This Day In Gay Utah History June 9th

9 June 9-

1899 Ogden Standard Examiner Salt Lake Notes page 2 J W Boller was taken into custody yesterday as the man who committed a “Crime Against Nature” upon the little son of Alonzo Young of the ZCMI shoe department. He was later identified by the boy and a companion and the chances for his conviction followed by a long term in the penitentiary are good. The offense was committed on Monday last and the man made his escape

1947-Newsweek magazine reported on the US military's intensified campaign to purge homosexuals. It described homosexuals as abnormal and neuropsychiatric cases. It also described methods used to screen out homosexuals, and said that according to Army files they had higher intelligence than the average soldier,  performed admirably, and were law-abiding and hard-working.

Cleon Skousen

1956- Far right political and religious radical, W. Cleon Skousen named Chief of Police of Salt Lake City and begins a morality crusade in Salt Lake City.

George Moriarty

1965 Wednesday- Jury members ended 2nd day in the 1st degree murder trial by traveling to the scene of the allege crime to see the area where the dead man was found.  Most of the testimony dealt with the physical condition of George Moriarty’s body and the condition of the scene of the alleged slaying. (06/10/65 SLTribune)

1977-Thursday Nancy Gilpatrick of Women Aware and Hal Carter of the Gay Coalition were interviewed in Salt Lake City by David Parkinson of KUER on Channel 7 PBS.

1977  Joe Redburn and The Sun Tavern hosted a luncheon with Sgt. Leonard

Matovich

 Matlovich as guest of honor. He was the keynote speaker for the three day symposium held at the International Dune Hotel for Gay Pride.

1978 – An LDS First Presidency letter instructs Bishops that interviews of married persons "should scrupulously avoid indelicate inquiries," yet also emphasizes: "Married persons should understand that if in their marital relations they are guilty of unnatural, impure or unholy practices, they should not enter the temple unless and until they repent and discontinue any such practices." This reverses position of First Presidency prior to Spencer W. Kimball's ascendancy.

Franco Zeffirelli

1983-Italian director Franco Zeffirelli came out in an interview with The Advocate Magazine  In 1996, Zeffirelli came out officially as Gay but preferred to be discreet about his personal life. Zeffirelli considers himself "homosexual" rather than gay, he feels the term "gay" is less elegant. Zeffirelli has adopted two adult sons, men he has worked with for years and who now live with him and manage his affairs. His films included The Taming of the Shrew (1967), and Romeo and Juliet (1968) for which he was an Academy Award nominee, for best director. 

Steve Breckenbury

1988  I went to Gay Father’s in the evening to give them some referrals that were on the Gay Info Line.  Steve Breckenbury, I found out from John Reeves, is no longer running the group and is moving to San Francisco by the end of the month because he found a boyfriend there. The group is still meeting temporary without a leader but said they will disband soon if no one steps forward. (journal of Ben Williams)

