This Day in Gay Utah History March 6th

6 March 6-

1852 Utah legislature removes sodomy from criminal code without explanation. Brigham Young signs the law.

1923-Police arrived at the Apollo Theatre in New York to arrest the theatre owner along with the producer of The God Vengeance and twelve actors. They were charged with presenting an obscene, indecent, immoral, and impure theatrical production. All plead not guilty, paid bail, and returned to the theatre to give a matinee performance. They would be found guilty and given suspended sentences. The play is set in a brothel and whose plot features a lesbian relationship — was performed on Broadway in 1923, the entire cast was arrested and successfully prosecuted on obscenity charges, despite the fact that the play was sufficiently highly esteemed in Europe to have already been translated into German, Russian, Polish, Hebrew, Italian, Czech and Norwegian.

1951 LDS Unit Urges Increase in Anti Vice Squad; Salt Lake anti vice squad should be increased to take care of  “the crime situation in Salt Lake City”, Mayor Earl J. Glade (1885-1966) heard Monday. In a letter to the mayor, the Law Observance and Enforcement Committee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints declared: Vice conditions cannot be controlled by a vice squad of only five or six men, several of whom can reasonably be expected to be absent on their weekly day off, or engaged as witnesses before the courts or for other reasons.” The letter was signed by Col. Elmer G. Thomas (1887-1964) Chairman, C. Earl Alsop (1895- 1970), and Elias L. Day Asst. Chairmen.  The committee members also took the opportunity to rebut a statement made by the mayor February 24 that “the committee should cite bona fide evidence in its periodic reports of vice in the taverns”.  Pg. 13 col. 7)

1968-Wednesday- Police Chief Dewey J. Fillis asked Tuesday for an ordinance to censor publications, recordings, and movie which “tends to corrupt the morals of youth under 18” and out law the presence of a minor at any theater showing an adult only film.  That it would be unlawful to display, sell or distribute to persons under 18 years of age any book, pamphlet, balled, printed paper, phonograph record, print, still  or motion picture, figure, image, or description or other articles which manifestly tends to corrupt the morals of youth under 18, or to introduce any of the above mentioned into any home, family or school. (03/06/68 SLTribune page B1)

1980- Affirmation II (2) is formed in response to more serious interests in LDS doctrine and theology. It strove to achieve a spiritual and orthodox atmosphere at weekly meetings with Opening Prayer, keeping the Word of Wisdom and honoring the counsel of General Authorities. Chapter Director was Chris Luke.  Lasted about a year.

1987-Vermont became the first state to make condoms available to inmates to curb the spread of AIDS.

6-8 March 1987-Friday, Saturday, Sunday- First Women Aloud program aired on KRCL in recognition of International Women’s Day with some of the programming aimed at a Lesbian audience. 

Ben Barr 

6 March 1988-Sunday-I went and picked Ben Barr up to take him to KRCL to tape a program on AIDS and the AIDS bills that Utah passed and are up for the Governor’s signature.. We talked about Senate Bill 113 and House Bill 220 both which are fragrantly unconstitutional. The would force people suspected of being in the high risk group to be mandatory tested for AIDS and would make it criminal to know of some one testing positive with out reporting it. Super scary. Especially when Rep. Jack Bangerter from Bountiful said he wanted to round up all the homosexuals paint us green and put us on Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. 

6 March 1988 Daniel Humphreys a writer for the Triangle

Community Digest is the last interviewer of movie actor/actress “Divine” [Harris Glen Milstead]. He had a phone interview with Milstead who was set to do a role on Married With Children.  “When I interviewed Devine just hours before his death he showed the ambition, drive, and defiance that got him where he was, and may have helped lead to his untimely death at 42.”  On the 8th, he was due to audition for a part in the Fox network's television series Married... with Children. On the 7^th after dining with friends, Milstead returned to the Regency hotel, and before entering his room he leaned over the balcony and sang "Arrivederci Roma." Known for his punctuality when working, people became concerned when he did not appear on the set the next morning. His manager, Bernard Jay, went to the hotel at noon to check on him, and used his pass key for access. The autopsy found he had died in his sleep of an enlarged heart at the age of 42.

