This Day In Gay Utah History March 20th

MARCH 20

• 1890 The proprietor of a Commercial Street [Regent] second hand store and a Norwegian who claims to be employed at the Rio Grand Western yards were arrested by the police yesterday morning on the charge of sodomy. The arrest was made at the instance of a man who claimed to have witnessed the act. The men will be examined beore Justice Laney this morning. Salt Lake Herald  Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Police Court page 5 Otto Venson, a Deutsche 34 year old, was arrested yesterday on charges of sodomy. Thomas Haurahan was also arrested on charges of sodomy yesterday Ogden Standard Examiner Letter from Salt Lake page 4 yesterday afternoon two men one keeper of a second hand store and the other an employee of the R.G.W were arrested for a “Crime Against Nature” they were observed by a man in a stable and the police notified.

 1895 Grays Bond Fixed at $500 In the case of George Gray held from the police court to await the action of the grand jury on the charge of having committed an infamous ““Crime Against Nature”” and now in jail the bond was fixed at $500 to be given before United States Commissioner Greenman

1902 Ogden Standard Examiner Utah Statistics page 4 UTAH Statistics The first annual report of the bureau of statistics of the state of Utah, for the year 1901 compiled by Charles de Moisy has been received by the Standard. The criminal statistics of the [Weber] county for 1900 are as follows: adultery 2,  assault 1, attempts to kill 5, battery 2, burglary 7, disturbing the peace 8, forgery 3, house breaking 6, grand larceny 1,  petit larceny 8, malicious mischief 8, obtaining money by false pretenses 2, rape 1, robbery 3, sodomy 3, miscellaneous 18,  total 75. This is the greatest number of offenses recorded against any county, Salt Lake  having 74. But of Weber county cases only 13 were of a character to warrant penitentiary sentences, while more than half the Salt Lake criminals reached the state prison.  Two thirds, of the criminal list in Weber county, was made up of the tramp and hobo element.

Oscar Wilde and Lord Douglas 

1945-Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover, died. Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945) was an English author, poet and translator, better known as the intimate friend and lover of the writer Oscar Wilde. Much of his early poetry was Uranian in theme, though he tended, later in life, to distance himself from both Wilde's influence and his own role as a Uranian poet. Douglas's 1892 poem Two Loves, which was used against Wilde at the latter's trial, ends with the famous line that refers to homosexuality as the love that dare not speak its name.

1970 250 women representatives across the country attended a 3 day annual conference of the National Organization for Women in Des Plaines, Illinois. NOW pledged to intensify a crusade for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.  President and founder Betty Friedan in 1963 wrote the Feminine Mystique

1970 Gary Dean Cooper age 30 of 413 East 600 South fined $50  with 90 days jail time suspended for obscene conduct. Placed on probation until 18 September 1970

1976- “I went up to BYU to meet Larry for his humanity class where we watched Shakespeare’s King Lear. I was depressed and moody much of the time with him.  I have to get my head on straight.  Right now it is so screwed up. I’m destroying everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve in the Church being with Larry.  After the show I took Larry home to Springville and I went straight home to my apartment. I am so mixed up over what I feel and how I should feel.  I know I’m going to have to pay a terrible price for such folly but only God knows what’s in my heart.” Writes  a BYU student in his journal. 

1977-A full-page ad was taken out in the Miami Herald by Anita Bryant. "Homosexuality is nothing new. Cultures throughout history have dealt with homosexuals almost universally with disdain, abhorrence, disgust-even death. The recruitment of our children is absolutely necessary for the survival and growth of homosexuality. Since homosexuals cannot reproduce, they must recruit, must freshen their ranks. And who better qualifies as a likely recruit than a teenage boy or girl who is surging with sexual awareness."

1978-The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a Gay rights law with a vote of 10-1. Dan White was the only supervisor to vote against it.

