Winter First Quarter Journal 1999 January-March President Clinton

 

 

1999 FROM ANECDOTAL MATERIALS of The JOURNALS OF BEN WILLIAMS AND OTHER  ANALECTAL SOURCES

JANUARY

1 January 1999 Friday

Well it’s a new year and the last one from the 20^th Century.  That seems so weird that I have lived long enough to see the turn of the century. Well that is if I make it through this year. I am still tired from being out so late for First Night although it was fun.

            I am a 47 years old middle aged balding fat Gay man with a beard. My glory days are way behind me. I have been an elementary school teacher in Davis County School District now for ten years, first at Sunset Elementary but mostly at Orchard in North Salt Lake.  I teach 5^th Grade but want to change grades just to get away from Elaine Day who passive aggressively tries to dominate 5^th grade. I am so tired of doing Christmas Pageants to make her look good. Hal Olsen in 4^th Grade is retiring this year so hopefully Pam Park our principal will let me transfer. I am sure she will. Enough of that as school starts back up on Monday.

            Mike Romero and I live at 1633 Fernleaf street in Salt Lake City near the Rose Park golf course and not far from I-215. At one time our house in the Reliance tract out here was the only one finished and you could see out Christmas lights from the freeway. Now the subdivision is filled in and Ivory Homes is building all around us so most of the horse property is disappearing.

            We have four dogs and a cat named Billy. Oscar is our oldest Schnauzer that we have had for 3 years now. He’s probably about 9 or 10 years old. Priscilla is a duashund mix and we got her as a puppy from Rawlins and she is about 4 years old now. The two other schnauzers are Saffy and Smokey. They are brother and sister but from different litters.

            Mike and I live in different parts of the house now with his bedroom upstairs and mine down stairs in the basement that I finished mostly. Our friend Rich Butler helped me put in a false ceiling and our neighbor Randy Gile helped me with the sheetrock. Mike didn’t help at all.

            Well I don’t know what the year will bring. Maybe Mike and I will break up. That makes me really sad as I still love him but I know he’s not in love with me.

            I feel rather isolated way out here far from the city and have lost contact with most of my old friends and I have nothing to do with the Gay community anymore. I am just a relic from a different time but at least so far I have survived AIDS. I guess that is something I suppose.

            There’s a full moon tonight and we will have a blue moon at the end of the month. It was a pretty day after the rain we had yesterday evening. It was clear and about 40 degrees.

I read in the obituaries that Salt Lake Tribune history writer Harold Schlinder died last December 28. I liked a lot of his works but did not like his glorifying Porter Rockwell who was nothing more than a psychopathic serial killer for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

 

3 January 1999 Sunday

Mike and I went to the Tower Theater and saw John Water’s latest movie Pecker. It wasn’t as good as some of his others I think. We did enjoy South Park’s Orgasmo about a Mormon Missionary who becomes a porn star! Ha! The theater was packed.

I read in the Sunday paper Tom Barberi’s predictions for 1999 and one was that Utah Legislature would outlaw Gay and Lesbian teachers from driving through Draper with a cell phone in the ear and a six pack in the trunk! “ ha!

 

4 January 1999 Monday

I think the kids were glad to see me and be back in school. I think Christmas takes a lot out of them. I saw that the Italian-American actor who portrayed Native American Iron Eyes Cody died today at the age of 94. He was the face of commercials in the 1970s about environmentalism to Keep America Beautiful.

 

6 January 1999 Wednesday

It was really smoggy today with a strong inversion so it was an indoor recess all day.

I read that the mother of one of the men Russell Henderson charged in the death of Matthew Shepard died of exposure after staggering out of a downtown bar. Cindy Thompson Dixon was found dead outside of Laramie. The police questioned her husband who had a history of spousal abuse  found no evidence of foul play. Death was from hypothermia.

 

 

8 January 1999 Friday

The head of the Utah State Adoption agency wants to ban Gay couples from adopting and other unmarried couples. Sounds fair until the hypocrites say that Gays can’t marry not because they don’t want to.

 

9 January 1999 Saturday

Happy birthday John Francis Cunningham where ever you may be.

 

11 January 1999  Monday

There are pink flyers posted all over downtown stating that Rocky Anderson  is a “flunky” of the Gay movement. Some believe Merrill Cook is behind it but he denies it.

