
said rally organizer Gayle Ruzicka, head of the Utah Eagle Forum. The
predominant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement last
week clarifying that it did not oppose House Bill 85. Ruzicka insisted the
Mormon leaders issued their statement only to quash rumors the church endorsed
the bill. The rally was mainly held to publicize the
Utah GOP Central Committee's resolution over the weekend denouncing the attempt
to stiffen penalties for crimes committed out of bias against a victim's race,
ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion or sexual orientation. -- Dan Harrie
2003 Test Vaccine
Flunks as an AIDS Shield BY LAURIE GARRETT NEWSDAY The first potential AIDS vaccine tested in
large numbers of people has proved a failure, though its manufacturer, VaxGen,
says there is some evidence that the product may be effective among blacks and
Asian Americans. Overall, AIDSVax -- the first anti-HIV
vaccine to complete Phase III clinical trials -- offered no protection to the
volunteers who received it. After three years, the results were statistically
identical: 5.8 percent of the placebo group became infected with the human
immunodeficiency virus, compared with 5.7 percent of those receiving the
vaccine. Of the 5,009 volunteers who completed the
trial, 4,185 were white. Most were gay men deemed at risk due to their
lifestyles. Volunteers came from the United
States , Canada ,
Puerto Rico and Europe . "We were disappointed that the vaccine
did not produce a reduction in infections in all population groups,"
VaxGen CEO Lance Gordon said Monday in a briefing. "The study did not show
a statistically significant reduction of HIV infection within the study
population as a whole, which was the primary end point of the trial." Among the 314 black volunteers, VaxGen
reported 13 infections: 4 among the 203 volunteers who received the vaccine,
and nine in the placebo group of 111. Of the Asian American volunteers, two of
the 20 who got the placebo became HIV infected, as did two of the 53 who got
the vaccine, said Michael Para of Ohio State School of Medicine, who led the
statistical analysis conducted for VaxGen. "You're right, the numbers are
small," Para said at the VaxGen briefing when asked about the results
among black volunteers. VaxGen reported that the blood of black and
Asian volunteers who received the vaccine also showed higher levels of
antibodies against HIV. With that evidence, along with the results
for black and Asian volunteers, Gordon said VaxGen will seek a license from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration for manufacture and sale of the vaccine, and
will turn to the World Health Organization, PanAmerican Health Organization and
Gates Foundation for funding for distribution. "That is, to say the least, premature,"
Peter Piot, director of the U.N. AIDS Programme, said from Geneva
2003 The Utah Stonewall
Historical Society is moving to the new Salt Lake Public Library! Join the Utah Stonewall Historical Society at the New Salt Lake City
2003 WE NEED TO KEEP
WORKING! Gayle and her
forces are working overtime to try to kill the hate crimes measure currently
working its way around the hill. She
called it “the most dangerous legislation this session” a week ago and held a
press conference last night that was widely covered in the media asking for
people to contact their legislators immediately about it. HB 85 is now back
in rules and could die there if we can’t get it back onto the floor. HB needs to be debated in the open and not
killed in committee. It was initially
let out of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee with a vote
of 8-3 which shows that there is a need for a floor vote in the House and
Senate. There is also a rumor that there
will be an amendment offered that strikes “sexual orientation” as one of the
groups covered under the bill. This would be a travesty of the bill’s intent
considering that hate crimes in Utah Utah Utah Utah Utah
153 West 200 South Salt Lake City , UT 84101
2003 Subject: RE:
CALENDAR--UTAH Chad
2003 Drew Christian Staffanson finally succumbed to AIDS
in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, Feb. 25, 2002. Drew was born Oct. 8, 1962, the seventh of
nine children of Forrest L. and RoLayne Rich Staffanson. He grew up in Ogden,
Utah where he earned his Eagle Scout Award and graduated from Ben Lomond High
School. He then served an LDS Mission in Portugal. Drew graduated summa cum
laude from the University of Utah, with Bachelor of Arts degrees in
communication and Middle East studies in 1989. He also studied a year abroad at