197- " Gave my letter to President Kimball which stated my objection to marrying homosexuals to heterosexuals and the Church News recent articles alluding to the death penalty for the homosexuals anciently in the Bible being a threat on us today. He had told me the modern Church was being lenient on the homosexual who anciently was put to death. I told him I was leaving the Church. With the death penalty statements being made by the Church there seems no protection. I am becoming very paranoid. I am a foreigner in a world of people who would threaten to murder me in the name of God. I suppose that is the height of paranoia but with these threats at my throat and all the misinformed heterosexuals around I feel afraid. It has been reported that a group of women were at the head of getting gays out of the Jay Welch Chorale I belong too. I need to leave this place.( Donald Attridge Salt Lake City, Utah ) "

1986 Gays Want Spot on Demo’s Family Panel. The democratic party’s mission to represent the needs of “all the people” could once again pose a political problem as it considers a request by the National Gay and Lesbian Caucus to be heard in a party sponsored event during Mormon Conference Weekend in Salt Lake City.  But since Democrats fear that if Gay issues become part of the panel with the highly visible Mormon Conference occurring the same weekend, Republican opponents would be able to blow the situation out of proportion and attach an unfair image to the party (Salt Lake Tribune B1)

1994 Sunday- Kim Scott Wastlund age 37,  succumbed after a courageous battle with AIDS He is now free to hunt, fish  and craft glorious work alongside the Master Fisherman and Carpenter.

1995 David A. Wright, a kind and loving son, passed away March 20, 1995.Born March 24, 1942 in Murray, Utah to David (Dick) and Naomi White Wright. Survived by his parents, a brother, Paul (Marilyn), Sandy; sister, Claudia (Tom) Bogle; nephew, Russell; niece, Rebeckah (Steve). He was loved and appreciated by his family and for his generosity and many hours of service to others. He will be missed. A special thanks to Dr. Ries, Maggie, David, Faith and the women at Albertson's. David has gone to feed the chickens.At David's request, no services. Funeral Directors: Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary. (Deseret News Tuesday, March 21, 1995)

1998 Three national civil-rights organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union's Utah and Northern California chapters, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. have sued the Salt Lake City School District, claiming it picks and chooses which clubs can meet on campus.   The federal lawsuit was filed Thursday claiming that the the 1996 school club ban is not enforced fairly.  They contend that  three clubs, Future Business Leaders of America, Future Homemakers of America and the Key Club are still allowed to meet even though they are non-curricular.  The East High Gay/Straight Student Alliance, the ultimate target of the ban, continues to meet also but now the group rents space from East High on Thursday after school hours. GLSEN Utah is paying for the rent to meet and  a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy required by the school board

Richard Cottino

1998-Gay couples who take advantage of their company's domestic-partner health plan benefits are learning that it could cost them come tax time. That's because the federal tax code says that unless the benefit is for the employee's spouse or lawful dependent, it is counted as extra income. ``A lot of folks didn't know that would happen,'' says Richard Cottino, a representative of US WEST EAGLE, a company gay and   lesbian resource group.   For employees of US WEST, the amount subject to the tax is about $2,000 per year, company officials say. So before taking advantage of the benefit that the company has been offering since October, employees must decide whether it is worth the tax bite, which would vary depending on the individual's economic circumstance.Employees had their first chance to sign up for the domestic-partner benefits during an enrollment period in October. ``So far, we have had 200 people apply, out of an employee base of 67,000,'' says US WEST Communications Director Dick MacKnight. The company had assumed they would receive three times that many applications. ``We don't believe, however, that the tax is a deterrent in any way,'' he says. US WEST did extensive research before deciding to offer the benefit, including considering whether the action

