This Day In Gay Utah History March 8th

8 March 8-

1891 Salt Lake Tribune 1891-03-08 A "Lis Pendens" is Field page 5 Sodomy James Hamilton was brought into court and entering a plea of not guilty was to remanded to await his trial on monday next

1921 Greek Held on Grave Charge George Kadaras at city jail on complaint of Omaha young man. George Kadaras is at the city jail facing a charge of sodomy which Jacob White, 19 years old, a transient from Omaha, Nebraska, is at the city jail under medical attention as the result of an assault alleged to have been committed by Kadaras on Saturday night. Kadaras, proprietor of a pool hall at 234 25^th Street was arrested this morning at 11:45 o’clock. According to White’s story he ‘mooched’ Kadaras for the price of a meal Saturday night/ Kadaras complied and told the youth that he could spend the night at his room.  The youth upon entering Kadaras’ room, located at near 23^rd and Lincoln Avenue accepted liquor which Kadaras tendered him, he said.  White claims to have become so intoxicated after that he did not know what happened after that. White called on Dr. Wiley M Cragun the next morning. After examination, Dr. Cragun reported the case to the police. Kadaras it is claimed denies all knowledge of the alleged occurrence other than that he allowed White to spend the night. Ogden Standard Examiner.

1933 Accused of a ““Crime Against Nature”” with a young boy march 5, Charlie Downing waived preliminary hearing and was held to await the actions of the District Court under a bond of $500. When arrested Downing gave his age as 47 and claimed residence in an Ogden rooming house Ogden Standard examiner

1965 Darrell Bishop age 27 and Gay friend of murdered George Moriarty was arrested for driving on a revocation license in Salt Lake City. (SLTribune 38-1)

1969 Utah lowers the penalty for sodomy from a felony to a misdemeanor to ensure more convictions knowing modern judges were reluctant to convict an man of a felony. In 1969, Utah became the first state in the nation to pass a law whose sole purpose was to reduce the penalty for sodomy from a felony to a misdemeanor. The new law eliminated the reference to "detestable and abominable ““Crime Against Nature””" and reduced the penalty for consensual acts to a maximum of six months in the county jail, and/or a fine of up to $299.61 Other acts of sodomy were penalized more severely.

1970 Salt Lake City Hippy Charles [Charlie Brown}  Posted Bail and released from jail. (SLTribune B-7)

1970-The Snake Pit, a Gay bar in Greenwich Village, was raided by police. 150 bar patrons were arrested. One of those arrested was Argentinean national Diego Vinales, whose fear of being discovered was so great he jumped out of a window at the police station in order to avoid being booked. Miraculously, though he was impaled on the spike of a wrought iron fence, he survived. Police added a charge of resisting arrest. The charges against the other patrons were dropped after a journalist wrote a scathing article about the raid, noting that it is not a crime to be a patron in a place where liquor was being served illegally.

1972 Due to Mormon Church pressure, the Idaho legislature repeals the state’s 1971 criminal code revision which decriminalized Sodomy, effective April 1, but passes no replacement code at this time, leaving the legislature to work against the clock to pass a new code.

1973 Utah passes a new criminal code. It retains the misdemeanor sodomy law, but exempts married couples from its coverage. In a comprehensive criminal code revision of 1973,62 a statutory abrogation of common-law crimes was enacted and the sodomy penalty of 1969 was retained. However, the wording made clear that the gender of the parties was irrelevant. Other changes were that married couples were exempted from prosecution, a three-month statute of limitations for the initiation of prosecutions was established, and an act of sodomy was determined to have been completed upon "any touching." The vagrancy law was repealed

1975-Sgt. Leonard Matlovich gave a letter to his superior officer in which he came out. It stated that his sexual orientation would not interfere with his ability to perform his duties.

