23 March 23-
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| Thomas Taylor |
1888 Southern Utonian Chit-Chat page 8 The case of Thomas Taylor charge sodomy, has
been continued until next term In 1886, Mormon leaders used homosexual accusations to politically
destroy the character of one of their own elite. Thomas Taylor, the
wealthy polygamous bishop of the Salt Lake 14th Ward, was
excommunicated for masturbating with several young men in Southern
Utah. In Brent Corcoran's brilliant biography of Thomas Taylor (which
focuses on his conflict over business dealings with church leaders and
his apparently accurate claim that he was repeatedly "swindled" by
church president John Taylor [no relation] and First Counselor, George
Q. Cannon). As Corcoran has documented, Thomas Taylor was made bishop of the Salt
Lake Fourteenth Ward in 1872 The main conflict between Thomas Taylor and the John
Taylor-George Q. Cannon duo arose over iron properties that Thomas
Taylor owned and wanted to develop in Iron County (at a profit to both
himself and his church). President Thomas Jones of the Parowan Stake where
Thomas's iron properties were located" in July 1887, concerning his
"lascivious conduct with certain young men" two years earlier. Taylor,
who had been arrested the year previous for cohabitation with his
polygamous wives, was now facing charges from four young men that he
"had taught them the crime of Masturbation". These accusations of sexual impropriety came from Richard Williams of
Parowan, brothers Simeon W. Simkins and William W. Simkins of Cedar
City, and a fourth, unnamed teenager (out of the area during the
trial) who alleged that Thomas Taylor had on several occasions slept
with them and during the night had used their hands to masturbate him.
1928 J H Best pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and was
sentenced to serve 90 days in the county jail. Best was first charged with
assault with the intent to commit a ““Crime Against Nature”” with a young Ogden
boy as his victim. However he agreed to plead guilty if the felony charge was
reduced to a misdemeanor. Ogden Standard Examiner
1929 Utah’s
Sterilization law was amended to insert the word "degenerate" into
the description of those eligible to be sterilized. Now, "habitual
degenerate sexual criminal tendencies" were required to be possessed
before one could be sterilized. The sterilization law was challenged in the
interesting case of Davis v. Walton, from 1929. (The case was decided after the
1929 amendment was passed, but before its effective date, and brought under the
1925 law). The Utah Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of
the law, but also unanimously blocked the planned sterilization of prisoner African American homosexual Esau Walton. Walton, who, the Court said, was unmarried and began his criminal
career with the theft of "silk shirts," was scheduled to be sterilized
because he had been seen with another inmate in a cell at the state prison. A
blanket was hung over the window of the cell. Appellant and the inmate were
both partly undressed. They had their pants down. Appellant’s associate was
lying on his stomach on a cot. The appellant was on top of him. When
interrupted, the appellant’s penis was erect. The guard further testified that
appellant frequently acted lovingly towards other boys who were confined in the
prison. Another prisoner testified that Walton had solicited
him. The prison warden E. R. Davis eagerly recommended
sterilization
on the basis of Walton’s race and homosexuality. Nevertheless,
the Court found this activity not to be covered by the command of the law. The Court’s ruling upheld the
constitutionality of forced sterilization, but Walton was not
sterilized
because there was no evidence that Walton’s condition was hereditary.
Due to
this, there was no basis for sterilizing; the law states that “Its
purposes are
eugenics and therapeutic”. Despite
the sterilization law’s permission to include sexual criminals, through the end
of 1948, all of the 555 persons sterilized in Utah were either insane or mentally challenged. Laws of Utah 1929, page 75, ch. 59, enacted Mar. 23, 1929, effective
May 14, 1929
1933-
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| Kurt Hiller |
Kurt Hiller,
organizer of the Berlin sex law reform coalition, was imprisoned in Oranienburg
concentration camp. Hiller was an influential writer in the early German Gay Rights movement in the first two decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Hiller took over as chairman of the Scientific Humanitarian Committee from fellow gay activist Magnus Hirschfeld From the end of 1933 to 1934, he spent time in a variety of concentration camps before fleeing to Prague later in 1934, and then to London in 1938.