1999 3 Utah churches to join gay rally By Carrie A. Moore Deseret News religion editor Members of three Utah congregations affiliated with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches will participate in a nationwide mobilization of gay and lesbian activists scheduled March 21-27. Called "Equality Begins At Home," the series of marches, protests and rallies is being dubbed "one of the largest grassroots organizing campaigns in the history of the (national) Gay and Lesbian Task Force movement," with "actions in all 50 states" to focus attention on legislative battles over gay rights. In Utah, a rally has been scheduled for Saturday, March 27, at noon on the steps of the state Capitol to push for passage of a non-discrimination bill.  The Rev. Jim Morgan, pastor of Glory to God Metropolitan Community Church in Ogden, said members of his church -- along with Metropolitan Community Church congregations in Logan and Salt Lake City -- will support the national event. "We have a three-pronged approach to the gospel, and the third prong is social justice. We believe the church must also be involved in that." Even so, the Rev. Morgan says he is not aware of any efforts by church members to actually lobby legislators in Utah. "That's a little too organized for what we're doing here. Most of the people here in Ogden exercise their right to change legislation by voting."  The Rev. Morgan said services at Metropolitan Community Churches -- all of which affirm gay, lesbian and transgendered members -- follow "very mainstream Protestant Christianity. They include charismatic singing, evangelical preaching and a communion service" that is more liturgical than most. Formed in 1968 "as a healing response to the condemnation lesbians and gay men experience in most Christian denominations," members of MCC churches "celebrate the fullness of the gospel -- the Good News of God's love through Jesus Christ to every person," according to information on the parent organization's Web site. Many members of the Rev. Morgan's congregations (he's also serving as pastor of Salt Lake's Sacred Light of Christ Metropolitan Community Church) were "emotionally and spiritually bleeding" when they found the church, he said. Homosexuality is "a topic most people would rather not deal with. It conjures up their views of AIDS and death and 'people getting their just deserts' for what they've done." Indeed, how to handle same-sex marriage and homosexual clergy are issues that continue to divide many mainstream Protestant denominations. Several have used the Bible as the basis for legislated church policy on the issues, only to have those policies continually challenged. Individual churches withdraw from some denominations in protest. Talk of schism and separation abounds. Yet the Ogden congregation has found "some very good friends in the Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ. There are also some Episcopalians -- in most cases it's pockets rather than whole groups of people," the Rev. Morgan said. Such dialogue with other churches "has been slow (coming), but I have a lot of hope for it.   "As people see that we don't have three heads and four arms -- we're not the monsters people have painted us to be. With interfaith dialogue, maybe it becomes nothing more than we agree to disagree. But it's very difficult to hate someone with a face -- and very easy to hate a group you don't know." GLORY TO GOD CHURCH PLANS REVIVAL NEXT WEEK IN OGDEN OGDEN -- Glory to God Metropolitan Community Church, 210 W. 22nd St. in Ogden, will hold its annual communitywide revival March 12-14. The church is a member congregation of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a Christian denomination ministering to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. . (DN)

1999 Western Trans-sexuals Support Network (WSTN) meets from 10am-noon upstairs at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. Engendered Species Drop In Open House is from 7-10pm at the Stonewall Coffee Shop at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center

1999  Wasatch Mountain Bears St Patty Party at Todd and Ron's 

1999 METROPOLTAN COMMUNITY CHURCH ANTI GAY RELIGION GAY PENTACOSTALS CHALLENGE VIEWS ON HOMOSEXUALITY Gay Pentecostals? To a movement whose roots are deep in the late 19^th century's fundamentalist Christian holiness tradition, the term is certainly a theological oxymoron. Mainline Pentecostals -- unique for an exuberant style of worship that includes speaking in tongues -- quote scripture from both the Old and New Testaments to declare homosexuality sin.  "We take what the Bible stands for," said the Rev. Bob Palmer, pastor of Salt Lake City's Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP). "We don't hate gays, but the Bible does condemn that lifestyle." In a stand shared with other Pentecostals and fundamentalists, the 400,000-member COGOP believes the Old Testament account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is ample evidence of God's condemnation of same-sex relations.  In the King James version's Genesis 19 account, a mob of men demand Lot release to them two visiting male angels "that we may know them." Lot's offer instead of his two virgin daughters is angrily rejected, the mob rushes the door of Lot's home and are blinded by the angels.    Later, after Lot and his family escape, Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by a rain of fire and brimstone.  However, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches – a denomination founded by in 1968 by Troy Perry, a gay minister defrocked by COGOP -- has a different take. The Rev. Jim Morgan, pastor of the MCC churches in Salt Lake City and Ogden, refers to the Sodom and Gomorrah story and other key scriptures as "the clobber passages."    "It is my belief and the belief of my denomination that when they are correctly translated they do not speak to lesbian, gay persons," he said. MCC maintains that the sin of Sodom was in hospitality, not homosexuality. Some theologians agree, among them the Rev. L. Robert Arthur of Samaritan Theological Institute in Los Angeles. "Theologians have been guilty for centuries of playing on this unfortunate misunderstanding to condemn those who found their sexual orientation to be homosexual," Arthur wrote in his booklet Homosexuality and the Conservative Christian. Similar claims of misinterpretation also are used to address such condemnations in other scriptures. One, Leviticus 18:22, declares: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." The punishment? Death. In the New Testament, Paul's epistle to the Romans condemns men "leaving the natural use of the woman." Later, in I Corinthians, the apostle includes "effeminate [and] abusers of themselves with mankind" with adulterers, drunkards, thieves and extortioners on a list of the hell bound. In his pamphlet Homosexuality: not a sin, not a sickness, the MCC's Rev. Elder Donald Eastman argues that Paul referred to same-sex activity resulting from idolatrous activity, not "loving, responsible lesbian and gay relationships seen today." Such reasoning is convoluted error, conservative theologians maintain. The Rev. Timothy Crater of the National Association of Evangelicals prefers "a literal, normal, face-value interpretation of the Bible. "Some people attempt to keep some form of Christianity and hold on to homosexuality, too," he told Knight Ridder. "It leads to strange interpretations of the Bible." Palmer, meantime, finds at least one point where he agrees with Morgan and the MCC: God loves gays and lesbians, too.    "We want to reach gays and touch gays spiritually; we're not against them personally," Palmer said. "If we could, we'd reach every one of them with the saving knowledge that Christ offers."