1988  Editor's Note: Arthur Gary Bishop will be executed Friday morning for kidnapping and murdering five Salt Lake County boys. (ee related story on B1.) Following his 1984 trial, he met with Salt Lake Police Detective Don Bell to discuss details of the case. This story, using his own words, recounts his crimes, revealing a cold, perverted monster who preyed on children. It also is a graphic reminder to parents of the need to watch their children carefully.  BISHOP'S UNWITTING By Jerry Spangler, Staff Writer July 24, 1983, was a hot and muggy day. Inside the interrogation room in the Metropolitan Hall of Justice, the air conditioning kept tempers cool. After hours of intense, often brow-beating interrogation, Roger W. Downs had just admitted to killing Graeme Cunningham, a 13-year-old boy who had been missing about 10 days. Detectives Bruce White and Steve Smith questioned Downs more closely about the killing, asking Downs what sort of deviate pleasure he got from the crime. Downs replied that he received "sexual pleasure out of seeing them naked after they are dead." By unwittingly using the words "they" and "them," Downs, who was born and raised as Arthur Gary Bishop, had just given police the clue that would unravel four years of mysterious child disappearances. "I think you said "after they are dead.' Is there any significance to that?" queried Detective Don Bell. "Troy Ward I kidnapped and killed," Bishop responded. Detectives were stunned. They had gone into the interview with Bishop as a prime suspect in the disappearance of Graeme Cunningham. They would eventually leave that room with confessions to the abductions and murders of five Salt Lake County children over a five-year period beginning in 1979. --- Oct. 16, 1979, started no different than any other day for Bishop. Taking a lunch break from his job as a bookkeeper for a Salt Lake steel company, Bishop went home to his apartment at the Four Seasons. It was a hot day; Bishop opened his apartment door to let the air circulate. As he stood in the doorway, he watched Alonzo Daniels - 4-year-old whose dark eyes sparkled innocence - play with an imaginary airplane. He had never seen Alonzo before, even though the child lived with his mother only four or five doors away. "He was outside playing in the yard," Bishop said. "He was very friendly toward adults. He waved and said "Hello, how are you.' The more outgoing kids, unfortunately, are the ones that are marked. They're not afraid to come into your house." Bishop enticed the child into his apartment with the offer of candy. "Of course all kids love candy." A short time later, Alonzo was dead. Bishop called his place of employment, said he'd gotten sick and took the rest of the day off. He then stuffed the boy's body into a stereo speaker box and carried it to his car. He walked past a woman he presumed was Alonzo's mother, frantically calling out Alonzo's name. He stuffed the box into his car, stopped at a K mart to buy a shovel and drove the body to a desert grave near Cedar Fort. Two days later, Salt Lake Detective Buzz Blunk routinely questioned Bishop about the missing boy. Guilt weighed heavily on his mind, and Bishop waited for the opportunity to confess. It never came. In awhile, the guilt subsided. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I killed one or if I killed 18," he rationalized. Shortly thereafter, Bishop moved from the apartment complex, changed his name to Lynn Jones and took a job with Ski Utah. He also took with him vivid memories of the murder of Alonzo Daniels -memories he relished for the perverted pleasure it brought him. Over the next year, Bishop relived the experience vicariously. He purchased puppies - 15 to 20 in all - and killed them. "I found it so stimulating," he said. "A puppy whines just like Alonzo did. I would get so frustrated at the whining I would hit them with hammers or drown them or strangle them." Killing puppies satisfied Bishop's deadly lusts only so long. His real passion was looking at nude boys and fondling them. He spent considerable money on Scandinavian pornography, but a government crackdown on imported smut closed off his supply. Bishop resorted to taking his own photographs. -- In the late 1970s, Bishop had befriended "Jeff," a young, fatherless boy in the Avenues neighborhood where both then lived. He took the boy camping, bought him toys and offered him emotional support - all with the consent of the boy's mother. "I'd just kind of do things with him on weekends or when I planned trips." Bishop said. "He's my . . .he's like a son to me." But Bishop was more than a father figure to the boy. He began sexually abusing the boy and taking nude photographs and video tapes of him. He would also offer toys and cash to Jeff's friends to pose for photographs. Bishop knew just what appealed to young boys and what would get them into his apartment. He had a large video library of children's movies. He had small motorbikes, skateboards and other expensive toys to appeal to the age group that attracted him. And he was well stocked with alcohol, though he didn't drink himself. On Nov. 8, 1981, Bishop met Kim Petersen, a South Salt Lake boy with a passion for roller skating, at a bowling alley. Bishop offered to buy the 11-year-old's roller skates. "I'll have to check with my parents," he said. They decided to meet the next day to discuss the transaction. When they met the next morning, Petersen told Bishop he couldn't sell the skates. Bishop then asked the Petersen boy if he wanted to go rabbit hunting. "If there's one thing kids like to do is go rabbit hunting," Bishop said. The pair drove to the desert west of Utah Lake and hunted rabbits. As they did, Bishop approached Petersen about posing for photographs, telling the boy that he (Bishop) was being blackmailed. After much persistence, Petersen relented, but only if Bishop agreed to let Petersen take a photo of Bishop first. Bishop agreed and they returned to the car for the camera. As they finished taking photos, Bishop panicked. "I realized he was too street wise and it frightened me. I thought the kid might turn around and blackmail me," Bishop said. So Bishop shot him, twice. Stashing the body in some bushes, Bishop drove to American Fork, bought a shovel and returned. He buried the Petersen boy not far from where he had buried Alonzo Daniels. --- Jeff and his friends had been watching video tapes at Bishop's new residence near 39th South and State Street when they decided to run to a nearby arcade for a few minutes. Bishop, who was still living under the name Lynn Jones, walked over to the Smith's supermarket about a block away to buy some food for the party. "He was sitting there looking at the toys," said Bishop. "I said, "If you want more toys, follow me.' At first he didn't and I said, "Oh, come on.' I guess he was used to following orders and he followed me. It wasn't all the howling and screaming and pulling like everybody pictured it would be." It was Oct. 20, 1981, and the boy was 4-year-old Danny Davis, a blond-haired, blue-eyed, cute little boy who had wandered away from his grandfather who was shopping in the supermarket. The boy walked out the grocery store on his own about five steps behind Bishop. In fact, Bishop didn't even know the boy had accepted his invitation. "He was so far behind me I didn't know he was following me," Bishop said. "I was halfway down the sidewalk outside before I saw him. If anybody had been watching, they would never have put the two of us together. We walked away from the doorway and then turned right and it was just darkness. I just picked him up and carried him over to where I lived." Bishop hadn't gone shopping to pick up another victim. But when the opportunity presented itself he acted without a second thought. He had intended to molest the boy and simply return him to the store's parking lot. But he became angry at the boy, and Danny Davis was soon dead of strangulation. Bishop stuffed the body into a double plastic garbage bag, tied it off and left it sitting in a corner in the kitchen. Jeff and his friends returned moments later and began watching videos, unaware a body lay only a few feet from them. That night, Bishop, Jeff and the other boys sat on their porch and watched as lawmen searched for Danny Davis. Later that night, Bishop moved the garbage sack to the back of his car. As Bishop was getting ready for work the next morning, Bishop "got the scare of my life." Two deputy sheriffs were knocking on his door. Had he seen young Danny Davis? Had he seen anything unusual? Without a hint of guilt, Bishop answered the lawmen innocently and then watched as the deputy walked right past Bishop's car. The garbage sack with Danny Davis' body stuffed inside was clearly visible through the hatchback window. "I thought, "If you only knew,' " he said. "I just smiled." Bishop worked until about noon, all the while the boy's body was lying in the back of his car. He left work to buy a shovel and then began driving to the desert graveyard. "It was kind of funny. I kept thinking, "What if I get in a rear end collision and this body falls out on the road?' " He buried the body near the other two victims. Over the months that followed, literally hundreds of county, state and federal lawmen investigated the disappearance of Danny Davis. There was renewed interest in the Petersen and Daniels cases. With the disappearances of the children, an entire state was outraged and terrified. Child fingerprinting campaigns followed, as did "don't talk to strangers" seminars for schoolchildren. After Danny Davis, police compared cases and found nothing to link them, other than the fact three boys were missing. There were no common denominators. In fact there were more differences than there were similarities. Public fears heightened in 1982 when 3-year-old Rachael Runyan of Sunset disappeared and was later found slain. It is a slaying Bishop has continually denied. Bishop, meanwhile, collected fliers offering rewards for information about the disappearance of Danny Davis. He would get nervous every time he read a news report that detectives had new clues, but when nothing would happen his fears would subside. --- It had been 20 months since Bishop had killed, a time during which he satisfied his perverted hunger by taking more and more photographs of young boys. Bishop said he photographed or abused 54 boys. He kept his dirty treasures locked away in a box under his bed and in a wedding photo album. There was never any shortage of boys willing to pose if the money was right, and his association with Jeff ensured a continuous and ever-changing supply of subjects. Remarkably, none of the boys, including one who was threatened by Bishop at gunpoint, ever went to authorities. "When you offer a kid $100, $200 to pose for just a few shots, they'll do it," Bishop said. He also grew marijuana in his basement to entice the children, though he never smoked it himself. On June 22, 1983, Bishop wasn't thinking about new murder victims. He was trying to remember the location of an artesian well to fill some water bottles. "I never went out looking for victims," Bishop insisted. "It was always happenstance. I didn't even notice Troy Ward until he started talking to me." Bishop asked the boy, who had just turned 6 years old that day, if he knew where the artesian well was, and the child gave directions to Liberty Park. "Do you want to show me?" Bishop asked. Troy Ward bounced into the car. "Since you've been so nice to help me, why don't you come home with me and I'll give you some ice cream," Bishop said. The Ward boy was hit with a rubber mallet and drowned in the bathtub. Like Alonzo Daniels and Kim Petersen, Bishop abused the body after the death. Like Danny Davis, Bishop stuffed the boy's body in a garbage bag until he had a chance to dispose of it. He dumped the body in Big Cottonwood Creek later that night. --- Jeff and his best friend, 13-year-old Graeme Cunningham, had been planning to leave on a skateboarding vacation to Southern California on July 14, 1983. But the day before they were to leave, Bishop called Cunningham at home. "If you want to make some quick bucks, I know a way you can do it," Bishop said. The Cunningham boy knew Bishop was growing marijuana in his basement and figured Bishop needed someone to make a delivery. "I told him all he had to do was drop off one thing and pick up another and it would take him about a half an hour and then he'd be 50 bucks richer." What Bishop didn't tell him was that "I wanted some kind of action and it didn't matter who." Bishop picked Cunningham up about a block away from the boy's home and drove him to Bishop's apartment. He made a phone call and told the Cunningham boy the contact for the delivery was not home. Bishop then asked him if he would be willing to pose for some photographs, telling him all the other boys were doing it. "At first he was reluctant. He was shy," Bishop said, "and finally I told him. "I'll tell you what. I'll buy you a new skateboard in California if you'll do it.' I offered him a $100, so he said "OK.' " Bishop had known the Cunningham boy for quite awhile and had never approached him before. "I knew all along he would tell on me," he said. "He had a good relationship with his family, and I knew never to try anything with him." Cunningham was hit with a hammer and drowned in the bathtub. The next day, Bishop, Jeff and Graeme were to leave for California. Jeff didn't want to leave without Graeme so they waited until the next day. Finally, on July 16, they left for California. But Jeff wasn't having a lot of fun because Graeme wasn't on the trip. Jeff commented, "You know it's kind of unusual. You've known Graeme and he's disappeared. And that kid up at the Four Seasons right across from you disappeared and this Kim guy you went to buy roller skates from has disappeared." When the pair returned from California, detectives were waiting for Bishop. For the next several hours, detectives grilled Bishop, catching him in lies and exposing his secret lusts for young boys. "I knew you were never going to let go. So I decided to confess," he later told detectives.

Sam Kinison

1989-Fifty people protested an appearance by comedian Sam Kinison in Seattle Washington because of racist, sexist, and anti-Gay material in his act. However through the TJ Martell Foundation and MTV, Sam and other comedians helped raise $3 million dollars for the research and cure of AIDS. His brother wrote after Kinison's death  
"Sam never considered himself as antigay, just the same as he never perceived himself as antiGod or antiwomen. Sam wasn't interested in political correctness...Sam was a comic and the bottom line in comedy is this: Somebody always gets hurt. This tenet went double for Sam because he dealt in extremes. This was a guy who made jokes about Jesus on the cross. Satan....Right Wing televangelists...the foibles of straight men and women. His own sexual failings. Sam did not dislike gays as a group. He really didn't. But he did find parts of the gay life to be comical and puzzling. he did believe in freedom of expression, no matter how cutting...And he did refuse to worship taboos. Any taboos. Liberal or conservative. "Just because I do a few comedy bits about gay people that does not mean I'm out there promoting some anti gay cause. It's acceptable to ridicule the Pope or the President of the United States, but God forbid you do a joke about gays."

Christine Jorgenson

1989-The ashes of pioneer transsexual Christine Jorgensen were scattered off Dana Point by her two nieces and two of her closest friends.

1990-Michele Barzach, former health minister of France, called for the legalization of brothels to curb the spread of AIDS.