1976- “I met Larry at the Heber J. Grant Building at BYU
while he had to wait to take a test at the testing center. I just sat on the floor by the stairs with
him. I must have been beaming because I
noticed that this one guy walked by and gave us a dirty look like he knew what
we were up to. I don’t care
anymore. I love Larry so much but I am
so confused. I am waiting for it all to
catch up with us because sin always does. I do love the Lord but why do I feel
like this? I feel so happy, so whole and
complete with Larry but when he’s gone I feel like I’ve betrayed everything I
believe in. Michael my roommate has been leaving a copy of Miracle of
Forgiveness around the apartment so I guess he knows. Larry said that BYU security is definitely
following him and tapping his phone so he only calls me from phone booths now.
He said that we can’t meet on campus any more. It’s too risky. He said that he heard that security is making
a list of people on campus that are going to be turned in.” Writes a BYU student in his journal.
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| Norman Pittenger |
1977- The Coalition on Human Sexuality and Alternative Lifestyles
in cooperation with the Gay Services Coalition held a closed workshop for
leaders of the Gay and lesbian Community in Salt Lake City. Purpose of the
workshop was to provide dialogue between the leadership of Women Aware, the Gay
Services Coalition, the Gay Student Union, the Open Door, The Gay Crisis Line,
and other representatives. This was the second annual Workshop for the Gay
Community. Coalition on Human Sexuality
and Alternative Lifestyles also brought Dr. W. Norman Pittenger, an Anglican
Church priest, to Saint Marks to speak at a seminar for the Gay Community. (William)
Norman Pittenger (1905 - 1997) was a foremost 20th century pioneer in the
exploration of human sexuality within a Christian context. His 1967 “Time for
Consent: A Christian's Approach to Homosexuality” was probably the first work
in the English language by a prominent theologian that argued for the full
acceptance of committed same-sex relationships within the Christian Church.
After the publication of this book, courageous for his era, Pittenger became
discreetly open about his own homosexual orientation. For several decades Dr.
Pittenger included in his scholarly pursuits writings about human sexuality,
and he supported gay movements for equality - including Integrity, the
Episcopal Church’s official association for LGBT individuals. In 1975 he gave
the keynote address to the first national convention of Integrity entitled
"Making a Case for Gays in the Church and in the Ministry." Norman
Pittinger believes the same criteria hold for either heterosexual love or
homosexual love: “the centrality and primacy of love—love which is mutuality,
sharing, giving-and-receiving, life together in the most radical sense of the phrase.
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| Russ Lane |
1986- RESTORATION CHURCH- AFFIRMATION The first Spring
Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of
All Later Day Saints was held in Los Angeles. John Butler led the Sacrament meeting in Salt Lake City. The 4th meeting of the Wasatch
Chapter of Affirmation was held at Crossroads
Urban Center.
Russ Lane
discussed forming the chapter as the official chapter of Affirmation in Salt Lake City. The
national charter stated that all Affirmation meetings must start with an
opening Prayer however several at the meeting opposed most noticeable this cute
young kid named Scott Mills. However Russ Lane was quite
adamant the national charter be followed and after a vote it was agreed in Russ Lane’s
favor. I suggested that if people didn’t
care to pray in public which is understandable they could always attend the
Salt Lake Chapter which doesn’t open with a prayer.
1995- Dennis Max Wagstaff, age 57, died at home of
complications of the HIV virus. Retired driver of U.T.A. Member local #38 U.T.A.
Enjoyed aviculture, gardening, and raising birds. He was an associate of Charles Van Dam who died of AIDS in 1988.