the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Drew moved to Saudi Arabia and
worked as a journalist during the Gulf War. He spent time covering Kuwait,
India, Pakistan and the Arabian Gulf. He returned to Utah in 1992 after being
diagnosed with HIV. Drew was extremely fortunate to have high quality care
during his final days. He is so grateful to his family who continuously
supported him; to his loving, selfless partner, Michael Shayne Bell, who was
always by his side; to Dr. Kristen Ries and the entire staff at the University
of Utah Medical Clinic 1-A and to the many professionals and friends who are
either infected with or affected by AIDS. Drew is survived by his loving
partner, Michael Shayne Bell of Salt Lake City
2005 Friday Subject: Re: Documentary Film From: "Mark Barr & Scott McCoy" To: "Ben Williams" Ben –thanks for the congratulations w/ Scott’s new position (it’s shaken things up a bit). - Anyway, I looked at the website – and you have a lot of great info, but I was wondering if I could pick your brain for some suggestions for people you have come into contact with that might have an interesting story to share re: their personal Gay/Mormon story. We're looking for men and women who have been through shock or extensive reparative therapy, closeted and married types, and people who have decided to stay celibate and active in church, people who have been kicked out of their homes etc. We are also trying to find videos of Church leaders talking about homosexuality in conference or at BYU etc. - and any Historic angles you can think of with the Church and their stance or LDS member etc. Thanks Ben - Mark
2005 Friday Subject: Re: Documentary Film From: "Mark Barr & Scott McCoy" To: "Ben Williams" Ben –thanks for the congratulations w/ Scott’s new position (it’s shaken things up a bit). - Anyway, I looked at the website – and you have a lot of great info, but I was wondering if I could pick your brain for some suggestions for people you have come into contact with that might have an interesting story to share re: their personal Gay/Mormon story. We're looking for men and women who have been through shock or extensive reparative therapy, closeted and married types, and people who have decided to stay celibate and active in church, people who have been kicked out of their homes etc. We are also trying to find videos of Church leaders talking about homosexuality in conference or at BYU etc. - and any Historic angles you can think of with the Church and their stance or LDS member etc. Thanks Ben - Mark
2006 Music – Center Space (7pm)
Singer/songwriter/poet/actress and all around bombastic entertainer, Amy
Steinberg, will be coming through Salt Lake City during her national spring
tour. Steinberg is touring in support of her 7th indie cd, "Must Be The
Moon" which has been called "almost supernatural" and
"astonishing." Recently, Amy performed at the Michigan Womyn's
Festival and has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with phenomenal artists
such as Melissa Ferrick, Alix Olson, and Ani Difranco
2010 Defense
claims accusers to blame Published on Standard-Examiner Defense claims
accusers to blame By cmayorga Standard-Examiner
staff OGDEN — The defense promised to show the listed victims were actually the
aggressors as trial began Wednesday for a man accused of assaulting a lesbian
and a gay man while yelling homophobic slurs. Christopher Vonnegut Allen, 31,
is accused of beating the two the night of June 2 at an Ogden apartment
complex, leaving the woman unconscious with a broken nose. He is charged with
burglary, in this instance entering a residence with intent to commit assault,
a second-degree felony that could bring up to 15 years in prison. He also is
charged with two counts of assault, punishable by up to a year in county jail.
In their testimony at a preliminary hearing, Wil Phillips, 24, and Whitney
Michelle Goich, 20, described unprovoked attacks by Allen. Phillips said he bit
Allen on the arm in self-defense. Goich required surgery to repair her nose and
a crushed tear duct. But defense attorney Brian Duncan, in opening arguments
Wednesday, said Allen would take the stand with a different version of what happened.
“He’s not denying the fact of the confrontations,” Duncan told the jury. “He
hit both Wil and Whitney.” But Phillips started the chain of events, Duncan
said, by biting Allen on the arm that night at a party in the Mirador apartment
complex at 3415 Harrison Blvd. “You’ll see photographs of the deeply embedded
teeth marks in my client’s arm,” Duncan said. Phillips wouldn’t release his
bite, he said, until Allen hit and kicked him.