1991 Sunday After getting up I had to get down to KRCL by 10 am to tape all the programs for Concerning Gays and Lesbians today. Becky [Moss] interviewed Kevin Hillman for Pride Day and Melissa Sillatoe talked just slightly about the Youth Group’s prom and Eric Meyers and I did about five minutes of community news. That’s all we had time for that episode. Then Greg Garcia [Wasatch Leathermen Club] came in and we did a program on Falcon Flight and the

mystique of leather. That was a good program but won’t air until July. We were done by noon and Eric borrowed the medicine cards to read his friend Woody’s cards. I’m reading Randy Burts on Tuesday. Todd Bennett and his friend Kurt came over in the afternoon and we went to the Iceberg on 39^th to get a shake. I had fresh peach. Doesn’t that sound yummy! After spending sometime visiting with them and getting an ego boost from Kurt who thought I was handsome, I went out to Bare Ass Beach to read the Sunday paper. I was out ther all late afternoon until about 8 at night. The sun still high in the sky.  I saw Ray Neilsen Von and a cute friend of his named John and we talked about Gay community events coming up. I am a one man community resource. I am sure Bobby will be glad to have Carla Gourdain and Debbie Rosenberg get back tomorrow from the Lesbian Conference in Atlanta so he can go 

back home himself. He had been housesitting for a week. I didn’t attend Affirmation’s “slave auction” or as Randy Burt has changed it to “Service Representative” because I didn’t want to rehash the confrontation. It’s over. Forget it. But if Queer Nation plans against Club Karrera’s I will try and block that too. Why attack a Lesbian Bar? (Journal of Ben Williams)

Kathryn Warner

1991-Queer Nation Utah protested a Slave Auction held by Wasatch Affirmation as a fundraiser. Officers and member services were auctioned off to the highest bidder at The Utah Stonewall Center. QN criticized for attacking a community organization rather than protesting homophobia which was why the organization was created. 

1991 Lesbian Task Force/ NOW presented Singer song writer Judy Fjell and violinist-vocalist Crystal Reeves in concert with local singer Kathryn Warner at the 1st Unitarian Church.

Dale Sorenson

1992- The Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats have united into a front that poses a dilemma for political candidates who gained their endorsement.  “We had 40 delegates at the Salt Lake County Convention,” said Dale Sorenson.  “We will have about 50 at the State Democratic Convention.”  Gays and Lesbians helped Rep. Blaze Wharton eliminate a challenger at the convention level two years ago and said that they would go to the wall for House Minority Leader Frank Pignelli, sponsor of the Hate Crimes Bill  (SLTribune  B3 6/9/92)

1992-A US District Court ruled in favor of a group of artists who challenged the constitutionality of the National Endowment for the Arts decency clause. The artist’s grants had been denied because they worked with homoerotic subject matter.

Richard Cottino

1994 Thursday I spoke at the U.S. Eagles luncheon on the Stonewall Riots. Richard Cottino had asked me at last community council meeting.  The Eagle Club is sponsoring a month long Gay Pride forum. Richard and I both thought it was funny when my Guest pass number was 69! How appropriate and purely coincidental. [Journal of Ben Williams]

1995 - The Salt Lake Tribune Probes of Judges' Conduct Appear to Go Nowhere, Utah Women Say Critics Say Commission Is Doing Nothing By Sheila R. McCann Frustrated by months of silence after filing gender-bias complaints against 3rd District Judge David S. Young, women are seeking a legislative audit of the secretive Judicial Conduct Commission.  ``It seems like it's a big black hole,''  Lucy Malin, executive coordinator of Utah's chapter of the National Organization for Women. ``Complaints go in and

Luci Malin

we hear nothing. ``We're concerned about Judge Young, but this extends beyond Judge Young to the system.''  NOW and other women are looking for a state legislator to sponsor their petition for an audit, Malin said. No formal request has been submitted. The two earliest complaints against Young, filed by Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD) and Park City mother Alicia Larson, were submitted in August 1994 and have been before the commission for 10 months.  GLUD filed its complaint after Young handed a lenient sentence to the killer of a gay man. Larson accused Young of gender and religious bias after he ruled she would lose custody of her children if she moved to Oregon, away from their father and a Mormon environment. Larson said she has not been asked to appear and her witnesses have not been contacted.  ``I have to question whether anyone is representing my side to the Judicial Conduct Commission,'' she said. ``I have to wonder if they're open to

David Young

looking at the possibility of one of their judges being unethical.'' Adds Lesa Ballard of Kamas, who also filed a complaint: ``I have no idea what they're doing. It's scary.'' Mary Coelho, another Park City resident unhappy with Young's rulings in her divorce, has helped women prepare their complaints. She estimates six complaints have been filed by women and knows of none who has been contacted. But the commission's chairman, Rep. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake, says the call for scrutiny is premature. After publicity about Young and the Judicial Conduct Commission, the number of complaints filed has skyrocketed. With a part-time director and a part-time paralegal, the commission used to review about eight to ten brief complaints a month, Suazo said. But now, the commission is handling 25 to 30 complaints at monthly meetings and reading up to 400 pages of court transcripts, he said.  In response, the 1995 Legislature boosted the commission's budget, allowing for a new full-time director and additional staff. They now have the power to subpoena witnesses. But the new director has not been hired yet and new office space has not yet been arranged. ``It would be a little premature to do [an audit] now,'' Suazo said. The new director will be hired next month, Suazo said. In the meantime, the commission is struggling with an increasing backlog.  The final disposition of complaints against judges is almost always kept secret. The commission has publicly disciplined one judge since 1985. Even if the commission finds grounds to file a formal charge of misconduct, that step is kept confidential. And, the move is rare, commission statistics show. In the 1993-94 fiscal year, the commission received 105 complaints. It found support for three charges of misconduct, and all were privately resolved. While women say delays have damaged the commission's credibility, GLUD is

Douglas Koehler

content to wait, said gay-rights spokesman David Nelson. The group also has received no word on the status of its complaint.  The infusion of new staff will help the commission provide a fairer hearing of GLUD's concerns, he said. GLUD's complaint centers on Young's sentence of killer David Nelson Thacker, who will serve a maximum of six years in prison. Thacker, 27, had kicked Douglas C.  Koehler out of his Park City apartment in August 1993, after complaining Koehler, 31, had tried to kiss him. Thacker then tracked Koehler down and shot him between the eyes. The sentence sparked a protest rally at the State Capitol building  (06-09-95  Page: C1 SLTribune)

1996 Salt Lake Tribune page: B1 Rallied by a call to action from their church, many Latter-day Saints are playing prominent roles in the political war against same-gender marriages in Hawaii.   The question of whether gays and lesbians can marry legally is scheduled to go before a Hawaiian court this September. Meanwhile, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have led efforts aimed at preventing the Hawaii Legislature from validating homosexual wedlock. Retired Salt Lake City advertising executive Arthur Anderson was enlisted into the fight last November with a phone call from Mormon Elder Loren C. Dunn, president of the church's North America West Area. At Dunn's behest, Anderson and his wife embarked on months of volunteer work in Honolulu, mostly answering phones for Hawaii's Future Today, a group set up to lobby against legislative attempts at legalizing gay wedlock, gambling and prostitution.   Now returned home, Anderson said he is glad for his chance to serve. Gay and lesbian marriages ``are really destructive to the social order,'' he said. According to a statement from the Mormon Church's Salt Lake City headquarters, church members such as Anderson are responding to a plea by the ruling First Presidency to get involved as citizens. LDS Church cooperation with Hawaii's Future Today, the statement said, comes in conjunction with Catholic leaders, as part of a duty by church officials to be involved on issues affecting traditional values. ``The Churc