1990 Tuesday WOOD ADMITS LYING BUT DENIES KILLING ANYONE  By Lane Williams, Staff Writer Two days after he made a videotaped description of the murder of a Southern Utah State College student, Lance Conway Wood changed parts of his story and acknowledged to investigators that he had misled them. But he continued to insist that he did not participate in the killing. That's according to testimony in 4th District Court Monday before Judge Boyd L. Park in Wood's trial for capital homicide. Gordon Ray Church, 28, was murdered early on Nov. 22, 1988, in a remote part of southern Millard County called Dog Valley. On Nov. 23, Wood, 21, went to officials and told them Michael Anthony Archuleta had killed Church. Wood then led them to the body. On Nov. 24, Wood and Millard County sheriff's deputies made a videotape in which Wood described the killing. In it, he said that Archuleta, 27, had suddenly slashed Church's neck while the trio were driving north on I-15. Wood said Archuleta then sodomized and otherwise sexually assaulted Church, who was tied up and taken to Dog Valley where Archuleta beat Church to death and stabbed him with a tire iron. The video was shown to the 10-woman, two-man jury Friday. But after subsequent investigation that included allegedly finding blood on Wood's clothes and statements from Archuleta, who was arrested on Nov. 23, Wood was arrested on Nov. 25. Archuleta's statements indicated that part of the crime took place in Cedar Canyon near Cedar City. On Nov. 26, Wood met with Millard County Sheriff's deputy Sgt. Charles Stewart and said Archuleta slashed Church's neck and sexually assaulted him in Cedar Canyon, Stewart testified Monday. Stewart testified that Wood said Archuleta wanted to rob Church because the victim was a homosexual. (Deseret News)

1995   Tony Kushner’s ``Angels in America'' Part II about love, politics in the '80s, AIDS, Mormons, Jews and gay liberation, is the most heralded American play in decades --some say the century. `Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia onNational Themes'' is for mature audiences. Part II, ``Perestroika,''

1999   Lambda Hiking Club  Ice Skating - $5 rental fee meet at 1pm north side of MacFrugals's parking lot 200 S 700 E SLC

1999 KRCL  Radiothon Support Community Radio. Phone in your pledge during the expanded "Concerning Gays and Lesbians" from noon to 1pm. Let's show KRCL that we care about community radio 359-9191 or 800 359-9191 90.9FM

1999 Brass Rail in Ogden and the Royal Court present an "All Female Review" 830 pm  $5 Hosted by Tonya

2000 Deseret News by Derek Jensen staff writer Gay-bashing defendants plea-bargain Two men originally charged with hate crimes for their alleged part in gay bashings have pleaded guilty to reduced charges. Brian E. Hitt and Jason D. Millard, both 26, pleaded guilty Monday in 3rd District Court to two counts each of simple assault, a class B misdemeanor. In exchange for their guilty pleas, prosecutors dropped one count each of criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor. Hitt, Millard and one other man, Scott Presley, 23, were originally charged with third-degree felony hate crimes following a Feb. 7, 1999, incident in which they assaulted and "verbally taunted the victims for allegedly being homosexual," court documents state. Presley pleaded guilty Aug. 25, 1999, to a hate crime, a class A misdemeanor, and two counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 14 days in jail and 18 months probation. Attorneys for Hitt and Millard, however, successfully argued that Utah's hate crime law was unenforceable because it did not name specific classes, such as homosexuals or blacks. Judge William Barrett agreed with their position, and dismissed the hate crime charges against Hitt and Millard on Nov. 30, 1999."The statute is incomplete without clearly identifying the class of persons protected," Barrett stated in his one-page, written ruling. Utah's current hate crime statute simply defines a hate crime as an act which intimidates or terrorizes. "The act must be accompanied with the intent to cause a person to fear to freely exercise or enjoy any right secured by the Constitution or laws of the state," the statute says. "It's basically half a statute," said Rebecca Hyde, one of the defense attorneys who successfully challenged the hate crime charges against Hitt. "It was never intended to be drafted like this." A new hate crimes bill, sponsored by Sen. Pete Suazo, would have changed the definition of a hate crime to an offense in which someone "selects the victim primarily because of bias or prejudice against a group." The bill, however, was killed after being sent to the House Rules Committee. After pleading guilty Monday, Hitt and Millard were both fined $2,000, placed on 18 months probation and ordered to complete 240 hours of community service.