Lee Thompson and Rev. Yolanda Yaeger

1999 METROPOLTAN COMMUNITY CHURCH 03/20/1999 Page: C1 Byline: BY BOB MIMS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE    OGDEN -- The speakers are cranked up at Glory to God Metropolitan Community Church, and you can feel the drums of the revival band Chadash beating in your chest.   "God is in the house, there ain't no doubt." the congregation of 60 sings, punctuating the lyrics with "amens" and "hallelujahs" that float above a forest of swaying hands. Finally, the music stops. A truce has been declared with the blaring whistles of occasional freight trains rolling through west Ogden just a few blocks away. An electric silence descends as worshippers catch their breath.  The Rev. Yolande Yaeger takes the pulpit. It's time, she says, to get right with God.  "We don't have to be perfect little Christians," Yaeger declares. "This place would be empty if that was so -- and so would heaven.   "But you need to be born again by the spirit of God. Take that step of faith," she concludes, turning her head toward the ceiling. "Lord, meet us at the altar. Our faith will rise to meet you, Lord."   It could be any small Pentecostal church in the United States, with one exception both subtle and glaring: In a worldwide movement known for its rock-ribbed conservatism as much as its emotional worship, the overwhelming majority of those at Metropolitan Community this night are gays and lesbians. Perhaps a half-dozen worshippers answer Yaeger's altar call, drifting toward the platform for prayer. A few folding-chair rows behind them, two young men cling to each other, one caressing the small of his companion's back. As the music becomes more subdued, two women embrace, dancing slowly in place.   Up front, Yaeger prays for a college-aged youth to find his "soul mate." She lays hands on him, he quivers at if taking a high-voltage shock and collapses in ecstasy, "slain   by the spirit." A few feet away, a trio of women pray for a middle-aged man. Tears flow, and after a few moments his hands stretch toward the ceiling and he begins to sputter, speaking in tongues. The Rev. Jim Morgan, pastor of the church, and his partner, Joseph Wegener, smile with satisfaction over the flock's response.   They have been together since they met in Alaska 20 years ago. Wegener, 48, works as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor; Morgan, 52, is in full-time ministry, shuffling between his Ogden congregation and one at Sacred Light of Christ MCC in Salt Lake City. Morgan's clerical collar, accessorized with a large brass cross dangling over his green satin robe, hints at his Roman Catholic upbringing and early interest in the priesthood.  "It was when I was in seminary I discovered I was gay," he said. "I left the seminary. At the time, I thought the last thing the church needed was a gay priest.   "I spent the next 12 to 13 years just sort of wandering in a spiritual vacuum. Then Troy Perry founded the Metropolitan Community Church (in 1968, after being defrocked by his Pentecostal denomination for being gay)."   Morgan soon became a minister in the denomination that now serves more than 40,000 members in 15 nations.   Earlier in the service, Stacey and Judy, a lesbian couple, slipped into the night for a cigarette.   Going on their eighth year together, they talked about how their long search for an "accepting, affirming" religious environment had finally ended at MCC.   "You're not condemned here. You're not told you're going to hell. You're told that you're loved -- there's a big difference," Stacey said.   "In [other] Pentecostal churches they get up there and tell you homosexuality is wrong," she added. "I have to be me and be happy. If that means going to hell, then so be it."   Judy said she came to MCC knowing she "was missing that religious part of my life.  "These people here just make you feel like you're loved. They want you to be happy."   Inside, the all-lesbian Chadash rocks the aging former Catholic chapel where Morgan founded Glory to God MCC in 1996. During a more contemplative break, Yaeger's partner, the diminutive Rev. Lee Thompson, does an expressive liturgical dance as the band sings. And Yaeger preaches her gospel of acceptance.   "We're all on a lifelong journey," she says. "We need something to sustain us."   Another train clatters down the tracks, its whistle fading toward an unknown destination.