  

Carlyle D Marsden

1976 Carlyle D. Marsden was outed in March 1976 during the BYU

Carlyle Marsden

purge of homosexuals. This led him to take his own life on March 8, 1976. He was 54 years old. Carlyle D. Marsden (1921-1976) Carlyle Davenport Marsden was born on December 9, 1921, in Parowan, Utah. He was the son of William and Della Jane Marsden. He was survived by his widow, three sons and two daughters, 10 grandchildren, two brothers and four sisters. He had been a music teacher at Eisenhower Junior High School in the Granite School District in Salt Lake, and also taught at Brigham Young University. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the Army in the Pacific Theater. He attended the College of Southern Utah in Cedar City for two years, and received his bachelor degree from Brigham Young University and his masters degree from the University of Utah. He also did graduate work at Claremont College, Occidental and Cal State in Los Angeles, California.  He had filled an LDS Mission in the New England States and had been a member of the bishopric and high council in Pomona, Calif. He had been music regional representative, stake and ward organist, and stake choir director. He had also been Sunday School superintendent in Salt Lake City. Carlyle is buried at the Kaysville City Cemetery in Utah. Carlyle's grandson Douglas Stewart was a gay Mormon and sadly committed suicide on March 8, 2006, exactly 30 years to the day his grandfather committed suicide. Tribute by former student “I recently came across the information in your website (Affirmation) listing Carlyle D. Marsden as one of the LDS members that committed suicide back in 1976 after he was outed as a homosexual.  I am writing to tell you that in 1963-1964 he was my music teacher at Fremont Junior High school in Pomona California. I am now 56 years old and living in Salem, Oregon but I will never forget that man. He taught the best vocal music class I have ever attended. He had written an arrangement for a song called “Master, the Tempest is Raging” I have a recording of our choir singing it with him directing, somewhere deep in my garage.  Mr. Marsden was a great believer in the use of the diaphragm when singing and I have since taught this method, just as he did, to my students. I was horrified that this gentle, wonderful, talented, man ended his life feeling so alone and ashamed of himself. I have remembered him so well and so long because of his dedication and talent as a music teacher. He was caring, and nurturing. He gave us strength just by his presence. I can recount far too many wonderful things that he said and did for us as a class to even begin to put them here in this letter to you. I just though you should know that what you have done on your website is a wonderful memorial to these people. There is not a week that goes by that I have not thought of Mr. Marsden since my junior high school years. I always wanted to be just like him, calm, cool collected and kind to all.  I hope his family knows how many lives he touched in a good and gentle way, yet with the strength of a great leader. So very sad to hear his life ended this way. Thank you for your excellent work in making this horrible truth known.  Jeff

1979-The New York Times runs a front-page photograph of six men being executed by firing squad in Iran for allegedly having committed crimes of “homosexual rape.”  Since the Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power just four weeks earlier, there have been growing reports of gay men — as well as Jews, Baha’is, “blasphemers,” “heretics,” former members of the Iranian aristocracy , and others — being blackmailed, imprisoned, tortured, dismembered, hanged and/or shot. By the time Khomeini gets around to celebrating his first anniversary of his Islamic revolution, the body count is in the thousands

1984- Specialty group for women over 30 and friends met at 20 Jacob Rue for the first time. The group was for older Lesbians and “wishful thinkers” with special things and ordinary topics to discuss, argue about and laugh over. Group became OWLS-Older and Wiser Lesbians.

8 March 1988- I made five dozen  chocolate chip cookies for Unconditional Support tonight. Randy Olsen called and said he wouldn’t be able to lead the meeting tonight so I had to come up with something quick. David Sharpton also called and wanted to address the group about SB 113 and HB 220 to encourage everyone to call Governor Bangerter  and get him to not sign the bills into law. David Sharpton has been up on Capitol Hill making himself known as a person with AIDS and knows more about what these Bills would do then anyone I know.  He's been making the rounds to all the other community organizations sounding the alarm.  These Bills would be the first step to quarantining people with AIDS and restricting the free association of Gay people to meet together.  That idiot Rep. Bangerter from Bountiful said that people with AIDS should be painted red and put on Antelope Island,  Sharpton is encouraging everyone to call Governor Bangerter to veto the bills!  It's a major threat to our civil rights.  If the bills pass I will seriously consider moving from Utah because it would be too risky living here. Anyway the meeting went well. I thought we would have a small crowd but we had at least 35 people in attendance. We talked about Gay Classified Ads and I had everyone write one and then shared them. We discussed our feelings about them.  It was a fun meeting. Afterward Curtis Jensen took some to the show and others [Ben Williams Journal 1988]