Loren Dunn

h is indeed, politically neutral when it comes to parties and candidates and most issues,'' said the LDS statement. ``However, when a political issue has moral over tones, the Church has not only the right but the responsibility to speak out and become involved.'' Some Hawaiians deeply resent what they see as interference from powerful outside influences in a local issue. James Cartwright, a Honolulu-based member of Affirmation, an advocacy group for gay Mormons, called it an example of ``individual bigotry that hides behind institutional skirts.''   ``This is not an issue of marriage,'' said Cartwright, born and raised in Draper before becoming a faculty librarian at the University of Hawaii. Those involved in Hawaii's Future Today, he said, ``are not opposed to gay and  lesbian marriages, but to gay and lesbian   human rights.''   In February 1994, the LDS First Presidency issued a call to the faithful to oppose legalization of same-sex marriages, urging them to ``appeal to legislators, judges and other officials to preserve the purposes and sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.''   The plea reflects deeply held church beliefs.   Homosexual behavior is part of a Satanic strategy to divert humans from God's plans, according to a lengthy Oct. 1995 article on same-sex attraction published in the church magazine Ensign,

Dallin Oaks

written by Elder Dallin H.Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.   Though such public forays into politics by the Mormon Church are rare, there are precedents. Notable examples include church opposition to the siting of MX missiles on Utah soil in the1970s; fighting passage of an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and, more recently, a campaign against a 1992 initiative to legalize betting on horse races in Utah.   Hawaii's Future Today grew out of fears the politically liberal state would be the first to sanction gay marriages. Begun through a dialogue between leaders of the Mormon and Catholic churches, the group now has some 2,000 members, organization treasurer George P. Shea, Jr. said in an interview from Honolulu.   And to hear Shea and others tell it, the movement sprang from actions by individuals, rather than edicts from top ecclesiastical leaders.   Still, several of the lobbying group's organizers are prominent Hawaiian Mormons.   Group co-chairwoman Debbie Hartman works at the church-run Brigham Young University-Hawaii campus. Another co-chairman is Jack Hoag, chief executive officer of Hawaiian Reserves Incorporated, an LDS Church-owned company that manages commercial acreage surrounding the church's Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu's North Shore.   While playing down any direct links between his group and the Mormon Church, Hoag acknowledges that ``we've had a lot of encouragement from church leaders. There's no question that doctrinally, we're tuned into the church's feelings.''   The movement began quietly.   Pamphlets circulated at select Mormon Church meetings throughout the Pacific islands, urging members to support anti-gay marriage legislation pending in the Hawaii Legislature. Key statements were faxed to legislative committees, from LDS Church facilities.   Meanwhile, in Utah, the church's proclamation prompted state legislators, 80% of whom are Mormon, to vote in 1995 in favor of a law that purports to free Utah from having to recognize same-sex marriages that might be performed in other states.   Drafted by BYU law professor Lynn Wardle in Provo, the bill passed with little opposition, making it the first law of its kind in the country. Other states now are crafting similar laws, hoping to carve gay-marriage exemptions to the U.S. Constitution's ``full faith and credit clause,'' which requires states to honor each other's laws and decrees, including marriages.  Just as Utah passed its law, leaders of the Mormon Church sought to inject themselves directly into the Hawaii controversy, petitioning unsuccessfully to join the same-sex marriage lawsuit before the Hawaii Supreme Court.   ``There are times when certain moral issues become so compelling that churches have a duty to make their feelings known,'' Donald Hallstrom, the LDS Church's regional representative in Hawaii, said at the time. The state high court denied the request and later ordered the issue of same-sex marriages be put to trial. That, in turn, sparked attempts in the state Legislature to short-circuit a possible ruling in favor of such marriages with a constitutional amendment.   Moves to allow gambling in Hawaii -- the only state other than Utah to forbid all gaming --and a call for legal prostitution in the Waikikiarea died early in the part-time Legislature, allowing the lobby group to focus exclusively on gay marriage.   Hawaii's Future Today moved from citizen allies and distributing leaflets to a full-blown lobbying campaign early in the year, around the same time LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley visited Hawaii in February 1996, welcomed by massive crowds of well-wishers.   On the visit, Hinckley huddled with Honolulu Catholic

Gordon Hinckley

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, devoting part of their discussions to the same-sex marriage campaign. Efforts by Hawaii's Future Today stepped up a few weeks later, culminating in a TV, radio and newspaper advertising blitz during April and May.   According to reports filed with the Hawaiian Ethics Commission, money for a total of $37,712 in lobbying expenditures by the group since Jan. 1, 1996, has come from small individual donations from Hawaiians. Twenty-two donations, ranging from $25 to$100 apiece, were made by residents of Laie, a community near the LDS Church-owned Polynesian Cultural Center that is home to more than 5,000 residents, most of whom are directly or indirectly employed by the church.   About $25,000 went to advertising, and surveys indicate the ads had their effect. Roughly 70% of Hawaiians oppose same-sex marriages today, polls indicate, compared with a little more than half of state residents before the advertising campaign began.   Some allege that the $37,712 represents a small portion of what Hawaii's Future Today actually has spent.   William E. Woods, spokesman for the Honolulu-based Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy Foundation, called the group's state spending reports ``totally false.'' He claims the Mormon Church has pumped substantially more money than it has reported into backing the state constitutional amendment to make same-gender marriages illegal.   Woods lodged formal charges to that effect with Hawaiian Ethics Commission in late April, but little state action has been taken. The gay activist also alleges that one $1,870 donation to Hawaii's Future Today, listed as coming from Hana Pono Organization, is a front for direct financial aid from one or more LDS wards in Hawaii.   But Shea, the group's treasurer, said the reports are accurate. And group co-chairman Hoag said that in addition to contributions from ``Mormons, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Buddhists,'' there have been many donations from members of Hawaii's business community, incensed about possible damage to commerce should the state recognize gay wedlock. The constitutional amendment, which would have enshrined male-female unions as the only legal marriages, remained bottled up in a Senate committee -- until the last night of the Legislature. It then was defeated April 29 by a15-10 vote on the Senate floor.   Gay activists hailed the vote as a victory, while members of Hawaii's Future Today are vowing to hold the amendment's opponents accountable in state Senate elections this fall.   Meanwhile, all sides expect a protracted court battle, culminating in a revisit of the issue by the Hawaiian Supreme Court.   ``This,'' said Shea, ``was just the first dance.''

Jeff Freedman

Carrie Gaylor

1996- The Dr. Kristen Ries Award for Community Service was given to Rev. Kelly Byrnes, Charlene Orchard, and Doug Tollstrup (Clariss Cartier).  Jeff Freeman and Carrie Gaylor Co-chairs of Pride Day “While vitriolic debates over gay rights have dominated state politics for months, thousands of Utahns gathered  at the City-County Building on Sunday in the name of gay pride. It appeared to be the biggest Gay Pride Day in Utah history. The parade itself had more than 60 entries -- from the lone Utah Log Cabin Club Republican to a float jammed with Village People impersonators dancing to the '70s tune ``YMCA.'' Bruce Harmon, a parade organizer, hypothesized that conflict over a gay-straight student alliance at East High School, which thrust Utah into the national spotlight, galvanized many Utahns -- gay and straight -- to attend the event. ``The Legislature and school board did more for us than we could ever do for ourselves,'' said Harmon, decked out in a rainbow vest and accessories. ``People said,