1996 Candidates Cultivating Grass-Roots Politics Delegates Will Sprout From Utah Caucuses
Caucuses: Race Mounts For Delegates Byline: By Dan Harrie THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The first important elections of the 1996 campaign season in Utah are scheduled
Monday at 7 p.m. in living rooms throughout the state. Called precinct
caucuses, the informal meetings are as grassroots as politics gets. Neighbors
open their homes for an hour or so of political gossip, often over snacks, and
then elect delegates to county and state party conventions. Those delegates
play an important role in determining which candidates end up on the ballots
for the Nov. 5 election. Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or independent,
any resident can attend the caucus of choice in his or her neighborhood, vote
and even run as a delegate. ``It's
fashionable to complain about government. But if you're not willing to get off
your duff and attend caucus meetings, you really don't have much room to
complain about the candidates,'' said Utah Republican Director Russ Behrmann.
One fear of political organizers: competition with ``Oscar night'' -- the
Academy Awards presentation Monday night.
``People may have to miss those first awards -- makeup and special
effects and best costumes,'' said state Democratic Director Todd Taylor. ``But
like somebody I know said, `I know how to set my VCR.' '' Behrmann said because most caucuses are
completed in an hour or so, he sees little reason why the Academy Awards should
interfere with caucuses. ``And if you're a real Oscar freak, have your Oscar
party with your neighbors at the caucuses.'' Both party executives stressed the
magnified impact voters can have at this early stage in the election process,
because relatively few people participate.
``The ones who attend their caucus meetings are the ones who have their
voices heard,'' Behrmann said. ``Special interests have certainly learned to
manipulate them.'' One traditionally powerful caucus-stacking organization is
the Utah Education Association teachers union, which aims at boosting
``education-friendly'' candidates.
Special interests from gun rights to gay rights are actively lining up
people to attend caucuses and win election as delegates. The Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats have long
targeted caucuses to secure their influence in the Democratic Party. But another gay political action group -- the
Utah Log Cabin Republicans -- has promised a spirited caucus foray this
year. ``Like it or not,'' the group
said in a news release earlier this week, ``the Republican Party is the only
political game in town.' Organization
President D.J. Thompson said: ``Whether they are Republican or not, ULCR
encourages gay, lesbian and bisexual people to attend the Republican Party
Caucuses.'' Christian right and anti-gun
control advocates also are organizing. The Utah Shooting Sports Council (USSC),
a National Rifle Association affiliate, has mailed out more than 1,000 packets
to firearms enthusiasts telling them how to become involved and win election as
delegates. They also have sponsored as many as eight training sessions during
the past several months. ``Government is run by those who show up and speak
up,'' said USSC spokesman Scott Engen. ``Silence does imply consent.''
Candidates, too, do their best to ``stack'' the caucuses with their friends and
supporters. The most heated delegate wars are in Salt
Lake County's
2nd Congressional District and the 3rd Congressional District, centered in Utah County.
Six Republicans are elbowing one another in the 3rd District for the
opportunity to face off with Democratic Rep. Bill Orton. ``We're working our
tails off,'' said GOP hopeful Tom Draschil, of Provo. ``In this district, there has never
been a race where these neighborhood meetings were worked so vigorously.''
Another Utah County Republican candidate -- venture capitalist Chris Cannon --
has been running television commercials for weeks. Most candidates this early
in the campign rely on more traditional methods of communication -- open
houses, direct mail and telephone banks. Merrill Cook appears to be the king of
direct mail so far. The Salt Lake City
Republican, former Independent Party leader, said he has sent out 23,000 pieces
of mail in preparation for delegate selection. His campaign phone contacts have
topped 12,000. ``It's the most
sophisticated delegate operation in the state,'' Cook said. Cook's strategy is twofold: to woo past
delegates and to recruit fresh blood into the party through the delegate
elections. There is plenty of
competition, though. Eight candidates have filed for the Republican nomination
in the 2nd District seat being vacated by scandal-tainted GOP Rep. Enid Greene
Waldholtz. The 2nd District also is the
center of action for the Democratic Party caucuses. It is the only major
contest in which Democrats have more
than one candidate battling for the nomination. Candidate and civil-rights
attorney Ross Anderson has been working for months to shore up delegate
support. State Rep. Kelly Atkinson jumped into the race just this week and is
scrambling to play catchup in the delegate sweepstakes Each Democrat has an eye
on the goal of capturing enough support to knock out the other at the state
Democratic Convention on May 11. More than 500 delegate votes are needed to
lock up the nomination and avoid a divisive primary.
