This Day In Gay Utah History June 3rd

3 June

1708-Anne Horton and Alice Pickford were married in England. They were one of two female couples whose marriages were registered in the parish of Taxal, Cheshire.

Allen and Peter

1926 – Birth date of poet Allen Ginsberg one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s.  Ginsberg vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism and sexual repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem “Howl”, in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. In 1957, “Howl” attracted widespread publicity when it became the subject of an obscenity trial, as it depicted heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every U.S. state. “Howl” reflected Ginsberg’s own homosexuality and his relationships with a number of men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner.  Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that “Howl” was not obscene, adding, “Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms? (Yes the straight judge said “vapid”.) Allen Ginsberg passed away April 5, 1997.

Billy Haines

1936- Newspapers reported that William Haines and his lover James Shield were severely beaten by members of the White Legion, a Los Angeles racist organization.  In 1930 William Haines was Hollywood’s number-one box-office draw–talented, handsome, and a romantic lead.  Off-screen however Haines was openly gay and refused to compromise or hide his sexuality which ultimately led him to being booted out of the movie business by Louis B. Mayer. Forced to give up acting, Haines went on to become a top interior designer to the stars and by his side through it all was his lover, Jimmie Shields;  But on June 1st 1936 members of a white supremacists group dragged both Haines and Sheilds  from their El Porto, Manhattan Beach home and beat them, mercilessly because a neighbor had accused

Jimmy Shield, Joan Crawford, Billy Haines

the two of propositioning his son.  The incident was widely reported at the time but Manhattan Beach police never brought charges against the couple’s attackers. The child molestation accusations against Haines and Shields were unfounded and the case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence..The couple finally settled in the Hollywood community of Brentwood and their business prospered until their retirement in the early 1970s, except for a brief interruption when Haines served in World War II . Their clients included Betsy Bloomingdale, Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Walter and Leonore Annenberg’s “Sunnylands” estate Haines and Shields remained together until Haines’ death in 1973.  Their fifty-year relationship led their best friend, Joan Crawford, to call them the “happiest married couple in Hollywood.”  

• WHITE LEGION MOB SOUGHT IN HAINES BEATING Los Angeles Sheriff Demands Quiz of Mystery By United Treat Los Angeles, June 3.—Details of a mob action in which William Haines, former Hollywood screen star, and James Shields, his film “extra” friend, were driven from Haines, El Portal beach home last Sunday, will be placed before the district attorney, it was announced today by deputy sheriffs investigating the case. Deputies went to the El Portal, or North Manhattan beach district, in an effort to learn all the facts concerning the affair which Haines called "all a misunderstanding due to false gossip.” An attempt will be made to secure the names of approximately 50 men and women who beat Haines and Shields, pelted their automobile with tomatoes and eggs and drove them from the beach colony with a warning not to come back. Sheriff Eugene W. Biscailuz issued a statement in which he said the matter was “most serious.” The sheriff said the attack would be investigated thoroughly with a view to issuance of complaints against members of the mob. Haines, in discussing the affair, said he had heard there was an organization called the “white legion” operating in the beach neighborhood.

 1967 Anderson Cooper the Gay news anchor for CNN was born 

C Terry Warner

1967 - BYU's president Ernest L Wilkinson receives a "confidential draft" by C Terry Warner, professor of philosophy and religion, stating that "freedom of speech as it is known today is a secular concept and has no place of any kind at the BYU." [Warner was my branch president when I attended BYU in 1973]

1969-Police entered Greenwich Village in New York with fifteen paddy wagons and arrested anyone they suspected of being Gay. Jerry Hoose said he and a friend had seen about 15 paddy wagons pull up to a homosexual rendezvous near the docks on the East River in New York City and that the cops were beating people to the ground.

1981 Wednesday A homosexual [Donald Attridge] claimed in United States District Court for Utah that he was fired from his job as the Medical Center’s children coordinator because he was Gay and was going to reveal his “unconventional sexual orientation” in a television interview concerning the attitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints towards homosexuals. He was fired December 1979 after agreeing to be interviewed in a KUTV documentary. The documentary did not appear. ACLU executive director Shirley Pedler said, it is a very serious matter when governmental employers take it upon themselves to determine for their employees which views and opinions they may express publicly and which they may not.” (06/03/1981 SLTribune B5)

Harvey Fierstein 

1984-Harvey Fierstein won his third Tony Award for best book of a musical for La Cage Aux Folles.

1985- Arthur Bishop on Utah Death row for sex slaying of five

Arthur Bishop

boys, blamed pornography for pushing his deviant behavior to homicide. “I am a homosexual pedophile convicted of murder and pornography was a determining factor in my down fall,” he said. (Salt Lake Tribune B4 06/03/1985) [ Arthur Gary Bishop was raised by devout Mormons, and was an Eagle Scout. His murder of local Salt Lake City boys reinforced the stereotype that all Gay Men were pedophiles]

Theodore M Burton

1986 Theodore M. Burton, First Quorum of the Seventy June 3, 1986 (BYU Devotional), "A Marriage to Last through Eternity", Ensign, June 1987, p. 12 "…I have come to understand some of the behaviors that lead to transgression. What are they? Generally they are various personal indulgences based on selfishness. One of the greatest of these is the use of pornography. Pornography is related to such sins as self abuse, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, child and spouse abuse, incest, rape, and cruelty."

1987- Ben Williams revived the Salt Lake Chapter of Affirmation

Ben Williams

with permission of John Cooper and Alma Smith both who relocated to California. Essentially a rap group the Salt Lake Affirmation proposed to continue its “historic role as a first aid station for Gay people who are attempting to deal with their Gayness.” First meeting was held at Aardvark Cabaret at 249 West 400 South. Later moved to the Crossroads Urban Center at 347 South 400 East SLC. In attendance were Ben Williams, Ken Francis, Shawn Donnelley, and Derek Kaufman.

John Reeves

1991 “I talked to John Reeves [Boston College professor, former Salt Lake City activist] this morning. I said I wouldn’t be going back to Boston this year unless I buy a car. I know I’m disappointing him.  I went to LGSU [Lesbian and Gay Student Union University of Utah] and met a guy named Wayne who was just coming out. There was a sign at Orson Spencer Hall saying they weren’t meeting tonight. So I invited him down to the Utah Stonewall Center and after looking around the Stonewall Center, we went to coffee at Village Inn and I told him all about the different organizations in the community and

there was no reason to feel alone. At home I had a message on the date line from a guy named Ken. He lives out in Cottonwood and wanted me to come over. After going to his place he told me he thought he was a vampire. I said OK and then left. It didn’t matter whether I thought he was a vampire but the fact that he did made me get out of there. What’s going on in my life? Circles with little or no grounding.  [Journal and Memoirs of Ben Williams]