6 March 2000 March 2, 2000 - A candlelight vigil entitled "A Funeral for Utah Families" will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 6, at the Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City. The vigil is in protest of a bill that has passed through the Utah Legislature that would ban both same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples from adopting children. "Because of election-season political pandering by Utah's state legislators, children could suffer," said NGLTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel. "This bill will deprive children of certain rights and privileges that derive from being part of a family - such as health benefits, inheritance rights and Social Security death benefits from the adoptive parent. And that’s not even taking into account the greatest deprivation of all - that children will be denied a place in permanent homes with loving parents." Lobel noted that there are currently hundreds of children in Utah who are currently in state custody and are awaiting adoption. "Already, there is a shortage of homes for these children," Lobel said. "Take same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples out of the equation and the problem will become more acute - and more painful for the children. Judges and social workers should make careful decisions about adoptions on a case-by-case basis. These decisions should not be made by Utah politicians anytime, but especially during an election season." Attending Monday's vigil will be members of the Utah Equality Network, American Civil Liberties Union and Unitarian Universalist Church. The Utah bills - HB 103 and SB 63 - have passed the House and Senate and are awaiting action by the governor. The bills state that it is not in a child's best interest to be adopted by persons "cohabiting in a relationship that is not a legally valid and binding marriage." Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has worked to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people at the local, state and national level. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society.

2001 LGBT Resource Center Opens for Student Use By Bobbi Parry The University of Utah Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Resource Center opened its doors to students Monday, beginning its first official day of service. “We are hoping to provide a place where anyone can come and get resources, hang out or relax,” said center volunteer Scott Lundberg. The LGBT Center currently offers services in the A. Ray Olpin University Union Cork Room, and will be open from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Lesbian Gay Student Union officials said they hope to find a more permanent location in the union by Fall Semester 2001. “We are still running through the set-up process,” Lundberg said. “This space is not a high traffic area. We would like to be more visible and more secure.” Lesbian and Gay Student Union Co-President

Arlyn Bradshaw 

Arlyn Bradshaw said the center will provide support and information for LGBT students. “[LGBT students] have a lot of internal issues…. The center is a new way to get help to these individuals, to get them the proper information,” he said. Lundberg said there are many misconceptions within the campus and the community about LGBT students. “People don’t understand [our] differences. They think homosexuality is to be feared,” he said. Bradshaw agreed. “If you go on what is said about gays and lesbians in the community, it can be a completely negative experience. It doesn’t have to be,” he said. The center will help students deal with any negative attitudes they may encounter. “People will always have animosity for certain

Charles Milne 

groups,” LGSU Co-Vice-President Charles Milne said. To help fight negative attitudes, the center will work to educate the campus about LGBT issues, Milne said. “If people have questions about a friend who’s gay or they’re working on a paper [about LGBT issues]…they can come get information about sexual identity,” he said. Bradshaw said while LGSU has experienced some discrimination from individual students, overall student response has been supportive. “It all comes down to respecting others’ opinions,” he said. The center received the backing of both the U’s administration and the Associated Students of the University of Utah in locating a space and funding for the center, Milne said. Lundberg said people in the community have also given their support to the center. “We had a fundraising dinner that was quite well-attended,” he said. The dinner, held in January, raised about $3,000 for the center. Milne said decisions on how to spend the money are still being made.  “A lot of it will go toward programming efforts such as the safe zones,” he said. The safe-zones program will work to educate staff and faculty on speaking about LGBT issues, and will provide comfortable, safe environments for LGBT students to meet. Another program the center will establish is a panel of LGBT advisers and students who would speak to different organizations around campus, Lundberg said. The center will contain books, magazines, informational pamphlets, as well as a staff of volunteers to aid students. Milne said campus organization such as LGSU, a LGBT political action committee, and community organizations, such as the Utah AIDS Foundation, will operate out of the center.