 

18 January Monday

There’s no school today because of Martin Luther King’s birthday. It’s the first day of the new legislature and the state’s first Gay legislator, Jackie Biskupski was sworn in which pissed off Gayle Ruzicka who said, “It’s too bad we don’t have a whole army of legislators who say we’re not going to allow a lawmaker.”

 

19 January 1999 Tuesday

It’s the end of the first half of the school year  and I sent home grades today.  I should have last Friday but the computers were down at the District so I couldn’t access them. Today is dad’s 74^th birthday. Mom said they celebrated it at the Senior Center last Sunday.

 

22 January 1999 Friday

Pope John Paul said no to Gay marriages “lamenting spread of deteriororation of the natural and religious sense of marriage.”  He doesn’t want Gay couples to benefit form pensions and housing either.”

 

23 January Saturday

The board of the Child and Family Services voted 7-2 to ban  unmarried couples and Gay and Lesbians partners from adopting foster children. Board chair Scott Clark “blasted gay parents for exposing their children to gender confusion!”  Gayle Ruzicka like Madam Defarge was “stitching a needlepoint project.” Robert Austin’s partner Bradley Weischedel spoke at the board stating that they had adopted a 9 year old boy through private means.

 

24 January 1999 Sunday

I saw a want ad in the Tribune for a manager for the Stonewall Coffee shop in the “New Gay and Lesbian Community Center.”  The starting salary is $17,000 which more than any of the directors received at the old Utah Stonewall Center which was the only paid position there.

 

31 January 1999 Sunday

Once in a Blue Moon. It’s the second full moon this month and I kept singing Nanci Griffiths song in my head. I am so glad this long month is over.  We didn’t have much snow this month   and wasn’t

 

FEBRUARY

1 February 1999 Monday

AIDS ANIMAL ORIGINS: People Got AIDS From   Chimps, Scientists Believe- Scientists believe they have solved the lingering mystery of where the AIDS virus came from: chimps.  In a presentation Sunday, researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham said they have convincing proof that the virus has spread from chimpanzees to people in Africa on at least three separate occasions.  One of these cross-species transmissions was the start of the epidemic  that now infects about 35 million people worldwide.  Chimps, which probably have carried the virus for hundreds of thousands of years, apparently do not get sick from it. Figuring out why could be important. "This is excellent science with biological and virological importance. If we understood how the chimp has dealt with this infection over time, that could have implications for human medicine," said Kevin DeCock, an AIDS expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in  Atlanta. While chimps have long been suspected as the source, "there have been a lot of loose ends that made people uncomfortable drawing that conclusion," said Beatrice Hahn. Hahn said her team nailed down the connection by analyzing frozen tissue saved from a chimp named Marilyn who died 14 years ago (1985).  The chimp version of the AIDS virus -- the microbe now thought to be the grandfather of HIV -- is called SIVcpz. It is extremely rare among chimps in U.S. lab colonies, apparently because these animals are removed from the wild as babies and so are never exposed to the virus sexually. Until recently, SIVcpz had been isolated only three times. The fourth turned up when a colleague cleaning out a lab freezer ran  across Marilyn's specimens and sent them to Hahn. Her team was able to perform various kinds of genetic analyses that were unavailable when the chimp died. Then the Alabama team used molecular-analysis techniques to study all four examples of the virus. They found that three of the four were extremely similar genetically to the human AIDS virus. They included one gene, called vpu, that also is part of HIV but not of other AIDS-like viruses that infect monkeys.  All three samples came from Pan troglodytes troglodytes, which is one of the four subspecies of chimp in Africa. These animals live in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo and Central African Republic, the region where AIDS is thought to have started. The fourth sample, much less like HIV, came from another subspecies of chimp that is native to East Africa.   Among humans, there are three major groups of HIV, code-named M, N and O. M is the variety that has spread around the world, while N and O are seen only in west-central Africa. The natural habitat of Pan troglodytes troglodytes exactly overlaps the area where these three groups were first recognized. The researchers believe that each group arose from a separate chimp-to-human transmission of SIVcpz.   "We conclude that this subspecies is the natural host and reservoir for HIV-1," the AIDS virus, said Hahn, whose work also is being published  in this week's issue of the journal Nature.  She said a French team, headed by Phillippe Mauclere of the Pasteur Institute, recently found three more chimps infected with SIVcpz at a game sanctuary in Cameroon. One sample has been genetically analyzed and it, too, closely resembles HIV.   ;"That nails it," said Hahn. "The only possible criticism is that we had made too much out of four animals." BY DANIEL Q. HANEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO –

 

2 February 1999 Tuesday

Hate-crimes legislation that would provide specific protection for gays, lesbians, abortion clinics and other groups and enhance penalties is already drawing contentious debate on Capitol Hill. At a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, both proponents and opponents of a proposed hate crimes law packed the room to hear and voice their own views on SB34, which outlines categories of people and institutions that would receive protection under the current law. Sponsoring Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake, said the hate crimes statute passed in 1992 is inadequate because it was watered downed by the same opposition it faced Tuesday. "Why are we even considering something like this?" asked Gayle Ruzicka, head of the conservative Eagle Forum, an opponent to the bill. "All people deserve to be protected equally." She said Utah law should not protect "illegal and immoral behavior" such as sexual orientation under the proposed bill. But Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP, said Utah needs to stop denying it has a hate crimes problem. "It is a big problem here in Utah when we have to come back and discuss this bill. There shouldn't even be an argument." The committee did not vote on the bill as time ran out before all those scheduled to testify could speak. The bill would protect people against hate crimes on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or mental or physical disabilities. Any misdemeanor crime such as assault, telephone harassment or vandalism becomes a third-degree felony if motivated on the basis of these categories. In addition, the bill also protects religious institutions, psychiatric hospitals, abortion clinics and health-care providers. The bill also provides for sentencing enhancements if the crime is already a felony. For example, a judge would have the discretion to impose a minimum term of between five-to-eight years in prison if the person is convicted of a crime that is a first-degree felony and proven to be hate crime. "These acts of terrorism are taking place. These are crimes we must vigorously prosecute," Suazo said. "They are the antithesis of the values that define us as a nation and a state. They have nothing to do with equality, freedom or respect." Prosecutors have complained that Utah's current hate crime law is difficult to prosecute because it fails to define protected categories and it requires proof that the accused meant to intimidate or terrorize. Suazo's bill deletes the language of intimidate or terrorize. Paul Boyden with the Statewide Association of Prosecutors said after the hearing that the proposal addresses some of the problems with the current law, although his group has not taken position.

 

4 February 1999 Thursday

Ben Fulton   City Weekly GAY COMMUNITY CENTER UTAH COFFEE SHOP OR COMMUNITY CENTER? Coffee or Community? Gay & Lesbian Center Searches for a Course

After months of planning, fund raising, networking and construction, Salt Lake City’s Stonewall Center has been successfully reincarnated into the Gay & Lesbian Community Center. It’s a small, charming, two-story building with hardwood floors and a library. Its doors have been open wide since October, but has it sacrificed a vision for the gay community in favor of a business- like drive to increase operating funds? That’s the feeling of some in the community, and the opinion of two former Center administrators.

There are also charges that the tone of the Center, whose Operating Board comprises several successful business owners, has become elitist, demonstrating little concern for more blue-collar members of the community. Some who've resigned their administrative positions say programs aren't receiving enough attention. Others disagree.

Part and parcel of any new organization, or the sign of final decisions sure to direct the Center’s future? All that remains to be seen, but with the resignation of its executive director and a small row over the balance sheet of the Center’s coffee shop, Stonewall Coffee, there have been plenty of tremors. Oddly, the center of those small quakes has been Stonewall Coffee.

Even before the Center opened, everyone agreed that a coffee shop would act as a complementary social magnet—an ideal meeting place. That it has, say Stonewall Coffee supporters. But critics contend the small bistro has taken center stage, at the expense of actively forming programs that would empower Salt Lake City’s gay and lesbian community.

Complicating matters, critics say, is the fact that many people who donated money to the coffee shop’s initial operations also sit on the Center’s Operating Board. So, is the end result a gay and lesbian community center inside a Coffee Shop, or a coffee shop inside a Gay and Lesbian Community Center? Naturally, the answer depends on whom you ask.

 “The vision of some board members is that it would be a coffee shop first and foremost to make profit so that it would sustain the operation of the building. But when you talked to them about goals beyond that they had no ideas. I don’t want to bad-mouth the Center. I miss it very much. But I was hired to do a job, and I was not allowed to do a job,” said Monique Predovitch, who resigned her position as executive director just over a month ago. “It was a division of a business downstairs and a non-profit community center upstairs. The business won out.”