But Duncan did not confront Phillips with his theory of the case that he
was the aggressor when Phillips took the stand Wednesday. “He’s not going to
admit to that,” Duncan said during a recess. “I’m not going for a Perry Mason
moment here.” Goich, seeking revenge, was following Allen after the fight with
Phillips broke up, Duncan told the jury. Allen swung on her in self-defense, he
said. The case being heard before 2nd District Judge Mark DeCaria is expected
to go to the eight-member jury this afternoon. Phillips was the first witness
to take the stand Wednesday, saying he was lying on a couch when Allen
straddled him, pinning his arms to his sides and slapping him. “He keeps on
yelling at me that he’s not gay.” Phillips said he bit Allen on the arm at one
point before a friend was able to pull Allen off. The friend led Allen out of
the apartment three or four times, Phillips said, but Allen would slip back in
to kick him again as he lay in a fetal position on the couch, covering his head
with his arms. In his opening statement, Deputy Weber County Attorney Branden
Miles showed the jury color photographs taken the night of the confrontation. A
bruise on Phillips’ arm is clearly visible and matches the pattern of the sole
of Allen’s shoes.
2014 Senators: Utah narrowly dodged Arizona’s fate
on gay bias bill Religious liberty • Dabakis says Utah would have become ‘the
goofball capital.’ BY ROBERT GEHRKE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE The national
firestorm pouring down on Arizona could have easily been focused on Utah if the
Legislature hadn’t shelved a similar bill pitting gay rights and religious
freedom, according to the sponsor, Sen. Stuart Reid. But Reid, R-Ogden, said
that, even after he leaves the Legislature at the end of the year, Utah will
have to deal with the issue, because protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender Utahns cannot exist alongside religious liberty. “I would have
anticipated that here in this state, as well,” Reid said in an interview. “The
LGBT community can’t afford for religious rights to be defined and protected in
that way, in the way Arizona is now doing it.” Reid introduced a trio of bills
early in the session, including one that mirrors the religious freedom bill
passed by the Arizona Legislature. That bill is awaiting a signature — or veto
— from Gov. Jan Brewer amid a barrage of criticism that it would let people and
businesses refuse service to gay Arizonans based on their religious belief. Conventions
have threatened to boycott Arizona in the wake of passage of the bill and
several Fortune 500 companies, the state’s two U.S. senators, former Republican
presidential nominee Mitt Romney and even some legislators who voted for the
bill are now urging Brewer’s veto. But with Utah appealing a federal court
ruling striking down its ban on same-sex marriage, legislative leaders decided
to punt, not just on Reid’s bills, but on SB100, Sen. Steve Urquhart’s bill
prohibiting employment and housing discrimination against LGBT individuals. Sen.
Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, the only openly gay member of the Utah
Legislature, said the state dodged a bullet by shelving Reid’s bill. “All the
ridicule and all the embarrassment and all the stupidity that Arizona is now
facing … that is a genie that can’t be put in the bottle,” he said. “Arizona is
going to continue to look weird and dumb and stupid and Utah came this close to
leading the way.” Dabakis said he was offered a deal last year to pass a
statewide non-discrimination ordinance if it incorporated language like
Arizona’s allowing people to discriminate based on religious beliefs, but he
refused. “I think it saved the state this tremendous embarrassment of being the
goofball capital of the country,” Dabakis said. Senate President Wayne
Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said there is a “distinct chance” that Utah could have
ended up in the same situation as Arizona, which could have hurt the state’s
marriage appeal. “It could have happened here,” he said. “It really highlights
that I think we’ve done the right thing.” Niederhauser said he expects the
Legislature to study the religious-liberty issue during the summer and possibly
address it next year. Reid said it has to happen sometime, because
there is an irreconcilable tension between religious liberty and LGBT rights. “They
can’t coexist because for people of religious conscience, it is a fundamental
issue and for the LGBT community it’s an issue of creating a protected class,”
Reid said. Reid said there is not real discrimination against LGBT individuals
— Salt Lake City has reported just three complaints since it passed its
ordinance in 2009, all dismissed. But Reid said that, when individuals are
forced to provide services or accommodate a gay marriage “it can become an
affront to religious conscience.”
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