1996 Page: D1When it comes to gay clubs in school,  Utah and Massachusetts have the same stated aim: to protect the well-being of students. But the two states could not be more different in their approaches.   Utah recently passed legislation to ban gay and lesbian clubs in high schools, while Massachusetts officially encourages their formation. In fact, the East High School gay-straight alliance, which sparked a club-banning frenzy by the Salt Lake City School Board and Utah Legislature earlier this year, was modeled after the support groups the Bay State is deliberately cultivating.   The Massachusetts Board of Education's 3-year-old policy says: ``In order to support students who are isolated and may be at high risk for suicide, high schools should establish support groups where all students, gay,  lesbian and heterosexual, may meet on a regular basis to discuss gay and lesbian youth issues in a safe and confidential environment.''   Contrast that with Utah's new law, which lumps together student clubs that encourage criminal conduct, promote bigotry or ``involve human sexuality.'' Such groups, according to the law, are ``detrimental to the physical, emotional, psychological and moral well-being of students and faculty.'' Legislators in both states acknowledge that  gay students are far more likely to commit suicide and to be targets of violence than are their heterosexual peers. But that's where agreement ends. Utah politicians argue that gay student support clubs promote homosexuality and recruit confused teens, thus endangering the school population by exposing it to greater incidence of assault, suicide and AIDS.   ``Who are the ones who really care and have compassion?'' asked Sen. Craig Taylor, R-Kaysville, in sponsoring the gay-club prohibition during a hasty April 17 special legislative session. ``Is it those who encourage youth to follow a very unhealthy, destructive and potentially fatal lifestyle? Or is it those who point out that they may be headed down the wrong path?''   David LaFontaine, head of Massachusetts Gov. William Weld's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, said Utah's policy is built on a foundation of misinformation.  “There's simply not a shred of evidence that someone can be recruited to be a gay or lesbian. It's complete mythology,'' said LaFontaine. ``It's really unfortunate that supposedly intelligent legislators would make those kinds of comments.   ``And it's frightening that they passed a law like that,'' he added. ``What your Legislature has done is told gay youth that they're worthless and might as well go out and kill themselves.''   LaFontaine said since his commission in 1993 first recommended encouraging gay-straight alliances in public schools they have exploded in number from two or three to about 75.  “The groups are not about sex or sexual activity at all. In fact, the vast majority of gay teen-agers have not had any kind of sexual experience when they join a group like this,' 'LaFontaine said.   Closely supervised by a trained faculty adviser, in consultation with the school principal, the club members talk about problems at home and school, including being taunted, ostracized and, in some cases, attacked.   ``It may be the only place a gay kid feels comfortable, accepted or even safe,'' LaFontaine said. ``In most states, gay youth are terrified.'' Kelli Peterson is the 18-year-old founder and

Kelli Peterson

president of East High's  gay-lesbian-straight alliance. The group has continued to meet weekly off campus and, without school sanction, on school grounds throughout the months-long controversy.   In addition to talking about creating a safe environment for gay students, the alliance lately has spent a lot of time discussing the planned lawsuit challenging the club-ban law. ``To my recollection there were never any organized discussions of sex,'' Peterson said. ``Among our group I'd say the subject comes up a lot less often than other student groups.''   ``I'll say it one more time,'' the graduating senior said with an edge of frustration. ``We don't have sex and we don't discuss sexual techniques in the club.''   Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who actively supported the gay-club ban, insists it does not signal an official abandonment of homosexual youth. ``There are students who need help. If they find themselves troubled and confused, counselors should respond to their needs,'' said Leavitt. ``There's no reason for an educator to interpret what has occurred as a reason not to step forward and help those students.''   The governor's only complaint with the law is that it dictates policy to all 40 school districts, rather than leaving the decision-making to locally elected boards. So

Mike Leavitt

how does Leavitt view Massachusetts' radically different approach?   ``Reasonable people -- which I deem Bill Weld to be -- can reach conclusions that are different,'' said the Utah leader.   Weld, like Leavitt, is a Republican governor, but from a distant wing of the party when it comes to social issues, such as abortion and  gay rights.   Weld created his Commission on Gay and   Lesbian Youth by executive order after the Democrat-controlled Legislature defeated a bill to authorize it in 1991. The following year, lawmakers approved and Weld signed a law barring discrimination against gay students, the first of its kind in the nation. ``The concept of schools as safe havens must apply to all students, including gay and  lesbian teen-agers,'' Weld said in a 1993 speech. ``But for too many students, school instead has become a place of dread, fear and alienation.'' Citing a federal study indicating 30% of youth suicides are committed by gays, Weld said his anti-discrimination push was not about promoting a ``different'' lifestyle, ``it is about life itself.''   Despite attacks from opposing groups, including Christian Coalition lobbies, Weld suffered little conservative backlash. His popularity was sustained in his 1994 re-election. Presently, he is running for the U.S. Senate against popular Democratic incumbent Sen. John Kerry.   Importantly, the Catholic Church as an institution stayed out of the gay clubs fray. ``Here, the students themselves did the lobbying and told legislators in person what happened to them,'' said Jerry Cheney, a former member of the governor's commission on gay and lesbian youth. ``They actually listened to the youth and the experts rather than allow others to set the agenda for them.'' The governor's commission also relied heavily on the personal testimony of gay youths in five public hearings around the state. Their stories of harassment and torture are excerpted in the agency's recommendations and report.   It was a stark contrast to the way Utah's policy was formed.   Here, the legislative debate began in a secret, apparently illegal meeting of the Senate in late January. The closed-door huddle featured an anti-gay video and unsubstantiated accusations of homosexual-promoting activities in schools and colleges. The first bill aimed at keeping gay clubs out of high schools used an oblique approach: prohibiting teachers from encouraging or condoning illegal or immoral activities in or out of school. Leavitt vetoed the bill based on concerns it violated educators' free-speech rights. But the governor agreed to bring back the gay-club issue in an April 17 special session of the Legislature.   No gay or straight student ever was called to address the Legislature about the bill. In fact, no public testimony was taken at all. The bill wasn't publicly released -- even to lawmakers -- until just hours before it came onto the Senate floor for debate.   ``These men were really going out of their way to avoid those of us who are being affected,'' said Peterson. ``I found it very odd.''