Alan Ahtow, who, as interim director, kept the Center alive on the web while a building site was scouted, expressed similar feelings. Like Predovitch, he’s careful not to frame his differences with the Center’s current board in terms of who’s right and who’s wrong. Rather, it’s an issue of how the Center can best serve the community, Ahtow says. He left his positions as board member and Predovitch’s assistant when it became apparent that programs were being overlooked for the coffee shop.

“I think it would be unfortunate for the opportunity we have as a community, and for the Center’s potential, if it just became a place to hang out and drink coffee,” Ahtow said. “I think the idea of a coffee shop was sound, but the execution wasn’t what people imagined. When you have people in the position of donating money to the center who are also on the board there are problems you encounter. It’s easy to say something like, ‘If you don’t do what I want you’re not going to get my money or my service or my time.’

 From my own observation, I think there were instances where people felt uncomfortable or intimidated. It’s not necessarily a healthy environment to operate in. “I’m not saying people didn’t have the best intentions. But I do think there was a lot of posturing, a lot of ego and a lot of comments fell on deaf ears,” Ahtow said.

Michelle Turpin, a local tax attorney and board member who donated money toward Stonewall Coffee’s initial expenses, contends there’s been no let-up in programs since the Center opened.

The board was fast to assign a new interim director, Doug Wortham, and the Center’s schedule is full with meetings and workshops, she said. True, the coffee shop might have received more than its share of attention upon opening, but it’s long since lost its status as the center of attention. Turpin sees no conflict of interest in her roles as board member and donator to the Center. “All I have to say is, ‘Where’s the conflict?’ I have nothing to gain financially. I’m doing this because I have a bleeding heart for gay rights,” Turpin said. “By nature, anybody who puts time or money into an organization is going to want to see it succeed.”

Criticism is no problem for Turpin. For perspective, she remembers the example of Lori Jean, the former director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center who took its annual budget from $3 million to $24 million.  “She caught flak, but gained respect in the end,” Turpin said. “We have successful business people on the board so that we can hopefully run a tight ship. It has to be run like a business or it’s not going to make it.”

 

Senate committee rejects changes in hate-crime bill A bill proposing to reform Utah's hate-crime law died a sudden death Thursday after a party-line vote of 4-2 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Despite urging by the NAACP, the Utah Sentencing Commission and the Episcopalian Diocese, Sen. Pete Suazo's SB34 was killed in committee. Suazo said he has no plans to resurrect it this session. The bill provided criminal penalty enhancements for specific categories of people and institutions if victimized by a crime. Those categories -- particularly sexual orientation -- raised the ire of groups like Utah Eagle Forum, the America Forever Foundation and Concerned Women For America. Democrat Suazo and Sen. Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, endorsed the bill, which also extended protection to institutions like churches and abortion clinics. Republican senators Terry Spencer, John Valentine, Lyle Hillyard and Parley Hellewell voted against it. The bill made certain misdemeanors a third-degree felony if prosecutors could prove the crimes were motivated by hate. Felonies also were subject to sentencing enhancements. Prosecutors have complained Utah's current law is too vague and difficult to apply because it fails to include categories of protected classes.

 

The Utah Hate Crimes Amendments bill (1SSB34) was defeated on Feb. 4  by a vote of 4 to 2 in a meeting of the state Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary at the state Capitol Building in Salt Lake City. The bill would have amended the state hate-crimes penalties and statistics laws by expanding the protected categories and redefining a hate crime. State Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake City, and various minority leaders said that the laws needed to be updated to reflect the relevant laws and court rulings of other states, and make the Utah penalties law enforceable. He said that it hasn't been used by state courts because many judges and prosecutors believe it's too vague. You may tell the committee members how you feel about their votes about the bill by sending an electronic-mail message to each of them: Republican Chair Sen. Terry Spencer voted "no. Republican Sen. Parley G. Hellewell voted "no" Republican Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard voted "no" Republican Sen. John L. Valentine voted "no"  Democratic Co-Sponsor Sen. Mike Dmitrich voted "yes" Democratic Sponsor Sen. Pete Suazo voted "yes". Reported by David Nelson Salt Lake City

 

5 February 1999 Friday

I read that the Legislators shot down Pete Suazo’s Hate Crime Bill that would have included Gay people. David Thometz was quoted a lot in a Tribune article. I guess he is head of GLUD now that David Nelson no loner is. I remember when David was Bobbie Smith’s roommate over on Del Mar Court.

 

7 February 1999 Sunday

Stan Penfold has been named acting executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV and ensuring compassionate delivery of services to people affected by HIV/AIDS.