Bruce Harmon

`Enough is enough.' ''Funky fashions were de rigueur. Men in hot pants. Men in rhinestone gowns and crowns. Women who were nearly bald. Shirtless men flaunting nipple rings. Studded tongues clicking in conversation. One man wore a straw hat covered with 21 varieties of plastic fruit, two grasshoppers and a butterfly. He also sported a Technicolor dress he rescued from his mother's garage sale. ``Does she know I'm wearing it?'' he asked, holding his finger to his lips, ``shuuuush.'' But most folks just hoped their sunglasses and baseball caps would protect them from the broiling sun. Families sprawled out on the grass with picnics. Toddlers sucked snow cones dry, while performers sang their music from center stage. A few couples held hands. Many shrieked in joy when they found a friend they had forgotten they missed. Under one shady tree, Paula Gibbs-Taylor ticked off her reasons for bringing her daughters Jordan, 7, and  Maya, 10, to the march. ``To help expose them to different types of people,'' said the Park City physician. ``Parades are fun. Support. The concept of gay pride, of tolerance, appreciation of difference. To help kids see there is a lot of universality despite our differences.'' The morning began at the Capitol where floats and marchers congregated. Enormous trucks were repaving the street around the Capitol, which some marchers viewed as a city conspiracy. Stationed at the front were Dykes on Bikes, a group of lesbians on motorcycles. At 10:30 a.m., Harmon launched the proceedings, by announcing over the loudspeaker, ``Ladies, start your engines.'' The parade has a contagious energy. Rather than people rallied around a cause, the cause was the people. As the procession wound down Capitol Hill, past Temple Square and down Main Street, supporters cheered. Marchers carried signs and wore T-shirts with slogans such as ``Hate is not a family value,'' ``God made me and he doesn't make mistakes'' and ``Has anyone seen my Constitutional Rights?''  Several dozen high school students -- including Kelli Peterson, founder of East High's gay straight alliance --chanted: ``Two, four, six, eight. How do you know your kids are straight?'' Peterson's parents also marched wearing signs that read ``Proud Parents.'' In what Harmon deemed a precedent-setting appearance, two politicians drove in the parade: Salt Lake City Councilwoman Deeda Seed and U.S. Congressional candidate Ross Anderson. The two signs of gay solidarity -- rainbows and the color pink -- were omnipresent. There were pink parasols, pink balloons, and a man rollerblading in a pink sequined leotard. A dozen marchers spun an enormous rainbow flag as they passed the LDS Temple  “I am tired of sitting on the sidelines,'' said the woman dressed in yellow toga and hat. ``Today I am here for   everybody. When the parade reached the City-County Building, Chastity Bono delivered the keynote address, praising Utahns for standing their ground in the gay-straight student club controversy. ``You should know that the time and energy you have put in and the personal risk you have taken here in Utah has advanced the entire community's fight for human rights,'' said Bono, a spokesperson for the Human Right Campaign Fund in Washington D.C. ``And we thank you for it.'' Bono is daughter of singer and actress Cher and Republican Rep. Sonny Bono of California. Despite President Clinton's promise to sign the Defense of Marriage Act, a pre-emptive law denying federal recognition of gay marriages, Bono urged the crowd not to boycott the polls. Instead, the gay community must organize campaign and, most importantly, vote. ``It's up to us and our friends and families to stop this Congressional gay bashing,'' she said. ``Come out and come out voting. Later in the afternoon, the annual

Charlene Orchard

Kristen Ries award was given to Charlene Orchard, co-chairwoman of the Utah Human Rights Coalition, and Doug

Doug Tollstrup

Tollstrup, who has raised money for charity by performing drag shows under the name Clariss Cartier for 17 years. Ries, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Utah Hospital, has worked for years with people who have HIV and AIDS. Tollstrup's father, a 71-year-old car salesman, was on hand to watch his son accept the award. ``They get enough persecution without getting it from their parents,'' said the Utah native. ``It makes me laugh when people say you can choose to be gay. It's in your genes. Either you are or you are not. You can't change. It takes a lot of guts to live that lifestyle.'' Police reported no incidents of violence during the day. And organizers were ebullient about the huge crowd that spanned from babies to senior citizens. `No one can take your joy,'' said the Rev. Bruce Barton. `You have to give it away. We are not willing to do that anymore.'' (SLTRIBUNE 10 June 1996)

Chasity [Chaz] Bono 

1996 Sunday, CHASTITY BONO MEETS WITH GAYS IN S.L.  By Robert C. Gehrke, Deseret News Staff Writer Chastity Bono and other leaders in homosexual and human-rights issues met Saturday night on the eve of Gay Pride Day to voice support for Utah gay and lesbian clubs and discuss how to foster political activism. The town meeting at the Red Lion in Salt Lake City, which was delayed 20 minutes while additional chairs were set up to accommodate the strong showing of supporters, was organized as an outlet for viewpoints and affirmation from supporters of the gay and lesbian community. The consensus was that education, support and activism were needed in order to guarantee the rights of gay and lesbian Utahns. Bono, whose father, Rep. Sonny Bono is a California congressman, told how she revealed to her father she was a lesbian when she was 18 years old. She said his reaction was "really unbelievable and very supportive." In his political life, Rep. Bono, a Republican, has been less supportive, co-sponsoring a bill to outlaw same-sex marriages. Recently, Chastity Bono interviewed her father for a magazine article and said she realized how uninformed he was about many of the issues. Increased education has given young people more information to help them deal with issues of homosexuality, said Doug Wortham, a member of Gay, Lesbian and Straight

Doug Wortham

Teachers' Network. "Young people grow up in a world where they have role models, on a personal level . . . and now on the national level, people like Chastity," who are gay, he said. "They are forced to ask questions I wasn't forced to ask myself until I was 21, 23 or 25. The kids now need support at a level that's more intense." Those in attendance argued that the necessary support can only come through political battles that will be fought in coming months. "We can't change minds that are already made up, but we can certainly elect people who are a little more open to stopping discrimination and putting an end to bigotry," said Silvia Behrend, director of religious education at the First Unitarian Church. _© 1999 Deseret News Publishing Co.

1997 Monday, 5,000 join in 15th Utah gay Pride Day By Joe Costanzo, Staff Writer  Utah's

Candace Gingrich

gay and lesbian community celebrated its 15th annual Pride Day on Sunday (June 8) with a parade, Entertainment and a call to political action. More than 5,000 people attended the daylong event, which began at 10:30 a.m. with a march from The state Capitol to the Salt Lake City-County Building. Gay-rights activist Candace Gingrich, the parade grand marshal, applauded those who participated in the Pride Day activities but said their efforts must "go beyond just being here." Gingrich, sister of U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, exhorted the crowd to get involved in the political process by lobbying their members of Congress for gay anti-discrimination and rights bills. "They are the people who are making decisions about your lives," Gingrich said. She cited legislation that would prohibit discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and an extension of hate crime protections, remarking, "We know all too well about hate crimes." But while gays and lesbians are increasingly under attack, the federal law enforcement agencies don't Let involved unless the offense takes place on federal property, she said. The proposed legislation would make it a federal offense to target someone because of their gender or sexual orientation regardless of where the crime occurs, Gingrich said. Pride Day was the culmination of three days of activities for the state's gays, lesbians and their families and friends. The celebration began Friday night with a Gay Pride Pageant sponsored by the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire, an organization that raises charitable funds for the gay and lesbian community. On Saturday, activities included a picnic at Sugar House Park and the first Pride Day Dance at the Gallivan Plaza. Organizers said the Pride Day event has grown in popularity over the years and now attracts a large number of "straight" participants.

• Gay-rights activist Candace Gingrich, sister of Newt Gingrich  was the 2^nd Utah Gay Pride parade grand marshall

1998-Rev Pat Robertson warned the city of Orlando Florida that God would punish the city with natural disasters for allowing the display of rainbow flags during Gay Pride Month.

2002 The Grand Marshal for the Pride parade wa

Kevin Hillman

s Steve

Kmetko host of E! News Live and Kevin Hillman recieved the Dr. Kristen Ries Award. Theme was Unity in the Community. Change From Within

2004 Wed Subject: Pride Parade Info for Spectators  from Donald Steward Muffins, The Pride Parade is this Sunday June 13th at the new user friendly step off time of 10.00 AM. The best views of the Parade will be from the top of State Street (close to South Temple )and the top of 200 East (close to South Temple). For spectators with children or those people seeking shade, there are plenty of sheltered spots on the East side of both streets, but we recommend the State Street commercial blocks near 200 South. IMPORTANT: Please do not crowd into the last block of the Parade. Move as far North as you can, which will help us immensely with Parade Traffic flow, getting the parade entries safely dismantled on 300-400 South, and moving the floats through the fourth South traffic signals. Thanks! Fergie.