1996 Steven Wallace Crook  died Monday, a graduate of the University of Utah and George

Washington University, where he received his Physician's Assistant degree and Masters in Public Health. Steve was a Physicians Assistant specializing in the treatment of people infected with the HIV Virus. Survivors include his companion, Barry Vesciglio of Fairfield, Conn

Rocky Anderson

1999 Salt Lake City Weekly Rocky Road Congressional leftovers sour the sweet success of Ross Anderson's Gay & Lesbian Caucus endorsement. By  Katharine Biele Deep down, Rocky Anderson simmers over a night long past --  a night he remembers like yesterday. Now in his run for Salt Lake City mayor, yesterday just got resurrected. It was 1996 when Anderson and several advisers in his 2nd Congressional District race huddled over the emotionally divisive issue of same-sex marriage. The Republican-held Congress was talking about the Defense of Marriage Act as a way to keep states from recognizing gay marriages. Anderson's openly sympathetic views on gay and lesbian issues had already become the strategic catalyst of Merrill Cook's campaign. Soon, Anderson's response to the same-sex legislation would become a flash point in his own camp. "Rocky was real clear that he thought that DOMA was unconstitutional and could not

Merrill Cook

vote for it on that basis," says Howard Johnson, an adviser and a member of the now-defunct Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats. Anderson's position was that he supported the concept of same-sex marriage as a matter of fairness and equality. He'd oppose DOMA, no question, on constitutional grounds. But he couldn't go so far as to push a gay marriage bill. He would stand up and say he opposed discrimination, but no more. This wasn't the time or place, and the people of his district wouldn't accept it. Fine. His advisers -- Johnson and David Nelson, another GLUD board member -- agreed. He thought. Within days, Nelson had gone to the media about Anderson's stance. Backtracking, he called it. Double talk. "Rocky really felt that cast a dark spot on his campaign and his integrity," Johnson says. "David went out and the media called him a founder of GLUD, when in fact, he was one of the board members and had no authority to talk." GLUD, an organization struggling to survive in an ambivalent Democratic Party, shriveled and died. "That was how the initial hostility started, and it was part of the reason

David Nelson

the whole organization fell apart," Johnson says. Nelson, the media's talking head on gay issues, faded from view. Until the mayor's race. Innocently positioned at the bottom of page 11 in May's The Pillar is a short story on Jim Bradley, his photo captioned "Salt Lake mayoral candidate." The headline says "Bradley Campaign Names Gay & Lesbian Focus Group." It also quotes Dave Thometz, chair of the Gay and Lesbian Caucus, as saying Bradley earned the Caucus' endorsement -- great guy, got the right stuff to win. Bradley is one of a gaggle of Democratic hopefuls in the mayoral contest, and one of several who have been sympathetic to the plight of gay and lesbian people. In fact

Dave Thometz

, as a Salt Lake County commissioner, Bradley and Randy Horiuchi engineered an anti-discrimination ordinance that includes sexual orientation -- something the Salt Lake City Council later passed and then rescinded. But at the Salt Lake County Convention, the Gay and Lesbian Caucus endorsed three Democratic candidates -- Anderson, Bradley and Dave Jones -- a fact that wasn't mentioned in Bradley's campaign literature. "I'm sorry that Rocky's upset. It wasn't a Machiavellian plot," says Deeda Seed, Bradley's campaign manager. "We're just trying to remind people in the gay and lesbian community that Jim has been their friend and advocate successfully in the past and will

Deeda Seed

continue to do so in the future -- that's part of the reason I'm here." But this goes way beyond position papers. This is personal. At the state Democratic convention, the Anderson troops came prepared. Johnson talked to Nelson about some e-mails and a flier he'd been distributing. "We went into this in some detail," Johnson says of the caucus. "There was unanimous condemnation, and David Nelson was told not to use the caucus for any of [his] personal endeavors." Nelson and Thometz were defensive and hostile, Johnson says. Nelson says Anderson and maybe nine members of his campaign -- who are also caucus members -- called the campaign flier and Pillar news release "deceptive, misleading and fraudulent." "It was not enjoyable to hear," Nelson said. "Everyone in the room knew it was anger." Anger from three years ago. Nelson didn't agree with Anderson's press release on the gay marriage issue. "I'm surprised he believed that," Nelson says. "We went around and around for 20 or 30 minutes." Anderson's press release had already been prepared, Nelson said, and he objected to releasing it. "I said, Rocky, it's already dominated your campaign. He said he had to put an end to this issue and I said, then just don't talk about it. And he said, no, this will absolutely go out." Nelson says he shrugged, then repeated that he hoped Anderson wouldn't do it and that he disagreed with the tactic. Johnson says Nelson "mouthed" something along those lines -- that Anderson wasn't 100 percent with them. But Johnson never expected Nelson to go behind Anderson's back with the "backtracking" press release. Now, three years later, the anger survives -- the underlying focus of Nelson's latest activities, says lesbian activist Charlene Orchard, who also works for Anderson. "For the gay-and-lesbian community, the choice is overwhelmingly Rocky, and this is divisive not only in the campaign, but also in the gay-and-lesbian community," she says. Thometz, however, sees nothing wrong with the e-mails, flier and Pillar piece, and says it's unreasonable to expect one candidate to essentially campaign for his or her opponent. Anderson is unhappy because he didn't get the caucus' sole endorsement, Thometz says. But Nelson, always incendiary, says he's ready to deal. "We'll put his endorsement on our fliers," Nelson says, "If he'll put Jim Bradley's name on his yard signs."
2002

  

Heidi Ho West & Mark Thrash

2003 Come one... come all: Please join us for the first Court Meeting of the 28th Reign of the Royal Court of the Gold Spike Empire. We will be meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 7:30 PM at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center.  Applications will be available at that time for membership in the 28th reign, Yearly membership fees remain $10.00, and we hope that you all will join our reign.  Thanks! Service with an open mind... HMIM Emperor XXVIII Mark Thrash "The Embodiment of the Spike"

2003 Chad Keller to NEWS organizations Subject Utah Pride Day For Further information please contact the Utah Stonewall Historical Society The Utah Stonewall Historical Society will be happy to assist in arranging for interviews with individuals of the Gay Community who can be of assistance. The History of Utah Gay Pride Events 1974-1983 By Chad Keller and Ben Williams Co-directors of Utah Stonewall Historical Society  Our history is much like a great tapestry, however if a snag occurs, it cannot be simply plucked or cut away or the tapestry may unravel. Every detail in our collective history is important. The history of the Gay and Lesbian community in Utah is rich