 

 

11 February 1999 Thursday

 Salt Lake City Fairmont Park. Police have been making visits every hour during the day to the south car lot. At night don't be shocked to find yourself intersected with some long, grey, late '80's Crown Victoria while walking across the park. Last Tuesday night (about 8:30) the monster car drove across the park lawn to stop me, as an ugly young blonde 'community enforcement' officer leapt out of the vehicle, bearing a baton, inquiring as to my activities. I assured him I was, ahem, waiting for a friend, and he let me go, assuring me that I was lucky not to be part of the car cruising scene: "as long as you are not a part of that whole gay thing because this is gonna stop pretty soon." He seemed pretty frustrated.

 

13 February 1999 Saturday

Cris Williamson and Tret Fure in Concert at 7:30 p.m. at  Clayton Intermediate School (1471 S 1800 E) in Salt Lake City. I wish I had the money to attend.

 

Weber State's GLSU (gay/straight alliance) held a Valentine's Dance in "The Lair" at the Student Union on the Weber State campus. Proceeds went to the Matthew Shepard Scholarship Fund at WSU.

 

14 February 1999 Sunday

There was a Valentine's Day presentation on love, commitment, relationships and union ceremonies from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Weber State University Union building room 338-340.  A video of a commitment ceremony was shown and then a panel lead a discussion about long-term relationships, love, commitment and more. The panel consisted of Tracy and Marilyn Johnson-Faulkner, Robert King and his partner Richard, Rev. Bruce Barton and his partner Bruce Harmon and Kathy Worthington. (Kathy's partner Sara Hamblin was in the audience.)

 

15 February 1999 Monday

GAY TEACHERS WENDY WEAVER LETTER WRITER SAYS DON'T DRAG HATRED INTO WENDY WEAVER CASE Provo Daily Herald, As the continuing saga of the Wendy Weaver case moves into its latest segment, I find myself more than a little disturbed by the reactions of some in our communities.  It seems incredible that those same people who oppose Ms. Weaver's teaching on moral grounds think that it is acceptable to forget common decency and kindness in expressing their views. I have been surprised and saddened to hear the hateful, derogatory comments from people who claim to be upholding a Christian way of life. The picture of protesters outside the courthouse that recently appeared in The Daily Herald made my stomach turn.  How can anyone expect right to be on their side when they advocate "death to homosexuals" and other sentiments that fly in the face of the loving gospel that Jesus Christ preached?  There are many issues at stake in the Wendy Weaver case and I will be the first to say that I don't know what the solutions are.  I belong to a religious group that believes homosexuality to be wrong and I don't condone it.  I do accept that others make choices in their lives, and I don't have to agree with those choices to treat them as human beings. I have friends who have chosen a homosexual lifestyle, and the hatred that I see expressed against them in situations such as this hurts me.  We do not have to embrace or sanction lifestyle choices that we don't agree with, but we run the risk of repeating a Nazi Germany type society when we introduce hatred and animosity into an already complex situation.  We are in a rather unique position in Utah Valley, as the moral standards of our community are quite different from those of the rest of the world. Cases like Wendy Weaver's throw a glaring spotlight on our challenge to maintain the standards we desire while still allowing others the freedom to live as they see fit, even though it may clash with our sense of decency.  I don't envy those in the position of making these decisions.  Whatever the outcomes may be, none of us have "won" if we have lost our respect, consideration and love for each other in the process. – Wendy Simmerman, Provo

 