1999 UTAH THREE UTAH MCC CHURCHES TO PARTICIPATE IN 'EQUALITY BEGINS AT HOME' Deseret News, March 20, 19993 Utah churches to join gay rally By Carrie A. Moore, Deseret News religion editor Members of three Utah congregations affiliated with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches will participate in a nationwide mobilization of gay and lesbian activists scheduled March 21-27. Called "Equality Begins At Home," the series of marches, protests and rallies is being dubbed "one of the largest grassroots organizing campaigns in the history of the (national) Gay and Lesbian Task Force movement," with" actions in all 50 states" to focus attention on legislative battles over gay rights.      In Utah, a rally has been scheduled for Saturday, March 27, at noon on the steps of the state Capitol to push for passage of a non-discrimination bill. The Rev. Jim Morgan, pastor of Glory to God Metropolitan Community Church in Ogden, said members of his church – along with Metropolitan Community Church congregations in Logan and Salt Lake City – will support the national event.      "We have a three-pronged approach to the gospel, and the third prong is social justice.  We believe the church must also be involved in that." Even so, the Rev. Morgan says he is not aware of any efforts by church members to actually lobby legislators in Utah.  "That's a little too organized for what we're doing here.  Most of the people here in Ogden exercise their right to change legislation by voting." The Rev. Morgan said services at Metropolitan Community Churches – all of which affirm gay, lesbian and transgendered members – follow "very mainstream Protestant Christianity. They include charismatic singing, evangelical preaching and a communion service" that is more liturgical than most.  Formed in 1968 "as a healing response to the condemnation lesbians and gay men experience in most Christian denominations," members of MCC churches "celebrate the fullness of the gospel – the Good News of God's love through Jesus Christ to every person," according to information on the parent organization's Web site. Many members of the Rev. Morgan's congregations (he's also serving as pastor of Salt Lake's Sacred Light of Christ Metropolitan Community Church) were "emotionally and spiritually bleeding" when they found the church, he said.      Homosexuality is "a topic most people would rather not deal with.  It conjures up their views of AIDS and death and 'people getting their just deserts' for what they've done."  Indeed, how to handle same-sex marriage and homosexual clergy are issues that continue to divide many mainstream Protestant denominations.  Several have used the Bible as the basis for legislated church policy on the issues, only to have those policies continually challenged.  Individual churches withdraw from some denominations in protest.  Talk of schism and separation abounds. Yet the Ogden congregation has found "some very good friends in the Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ.  There are also some Episcopalians – in most cases it's pockets rather than whole groups of people," the Rev. Morgan said.  Such dialogue with other churches "has been slow (coming), but I have a lot of hope for it.      "As people see that we don't have three heads and four arms – we're not the monsters people have painted us to be.  With interfaith dialogue, maybe it becomes nothing more than we agree to disagree.  But it's very difficult to hate someone with a face – and very easy to hate a group you don't know."