1990 Thursday, WOOD SAYS FEAR KEPT HIM FROM INTERVENING TO SAVE MURDER VICTIM  By Lane Williams, Staff Writer Lance Conway Wood, testifying in his own defense Wednesday, said he was frightened of Michael Anthony Archuleta, so he did nothing to stop what he thought would be only a robbery. Wood, 21, is on trial for capital homicide in the bludgeoning death of Southern Utah State College student Gordon Ray Church on Nov. 22, 1988. Wood's testimony will continue Thursday. He took the stand at about 4 p.m. Wednesday and did not have time to explain his version of events at the murder site in remote Dog Valley in southern Millard County. Wood led authorities to Church's body there on Nov. 23. Under questioning from defense attorney Marcus Taylor, Wood did discuss some events that occurred in Cedar Canyon near Cedar City. He said he and Archuleta, 27, met Church late on Nov. 21. The trio began their evening by dragging Main Street in Cedar City. After several intervening episodes, the trio ended up in Cedar Canyon, Wood testified. While Church was still in the car, Wood and Archuleta had exited, Wood testified. Archuleta then told Wood that he intended to rob Church, Wood said. Wood said he made no reply to Archuleta's remark. After Church got out of the car, the trio walked and made small talk, Wood said, but on the way back to the car, Archuleta put a knife to Church's throat. Wood said he grabbed Archuleta's arm, enabling Church to flee. As he escaped, Archuleta cut his neck, and then, after Archuleta tackled him, Church's neck was cut again. Wood said Archuleta threatened Church, and then sodomized him on the hood of Church's car. Wood said he was afraid of Archuleta at the time and didn't flee himself because "I didn't have no place to go." Taylor asked Wood about his involvement in a group called HEAT. The group was, ostensibly, a gang that killed drug dealers and took their money. Officials believe the group is non-existent and was merely a way for inmates in the Iron County Correctional Facility to kill time. Wood testified that he was recruited into the group by Archuleta and another inmate and told to keep the group secret. In mid-November 1988, Wood overheard a telephone conversation of Archuleta's girlfriend, Paula Jones, where she listened to details of an alleged murder of a drug dealer in Arizona. Archuleta was in Arizona at the time. Jones and Wood testified that she called another person to ask if Archuleta might have any involvement, and the man seemed "anxious," she said. Investigators found, however, that no murders took place while Archuleta was in Arizona. Wood said that at the time he believed it was real and was frightened. Wood and his fiance, Brenda Stapley, called Wood's parole officers and asked for some protection. Wood feared because he had told Stapley about HEAT, witnesses have testified. Archuleta has been found guilty of his part in the crime and sentenced to die. dn

1990 Wednesday, USU TO HONOR 7 UTAHNS ON ITS FOUNDERS DAY Utah State University will honor seven Utahns during its Founders Day observance March 8, Thursday, the 102nd birthday of the university. Distinguished Service Awards will go to five people "whose attainments have brought distinction to themselves, credit to the university and a real benefit to their fellow citizens," said Jay Haws, director of the USU Alumni Association. A faculty/alumni committee selects those to be honored and the Institutional Council approves selections. Distinguished Service Awards will go to Calvin Black, Blanding, southeastern Utah business and political leader; Vera Christensen, Logan, a USU graduate, a teacher, historian and preservationist; Christine Durham, Salt Lake City, associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court; S. George Ellsworth, Logan, retired head of the USU history department and founding editor of The Western Historical Quarterly; and Dr. Kristen Ries, Salt Lake City, a physician known for her work with AIDS patients. Oral Ballam, dean of the College of Education at USU, will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award, which is the highest award presented solely by the Alumni Association, Haws said. Ballam served as a teacher and administrator in public schools. As dean at USU his achievements have included educational innovations and planning the new Emma Eccles Jones Education Building just dedicated on campus. Clark P. Giles, Salt Lake City, will be named an Honorary Alumnus. This award goes occasionally to a person who is not a USU alumnus but has been of special service to the school. Giles has been a speaker at legal education seminars presented by USU Extension and other groups. He is attorney for several charitable organizations and foundations, and has been instrumental in transmission of several major charitable gifts to USUprograms. The seven will be honored at a reception March 8 at 5 p.m. in the Sunburst Lounge, Taggart Student Center. The public isinvited.They will also be guests at a Founders Day Dinner at 6:30 p.m. that day in the Student Center Ballroom. (Deseret News)