and colorful, however we must be careful that our history does not become full of urban legends, myths, and worse yet full of inaccuracies. We have to trust that the present caretakers of our organizations are diligent in preserving our "collective" memories however with the frequent turn over of leadership in this community often there is a lapse in the recitation of facts. Currently there seems to be a discrepancy among some leaders as to when Gay Pride was first celebrated in Utah. Was it twenty years ago, twenty-five years ago or even more?  The Utah Stonewall Historical Society feels it is important to clarify and address this issue. We feel compelled to cite primary sources in documenting the complete history of Pride in the context of the political and social climate of the times and not simply rely on hearsay or be obliged to acknowledge an arbitrary decision as to when Gay Pride became a community event. To do otherwise is misguided and inappropriate. We feel strongly that to blindly acknowledge an inaccurate historical date discredits the work of hundreds of people that actually hosted and created the first Gay Freedom Day Celebrations; the predecessor of the current Pride Day celebration. We submit to the community the facts as gleaned from several primary sources that constitute the proper methodology of historiography. We are certain that in light of these facts the importance of our work as a historical society will be widely embraced in the community and the history of the Utah Gay Pride Day will be preserved for future generations. Furthermore we hope that with these historic facts, that we have researched and preserved, will help the community celebrate with even more enthusiasm and Pride on June 8, 2003. In the rush to be good stewards, the current administrators of Utah Gay Pride have mistakenly acknowledged only 20 years of Gay Pride in Utah. Our understanding is that they assumed that 1983 was the first time a permit was acquired for a celebration in a Salt Lake City park. This is not correct. The history of Pride Day actually begins in 1974 and has been carried on successfully (and unsuccessfully) for over 28 years!  In the beginning: On June 27, 1974, the 5th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, over 200 Gay men gathered along the south-eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake, commonly known as "Bare Ass Beach", to celebrate "Gay Freedom Day". The semi private event was sponsored in part by Joe Redburn, owner of the Sun Tavern, and open to the community. This celebration was held in a secluded location primarily because many were afraid that the city would not allow Gay people to congregate together in its city parks. Many others feared being harassed by the Salt Lake City Police Department. Nevertheless the spirit of the occasion, while not an officially sanctioned event, empowered the minuscule Gay community, and laid the groundwork for a more organized Gay Freedom Celebration the following year. In spring 1975 the first Gay Community Service Center (GCSC) opened its doors. Located south of the Sun Tavern, the GCSC published the Gayzette, Utah's first newspaper for Gays and Lesbians, operated a crisis line, and organized Utah's first Gay Pride Day then known as "Gay Freedom Day". Over Memorial Day weekend, 1975 the GCSC held a celebration at City Creek Canyon Park, with more than 400 people in attendance. As part of the Gay Freedom celebration and to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Joe Redburn brought Disco Diva Gloria Gaynor to the Sun Tavern to perform her magic. Due to lack of finance support, in 1976 the Gay Community Service Center closed. However, they still managed to sponsor a second Gay Freedom Day held on May 30, 1976. Again Joe Redbird and the Sun Tavern sponsored a kegger party in City Creek Canyon Park. The Salt Lick, which had replaced the Gayzette, advertised the event: "All the Beer you could drink" for $2.00! Over 500 revelers enjoyed a barbecue, music and dancing with employees of the Sun making the trek up the canyon several times from Memory Grove with men and women hanging on from the sides of an employee owned jeep, riding on the hoods, and being pulled while on skates. By many accounts, a raucous food fight also broke out at the event, which left the trees and grounds covered in potato salad. This "Animal House" type exhibition at City Creek Canyon Park however set the precedent for the need for future reservations and permits. Without a Gay Community Center, a Gay and Lesbian group calling itself "The Salt Lake Coalition of Human Rights" organized Gay Freedom Day in 1977. The coalition was made up of community leaders, most notably Ken Kline of Lesbian and Gay Student Union at UofU (LGSU), and Rev. Bob Waldrop, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). The coalition was formed to protest anti-Gay rights activist, Anita Bryant, and her assault on the gains made by Gay and Lesbian people in the first half of the 1970's. The coalition expanded "Gay Freedom Day" to a three day Human Rights Convention and scheduled the Hotel Utah, now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, for the symposium. At the last minute the reservations for the convention were canceled when hotel managers discovered that the event was to be a Gay convention. However the International Dune Hotel at 206 South West Temple agreed to hold the conference and the symposium went on as scheduled.  Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, a Gay ex Mormon, and winner of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart was asked to delivery the keynote address by the coalition and he agreed to come to Salt Lake City "to continue the battle of Dade County". Matlovich who later died of AIDS stated at 1977's Gay Freedom Day, "We shall overcome, no longer will we be your slaves of silence. We will be free Americans just like everyone else." Nearly 500 people, many wearing T-shirts and buttons that said "GAY and PROUD" attended the Freedom Day Human Rights Conference. The Salt Lake Coalition of Human Rights again sponsored the Gay Freedom Celebration in 1978 and for the first time called the event "Gay Pride Week", which followed the national trend to call the annual celebration Gay Pride rather than Gay Freedom. During "Pride Week" organizers encouraged all Gay people to wear green on "Gentle Thursday" as a sign of solidarity. On Saturday, 24 June 1978 a Gay Pride Fair and Seminar was held at the Northwest Multipurpose Community Center in Salt Lake City. Seminars included typical Seventies "conscious raising sessions" such as "The Church and the Gay Person," the "Come Out Seminar," "The Lesbian & Feminists," and "Political Action and the Gay Community." Pride Week culminated the next day, Sunday June 25, with a softball game, cookout, rally, and a candlelight vigil held at Memory Grove. The rally and candlelight vigil, held at the Meditation Chapel, followed an ecumenical worship service sponsored by Gay and Lesbian religious organizations of the time; Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake, Dignity, Affirmation, and Integrity. By 1979, the Salt Lake Coalition of Human Rights was faltering, however they managed to team with the Lesbian and Gay Student Union and Salt Lake Affirmation to sponsor another Gay Pride Week in June. Salt Lake Affirmation was able to get discount tickets from the Lagoon Amusement Park and held the "1st Gay Lagoon Day Outing." LGSU and the Coalition held a scaled back symposium at the Metropolitan Community Church, followed by a Civil Rights protest and an all night candle light vigil for victims of Gay bashing. The protest and vigil was held on the steps of the City and County building at Washington Square. The Candle light vigil was also reported in the Los Angeles Advocate and drew national attention to the Gay and Lesbian struggle for Human Rights in Utah. As the new decade of the 1980's began, there was a dramatic lull in political activism in the Gay and Lesbian Community of Utah. Many of the strongest firebrands from the 1970's had burned out or moved on. The unsolved murder of several Gay men in late 1979, most noticeably, Tony Adams, a black Gay activist dimmed any desire to be too public. The strongest social organization in Salt Lake City in 1980 was Affirmation, and it fell to them to do much of the Pride Day activities for the community that year. The Imperial Court of Utah, while having a much larger membership than Affirmation, was going through a painful upheaval and was paralyzed by its own metamorphosis into the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire. The Lesbian community was held together only by "Women Aware". Many Lesbian Separatists and Feminists of the time were unwilling to participate with Gay men, who were seen as unsympathetic to their issues, most noticeably by the lack of support within the Gay men's community for passage of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). These forces were incredibly divisive and tended to split the Gay community along gender issues. However in June 1980, Affirmation was able to sponsor the 2nd Annual Gay Day at Lagoon Outing, and the Lesbian and Gay Student Union managed to host a low-key Gay seminar at the U of U as part of Gay Pride Week. Attendance at each event was abysmal. Separate and apart from the Gay and Lesbian support groups, the Salt Lake Tavern Guild, a organization of Gay bar owners, sponsored a Utah contingency of bar patrons and workers to build a float for the San Francisco's Gay Pride Day but did little else locally. The community was definitely in the doldrums. The Stonewall Revolution was over and the era of Ronald Reagan and the AIDS epidemic had begun. In 1981 and 1982, the Utah Gay community was so fractionalized that no one would sponsor a community Pride event with any other group. All sections of the community had marginalized themselves from the rest. LGSU was seen as being in an "Ivy Tower". The Royal Court was viewed as anti-feminist organization because some members of the Lesbian community saw Drag Queens as parodying women. However the Mormon group, Affirmation finally rallied and hosted a community Pride Day event by themselves. They alone sponsored the 3rd and 4th Annual Gay Day at Lagoon Day insuring a semblance of continuity of Pride Days for Utah, for which they should be justifiably proud. Salt Lake Affirmation thus kept the spirit of Gay Pride alive until 1983, when some members of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire along with members of the Salt Lake Tavern Guild met to organize a Gay Pride picnic they called "A Day In the Park." A small committee of organizers, which included Tim Leming, Marshall Brunner, and Mel Rohland among others, were instrumental in bringing the community back together to celebrate being Gay. The " Day in the Park" committee hoped to revitalize the flickering spirit of Gay Freedom Day among the contentious factions of Utah by hosting a community social at Fairmont Park in Salt Lake City, May 1983. The event was billed as a "Basket Social" and was primarily sponsored by the Tavern Guild. The Tavern Guild was an organization of the local Gay and Lesbian Taverns and Private Clubs. Nearly 250 people attended the event to play games and listen to speeches and music. Larry Pacheco emceed keynote speakers from the National Gay Task Force, and from the Utah ACLU. The Tavern Guild also contributed prizes to raise money for the event while the Royal Court donated $300 to the National Gay Task Force to help bring a speaker to the park. The late Doug Ownsby had the distinction of designing the first SLC Gay Pride Day T-shirt. The event was considered a success. In fact so successful that many who came out in the 1980's had no recollection of the previous glorious celebrations that told the world that we are a Proud People! In honoring the pioneer activists that envisioned the world we live in today, let us not forget that "Pride is more than a Party," as we endeavor to create a more noble future for ourselves and for our Gay and Lesbian posterity.