18 February 1999 Thursday,

Lesbian Utah Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, former state gay and lesbian Anti-Violence Project director Laura Milliken Gray, and gay state Democratic leader David Nelson discussed "Gay and Lesbian Rights" at a Coffee and Politics program of the University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics at 251 Orson Spencer Hall. GAY RIGHTS ARE CIVIL LIBERTIES, ACCORDING TO SPEAKERS AT THE U The third wave of the civil rights movement is here. This was the message Utah State Bar's Alternative Dispute Resolution Chair Laura Milliken Gray and Gay Utah Democratic Leader David Nelson presented at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Thursday. Nearly 50 students attended the discussion titled "Gay and Lesbian Rights." At the turn of the century, women fought for their civil liberties. African Americans, along with other minorities ,were the second civil rights wave in the sixties. Is it safe to refer to this as the third wave? director of the Hinckley Institute Ted Wilson asked. "Yes, that is exactly the way I see it, and it is a movement that is gaining speed," Gray said. Gray is a graduate of the University of Utah, where she earned a bachelor's and law degrees. It was during her college years that she came out of the closet. After she received her law degree, she decided she would fight for gay rights. Gray has spent hours and out of the courtroom fighting for equal and fair treatment. "The gay community is deprived of rights everyone else in this community has," Gray said. Gray has fought for equal rights on insurance, marriage, work opportunity, family adoption, custody and harassment. "Finding a job after college was difficult. Many law firms wouldn't hire me because I was a lesbian. Now that I am my own boss it doesn't matter," Gray said. She is one of a team of lawyers across the nation working with the East High Gay-Straight Alliance in a lawsuit against the Salt Lake City School Board. Because of Gay-Straight Alliance, the school board made a decision to eliminate all non-academic clubs in the school district. "These kids are very courageous. I didn't know I was gay in high school, but I think if I did I wouldn't have been open about it. It is a tough time. Many teenagers contemplate suicide, without the added stress of being a social outcast," Gray said. "The Matthew Shepard death is an example of how much hate some people have, " Gray said. Shepard is the University of Wyoming student who was beaten and left to die because of his sexual orientation. "Males, and to a lesser extent females, live in fear for things like holding their partner's hand in public," Gray said. To protect gay and lesbian people, Gray wants to "use existing laws and add the clause 'sexual orientation' to the end of it," Gray said. This would change laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin to include sexual orientation. Similar laws that prohibit discrimination because of age or disability would also have the clause 'sexual orientation' added in them, Gray said. Nelson focused on the statistics of gay voters. The population of gay people who vote is larger than the Latino, Jewish and Asian American vote, Nelson said. "This data has helped to change the way candidates try to attract the gay vote," Nelson said. "Overall, the number of gay voters is growing. The growth is mostly concentrated in areas like Salt Lake City. My belief is that these merging demographics will change the way politics are in Utah," Nelson said. Nelson was a key figure in support of the hate crime legislation that was defeated at the state capitol earlier this month. Openly gay Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake, was scheduled to speak at the discussion but was unable to because of her work at the Legislature. "We are always going to have prejudice. Maybe in five to 10 years we can better the situation. I'm happy to be a small part of it," Gray said. "Speaking publicly to get the word out that we are normal people: That's the only path to effectively change the way gay people are seen." (2/18/1999 Jacob Parkinson Chronicle News Writer)

 

20 February 1999 Thursday

Gene Siskel died of a Brain tumor today just 53 years old. He was a film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of popular movie review shows on television from 1975 to 1999.

 

21 February 1999 Friday

In The Limelight University professor talks frankly about sex Byline: By Debbie Hummel   Let's talk about sex. These are four words that might as well be a four-letter word to some.   

University of Utah professor Patty Reagan has spent her teaching career breaking through the blushing to deliver the facts about sex, sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. Reagan has a doctorate in philosophy and is an associate professor of Health Promotion and Education. Her academic career has focused on human sexuality. She is known among students as entertaining and insightful and comfortable discussing subjects that can make even the most eloquent stumble. Reagan's professionalism has come after years of study and a few flubs.  "I've taught human sexuality for 25 years. For the first 15, it was uncomfortable."

Reagan was on sabbatical in the mid-'80s at the University of California Berkeley when the AIDS epidemic was on the minds of many health organizations in the San Francisco Bay area. Reagan returned to Utah an expert on the latest information about the virus and was invited often to speak publicly, outside of the university classroom. She spoke with everyone -- from elementary-school students to senior citizens.

 "It is really hard when what you teach makes so much sense in a classroom," she said. "All my experience had been with young adults."   

During this time, Reagan helped found the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation which later merged with AIDS Project Utah to become the Utah AIDS Foundation. Reagan has fewer outside commitments now. Her focus is teaching.

Among her current courses is a Diversity in Health class she feels is particularly important to future health educators. Cross listed with the Women's Studies department, the course educates students to better understand diverse populations when discussing health and sexual issues, clearing up misinformation and stereotypes of the gay community.

When asked about the revised release of David Reuben's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, which claims to have more than 90 percent new information, did little to revise sections on women's sexuality and homosexuality, Reagan gets a little peeved.    "His [Reuben's] book was inaccurate when it came out. I really am offended that he didn't go to the experts or to the people," she said.