2001 The Frightening Nature of Threats By Charles Milne Throughout the recent campaigning for offices in the Associated Students of the University of Utah, much emphasis has been put on diversity. During the debates, candidates have been questioned about their views of diversity on our campus. It is general consensus among those running for office that exposure to diversity enhances the educational experience, and should be promoted at the U.  As Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered, or LGBT, students, we feel we are a valid part of the diversity of our campus. To their credit, both parties on the ASUU presidential ballot have publicly stated that they are in support of the Lesbian and Gay Student Union as an organization, as well as the creation of a LGBT Resource Center on our campus. It is from these public remarks and the respective party platforms that we as individuals have drawn our conclusions about the candidates. LGSU does not endorse candidates, nor are our members encouraged to vote for a specific party. LGSU has always been and will always be a forum where we can freely express concerns and develop a dialogue about many different aspects of diversity. ASUU and the U administration have been very supportive of LGSU’s efforts throughout the last year, and we greatly appreciate the encouragement we have received from the current office holders. ASUU and the university administration have been supportive both in funding and in supporting our initiative for an LGBT Resource Center. We expect no less from whomever is elected to replace the current officials. We feel that, as a student organization, ASUU should be supportive of other student organizations and of the effort to better serve the campus population. The efforts of LGSU and many other student groups best reach the campus population due to the many different sections of campus they contact.  Of utmost concern to LGSU is the ill treatment of a General Assembly candidate who happened to be gay. Although there have been many posters and banners vandalized during the campaign, it becomes of utmost importance when you attack a person’s character. Orson Spencer Hall, because of its central location, is often the most decorated building on campus as far as campaign postings. In disregard to the hard work of those individuals who chose to run for ASUU office, most of the campaign material in that building was defaced. In particular, the campaign posters of Francis X. Lilly, running for Assembly from the College of Social and Behavioral Science, had defaming remarks written on his posters relating to his sexual orientation. These slanderous remarks have turned what could have been a random act of vandalism into an attack on an individual, and on the LGBT community at large. The campus community needs to understand that such bigotry will not be tolerated. Sexual orientation is a protected class within the university’s nondiscrimination clause, and, therefore, such an act is grounds for suspension for a university student.  During our time together at this institution of higher learning it is important to create a dialogue among all students on this campus, and learn from those who have views different from our own. Learning to respect each other’s opinions and open ourselves to new ways of thinking should be a goal of every member of our campus community. It is our hope that ASUU, the administration, and all involved look upon the events of the past couple of days as a learning experience that will result in greater understanding and a strengthening of all of us at the U.

2003 Worthy Bill Nearly Made It This Time BY HOLLY MULLEN SALT LAKE TRIBUNE COLUMNIST     It was just one bill in an ocean of 627 this legislative session, but it packed the wallop of a tsunami.  It rattled people, forcing them to examine their deepest beliefs and darkest prejudices. And in a way rarely seen in the 55th Utah Legislature, which was often marked by arrogance and clumsy gamesmanship, this measure had the distinction of uniting pols who seldom find themselves on the same side of the aisle. Still, forceful as it was, House Bill 85 died quietly two days before the session ended. Dubbed the "hate crimes bill," it would have pumped up penalties for crimes motivated by bias or prejudice against a victim's race, color, gender, disability, age, nationality, ancestry, religion or sexual orientation. Sponsored by Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, HB85 was six years in the making and moved further along this year than ever before. Late last week, aided by historic support from Republicans, the bill passed 38-35 in the House. Overnight scrambling by right-wing lobbyists, however, put it back in contention and up for a recall. By Monday, Litvack realized time for serious consideration was short. Plus, the telephone tree was all lit up by morality crusaders who painted the bill as "promoting a homosexual agenda." Ugh. Litvack retreated, then surrendered. But only until next year. Offering a brief post-mortem of the bill this week, Litvack was surprisingly energized. So was his chief GOP supporter, Rep. Jim Ferrin of Orem. Being on the correct side of an issue will do that to a person.  "The concept of this bill in the past was that hate crimes are a Democratic issue. I've come to believe otherwise," said Ferrin, standing in a foyer off the House floor on Tuesday. He noted that unlike other issues -- the well-funded, endless row between banks and credit unions comes to mind -- this legislation turned on meaningful debate and a notion of what truly counts as equal protection under the law.  "Republicans are comfortable with the concept that the punishment should fit the crime," Ferrin continued. "A crime motivated by hate or bias is certainly more severe. We saw that in the attack on the World Trade Center. But for some reason, shrinking it down to an attack by white supremacists on a Jewish home in Utah has been harder for people to understand." Both men admitted to being a bit stymied by the last-minute turnaround in the House and conceded HB85 was even less likely to pass the Senate. For the first time in six years, the LDS Church weighed in with a "not opposed" position on the matter. Favorable editorials appeared in the church-owned Deseret News and on KSL-TV. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was less measured in describing his reaction. The Attorney General's Office helped craft the bill, which amended a 1992 law that Utah courts have ruled is too broad. He felt it was legally sound and reasonable.  "Unfortunately, there is a fringe element who will never support it," said Shurtleff, a Republican. "This is the right wing of the party that controls the convention process. It's going to be much harder to accomplish in the coming election year." Faithful to his party, Shurtleff nevertheless vows he will not support calls to nix language that protects gays and lesbians. "There was a lot of talk for doing that, and that would be wrong. This was a good bill, as written."     So, look for Litvack and Ferrin to team on the sequel. Ferrin will be the one working to convince his colleagues of an idea that sometimes works:  "I just decided to keep an open mind."