2005 Friday Evening, Seven to Nine held at Club Vortex a private club 404 South West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah  Cocktails, Hors d’oeuvres and Entertainment  Cocktail Attire To RSVP to this event, please contact Michael Marriott  Hosted by Federal Club of Utah and Club Vortex. Club Vortex is in a two story building and it's only a private club on the upper floor. Salt Lake police had repeatedly responded to fights at the club, patrons so intoxicated they could not walk, minors drinking alcohol, employees drinking alcohol on the job, public nudity and even patrons engaged in simulated sex acts, according to police reports. "We perceive it as a nuisance," said Assistant Police Chief Larry Stott. "We've had lots of problems there."  The club's business license was always trying to be revoked on the grounds because of  "the operation of a public nuisance by failing to control customer actions" and "alleged violations of Salt Lake City ordinances regulating sexually oriented businesses," as well as violation of regulations over businesses that sell alcohol. At the core of the city's action was a "Fetish Ball" held on Oct. 30, 1996, during which patrons simulated spanking and whipping of other patrons. Some patrons even performed the "flagellation" for other patrons while locked in a cage. Flagellation of the buttocks, even if simulated, is in violation of state law.

2006  Officers to recruit at Utah Pride '06 By Pat Reavy Deseret Morning News Several Utah police agencies will be at the Utah Pride 2006 celebration Sunday at Washington Square. But rather than looking for bad guys, the police will be looking for new officers. It is believed to be the first time in Utah history that police will hold a recruiting drive specifically for members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, which puts on the festival. South Salt Lake Police Capt. Tracy Tingey said for years officers noticed that during gay events such as Sunday's, the Los Angeles Police Department would send officers to Utah to recruit and were "quite successful" doing it. "We thought, 'why aren't we doing that?' " Tingey asked. This year, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Public Safety Liaison will have officers available at the City-County Building to answer questions about how to join the academy and what people need to do to become officers. "We're just looking for viable candidates," Tingey said. "A person's sexual orientation shouldn't play into how they perform their job." Seven police agencies from Bountiful to Draper have representatives on the liaison committee and each gave its consent for officers to try recruiting this weekend. "This isn't the military. We don't have a don't ask, don't tell policy," Tingey said. "The chiefs of police in most agencies have realized they already have had gay and lesbian officers performing with distinction in their ranks and have been for years." Before, Tingey said, many in the gay and lesbian community felt "locked out" from pursuing a law enforcement or firefighter career. He said the police chiefs of the liaison committee realize, however, there will probably be some in the community who don't like the idea of police departments openly recruiting gay people. "That's a concern and that was discussed. A lot of those issues are related to religion. We're a government agency," Tingey said. "We're sensitive to those issues but they can't be an overriding factor. A person's sexual orientation should not play into whether they are a good cop or not." Gary Hornkamp, a

Gary Hornkamp

member of the public safety committee who is gay and works with gay youths in Ogden, is pleased with the recruiting effort.  "It's a great thing to do," he said. "I think it's positive when law enforcement recruits any minority members. Public Safety needs to reflect the community they serve." At the Queer Prom in Ogden for high school students last week, Hornkamp said when the students realized some of the officers chaperoning the event were gay, they quickly became interested in how they could enter the academy and become an officer. It's how you do your job, not your sexual orientation, that matters," he said.

David Hueber

2006 David Huebner, the U’s lead investigator for the “Gay and Bisexual Utah Survey for Men” By Eric S. Peterson David Huebner is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah and the U’s lead investigator for the “Gay and Bisexual Utah Survey for Men” (GUS), the first health survey in Utah to focus on the demographic of gay and bisexual men. It will be distributed at this weekend’s Utah Pride Festival (June 5-7), including at City Weekly’s booth. For an added bonus, you can go to the GUS Website (www.Psych.Utah.Edu/Gus) and view a sexy hunk—not exactly what you’d expect to see on a U of U Web page. What does a gay men’s survey accomplish? It’s an important way to get a picture of what’s going on in terms of risk and resilience among gay men. [Then,] you can point to places where there are needs for more research or services. Then, you can make a much better case to organizations like the Centers for Disease Control or National Institutes of Health to bring money to either study or solve problems. Why hasn’t this demographic been included in other health surveys?  Often, you find that states collect health data from their population, but if they don’t ask about certain demographics or groups, then you can’t learn about those groups. Unfortunately, in most large-scale public-health studies, the [sexual orientation] question never gets asked. So, the next best thing to do is a targeted study of a group that we know very little about. What does the survey focus upon? It asks about sex and sexual behavior, and romantic relationships. It asks about substance abuse. It asks about mood and depression, access to health care. It asks lots of questions about people’s experience with discrimination and mistreatment. And also about their awareness of services available to them. For example, we ask “Do you know you can get [HIV]-tested at the Salt Lake City Health Department?” Who in his right mind would divulge answers like those?  The biggest thing we try to educate people about is that their participation is anonymous. We don’t ever collect names. It’s a paper-and-pencil survey they can take home with them. Their answers are between them and a questionnaire. Where can a gay fella find this survey? It’s going to be all over Pride. We’re going to have outreach workers carry it around. That will start on Saturday, June 6. That’s also the day were launching the Website. We’re also going to be doing outreach through our community partners in bars, bookstores, e-mails [and] listservs.