1998 Michael Mark Bryner died of AIDS complications on March 8, 1998. Survived by his partner of more than nine years, John Apel. Michael Mark Bryner  Our beloved son, brother, friend and counselor, Michael Mark Bryner, returned to his Heavenly Home on Sunday March 8, 1998. Born June 12, 1950, to Mark Leland and Grace Buckwell Bryner. Michael's warmth and compassion deeply touched many lives as a holistic healer and therapist. He was loved and respected by all.

 8 March 1999 ROYAL COURT GAY BARS Zipperz and the Royal Court Karaoke 10pm $5 Hosted by Bridgette and Yvette

8 March 1999 AIDS DEATHS Christopher Shawn Mason, AKA Byron Authur Miller II, 35, passed away March 8, 1999. Chris was a kind, gentle spirit who will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered. Thanks go to caretakers Dr. Kristin Ries and Mr. Charles A. Daniels. A Memorial will be held Saturday, March 13, 1999 from 7-8 p.m. at Arts of Utah, 2226 So. 700 East, Salt Lake City, Utah. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Utah  Aids Foundation. 03/12/1999 Page: C6

Monday March 8, 1999 GAY MEDIA Debut of the Little Lavender Book Online www.lavenderbook.com

 

2000 To Be Gay--And Mormon As a pious churchgoer, Stuart Matis prayed and worked to change his sexual orientation. He died trying. by Mark Miller Newsweek, May 8, 2000, pp. 38-39 It had become an all too familiar sound. Late on the night of Feb. 24, Stuart Matis's mother lay awake in bed, listening to her 32-year-old son pacing his room, unable to sleep. She worried that his depression was worsening. A year earlier Matis had told his parents he was gay, and all three, as devout Mormons, had struggled to reconcile Matis's homosexuality with the teachings of their church. Matis found little comfort in Mormon doctrine, which regards homosexuality as an "abominable" sin. A church therapist instructed him to suppress his sexuality or to undergo "reparative therapy" to become a heterosexual. Matis was especially frustrated by the church's energetic efforts to pass Proposition 22, California's ballot measure banning same-sex marriage. The yes on prop 22 signs that dotted his Santa Clara neighborhood, many placed there by church members, were a reminder of his failure to find acceptance as a Mormon and gay man. Matis concluded he could not be both. That night, his mother got out of bed and wrote a letter asking the church to reconsider its position on gay Mormons. Only later would she learn that her son had been up writing his own letter, to his family and friends, explaining why he couldn't continue to live. Early the next morning, 11 days before voters would overwhelmingly approve Prop 22, Matis drove to the local Mormon church headquarters, pinned a do not resuscitate note to his shirt and shot himself in the head. Matis's death galvanized gay activists, who accused Prop 22 supporters of driving him to the grave. Friends and family agree that the church's active support of the measure contributed to his decision to end his life when—and where—he did. Clearly, they say, he was trying to make a statement. But that is only part of the story. Though gays and lesbians enjoy more rights and protections than ever before—last week Vermont approved same-sex partnerships akin to marriage—gays in search of spiritual support often find their church, synagogue or mosque to be far less accepting. To Mormons, who adhere to a strict moral code of conduct, disapproval by the church can be especially devastating. For Stuart Matis, it apparently was too much to bear. (The Mormon Church declined to comment about Matis. "Suicide is a tragedy of great personal loss for family and community," said a spokesman. "We express our sympathy and have respect for the privacy of the families.") Even as a young boy, friends recall, Matis cherished his Mormon identity and the church's moral demands. But at 7, Matis began harboring a terrifying secret: he realized he was attracted to boys. For the next 20 years he kept the secret from everyone he knew, and prayed fervently for God to make him heterosexual. He tried to make up for what he considered his shortcoming by being perfect in other areas of his life. He studied hard in school and attended every church function he could. Though he deeply loved his family, he showed little outward affection, fearing he would blurt out his secret in an avalanche of emotion. "He would punish himself if he had a [homosexual] thought," says his childhood friend