 

Clay Whitmer and Stuart Matis 

2000 Clay Douglass Whitmer (1965-2000) committed suicide. Clay Douglass Whitmer was born May 21, 1965. He was an incredibly intelligent person. He had an M.B.A. and a J.D. He could pick up just about any subject matter with complete ease. He was someone who had very high aspirations. Clay had been involved with Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons as a member of the San Francisco chapter. His family lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Clay had a very complicated relationship with his parents, and they have decided not to memorialize his life or death. Clay committed suicide in the San Francisco Bay Area on March 20, 2000--three weeks after his friend Stuart Matis. Stuart was Clay's very dear friend. They went to Brigham Young University

together and served Mormon missions together in Italy. The death of his friend Stuart may have been the last straw in Clay's life. He wrote in his suicide note that he wanted to say good-bye to all his friends and to apologize for the pain he knew he would cause them. He also chose a place to commit the suicide which he knew none of his friends had any particular connection to. Peculiar as it may sound, even in contemplating his own death, he thought of others. This was the type of person he was.

  

2000  Newsweek feature an article on their cover Special Report Gay Today How the battle for acceptance has moved schools, churches, marriage & the workplace.

2003 Chad Ketter to Paul Cunato: Paul,  I am not afraid to tell you or the rest of the board that the cart is before the horse, and I think that we as a board need to drop the Pollyanna attitudes, and get down to business  to: 1) making right 2003 to the community and the sponsors.  2) Address the structure and purpose of UGRA. 3) Create and implement a 5 year business plan 4) Address and put in place policy and procedure for a Rodeo Program 5) Create a 5 and 10 year business plan for the Rodeo Program 6) Prepare for convention 7) Look at how to get competitors to our Rodeo. There are issues that must be addressed first before we get into trouble with the state.  We need to have a collective vision, and then move forward.  We don't even have a date for Rodeo 2004, or

Paul Canuto

even been approved by IGRA to have a rodeo. From the States point of view, no solicitations until a date has been officially set.  Lets clean up the organization first so we have support from a strong membership,  then address the rodeo, then present the vision

Chad Keller

and long term business plan to the members, and then start calling for volunteers from the community and membership to sit on committees and start creating 2004.  UGRA wasted 6 months or more of my time.  I will not let this board do that to the membership or community.  The ship my friends is still sinking. 2004 right now is just a dream, and the nightmare is still in play.    Lets make things right to our members (the crew), and address why UGRA has become stagnant so we can have support and not be in the same mess again this time next year.  With Respect and Regards, Chad Keller Fundraising Coordinator 2003 UGRA PS Thursdays at the Paper Moon is not a time to be having board discussions or making decisions.  CK

2005 Sissy Becomes a Star Children of all ages are invited to attend  the first children’s concert of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir—Oliver Button is a Sissy. This concert has a universal and heartwarming theme—it’s okay to be different. Oliver Button is a Sissy was premiered in 2000 by the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. The work was jointly commissioned by TCGMC and the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, and the Heartland Men’s Chorus. Based on the book by acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola, the 20-minute piece was composed by Minnesota-based composer Alan Shorter. Oliver Button is a boy who doesn’t fit other people’s ideas about how boys should behave. He prefers dancing to baseball. He is  mercilessly teased at school and called a “sissy.” When Oliver enters the local talent show, though, his classmates realize he has unique and wonderful gifts, and he becomes a star in their eyes. This charming story carries urgent messages–not just about acceptance and tolerance, but about celebrating diversity and encouraging individuals to be true to themselves.  The concert will feature other works and should be enjoyed by people of all ages.  Salt Lake Men’s Choir, under the artistic direction of Lane Cheney, is one of Utah’s largest member-supported arts organizations and is celebrating its 22nd season as “Utah’s OTHER Choir.” The choir just returned from Washington, D.C. where they performed as part of the National Cathedral’s quadrenial “Utah Day” Governor Jon Huntsman, Episcopal Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish and Calvary Baptist Church Pastor France A. Davis participated in the services. The event built bridges between people of differing faiths. Some of the participants and “the members of our choir, most of whom are gay, have quite different views regarding homosexuality,” Cheney told the Salt Lake Tribune. “But the point of a national house of prayer is that all of God’s children are welcome to come through the door,” he said. “It’s a place where we can overlook our differences and celebrate the fact we are all God’s children.”  The choir performed African-American spirituals, Protestant hymns and the LDS standard “Come, Come Ye Saints” prior to the service.  Sunday, March 20, 4pm. Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 West Broadway (300 West). Tickets $4-10 through ArtTix at 355-ARTS