2006 Pride Interfaith Service 3 p.m., at Washington and Library Square (FREE); may move indoors if inclement weather. Dyke march 6 p.m. @ City Creek Park (FREE) Calling all dykes: meet us at City Creek Park ( North Temple and State) at 6pm for an exercise in solidarity and empowerment. Bring your kids, drums, bikes and signs. March right into the Pride Dance and shake your booty to the sounds of Sexy DJ Claudette. The perfect kick off for Pride Weekend. Pride Dance 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. @ Washington Square (FREE) Read more about the Pride Dance

2006 Join the Human Rights Coalition community of Utah for a Pride 2006 HRC Social! Saturday June 3rd  Hosted at the home of Kermit Johnson  HRC Federal Club Members  General Admission Admission Free with a current or new HRC Membership at the $35 level Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails generously provided by  Bruce Bastian Corey Alexander or Chris Sugden

2007 John Amaechi, Gay basketball player was the Grand Marshal for the Pride Day

Doug Fadel

Parade. Doug Fadel a founder of the aquatic swim club QUAC was the recipient of the Dr. Kristen Ries Award. United for Equality was the theme of the festival.

John Amaechi

 2007 Sunday, June 3, All Day The Pride Parade @ 10am Downtown SLC is where you wanna be, much before 10am for a good spot! The Parade heads up State Street and back down 200 East, funneling all of us into the Festival Grounds. This year, see Grand Marshal John Amaechi lead the way with nearly 50 entrants of fun and frolic! Of course, the parade is free! Pride Festival: United for Equality, Festival Grounds @ Washington Square & Library Square There are plenty more fun and more memories to be made with good friends, and for sure, with a few new friends along the way. Everything opens again at 11am, and this time we feature a whole new round of great entertainment on three stages. Entry for today is just like the Festival of old, only $5, or get in with your Pride Passport (see Ticket info). Pride Festival Closing Social "T-Party" @ 5:00pm Introducing this year's very first T-dance complete with tunes a-playin' at the Main Venue and finger foods available from 7-9pm with open cash bar. You'll definitely wanna dance the early evening away until 10pm. Use your Pride Passport one last time (aren't you glad you've got one after 3 days of fun) or $5 at the door. 

Reed Cowan

2009 The Mormon Proposition: An Interview with Director Reed Cowan  Written by Chino Blanco    Wednesday, 03 June 2009 Editor's Note: Former Utah resident and KSTU Fox 13 reporter Reed Cowan is the producer of 8: The Mormon Proposition, a documentary about the LDS Church's involvement in passing the constitutional amendment that re-banned gay marriage in California. He and his documentary made international headlines in February when excerpts of his interview with anti-gay state Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, were aired on local news stations. In these interviews, Buttars famously compared gays and lesbians to extremist Muslim terrorists and said they had no morals. Cowan is also the director, producer and executive producer of The Other Side of the Lense, which chronicles the

Chris Buttars

weeks in which Cowan went from reporting the news to being in the news upon the death of his young son, Wesley. Chino Blanco: When did you decide you were going to be the one to make 8: The Mormon Proposition and what factor(s) drove your decision? What aspects of your own background or of the Prop 8 campaign brought you to this project? Reed Cowan: Truthfully, this film started out as an exposé on the problems of gay teen homelessness in Utah's “Zion” and an examination about WHY otherwise loving parents would kick their kids out on to the streets just because their kids are gay. But as the weeks and months unfolded in our project, I began seeing that history demanded our project be larger in scope. Slowly, but with great force, our focus shifted to what I believe is the “touchstone” of Mormon ideology regarding homosexuality ... and that is exclusively Mormon efforts to get Prop 8 on the ballot in California and see its passage. It’s the case against Mormons and what I believe has been a decades-long work to damage gay people and their causes. Prop 8 is truly the most obvious, shining example of what is at the root of Mormon belief about gay people. As to what factors drove my decision to make the film what it is today, they were personal really and deeply rooted in something that is fundamental to my character. Human suffering cuts me to the quick. And when I obtained the entire LDS call-to-action broadcast (transcripts and audio) that was heard by thousands in California, as a former Mormon myself, I knew statistically speaking, that at least ten percent of the Mormon youth who heard the call to action, were gay. I hurt over the thought of what they must have felt sitting in those pews, hearing their church leaders launch an assault against gay people. I went in the direction of the fires of their pain, and it’s my prayer this film will be a part of putting out the fire of that pain in their lives. What the Mormons did and what they continue to do against gay people needs to be a matter of record, because it is spiritually criminal. When these young people sitting in the pews grow up, I hope they can turn to my film and get the message that it’s OK to leave the organization that pulls them to its breast tenderly, while choking the spiritual life right out of them through assaults on their very civil rights. CB: When you started, did you have any idea that the question of marriage equality generally, or Mormon involvement specifically, was headed for its current high level of national awareness? RC: I'm continually thrilled to see this issue rise in prominence. It gives me hope in people. When I started, I knew there were literally THOUSANDS of people out there who want my partner Gregory [Abplanalp] and myself to be married ... to enjoy the same civil rights as our non-gay counterparts. And I am so damned proud of the good people in the American citizenry who are becoming our allies in this fight. The scales are tipping in our favor, and it feels good. CB: Can you give us an update on where the project stands? Distribution, release dates, Web sites, scheduled screenings, or any other news? IT’S CRAZY MAKING A FILM!!!! So many things to update you on! The film is in edit, and in mid-May I get to see the first cut of the film. After that, adjustments will be made and we’ll be solidly headed towards the finish date of June or July. Distribution will hinge on interest and buzz generated in film festivals. I’m really hoping Sundance screeners give our film a fair look and choose to include it in their upcoming festival. Can you imagine the press that would happen if our film were to premiere in Utah at Sundance? It would be explosive! So, Sundance is my first hope. But they are such a pristine festival, that MANY great films don’t make the cut. If we don’t, we’ll shop it around to other festivals. I have received MANY high-level inquiries about the film though, so maybe we won’t need to do festivals. I just keep thinking: ONE THING AT A TIME. First we’ll finish it, then we’ll work on the other stuff. Right now it’s all about making this the most explosive, compelling piece of documentary film-making you’ve ever seen. And as I look at the wealth of material we have obtained, I just have to say: BRACE YOURSELVES. CB: As busy as you’ve been, I was watching some footage of the crowds at the California Supreme Court’s Prop 8 hearing in San Francisco and I think I spotted you. Were you there?  RC: Indeed I was. Me and a little Mormon group called America Forever. I’ll be interested to see what the Mormon Church thinks of what their members had to say that day to the gay people on the sidewalk. CB: What challenges, if any, did the project face in the course of filming? Any “war stories” related to technical, financial, logistical or other aspects that you’d like to share? Any experiences with your interview subjects that you’d like to recount? RC: The greatest challenge I’ve experienced is the trauma within the families Greg and I are attached to that are Mormon. So many of our Mormon relatives, on learning of the content of the film, have begged us not to release it. It’s been excruciating to be in a position of having the material we have, having the sense of moral obligation to get it out, and yet feel sad that it will likely hurt good, moral, loving family members who still are attached to the Mormon machine.  The next greatest challenge has been the all-out assault of Mormons that came after my interview with Senator [Chris] Buttars. KSL [5] TV’s Web site hosts the comments of cruel, cruel people who have slandered and defamed my good name for no other reason than what they have “heard” about me. Some of those attacks have been so hurtful. So false. For example, I read on KSL’s Web site comment board recently something like, “Reed left his wife and little boy to be in the arms of his partner Gregory Abplanalp.” That couldn’t be further than the truth, and Mormon-owned KSL actually allows a falsehood that they themselves know is untrue to remain in perpetuity on their Web site for all to see. (On that note, my ex-wife left me for a doctor nearly twice her age and I didn’t have interaction with Greg until two years after my divorce). Senator Buttars, Gayle Ruzicka and all whom they are connected to have worked to tear down my character through out-and-out lies, and that has been painful. My film will have the truth about Senator Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka and the Eagle Forum and the Sutherland Group [the Sutherland Institute]  and America Forever. I only wish that those who aligned themselves with the ideologies of these groups would also seek truth, rather than attacks such as they have. These have been my war stories. As to interview subjects: I have four hard drives full of interviews. And I can tell you this: The most vitriolic and hateful interviews DO NOT come from gay people or their allies. In actuality, the gay people and gay allies I interviewed were VERY kind (for the most part) about the LDS Church and its people. I felt the spirit of God when I talked to these people. I did not feel it when I talked to Gayle Ruzicka or Senator Buttars or America Forever’s people. What does that say about all of this? Hmmmm ...It was also interesting to see certain things come up in the film in two different states ... people who had never met each other ... with similar stories about private visits to Mormon Prophet Spencer W. Kimball’s home that they all independently characterized as “prurient.” Some highly credible people with this information. People with name recognition. CB: Without your interview of a certain Utah state senator, Buttarspalooza never would have happened. Any comment on the brouhaha that erupted after Senator Buttars’ remarks were made public? RC: OY! That’s my comment! OY! It was explosive for sure. International press! And what we saw at that point is nothing compared to what will likely happen when the film is released. CB: According to Senator Buttars, you assured him that he would be allowed to see his work and approve his part before you released it. Are you ready to apologize for your unfair treatment of The Honorable Senator from Utah? RC: He’s a liar. And I have recorded conversations and interviews to substantiate my position that this man lied, ducked and covered when put under pressure. Senator Buttars owes me an apology. And he owes people an apology. In twenty years as a journalist I have never once cut a deal with someone to let them see something before air. It’s ridiculous. He’s ridiculous. CB: How did ABC 4 obtain that Chris Buttars interview footage?RC: I saw Rich Piatt with KSL and Chris Vanocur [of ABC 4] outside Buttars’ office the day of the interview. I told them why I was there. Chris Vanocur asked for the footage. I let him see it. He and his managers found it newsworthy, seeing that Buttars had said these things while Senate business was going on without him. They asked if they could air portions. I obliged. No big woop. I did not plan to release the footage before the interview, and frankly, didn’t plan in the weeks after to release it either. But Chris asked …Chino Blanco blogs at chinoblanco.com.