 

GAY POLITICS Mayor's Race Getting Crowded     Former Salt Lake City Councilman Stuart Reid brought himself closer last week to becoming the fourth candidate for mayor.  Reid, a Democrat, currently is Mayor Deedee Corradini's community and economic development director. If he runs, he would join fellow Democrats Ross Anderson, a Salt Lake City civil rights attorney; Dave Jones, the House minority leader; and Jim Bradley, former Salt Lake County commissioner. Reid is the only west-side resident in the race and the only Mormon, which should give him some advantage in the primary. He also seems to have attracted support from Republicans in the non-partisan race, already winning endorsements from conservative City Council members Bryce Jolley, Keith Christensen and Carlton Christensen, along with GOP County Commissioner Brent Overson.  Reid will not announce formally until spring. And he is still formulating his campaign finance committee, which needs to be registered with the city before he can raise and spend money. But he has reached an agreement with Caroline Roemer, who ran the successful re-election campaign of Congressman Merrill Cook, to be his campaign manager. Roemer is managing public relations for the Republican caucus at the Utah Legislature.     Prominent Democrat and influential developer Kem Gardner also has agreed to play an active part in Reid's fundraising activities. The fledgling race already is showing signs of getting nasty. Earlier this month, GALPAC, the gay and lesbian political action committee, invited Jones, Anderson and Bradley to speak to its members. Anderson and Bradley agreed, but Jones declined the invitation, deferring to his campaign manager, Jennie Wilson, who stated it it was too early in the campaign. But Wilson showed up at the meeting and took notes as Bradley and Anderson stated their positions on gay and lesbian issues. While her note-taking offended some attendees at the meeting, Wilson said it is typical for candidates or their staffs to take notes on their opponents on debates. She said any misgivings that Jones would use any gay and lesbian sympathies against Anderson and Bradley are unwarranted because Jones already has demonstrated strong positions in favor of gay rights. But the nervousness caused by the combination of Jones' absence and Wilson's note-taking shows this already is becoming an uneasy campaign among former political allies. (SLTRIBUNE)

 

AIDS ROYAL COURT Close to 200 people gathered at Gastronomy's Salt Lake Hardware building Feb. 21 for the fourth  Food for Hope soiree. The event raised some $7,000 for AIDS and cancer-related research for the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, Duarte, Calif.   Steven Whittaker, chairperson of the Utah event, told the crowd that Money Magazine recently rated City of Hope "among the top three most cost-effective health care-related charities in the country." Also attending were Bridgette Christie and Earl Kane, reigning empress and emperor of The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire.

 

23 February 1999 Tuesday

GALPAC (Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee) is showing a movie, "The Sum of Us", at Brewvies which will go for the very important municipal races in Salt Lake City this November.

 

Dr. Kristen Ries chosen Doctor of the Year by Utah Medical Association (Chuck Whyte)

 

28 February 1999 Sunday

Wasatch Affirmation 5pm Meeting at the home of Paul and Sandy Thomas 484 E 2100 N in Provo Discussion and Refreshments. To carpool call Rick  Bickmore at 801 860-6497

 

MARCH

1 March 1999 Monday

GAY POLITICS JACKIE BISKUPSKI Byline: BY HILARY GROUTAGE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Jackie Biskupski wanted to be an FBI agent when she graduated from Arizona State University 10 years ago, but a detour to Utah for a ski vacation changed her plans and made history of sorts in the state.   When she won a legislative seat in House District 30 last fall, she became Utah's first openly gay lawmaker. But the 33-year-old Democrat from Minnesota accepts the distinction with some reluctance.  

"To say that I am the first openly gay elected official is true, but it's not why I ran," she said. "I'm here to represent everyone." Still, many say the ever-energetic Salt Lake City resident is  in a position to help Utahns become receptive to gays in politics.

  "We're thrilled to have a positive, openly lesbian person showing an example of how most of us are -- just normal, happy people working hard and living our lives," said Tracy Vandeventer, co-leader of Utah's Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

  Her first legislative session nearly finished, Biskupski happily embraces politics, still awaking every morning looking forward to the day. No time is spent dwelling on the negative turn of last fall's election. Her sexual orientation became an issue after Citizens for Strong Families mailed letters to some 6,000 voters denouncing her lifestyle.  

"The main message is that our position is against the sin, not the sinner," said Steven Barrowes, president of Citizens for Strong Families.   Barrowes, an unsuccessful candidate for Biskupski's seat, has congratulated her on the win and says the two talk regularly at the Capitol. But Barrowes offers no apology for the mailing. 