9 June 2000 PRISON SEX The Salt Lake Tribune 06/09/2000 Page: C2 Ex-Guard Sentenced For Sex Offenses A former Utah State Prison guard who forced two inmates to engage in sex acts with him was sentenced Monday to serve 1 year in jail.  The allegations against Jerry Gene Kessler surfaced after one of the inmates spit Kessler's semen into a rubber glove after oral sex. The inmate's girlfriend smuggled the semen out of the prison and DNA testing matched it to Kessler, who was a sergeant in the prison's kitchen. At a 1998 preliminary hearing, the 21-year-old inmate testified he endured Kessler's abuse for three months before deciding to collect evidence against the guard. The inmate said he cooperated with Kessler because the guard threatened to have him transferred to a high-security area of the prison or to have him beaten or killed by other inmates. Kessler, 36, was charged with six counts of first-degree felony forcible sodomy and one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.    He pleaded guilty to one count each of third-degree felony attempted forcible sexual abuse and class B misdemeanor   sodomy.

2006 Friday Dear Community Members: A few weeks ago, two of our community members were involved in a car accident.  Sadly, one of the passengers in the car, Cassandra, passed away.  She will be missed, as she was a humanistic individual who always gave of her heart and soul.  Rachael, her girlfriend, and the other passenger in the vehicle, will especially miss Cassandra, as she knew of her deep love and friendship with her. Our friend, Rachael, survived. For those of you who know her, you know and have a complete understanding of Rachael’s gigantic presence in our community.  Rachael’s innate sense of compassion and kindness towards others has always been evident. She is our friend, and our love for her will always be strong and present within our own lives. As a collective

Kim Russo

effort, we would like to assist Rachael with the mounting financial bills that she is now facing as a result of this tragic accident.  Please join us on June 9th at the Papermoon* to assist Rachael in getting her life back in some sense of order and peace. In Service, Kim M. Russo Emperor XXXI The Royal Court Of The Golden Spike Empire (If you would like to share a talent on stage, please call me at 638-4213, as I will be unavailable through e-mail until June 12th) A FUNDRAISER FOR A COMMUNITY MEMBER FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH AT 9: 00 PM AT THE PAPERMOON* (3939 SOUTH STATE) $6.00 SUGGESTED DONATION

2007 LOGO PRESENTS TRUE COLORS IN SUPPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHT CAMPAIGN FULL CONCERT PERFORMANCE BY  CYNDI LAUPER   ERASURE   DEBBIE HARRY     THE DRESSDEN DOLLS  HOSTED BY MARGERET CHO WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 9TH, 2007  WHERE: USANA AMPHITHEATER GET TICKETS AT BY CALLING 1-800-888-TIXX WWW.SMITHTIX. COM AND E-CENTER

2009 HRC Utah to Hold 5th Annual Gala Dinner  Written by JoSelle Vanderhooft    Tuesday, 09 June 2009 This year’s Utah Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner will be the same glamorous gala it has always been, though long-time attendees will notice a few changes. The most noticeable being a change in venue. After four years in philanthropist Bruce Bastian’s backyard, the dinner is moving to the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. “The economic impact is hitting everyone so it’s a lot more cost-effective to have it here,” said

Jerry Rapier

Jerry Rapier, who co-chairs this year’s dinner along with Julie Brizzee and Luana Chilelli. The move to a fully-staffed and stocked hotel, Rapier explained, saves such overhead costs as bringing in a portable kitchen — and a slash in overhead prices translates into more money sent to HRC. And it also translates into cheaper ticket prices--$125 for a regular ticket until June 14 and $150 after that (down from $175 last year). The price of VIP tickets, which cost $300 last year, has also been lowered to $200. Other benefits of moving the diner include also include convenience for Salt Lake Valley residents, especially as the Grand America is located on the TRAX line.  Also, Rapier said the hotel is one of two venues in the state that can accommodate a dinner of 800 or more people — the other being the Salt Palace. Given that Equality Utah holds its annual Allies Dinner at the second location, Rapier said the HRC’s Utah steering committee didn’t want to encroach on their space. Rapier noted that the decision to hold the gala at the Grand America had also drawn some criticism, due to owner Earl Holding’s “past relationship with the GLBT community.” “But he is not now the management of the hotel,” said Rapier. “Now the management is very supportive of the dinner, and they are really trying to improve upon the previous management’s view of and view by the GLBT community. They’ve been amazing with us, giving us more flexibility with the contract than they [typically] give, because they really want to change their image.” “We feel like it’s an opportunity to build bridges,” he continued. “The best way to help the Grand America change its relationship with and view of the GLBT community is to have a whole bunch of homos running around inside the hotel.” Along with a change in venue, the dinner’s theme will also be a little different than in years past. Instead of leaving the choice of theme up to each state, Rapier said the theme for HRC dinners is the same: Speak The Truth. “The whole idea is, as the fight goes forward, we need to be comfortable speaking the truth — making sure people know who we are as a GLBT community, finding our voice and not letting lies populate people’s consciousness,” Rapier explained. “I would venture to say there isn’t a person in this country who doesn’t know someone who isn’t gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, but it’s up to [us] to let them know they know us, and let them see us as people.” There will also be a change in entertainment. In the past four years, Utah’s HRC Gala has had a single entertainer. This year it will boast two: R & B singer/songwriter Thelma Houston (of “Don’t Leave Me This Way” fame) and dance-pop performer Kristine W, who will perform at the gala’s after party.  “There’s quite a few people who are just really committed to supporting HRC — several performers who discount their performance fees,” said Rapier, noting that Houston and Kristine W fall into this category.  “In the past we had bands playing by the pool, but not an organized performance. There’s the party and the after party and everyone’s invited to stay.”

Tammy Baldwin

The dinner’s keynote speaker will be Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay national congressperson. “There’s a lot of [openly gay legislators] at the state level, but she is an out lesbian representative from Wisconsin fighting the fight,” said Rapier. “She’s never not been out, she’s really forward-thinking on a lot of issues, and she’s incredibly popular. I think it’s encouraging just to look at things politically on a national scale, that the out lesbian is from the Midwest, not from a coastal state that one would expect. It’s exciting to have her as part of our dinner and help us shift the perception between her and the fact Iowa really leapt to the forefront for the fight for marriage equality. You never know where allies lie and where progress can be made. Hopefully for Utah the idea is to see that change can happen in the most unlikely of places. Even here. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” HRC Utah will also honor two community leaders at the dinner: Jim Dabakis, who played a key role in founding both Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, and former Center board chair and current Equality Utah board chair Stephanie Pappas. “Stephanie is truly a passionate leader. She is

Stephanie Pappas

about the work and about equality and about supporting in any way she can,” said Rapier. “Jim is an idea guy. Neither Equality Utah or the Center would have existed without him. He’s been outspoken and pushing buttons and pushing things forward in our community for decades, and in his case it’s recognition long overdue.” Despite the recent economic downturn, Rapier said that the response to this year’s dinner has been outstanding — due, he said, in part to the political climate created by such things as the federal employment non-discrimination act and the subject of gay marriage. “We have more table captains than we’ve ever had and more sponsorship than we’ve ever had. And that’s exciting,” he said. The dinner will also feature a silent auction, which includes a two-year lease from Ken Garff Mercedes. Tickets for this special prize will be $100 each. To buy dinner tickets visit utah.hrc.org/dinner.