2010 Damn These Heels! digs in for its 7th year LGBT films » Festival opens with Joan Rivers doc; schedule includes gay-themed films from all over. By Sean P. Means The Salt Lake Tribune 06/03/2010 The surprise about the Damn These Heels! LGBT Film Festival is not that conservative Utah has its own gay/lesbian film festival. It's that the event -- which runs Thursday, June 10, through Sunday, June 13, at Salt Lake City's Tower Theatre -- is rolling into its seventh year, and "is the biggest and best" ever, according to festival director Levi Elder. Having a film festival for Utah's gay/lesbian community, as with any minority group, is "important to have the kind of recognition, especially in a favorable light, to help increase awareness so people know we're here." Elder is opening Damn These Heels! with a movie that will appeal to what he calls "the movable middle" of the mainstream audience: "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," a thought-provoking and funny documentary (which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival) profiling the groundbreaking and resurgent comedian. "She's a gay icon," Elder said of Rivers. "Straight people are interested, old Jewish ladies are interested, middle-aged moms are interested. I think it's a really good rallying point." Two more hits from Sundance '10 will be featured as centerpiece screenings: Reed Cowan's documentary "8: The Mormon Proposition," about how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mobilized to campaign against gay marriage in California; and "Howl," Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's documentary about poet Allen Ginsberg and the writing of his famous poem. Elder also has programmed 13 more feature films from countries such as France and Peru. One of his favorites is "Plan B," a romantic comedy from Argentina about a guy who decides to break up his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend -- until he and the new boyfriend become attracted to each other. Another film is "Word Is Out," a restored 1970 documentary (by Friedman, the co-director of "Howl") that chronicled gay life then. "We had the high-class problem of having too many good films this year [to choose from]," Elder said. "I wasn't given any limitations. I really had a lot of freedom to put it together the way that I really wanted to." movies@sltrib.com Pride on film The seventh annual Damn These Heels! LGBT Film Festival begins Thursday, June 10, at 7 p.m. with a screening of "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work." More screenings are set Friday through Sunday, June 11-13. All screenings take place at the Tower Theatre, 876 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $5 per screening, at the Tower box office. Admission to the two centerpiece screenings -- "8: The Mormon Proposition" on Friday, June 11, and "Howl" on Saturday, June 12 -- are available to people who buy passes: The "Goldilocks" pass is $25, and the "Grizzly" pass (which also includes a ticket to the "Joan Rivers" premiere) is $50. 