2005 Drag Show Extravaganza:  9:00 - 11:00 pm at the Trapp Door.  Performances by the Royal Court, Latino Divas and the Salt City Kings!  $5.00 gets you in, but donate all you can at the door, because it ALL goes to the Center!

2006 An Oscar underdog crashes the party Best picture: 'Crash' upsets 'Brokeback Mountain'; best actress is Reese Witherspoon; best actor is Philip S. Hoffman By Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune On an Oscar Night in which the nominees and a few of the speeches got political, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences backed away from making a true political statement. Faced with the chance to make history - and possibly incur the wrath of right-wing moralists - by honoring the gay-cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain," Oscar voters instead gave the Best Picture award to "Crash," a collection of interlocking stories about strained race relations in Los Angeles. Considering the string of award victories "Brokeback Mountain" amassed this season, from January's Golden Globes to Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, Sunday night's Oscar win for "Crash" is a major upset. In her acceptance speech, "Crash" producer Cathy Schulman thanked "the people all around the world who have been touched by this message." "Crash" director/co-writer Paul Haggis, accepting his Oscar for original screenplay, quoted playwright Bertolt Brecht. "Brecht said, 'Art is not a mirror to hold up to society but a hammer with which to shape it,' and I guess this is ours," Haggis said. "Crash" won three Oscars: Best Picture, original screenplay and film editing. "Brokeback Mountain," which had led in nominations with eight, also won three, for director Ang Lee, adapted screenplay and original score. Lee, the first Asian filmmaker to win a directing Oscar, took time to thank the fictional cowboys of his film, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist (played by Oscar nominees Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal). "They taught all of us who made 'Brokeback Mountain' so much about not only gay men and women whose love is denied by society, but just as important the greatness of love itself," Lee said. For all the controversy around its subject matter - including its abrupt removal from Larry H. Miller's Megaplex 17 theater in January -"Brokeback Mountain's" critical response was nearly unanimous in its praise. The consensus on "Crash," though, was mixed: Some, such as the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert, dubbed it the year's best movie, while other critics thought it facile and manipulative. (New York Times critic Manohla Dargis tabbed it "the consummate Hollywood fantasy" that appealed to the Academy's many white liberals.) "Brokeback's" Ledger lost out in the lead-actor category to Philip Seymour Hoffman, for his indelible portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote." Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for another real-life portrayal, of country legend June Carter in the Johnny Cash biography "Walk the Line." Witherspoon praised June Carter as "a real woman who [had] real dignity and honor and fear." The actress said she tried to follow Carter's example, adding "I'm just trying to matter, and live a good life." Political messages were prevalent in the films that produced the supporting-acting winners, both movies about global corporate conspiracies. George Clooney won for playing a CIA agent facing oil-industry corruption in "Syriana," and Rachel Weisz took an award for her role as a woman uncovering a pharmaceutical conglomerate's African misdeeds in "The Constant Gardener." Clooney, quickly becoming the new voice of Hollywood's political conscience, used his acceptance speech to praise his industry for being "out of touch" with mainstream America. "We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood. I think that's probably a good thing. We are the ones who talked about AIDS when it was only being whispered," Clooney said in his acceptance speech. "We talked about civil rights . . . I'm proud to be part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community, proud to be 'out of touch.' '' Oscar sidestepped another major controversy by awarding the Foreign-Language Film award to South Africa's "Tsotsi," a gritty tale of a young street criminal, over the Palestinian drama "Paradise Now," which chronicles the last days of a suicide bomber. "Paradise Now" faced a petition campaign from pro-Israeli groups, who demanded the Academy revoke the movie's nomination. Besides "Crash's" Best Picture win, the shock of the evening was the victory of the hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, whose members performed and wrote the raucous Original Song victor, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow." "Memoirs of a Geisha," an exceedingly pretty movie, was the big winner in the categories where being pretty counts: cinematography, art direction and costume design. Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong" took the geeky technical awards, for visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.