Jenifer Mouritsen. "He wouldn't allow himself to go to a friend's birthday party or [wouldn't] watch his favorite TV program." Instead, he would sit in his room and read Scripture. He set goals for himself not to think about boys for a certain length of time. In some ways, being a Mormon made it easy for Matis to conceal his homosexuality. The religion strictly forbids any intimate physical contact between men and women before marriage. As a teenager, Matis hung out with a group of boys and girls who went to parties and school dances together. As he got older, it became more difficult to keep his feelings hidden. He enrolled at Brigham Young University in Utah, spending hours in the library looking for a technique for becoming straight. After graduating, he eventually landed a job at Andersen Consulting back in California in 1996. Handsome and single, he seemed a perfect catch. At church, he avoided well-meaning members who gently prodded him to settle down with a nice Mormon girl. Finally, early last year, his agony spilled into the open. Depressed and desperate, he had begun for the first time to conclude that maybe the church was wrong. He thought about leaving it. He approached his local bishop, Russell Hancock, and told him he was gay and had thought about killing himself. Hancock, who counseled Matis for several months, says he "pleaded with Stuart. I said if this is a choice between life and the church, he should choose his life." Hancock urged him to tell his parents he was gay. Matis had told only one other person, his friend Clay Whitmer. The two had met in Italy, when both were serving their obligatory proselytizing mission for the church. Back in California years later, Whitmer and Matis confided to each other that they were gay. Matis's brother, Bill, and sister Katherine began wondering aloud about their brother's sexual orientation. Their mother went to Stuart's room early last year to settle the matter once and for all. "Stuart, are you gay?" she asked. "Yes, I am," he said. To Matis's surprise, his family accepted his homosexuality. They spent many evenings talking and crying into the night. He was able to tell them how much he loved them. Unburdening himself to his family was a relief; yet it did little to lift his depression. He struggled to figure out how to live as a gay man without disobeying the teachings of the church—which requires gays and lesbians to remain forever celibate. He went to a few gay dance clubs and parties but didn't dare consider intimacy with men he met, and apparently remained celibate his whole life. Matis's despair mixed with anger. He lashed out at the church's teachings in a blistering, 12-page letter to a cousin. "Straight members have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up gay in this church," he wrote. "It is a life of constant torment, self-hatred and internalized homophobia." Matis stopped going to church altogether, but would not let go of his faith in the church. "He was able to [reject Mormon teachings on homosexuality] intellectually," says Alejandro Navarro, a gay friend, "but emotionally he couldn't." Late last year, he told his parents he'd bought a gun, but warned them that if they tried to put him in an institution he would never speak to them again. The last week of his life, in a final act of separation, he stopped wearing his "garments," the ritual shirt and shorts many Mormons wear under their clothes. Matis's parents found the suicide note on their son's bed the morning of his death. They frantically called his friends, hoping they'd know where he went. One person did: Clay Whitmer. Matis had told Whitmer of his plans to commit suicide. Whitmer planned to cheer up his old friend, but didn't get there in time. A few weeks later, anguished at his friend's death and tormented by his own long-term depression, Whitmer put a gun to his own head. "Mother, Dad and family. I have committed suicide," Matis's note began. "I engaged my mind in a false dilemma: either one was gay or one was Christian. As I believed I was Christian, I believed I could never be gay." Stuart Matis struggled his whole life to resolve that dilemma. The people who dressed him for burial were struck by the sight of his knees, deeply callused from praying for an answer that never came. © Newsweek

2004 Salt Lake Community College’s Gay Straight Alliance Club-Coloring Outside the lines hosted Diversity Week; The Straight Truth Homosexuality is Not Just A Trend.