1998- The
7th annual Utah AIDS Foundation Oscar Night Gala was held at the Utah State
Fairpark: Members of the Gay Rodeo Association, sold Jell-O shots; and members
of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire, sold raffle tickets. One of the
silent auction's most coveted items was a walk-on part on the popular CBS-TV
series,``Touched by an Angel.'' The annual Utah AIDS Foundation Oscar Night Gala was held at the Utah State
Fairpark: “Where men are women and women are men and cowgirls are cowboys and
.. . It is all confusing, but also a lot of fun. There was a little bit of everything at the
eventat the Utah State Fairpark this year. A manon roller skates in a billowing
dress with hairpiled to the ceiling, a la Fanny Brice; Utah's own Men in Black,
members of the Gay Rodeo Association,
selling Jell-O shots; men made up and dressed in mouth-watering formals;
members of the Royal Court of the Golden
Spike Empire, selling raffle tickets.
Of course, there are the more ``coventional'' guests as well, people
like Jeff and Susie Noland,
suburbanite parents of four, active in their LDS ward. ``It's fun to have an excuse toget away from the kids,'' says Susie.
Jeff adds,``We love the Oscars, we watch them every year. This is a great
opportunity to get dressed up and have a good time while we're doing it.''
And then there is artist/framer Diane
Cliff, accompanied by real estate agent John K.Patton. Her 14-year-old son, Sean, did not want to see the
show. ``I don't want to encourage him to watch more TV, so I'm here tonight
because I want to watch the program without my son turning it off.'' Julie Mayhew, director of development, Utah
AIDS Foundation, admits that when
the Oscar gala started 10 years ago, it
was difficult to get corporate sponsorship.
- Desert News The Utah AIDS Foundation is gearing up for the state's largest Academy
Awards gathering. "Reel Love," its seventh annual Oscar Night Gala, will be held Monday night at the Utah State Fairpark's Grand Building, 155 N. 1000 West. The yearly gala, the organization's second-largest fund-raising event, has drawn as many as 2,000 people, and it has all the makings of a grand Hollywood premiere, said Barbara Shaw, the foundation's executive director."(It) offers Utahns the opportunity to contribute to the fight against HIV and AIDS while enjoying the glitter of the Academy Awards at the same time," she said. This year's gala begins at 6 p.m. and will include a live telecast of the 70th Annual Academy Awards, a full catered dinner, a silent auction and the big band sound of Joe Muscolino and his orchestra. Tickets for the event are $45 per person, $360 for a table of eight or $1,000 for corporate tables. They are available from all Smith'sTix locations or by calling the Utah AIDS Foundation at 487-2323.
 |
| Wendy Weaver |
1999
GAY RIGHTS WENDY WEAVER GAY TEACHERS
UTAH NEBO SCHOOL DISTRICT ORDERED TO
PAY COSTS IN WEAVER LAWSUITTHE DESERET NEWS
Nebo School District's losing bid to silence teacher Wendy Weaver will cost the district
$61,910.U.S. District Senior Judge Bruce
S. Jenkins has ordered the district to pay that amount to cover Weaver's
attorney fees and legal expenses in her year-long legal battle. Weaver, a Spanish Fork High School
teacher since 1982, sued the district in 1997 after school officials ordered
her not to discuss her "homosexual orientation and
lifestyle." Jenkins ruled in November that the sweeping ban along
with the school's decision not to renew Weaver's volleyball coaching assignment
violated her constitutional rights. With the ruling, Weaver won damages
totaling $1,500.As the prevailing party in the lawsuit, Weaver last week was
further awarded attorney fees and legal expenses. She was represented by
attorneys David Watkiss, Jennifer Middleton and Stephen Clark.