2007 On March 6, Salt Lake City Council Member Nancy Saxton proposes and sponsors a bill to the city Council which would amend the city Code by prohibiting discrimination in city-government employment based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, veteran status, sexual orientation or disability. Council members vote 6-1 for the bill, and it is adopted.

2010 The Number: 45% — Discrimination Gays and lesbians targeted?  Published: Saturday, March 6, 2010 12:00 a.m. MST A plurality of the public (45%) believes that gays and lesbians face "a lot" of bias — roughly double the proportions that see widespread discrimination against blacks (18%) or Hispanics (23%), and three-to five-times the proportion that sees similarly high levels of prejudice directed at women, Asian Americans or whites. The latest Pew Research survey of racial attitudes finds that overall, nearly 8-in-10 (78%) adults say gays and lesbians face at least "some" discrimination. Even blacks see discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as more pervasive than racial bias against blacks. A majority of blacks (55%) say gays and lesbians face "a lot" of discrimination, 12 percentage points higher than the proportion who say African Americans often confront prejudice. SOURCE: Pew Research Center


2020 

SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Salt Lake City Friday afternoon after Brigham Young University clarified changes to the honor code, stating that homosexual behavior is not allowed on campus. A letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Church Education System was released this week addressing recent changes to the language in the BYU Honor Code. The letter, sent out to BYU students and faculty stated: “The moral standards of the Church did not change... A foundational doctrine ... is that ‘marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God' ... Same-sex romantic behavior cannot lead to eternal marriage and is therefore not compatible” with the honor code. Since the clarification, days of protests have ensued. Friday was the first protest to move to downtown Salt Lake City. Hundreds gathered at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ church office. Protesters chanted things such as, “We’re here, we’re queer, we are done living in fear” and “LGBT, God loves you and God loves me.” While they weren’t met with counter-protesters, the group was ready to let their voices be heard. The group marched around downtown to City Creek Park. While marching, many people on the roads honked and waved in support. “It’s honestly just really unfair,” one protester said of BYU’s honor code clarification. It hasn’t been easy coming out, another protester said, but she hopes people and the church can be more understating. “I just know the God I believe in loves me and knows who I am and wants me to be happy,” she said. Kate Lunnen, a BYU student and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said when it appeared the BYU honor code was accepting of all types of love on campus, she was overjoyed. “I have never cried more in my entire life than that day. I am not even joking. I was in my apartment on the floor just sobbing because I was so happy. And that’s the first time I’ve ever cried about being happy to be gay,” she said. She, like many others she said, decided to come out publicly after believing BYU was accepting of her love. “To have something like that to point to and say, 'Hey, BYU knows it’s okay.' That was huge,” she said of when she told loved ones that she was gay. Now, she is furious. “For them to take that back, not only shuts down that conversation but it also shows they really put no thought into it,” Lunnen said. So, Friday she marched not only for herself and her story but for others. A spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released this statement to FOX 13 News: “The teachings of the Church and the policies of our universities are consistent with eternal principles, and seek to encourage and strengthen relationships that lead to eternal covenants made with God. The Church and its leaders continue to teach that though there may be disagreement on an issue or policy, we should treat one other with love, respect and kindness.”