Douglas Stewart

2006 Douglas Cornell Stewart, Jr. (1973-2006) committed suicide. Douglas Cornell Stewart, Jr., was born July 5, 1973, in Provo, Utah. He committed suicide in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 8, 2006, exactly 30 years to the day his grandfather committed suicide. Douglas was 32. Douglas was a gifted cellist, and was a Utah Sterling Scholar in music. He served an honorable mission for the LDS Church starting in the Hamburg Germany Mission and finishing in the Minneapolis Minnesota Mission. Shortly after his mission, he married in the temple, but after a year of marriage he divorced his wife, came out to his family and friends, and became actively involved in the fight for homosexual rights. Doug received his BA degree in Philosophy from Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Washington. He loved history, art, politics, animals, and nature, and was an avid reader. He is remembered for his sense of humor, his keen intellect, his compassion, and his winning smile. He is survived by his parents, four sisters, and three brothers. In 1998, Doug was one of the presenters at the Affirmation conference held in Portland, Oregon. At that time he was 25. Doug's maternal grandfather was Carlyle D. Marsden, a gay Mormon who took his life in 1976. Doug was dearly loved by his family, and will be missed greatly. A graveside service, for family and friends, was held March 14th, 2006, at the Tonaquint Cemetery.

2006 Wednesday • in the life”A national gay and lesbian newsmagazine on public television Presented by Utah AIDS Foundation Be the first to talk about the show  that everyone is talking about!!  Over a million people are tuning in  nationwide and now we have it in Utah.   When: Wednesday, March 8th 2006  Time:  7:00PM Where: Sprague Library (2131 South 1100 East) in Sugarhouse Downstairs in the Community Room Why:  This 1 hour  episode addresses hot and up to date gay and lesbian issues being discussed  today in our communities. Why:  Come to be entertained.  Come to be educated – or come to meet other guys.  If you do come to see a show that blends hard-hitting journalism, lively entertainment reports, and bold commentary for a no-holds-barred look at gay and lesbian life. Who:  You!! For More Info: Call Simon at the Utah AIDS Foundation @ 487-2323 or visit www.inthelifetv.org/

2006 Dear Community Member: Thanks to those of you who have called and emailed the Governor requesting a Veto of HB148 Parent And Child Amendments. We need to keep up the effort - calls, emails and Letters to the Editor of your local paper. We're hearing reports that those who support the bill are doing the same - let's not be outnumbered on this issue! The Governor's phone number is: 801.538.1000 The Governor's email is: huntsman@...Deseret Morning News Fax: (801) 237-2121 www.deseretnews.com Herald Journal (Logan) Fax: (435) 753-6642 www.jhnews.com Ogden Standard Examiner Fax: (801) 625-4299 www.standard.net Provo Daily Herald Fax: (801) 344-2982 www.harktheherald.com Salt Lake Tribune Fax: (801) 257-8525 www.sltrib.com Saint George Spectrum Fax: (435) 674-6265 www.thespectrum.com

2006 Today's Salt Lake Tribune ran a great Letter to the Editor in opposition to HB148. A hurtful bill The city of Kanab has earned widespread scorn for its intolerant but mostly meaningless "natural family" resolution. Unfortunately, while the public and the news media have been focused on Kanab, the Utah Legislature quietly passed a much more hurtful version of the same thing. Republican Rep. LaVar Christensen's HB148, "Parent and Child Amendments," was intended to prevent same-sex couples from making or enforcing any co-parenting agreements. That alone would be bad enough, but this bill strips away the possibility of parental rights from anyone other than the biological or adoptive parent of a child. This affects loving step-parents, grandparents and anyone else who may be raising a child who is not their own. The courts would be unable to give these people custody of a child over the objections of a drug-addicted or abusive biological parent, even if that were clearly in the child's best interest. It will not matter if the child calls them "mommy" or "daddy." It will not matter how long they have lived together, and it will not matter how strong their bond is. All that will matter is that there is no biological connection. Good, loving families will be ripped apart by this law, just because they do not fit the "natural family" mold, and children will suffer the most. Please urge the governor to veto this bill, before Utah joins Kanab in endorsing "natural families" at the expense of everyone else.  Tom Moyer  Salt Lake City –