Robert Kirby

2009  If you're a prude, stay away from Pride By Robert Kirby Tribune Columnist Gay rights advocates strut political clout in Salt Lake Utah Pride Festival activist calls for Washington march On Sunday, I committed a grievous sin. Instead of going to church where I supposedly belong, I went to the Utah Pride Parade and hung out with gay people.  It was my first gay parade/rally. I went with Sonny, and then only because his wife Sue came along and said I could put my arm around her if I started feeling misunderstood. We rode TRAX downtown. At every stop, more gay people got on. I was guessing, of course. Odds are that not all of the people I thought were gay actually were. I'm pretty sure about the guy in the purple leotard, though. Downtown was packed with thousands of people, including many other devout heterosexuals such as myself. A good share of the crowd was "straight," and participated in support of loved ones who weren't.  Actually, not even the entire gay crowd was gay. The word covers a wide range of sexual whatever. It's more accurate to say "LGBT," which I wouldn't try because I already did and it sounds like a curse from a drunken frog. LGBT is an acronym for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." I'll let you figure it out as needed.  Although the LDS Church isn't real popular with the LGBT community, the parade started promptly on Mormon time -- about 15 minutes late. It didn't help that it was pouring rain. The weather didn't slow things down once they started. Whatever else you think about the LGBT crowd, they're committed. Thousands of people lined the streets with umbrellas.  A Pride Parade is no place to be if you're any kind of a prude. Given that pride in one's sexuality is the fundamental point, there's a lot of it on display. Makes sense. You couldn't very well have a Days of '47 Parade without pioneers. I didn't see anything illegal. My grandma's head would have exploded anyway. People paraded in regular underwear, underwear designed to look like no underwear at all, and underwear that was actually just a field harness.  There were drag queens, politicians, gay organizations, straight supporters, and even some enormous condoms towed along like Chinese parade dragons.  After the parade, we went to Washington Square for lunch and the booths. I'm no expert, but gay people seem to have come a long way since coming out. Did you know there's an International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs? There were also booths for Gay Flag Football League, the Salt Lake Good Time Bowling League, a Mormon gay organization, and even a law enforcement booth advertising for recruits. It was the most polite event I've been to since I can remember. But then I wasn't a street preacher.  On the northwest corner, a couple of preachers were telling passersby they were going to hell, and in turn being told to "[deleted] off." The one with the "Homo Sex is Sin" sign was besieged by a dozen furious lesbians, a fact I deduced partly because of how they looked but mostly because they kept saying so at the top of their lungs.  The other preacher periodically held up two female ends of electrical cord and jammed them together to show, I guess, that the fit didn't work.  Neither did the object lesson. For me, it begged all sorts of gospel imponderables about biblically approved amps, volts, etc. Is Heaven 220 or 110? Are power strips brothels or plural marriage? It wasn't the last misunderstanding of the day. Heading back to TRAX, we went by the law enforcement booth again. A Salt Lake City motorcycle officer stood in front of it, resplendent in his boots and leather. As we passed, I overheard several intensely interested men trying to decide if the officer was a real cop or just a stripper.

2009 Sean P. Means The latest post: A peek into the lab Friday, June 19, 2009 incendiary issue. But I think slowly -- we made this film over two years -- we built up a trust and a reputation in Washington, D.C."  The movie opens with Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's infamous men's room encounter with an undercover cop in the Minneapolis airport. Other politicians Dick mentions as being in the closet are former New York mayor Ed Koch and current Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- who is sometimes mentioned as a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2012. The news media, which will delve whole-heartedly into a heterosexual candidate's sex life (take, for example, the infidelity accusations against former Sen. John Edwards), are often mute on gay politicians, Dick said. "Avoiding reporting on hypocrisy when it involves gay sexuality is kind of a homophobia," he said. "You're sitting on a message that there's nothing wrong with gay sexuality. If you somehow are hesitant or protective of it, you're saying this is a shameful secret that someone should keep private."  In the film, Dick interviews investigative blogger Mike Rogers, whose BlogActive.com outs closeted gays in government and media circles. Rogers' work raises questions about the ethics of outing -- which are different for government officials than for movie stars, Dick said. Movie stars, Dick said, "are not people who are voting directly to harm gays and lesbians."  The psychology of closeted politicians is like a schoolkid who beats up a gay classmate to hide his own homosexuality. "You have people who, if they were out, would vote pro-gay," Dick said. "But because they are protecting the closet, they're afraid of losing their office, they vote anti-gay."  For the fashion designer known as Valentino, the question of identifying himself as gay is a matter of age and nationality. "It's that generation," said Tyrnauer, who directed "Valentino: The Last Emperor." "Especially in Italy, they don't talk about it."  But Tyrnauer -- who met Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammeti when writing a profile on them for Vanity Fair in 2004 -- found in their longtime relationship something that transcends labels.  It's not something either man discusses, except within their close circle of friends. In the movie, the two reminisce a bit about their first meeting -- in 1960, hanging out at the cafes in the Via Veneto, the site immortalized in "La Dolce Vita" -- but the exact nature of their partnership then is left alone. "They were boyfriends for quite some time," about 12 years, Tyrnauer said. Their business partnership, though, lasts to this day, with Giammeti acting as the behind-the-scenes organizer who makes it possible for the designer to pursue his art unfettered. The relationship allows Valentino to play the diva, something he did frequently during the shooting of the documentary, which follows him as he designs his 2006 line and a 45th-anniversary retrospective that could mark his swan song in haute couture. "He couldn't cope with anything that wasn't precisely on Valentino time," Tyrnauer said in a phone interview. "If we had any variations on that, it got a little hairy. ... He's really high-maintenance, but you don't get where he is without being high-maintenance."  Valentino was careful not to drop his guard around the cameras, but there is one moment in the film when emotion overtakes him. In 2006, Valentino was awarded the Legion of Honor, the French government's highest accolade. In his acceptance speech, there is a moment where no one is sure whether Valentino will mention Giammeti. When he does, he barely chokes back the tears.  "They're almost spousal," Tyrnauer said. "I think it's more than a marriage. I've never seen two people so close and so interconnected."  movies@sltrib.com Salt Lake City's sixth annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film festival runs June 10-14 at the Tower Theatre, 876 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City. All screenings are free. Here's the full schedule: June 10 » "Valentino: The Last Emperor" at 7 p.m., with director Matt Tyrnauer taking questions after. June 11 » "Breakfast With Scott" at 7:30 p.m. June 12 » "Ask Not" at 6:30 p.m.; "U People" at 8 p.m.; "Were the World Mine" at 10 p.m.; "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" at midnight. June 13 » "Screaming Queens" at 4:30 p.m.; "Be Like Others" at 6 p.m.; "Shelter" at 8 p.m.; "Four Minutes (Vier Minuten)" at 10 p.m.; "Otto, or Up With Dead People" at midnight. June 14 » "Looking for Cheyenne (Oublier Cheyenne)" at 1 p.m.; "Schoolboy Crush" at 3 p.m.: "Outrage" at 5 p.m., with director Kirby Dick taking questions after the show.

Valerie Larabee

2009 Supreme Court won't hear appeal to 'don't ask, don't tell' ruling By Matthew D. LaPlante The Salt Lake Tribune Valerie Larabee, a ten-year veteran of the Air Force who retired in 1995 is proud of her service and now runs the Utah Pride Center. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear arguments in a case challenging the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In her final year in the military, Air Force mortuary officer Valerie Larabee was called upon to care for four families grieving the suicides of fellow airmen. "It really impacted me emotionally, but I couldn't even go to the base chaplain to talk about it, because I was just so fearful," she said. "I knew that he would ask, 'Who else do you have in your life that can help comfort you?' And I knew I couldn't tell him."  The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear arguments Monday in a case challenging the constitutionality of the military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bans openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military. Gay-rights activists, including Larabee, the director of the Utah Pride Center, decried the court's decision, which let stand a lower court ruling in favor of the ban. They said it would permit the military to continue to treat tens of thousands of gay and lesbian service members as second-class citizens. "I am really hopeful about how things are going in our country right now and I feel like we have some tremendous opportunities," Larabee said. "But this is disappointing." Noting the ongoing wars and the nation's floundering economy, Larabee said she understands there are other pressing matters for Congress, the White House and the nation's highest court to consider.  "But do I think our issues are every bit as important as those? Yes, I absolutely do," she said, adding that she wished the court would have taken up the case.  Larabee spent 10 years in an Air Force uniform before resigning her commission in 1995 -- two years after the Clinton-era law, which was thought of by many as a step forward for gay rights -- went into effect. She said that she would have liked to have continued serving her country, but she couldn't keep living a lie. "I would still be in the military today if I didn't have to lie about who I am," she said. "My military service is the thing that I'm most proud of in my life." Having to keep secrets from those who are supposed to be brothers and sisters in arms "ends up causing a lot of anxiety," she said. "It's shameful that we should have to do that."  But gay service members might not have to keep up the pretense for long. Author Nathaniel Frank said he figures the policy might last another two years, given the country's need for service members at a time of war and a national sentiment he believes is moving in the direction of gay rights.  In his book Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America , Frank writes that gay service members have been forced out of service since the Revolutionary War. The first recorded case was in 1778, when Lt. Gotthold Enslin was kicked out of the Army in a ceremony in which an officer's sword was broken over his head after he was caught in bed with another soldier.  Set against 230 years of military history, Frank said, Monday's ruling is a blip on the radar. "I wouldn't think too much of this," he said. "The court has a tradition of deferring to military and congressional judgment." He believes that President Barack Obama, though slow out of the gate on ending the ban as promised during his campaign, "still wants and needs this -- and it should be played out not in the courts, but at the White House and in Congress."  There appears to be some movement on the issue in Congress, where California Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher has convinced 150 of her House colleagues to co-sponsor a bill that would end the ban. The Obama Administration, meanwhile, has made no specific move toward ending it and has declined to step in to stop the dismissal of gay service members, such as West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran Lt. Dan Choi. He is being processed for discharge from the Army after publicly disclosing that he is gay.  In an open letter to the president, the New York National Guard member took issue with the idea that his sexuality was a detriment to good order and discipline in his unit. Much to the contrary, he wrote, "I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. I demand honesty and courage from my soldiers. They should demand the same from me." More than 230 service members have been kicked out of the military under the policy since Obama took office, according to the Service Members Legal Defense Fund.  Background of Pietrangelo v. Gates The case was filed by James Pietrangelo, a former Army captain discharged from the military for being gay. He was originally part of a group of 12 plaintiffs who were dismissed under the policy because of their sexual orientation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston rejected the suit last year. Pietrangelo appealed to the Supreme Court on his own, while most of the other plaintiffs asked the court to not to review the case, preferring to allow the Obama administration to deal with the issue. Source: Associated Press 