Dustin Lance Black

2012 Dustin Lance Black was the Grand Marshall for the Pride Day

Valerie Larabee

Parade and Valarie Larabee recieved the Dr. Kristen Ries Community Service Award. Chnging Hearts and Lives was the festival's theme.  Mormons march in Gay Pride Parade to build bridges Mormons Building Bridges says it wanted to send message of love to the LGBT community and hopes to inspire others to do the same. By Julia Lyon The Salt Lake Tribune. Before the drag queens in heels danced across Main Street, more than 300 members of the LDS Church left Utah Gay Pride Parade spectators in tears Sunday morning. One Mormon father turned to the crowd and thanked people for forgiving him.The group, Mormons Building Bridges, said they wanted to send a message of love to the state's LGBT community, a message they believe is compatible with their faith. Emily Vandyke, 50, carried a sign with the words from an LDS children's song: "I'll walk with you, I'll talk with you. That's how I'll show my love for you." Several blocks along the parade route, she embraced a tall woman weeping at the edge of the crowd who said, "Thank you." "I haven't recognized them as equals," Vandyke said a few minutes later. "They have been invisible to me." Later, parade Grand Marshal Dustin Lance Black, tweeted: "In tears. Over 300 straight, active Mormons showed up to march with me at the Utah Pride parade in support of LGBT people." Mormons Building Bridges followed right behind Black in the parade. The men in

beige suits and ties and the little girls in white dresses were a sharp contrast to the pounding music and dancers behind them, but the crowd clapped and shouted their approval for the folks in their Sunday best. Erika Munson, a mom of five from Sandy, started the group a few weeks ago to show her support for the LGBT community and to encourage members of her religion to do the same in a public way. Holly Nelson, a 38-year-old lesbian who lives in Murray, had tears in their eyes as the Mormons walked past. "I think it's amazing," she said. "It's been so hard to be in Utah knowing the Mormon church is against the gay community." Seeing the group, which had three times the participants than originally expected, made her feel she isn't judged by every Mormon in the state, Nelson said. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not consider same-sex attraction a sin, but sexual relations are only acceptable within the marriage of a man and a woman. Some parade viewers talked about how their homosexuality had caused them to leave the church. How they might have remained members if the LDS faith were more tolerant. Carolyn Ball, a 48-year-old lesbian from West Jordan, said she was excommunicated in 2000. "I lost everything I loved because I came out," she said. The marching Mormons included fathers carrying children on their shoulders and mothers pushing strollers, some of whom said they wanted to expose their families to this experience. Nevin Munson, 13, carried a sign as he walked that said "Love thy neighbor as thyself." "I'm very saddened by the amount of hate in the world," he said, describing the discrimination against gays and lesbians around the

Erika Munson

world. "I don't believe in that — they're humans." One man walking with the group reflected on a cluster of suicides in Mapleton when he was growing up. They were mostly teenagers and some were gay. "There have been too many LDS deaths," said Adam Ford, 40, who now lives in Alpine. "No doctrine is more important than God's children." Erika Munson, the Building Bridges founder, said afterward that the success of the event reflected the "deep wounds" in the community. She said organizers hope Sunday's event is the beginning of a grass roots movement. "We want to inspire other Mormons at the local level to do things for their LGBT brothers and sisters," she said."What can you do in your area?"

2014- "The deal was whispered. 'Take the trans out and we might be able to live with Utah non-discrimination'. Brandie Balkin who, on behalf of Equality Utah, has worked tirelessly for years, for non-discrimination statewide, stood strong and said NO. Unequivocally NO. Truth is, we will not cross the finish line to equality leaving anyone behind. We will cross holding hands--TOGETHER. If equality means anything, it means it is for everyone. BTW, can you believe it, rumor is Equality Utah has TIME Magazine cover story this week, superstar Laverne Cox as its keynote on Sep. 26. With Donna Weinholtz involved, anything is possible. Better get your tickets. Or 'sorry' will be the new 'black' if you wait too long to get Gala tics.

2018  100,000 turn out for 43rd annual Utah Pride Parade to celebrate acceptance, organizers say KSL TV SALT LAKE CITY — Sporting all things rainbow, event organizers said a record-breaking number gathered in downtown Salt Lake City Sunday to celebrate the yearly Utah Pride Parade.  Utah Pride Festival estimated that 100,000 people turned out for the parade, which kicked off the final day of the 43rd annual event, a four-day celebration of the state's LGBT community.  More than four decades after its small beginning in 1974, the 2018 festival boasted about 180 parade entries that marched for more than two hours along 200 South. "It was the biggest Pride fest for sure," said Wyatt

Wyatt Seipp

Seipp, the festival's communication director, adding that roughly 50,000 paid to enter the festival's grounds. "It's a fantastic thing for us to all come together and be ourselves," Seipp said. While the LGBT community has seen progress over recent years — including the legalization of gay marriage — Seipp said the community still has to "fight for rights in the workplace" and to overcome other social issues. "This is a party — but it's a party with a purpose," Seipp said, noting that all proceeds benefit the Utah Pride Center, which provides resources to the LGBT community, including suicide prevention and other mental health services. Nicole Muir and her fiancee, Nicole Arnold, said they traveled from Park City to join the festivities. "Here in Utah, it can be kind of rough for us," Arnold said. "It's really nice to just be yourself and be around those who are alike. Everyone's so supportive; it's a great community to be a part of." Parade participants included Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake police officers and firefighters, and other local organizations such as Downtown Alliance, Equality Utah, University of Utah, and the Humane Society of Utah. Small and big local businesses also joined, along with major corporations such as Delta Airlines, American Airlines, U.S. Bank, Discover Card and eBay. It's a fantastic thing for us to all come together and be ourselves. –Wyatt Seipp Political candidates also joined the festivities, including Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, who stood atop his orange bus and waved as it rolled down 200 South. Others included Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, and Salt Lake City Councilman Derek Kitchen, who is running for a seat in the Utah Senate. Elliott Cummings and Trinity Kangas, both 14, came from West Jordan to see the parade. They cheered and waved rainbow flags as they watched entries march by. "I just want to be myself and express myself," said Cummings, who identifies as transgender/non-binary. "We just come here to be ourselves." Kangas, wearing rainbow shoelaces, said she came to "celebrate everybody, even the people who hate us." "People are starting to realize you should just be you, and not care about what other people think," Kangas said. "It's about self-love and acceptance." Amid the crowd of thousands lining 200 South, a group of about a dozen protesters stood in a barricaded space at one street corner along the parade route, holding large signs condemning the LGBT community and proclaiming homosexuality a sin. One protester shouted at passersby, calling them

"disgusting." For the most part, onlookers ignored the protesters or laughed as they walked by, while others stopped to shout back or take selfies with the protesters as a backdrop. At one point, a parade participant sprayed the protesters with silly string. Others yelled, "We love you" as they marched by, blew kisses, or waved signs with messages of unity and tolerance, including, "Be accepting, be accepted." A handful of Salt Lake police officers stood watch nearby. They occasionally stepped in when arguments became heated, but the event was peaceful. No arrests or violent incidents were reported, according to the department. Scott Hennesy, of South Jordan, stood directly behind the protesters and waved a giant, rainbow flag. "We're all equal," Hennesy said. "We just want everybody to support each other, to love each other. You can have religious differences, but to preach hate just does not cut it."

2019   Fox News SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Pride Center says this year's Pride Festival is the most successful they’ve ever had by a number of measures. Attendance at the parade itself topped 60,000, and tickets to the event sold out early on Saturday, the first day of the two-day festival. Pride Center Director Rob Moolman credits an emphasis on LGBT Pride as a family-friendly and affirming issue, with offerings during the weekend for a diverse range of ages and interests. “It is about connection, and it is the fact that LGBT people in our community are your brothers and your sisters and your uncles and your aunts,” Moolman said.