2010 Gay legislation to be introduced today? In Section: News Blog » Posted By: Jesse Fruhwirth Salt Lake City Weekly update 4:30 p.m. 3/8/10: This has been revealed as a hoax. Read more here: Punk a Bull, You Get the Horns  A group calling itself Patriots for a Moral Utah will announce legislation at a 1 p.m. press conference today that would bring an "effective end to the tribulation in our blessed state." Hopefully not too good to be true--who doesn't want to end tribulation?--the press release states the legislation will deal with homosexuals who "continually force their choices and behaviors on us." Besides naming the legislation "Utah Fair Solution," the press release offers no specifics on the legislation. According to the press release, In the past 5 years it has become increasingly difficult and troublesome for the stead-fast and moral citizens of Utah to live their lives and their faith in peace, while the homosexuals continually force their choices and behaviors on us. The press release is signed by Paul Jackson of Patriots for a Moral Utah. Remember the moratorium? Supposedly the gay rights community was going to hold off on fair-housing and fair-employment legislation, and others, for at least one year if the anti-gay crowd would hold off on legislation that would irk the gay rights folks during that same time. That made just about everyone angry, but the anger subsided quickly as the 45-day Legislative session whipped into high gear. Now, in the last week of the session, comes this press release. I don't know how seriously to take it. Smarter people than me: can someone even introduce legislation in the last week? Aren't there deadlines? Who is Paul Jackson and has anyone heard of Patriots for a Moral Utah before now? The press release names Nora Young as president. Anyone know her?

2013 Statewide LGBT antibias bill clears historic hurdle in Utah Legislature • Sponsor tells packed Senate panel hearing: "This is a bill for equal rights." BY RAY PARKER THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Gay civil-rights advocates praised Utah senators for passing through committee for the first time Thursday a bill that would prohibit discrimination at work or in housing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill, SB262, a measure that supporters have been working on the past five years, would offer statewide protections which are in place in just 17 municipalities, including Salt Lake City. "I think now is a moment truly to take the time to celebrate," said Brandie Balkan, executive director of Equality Utah, the group that has pushed for the statewide measure, after the vote. "Today for first time, the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community of Utah can see demonstrated progress in attitudes." Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, who sponsored SB262, said all Utahns should have the opportunity to work and keep a roof over their heads. "I've never been more excited about a bill," said Urquhart, who has been in 13 legislative sessions. During the packed Senate-committee hearing, Urquhart spent most of his time telling members what the bill is not, saying the antidiscrimination bill would not create "special protections" for gay and transgender people; that it would not adversely affect small businesses; and that it does not have anything to do with same-sex marriage. The bill would fall under Utah's Antidiscrimination Act, which applies to businesses that employ 15 or more workers but does not apply to religious organizations or associations. Many of the state's largest companies, expressing concerns about the state's economy, favor passage of the statewide bill, including Ancestry.com, eBay, and CHG Healthcare Services. Michael Weinholtz, CEO of CHG, which employees 1,600 people nationwide, told the committee a nondiscrimination bill would help to recruit talented employees to Utah. However, several committee members and speakers expressed the view that homosexual acts are immoral and should be condemned by definition. Sen. Stuart Reid, R-Ogden, asked, "What are the values we're going to advance?" Urquhart responded: "This is a bill for equal rights; it's not about thoughts but actions." Clifford Rosky, associate law professor at the University of Utah and a member of Equality Utah's board, said he's conducted the only survey concerning LGBT discrimination in Utah, which found 43 percent of gay Utahns and 67 percent of transgendered people had been discriminated against for employment. Although the bill passed its first hurdle Thursday, supporters admit it will be difficult getting it through the Senate and House, and having Gov. Gary Herbert sign it. "I've embraced the idea that local governments have found a way ... to address it in their own communities,"Herbert said recently in an interview. The Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee is made up of seven members. In a 4-3 vote, the committee's two Democrats, Sens. Patricia Jones and Karen Mayne, were joined by Republicans Peter Knudson and Ralph Okerlund, to advance the bill to the full Senate. The opposing votes were cast by Sens. Aaron Osmond, Reid and Jerry Stevenson.