 |
| Kathy Worthington |
1999 GALPAC
GAY CIVIL RIGHTS RALLY UTAH - TINY
RALLY AT THE STATE CAPITOL BEGINS WEEK OF ANTI-GAY COUNTER- DEMONSTRATIONS BY
RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES by Kathy
Worthington, Salt Lake City A handful of right wing conservatives rallied
at the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday March 23 in the first of a week of rallies
meant to counteract the gay rights rallies being held across the country this
week. The group also reportedly plans
to be at the Capitol on Saturday, when a Utah
rally is planned as part of nationwide "Equality Begins At Home"
events, according to as spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (GALPAC), one of the
groups organizing the Saturday rally. Just how many conservatives will actually
come out for the anti-gay counter-demonstration is not known, of course, as
such efforts have not drawn large groups in the past, at least not in Utah. That this writer can remember, the only time
in the past that a fairly large number of people has turned out on the
"anti-gay" side was at a Salt Lake City school board meeting to
discuss the gay clubs issue, and, even at that 1996 meeting, those who favored
outlawing gay clubs were outnumbered by those in favor of the clubs. One
positive side of the conservative's decision to counter-demonstrate is that it
means the mainstream media will be more likely to cover the event and discuss
the issues. Coverage of such events in the mainstream media is one way to get
people thinking about and discussing the issues. Such coverage is also often a catalyst for
getting closeted gay people to come out and to get involved. Some gay or
gay-friendly people, however, get frightened by the presence of anti-gay
demonstrators and/or the media and that makes them stay away from events like
Saturday's rally. It will be interesting
to see how many folks each side is able to get to the rally.
2005 Rolly: State
worker used card in fraud By Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist Salt Lake Tribune
Utah officials have been quite public recently about their efforts to crack
down on identity theft and porn sites. Yet callers to the State Department of
Natural Resources wanting to reserve campsites and picnic grounds in state
parks were in danger recently of having their credit cards used to pay for
telephone time in interstate gay porn chat rooms. A 23-year-old reservationist
for the Natural Resources Department has pleaded guilty to felony credit card
fraud after admitting he used someone else's credit card to make three
telephone calls to the interstate chat room at a total cost of about $100.
2006 Gay advocacy group to pay a visit to BYU campus By Todd
Hollingshead The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune PROVO - Preachers and
proselytizing are nothing new at Brigham Young University. But the missionary
force due on campus next month is spreading a doctrine rarely if ever heard at
the LDS Church-owned school. Their message: BYU discriminates against gays and
that's not OK. Soulforce - a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy
group - is scheduled to visit the school April 10 as part of a nationwide
Equality Ride tour. After previous stops at other religious schools and
military academies, more than 30 advocates plan to comb the Provo campus to talk to students about how
BYU allegedly oppresses homosexuals. "All these schools teach history, and
history shows a wealth of information that religion has been misused time and
again to discriminate against people," said Jacob Reitan, co-director of
Equality Ride. "Is it really OK that I couldn't be a student at BYU simply
because I'm gay?" BYU's Honor Code - which prohibits extramarital sex and
drug and alcohol use - addresses homosexuality in this way: "Brigham Young University
will respond to student behavior rather than to feelings or orientation.
Students can be enrolled at the university and remain in good Honor Code
standing if they maintain a current ecclesiastical endorsement and conduct
their lives in a manner consistent with gospel principles and the Honor Code.
"Advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle [whether implied or explicit] or any
behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in
nature, are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code." BYU officials sent
a campuswide e-mail this week advising students and faculty of the impending
Soulforce visit. In her message, Vice President of Student Life Janet Scharman
told students and faculty that BYU's campus is open to all visitors as long as
they are courteous and engage in nondisruptive, civil dialogue.