2006   Dear Community Member: Supporters of HB148 Parent And Child Amendments sponsored by Rep. Christensen are working very hard to get Governor Huntsman to sign this bill. He must make a decision tomorrow to either sign or veto HB148. Let's do our part to make sure it's a veto. Please call and/or email the Governor's office with a simple comment, "I am opposed to HB148 Parent And Child Amendments. Please veto this bill." Let's do this both today and tomorrow. 

2006 Paul Rolly's Column in SL Tribune A familiar chorus: The liberal gay and lesbian community of Salt Lake City and the conservative moralists of Utah County might have more in common than they think. They are equally intolerant. Remember when conservatives in Utah County had a tizzy because the Utah Valley State College Student Council invited liberal filmmaker Michael Moore to speak on campus? Remember how some of them even tried to bribe the council if it would disinvite Moore? Well, now the gay and lesbian community at the University of Utah is circulating a petition asking the administration to remove Larry Miller as the keynote speaker at the annual "Discover U Days" celebration April 21. "By extending Mr. Miller this opportunity, the University of Utah is condoning the use of hate speech and insidious tactics of segregation. We believe that institutions of higher education, most especially those dedicated to ideals of equal opportunity, must take a stand against all forms of prejudice and hate," the petition says. It also demands an apology from university administrators. Sounds pretty much like what the neocons of Utah County were saying when they tried to keep Moore out, doesn't it? Miller, as you might recall, canceled the gay-themed "Brokeback Mountain" before it ever opened at one of his movie theaters.

2014 Anti-gay preacher and founder of Westboro Baptist Church dies at 84 Fred Phelps • Preacher drew scorn for linking anti-gay demonstrations to military funerals. BY MICHAEL PAULSON THE NEW YORK TIMES Topeka, Kan. • The Rev. Fred Phelps, the virulently anti-gay preacher who drew wide, scornful attention for staging demonstrations at military funerals as a way to proclaim his belief that God was punishing America for its tolerance of homosexuality, died here late Wednesday. He was 84. The Westboro Baptist Church confirmed the death, declaring on one of its websites, “Fred W. Phelps Sr. has gone the way of all flesh.” The church did not give a cause of death, but Phelps had been living under hospice care. Phelps, who founded and led Westboro, a small nondenominational church in Topeka, was a much-loathed figure at the fringe of the U.S. religious scene, denounced across the theological and political spectrum for his beliefs, his language and his tactics. His congregation, which claims to have staged tens of thousands of demonstrations, is made up almost entirely of his family members, many of whom lived together in a small Topeka compound, although in recent years some of his children and grandchildren had broken with the group. A disbarred civil rights lawyer who had once been honored by the NAACP and who ran for office repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, as a Democrat, Phelps seemed to accept the criticism if not relish it. He believed that the United States was beyond saving, and he devoted his life to traveling with a small band of protesters to highlight what he saw as America’s sinfulness and damnation. His church’s website maintains a running tally of “people whom God has cast into hell since you loaded this page.” Fred Waldron Phelps was born Nov. 13, 1929, in Meridian, Miss. He said that he had been admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point but that after high school he had what his official biography called “a profound religious experience” and decided instead to pursue a Christian higher education, first at Bob Jones College in Tennessee and then, when the institution moved, at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. He did not graduate. He devoted himself to evangelism, and in 1951, when he was 21, he was profiled in Time magazine because his denunciations of “promiscuous petting” and “teachers’ filthy jokes in classrooms” on a California college campus had brought him into conflict with the administration. He married Margie Marie Simms in 1952, and in 1954 the couple moved to Topeka. They had 13 children, 54 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, according to the church’s website. Phelps established Westboro Baptist in 1955.