Nicole Murray Ramirez

2018  Salt Lake City, the new gay mecca QUEEN Mother Nicole of the international Imperial Court System had this to say about Salt Lake City "Recently, I spent five days in Salt Lake and boy has it changed. It has a lesbian mayor and three gay councilmembers. A new multi-million-dollar LGBT Community Center and its annual Equality Utah dinner gala draws more than 2,000 people! It’s still one of the most beautiful cities in America and no wonder it has been voted as one of the best places to live for LGBT people. Even its homeless problem is hardly noticeable as the city, and yes, the Mormon Church provides many outstanding services. During a reception at Salt Lake’s historic City Hall, its Jackie Biskupski and I exchanged Harvey Milk street signs, as this city is the second one to have a street named after Milk. I fell in love with Salt Lake City and so will you. This city and LGBT community rivals San Francisco, New York City and West Hollywood for the very best quality of life and environment. The mayor proclaimed me a “Honorary Citizen” so I will be back."

2018 The HandleBar is a new Salt Lake City ‘biker’ bar geared toward cyclists and any other

thirsty patrons  HandleBar co-owner David Morris at his new bar in Salt Lake City's Marmalade neighborhood...  By Kathy Stephenson  Salt Lake City’s booming Marmalade neighborhood has a new watering hole that offers residents a twist on the traditional “biker” bar. The HandleBar, 751 N. 300 West, opened earlier this week and is geared toward thirsty cyclists and anyone who appreciates a thick, twisting mustache, said David Morris, co-owner with Jesse Wilkerson. Those names might sound familiar. HandleBar is the fifth Utah bar for Morris — who sports an impressive mustache and sideburns. He currently owns Piper Down in Salt Lake City and Ice Haus in Murray. He also is the co-owner — with Bridget Gordon, owner of Green Pig Pub — of Ogden’s Funk ’n Dive Bar and Harp and Hound gastropub. Wilkerson is no stranger to the food and dining scene, either. He owns Trolley Wing Co. restaurants in Sugar House and Midvale. HandleBar replaces Club Jam, a popular gay bar and dance club that opened in 2008 but in recent years had struggled. “When the area wasn’t as residential,” Morris said, “a dance club made more sense.” That’s true. At one point in the 1970s, Salt Lake City could boast 10 gay or lesbian bars. Now, with the closure of Jam, two remain: the Sun Trapp and Club Try-Angles. The slow demise of the gay bar scene, in Utah and nationally, has largely been attributed to the rise of the internet and dating apps. “It’s exciting and sad at the same time,” said Rob Moolman, executive director of the Utah Pride Center, who added that having “queer spaces” where the LGBTQ community can “come out and be themselves” is important. Times have changed, Moolman said. For the most part, “young people today are growing up in a different climate of understanding and inclusivity. They can walk into any [bar or restaurant] space and be themselves.” He pointed to Salt Lake City’s recent Pride Festival and Parade, which enjoyed some of their largest turnouts, according to preliminary numbers. The success was marred, however, when a group of men, yelling slurs, chased gay people into a downtown dessert cafe.  The Marmalade district is still a place many LGBTQ individuals call home. They affectionately dub it the “gayborhood” and proudly fly rainbow flags from nearby balconies and windows. Once a neglected area of Salt Lake City, it is now experiencing a renaissance with a new library, scores of new apartments and condominiums under construction and many older homes being renovated. Bars and restaurants are sure to follow the growth. In addition to HandleBar, Blue Copper Coffee, a Salt Lake City-based small batch roaster, has posted a “coming soon” sign on a nearby building.   Customers won’t recognize the old Club Jam building. Morris and Wilkerson gutted the inside, cut big windows to make it airy and light, built a new wood bar and hung bicycles from the ceiling for decoration. There are even one-of-a-kind bar stools made with bicycle parts. There is a large bike rack out front to park your two-wheelers; you’ll see a mustache “Hall of Fame” as you walk toward the restroom. It features photos of famous mustaches from former President Theodore Roosevelt to actors Tom Selleck Freddie Mercury, Utah's own Wilford Brimley, Cheech Marin and Burt Reynolds. There are dozens of beers on tap and cocktails with names to match the bar’s theme. Look for Brigham’s Mustache Ride (we’re blushing) and Porter’s Unicycle — legend has it that Orrin Porter Rockwell, Brigham Young’s famous bodyguard, liked to ride a unicycle around the Mormon temple, Morris said. The HandleBar kitchen is a work in progress, but the property is large enough to accommodate a regular rotation of food trucks, Morris said. The trucks will be parked close to the patio with its lights and colorful umbrellas. Eventually, the partners hope to build a restaurant in the empty lot behind the bar, although they’re not sure what the menu or theme will be. “Sometimes,” Morris said, “you just have to listen to the space and the neighborhood and what people want.”

Kestin Page 

2020 Obituary: Kestin Page June 14, 1990 – June 9, 2020 —‘Be brave enough to be kind’ Kestin Richard Page passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.  He was born in Ogden, Utah, the son of Wendy Naylin and Ronald Page. Kestin attended school at Country View Elementary, Rocky Mountain Jr High, Fremont High School, and Weber State University. In high school, Kestin was editor of the newspaper and enjoyed performing in plays. He enjoyed music, watching musicals, Star Trek AND Star Wars, going to movies and Pokemon Video games. Kestin’s knowledge of history was astounding, he could remember an event and date at any time. His intelligence was amazing, he was able to analyze and come up with a solution that was always spot on. Kestin’s ability to engage in dialogue with an open heart and mind made him one in a million. He had a unique ability to convey his convictions while not being condescending and allowing for give-and-take discourse. His witty sarcasm and “nerdy” references dropped casually in conversation weren’t missed and were appreciated by those who “got it”. Kestin had wisdom beyond his years which led him to work tirelessly for the rights of all individuals and was always advocating for social justice. He was kind, intelligent, supportive, and had a giant heart. Some of Kestin’s accomplishments included three years as president of Gender and Sexuality Alliance at Weber State University, pres ident of WSU Democrats Club, student senator for WSU housing, LGBT Resource intern, member of the Psi Phi Psi Fraternity, and was involved in many other activities.  He was awarded the Young Democrat scholarship from Weber County Democratic Party.  Kestin was currently working at the Internal Revenue Service. “Be brave enough to be kind” was Kestin’s mantra. “I love you as big as the sky, my boy,” Mom. He was loved and admired by many!