"Individuals may not, however, harass our students, faculty or staff or
use our campus as a public forum in violation of BYU's public-expression
policy," she wrote. "This policy applies to anyone or any
organization that wishes to come onto our campus." BYU junior Matt Snow
doesn't mind Soulforce advocates coming to campus. "If anything, it should
solidify how we feel about the matter," said the exercise-science major.
Scharman said BYU has told Soulforce the school will not change its policies or
practices to accommodate the group's desire to promote its initiatives. She
added if Soulforce activists follow BYU's policies, then students and faculty
should show them the same civility. "They should be treated fairly,"
said BYU freshman Jessie Cook, a Houston
native. "Just because we don't believe in what they're doing doesn't mean
we think they're bad or we're discriminating against them." Soulforce
Riders have run into resistance at several campuses on their 19-stop,
coast-to-coast venture, many confrontations leading to arrests. Richard
Lindsay, a spokesman for the Equality Riders, said the advocates are not afraid
to trespass if a school refuses to allow them on campus. "If we feel like
the school is cutting us off and not letting us have any kind of forum, then
we're willing to take a more direct approach," Lindsay said. Members of
the group have been arrested at Liberty
University (Lynchburg,
Va.), Regent
University (Virginia
Beach, Va.) and Oral Roberts
University (Tulsa, Okla.).
Lindsay said the group is stopping at schools with written policies against
homosexual activity.thollingshead@... Soulforce rally Besides its visit to Brigham Young
University, Soulforce also plans to
stage a rally April 10 at 6 p.m. at Provo's Kiwanis Park.
 |
| Paul Mero |
2006 Governor Vetoes HB148 – "We'll Bring it Back Next
Year" An important piece of legislation that supports the natural family
and the traditional definition of parents' rights under law was vetoed by
Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. just before the deadline on March 21, 2006. But as
Sutherland Institute President Paul T. Mero commented in a interview with KSL News Radio's Doug Wright, HB148: Parent and Child Amendments
will be back next year. From the full interview transcript: Doug: Your reaction
to the Governor's veto of this bill? Paul: For us, it just means we have more
work to do. When things don't go as we
hoped, typically what we do is look in the mirror and say, "what could we
have done better on this?" We thought that we had taken care of all of the
concerns of the critics, as regarding grandparents and step-parents, etc. But,
we'll go back to the drawing board, bring it back next year, and take the
Governor at his word in his letter to the Speaker and the Senate President that
he looks forward to seriously reconsidering this issue.…Doug: Do you know what
I have enjoyed so much in this conversation? Because I am not an attorney, I'm
not an expert in family law, and there were some very intriguing things in this
bill and some things that, honestly, I wondered about just as good, old,
rank-and-file citizen, Doug Wright. But the thing that I've so appreciated that
I have seen absent in some other things (is) the civility, in at least what I
have been involved in, and what I have witnessed in the conversation of this,
were people going, "This is well-intended; now what can we do to maybe
take care of this concern?" And you go, "Well, okay, you know we felt
strongly about that, but maybe that can be worded differently." I wish
that it happened more often in this way. Now, obviously, you and others are not
happy that it was vetoed, but it seems certainly not to be dead. And the good
aspects of this bill will very likely – and I'll be disappointed if they're not
– resurrected next year. Paul: Right, yes, and I appreciate that comment Doug,
it means a lot to me personally and to what we try to project here at
Sutherland.…
2007 LIFE (Love Is For Everyone) at the USU GSA is the Gender Bender Dance
for cross-dressing fun (boys to girls and girls to boys) though you don't have
to dress up to come. It's being hosted on the USU campus, in the Taggart Student Center
room 215 (The Walnut Room). It starts at 8 pm and will last until midnight.
It's 5 and 7 dollars for singles and couples.
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