 "This is not an easy subject to be understood on. If you say it's a sin and you'd like to see someone overcome it, they say you have sent them hate mail," Barrowes said. "I don't agree with her, but then we're not in the same political party. We can disagree. I disagree with a lot of legislators up there, but I can discuss legislation with her and she knows I'm not vindictive."  

Indeed, Biskupski has no problem with Barrowes or anyone else she has encountered at the Capitol.   Fellow Representative Evan Olsen, a Republican from Young Ward, looks at Biskupski like he does any other first-term lawmaker on Capitol Hill.   "They are all representatives, man or woman, black or white, green or blue," said Olsen, a legislator since 1978. "She was elected by her constituents and I respect that."   And as far as he can tell, Biskupski is doing the job as she is supposed to do – representing her constituents.  "You can't judge the first term," he said, adding, "It takes five or six years to learn the ropes."   

Biskupski knows that and seems to be working to get along with lawmakers and constituents on both sides of the fence.    "No matter who you are, you have shared values with people. You bring them up and say these are the things we have in common and you go from there," she said.   

That belief in commonality has earned her a reputation of being easy to get along with. Growing up southeast of the Twin Cities in Hastings, Minn., Biskupski was popular among classmates and known for her tennis game and love of adventure.   

"She was a prankster. We never hurt anyone, but when we went out with her, we always knew something would happen," said Nancy Lecher, a childhood friend who now lives in St. Paul, Minn. "She always told us not to worry because she was in control."

    Once, Lecher remembers, she and Biskupski took a drive in the Minnesota countryside and ended up flattening all four tires on  the car --owned by Biskupski's mother.   "I don't know what we hit, but I know we were going about 90 miles an hour," Lecher said. Lecher is part of a closely knit group of school friends who still get together when Biskupski and her partner of nearly seven years return to Minnesota.   

Just after the 1998 election, the pair again retreated to familiar ground to regroup.    "We went to dinner and she started talking about the negative stuff that happened during the election and I honestly think she was a little surprised. Being gay is just who she is, it's like having brown hair or something," Lecher said. "It's not her whole life."   

The rest of Biskupski's life is full of her work as an insurance investigator, a collector of antique eye glasses (she has 30 pairs) and countless hours as a volunteer. She is on the board of the YWCA and describes herself as spiritual. Biskupski and her partner, who prefers anonymity, attend the Unitarian Church, have two siamese cats and a Shih Tzu dog.    S

he rarely rejects  doing a favor if friends need help and recently spent the weekend dog-sitting six canines.    "If it's not too much for someone to ask, it's not too much for me to do," she said.  

 But Biskupski's relaxed demeanor vanishes when talk turns to certain issues. Child abuse brings her to tears, and when pressed she acknowledges there have been moments in Utah politics that made her blood boil.    For example, the recent decision by the state Division of Child and Family Services to ban adoptions of foster children to gay couples and unmarried heterosexual couples.    Did it bother Biskupski?    "Like you'll never know," she said. "These are children who have been born to a mom and dad who can't raise them. They are in the custody of the state and can't be placed any other way, and they're saying they would be better off in foster homes? It's truly an injustice to the child."  Domestic abuse and child abuse?    "Just pure evil," she said.   

Among her successes this year are House Bill 110, a measure that would require financial disclosure on initiatives that end up at the Legislature or on the ballot, and passage of the mental health parity bill, which requires health insurers to cover medical treatment of specific mental illnesses just as they do physical ailments.    She will never run a frivolous bill, she said, and gets frustrated with lawmakers who do.   

"I love coming here. I really do," she said. "I've worked with the far right of the GOP and everyone in between. If you are willing to work with anybody in that room, you can get something done."

 

2 March 1999 Tuesday

Groups meeting at the GLCCU- Youth Empowerment Project 7pm upper level at the Center and Utah Gay Latino Association 7pm lower level at the Center

 

3 March 1999 Wednesday

Group meeting at the GLCCU- Family Fellowship 7pm upper level at the Center and

The Alternative Garden Club meets at 730pm at the Garden Center in Sugar House Park  East end by the Rose Garden

 

4 March 1999 Thursday

Justice Harry Blackmun the 100th Supreme Court Justice (1970-94) who authored the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade, died at the age of 90

 

5 March 1999 Friday

The Utah Gay Rodeo Association attended the Big Horn Rodeo in Las Vegas.  The Royal Court’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week began with proceeds going to Women’s Breast Cancer Assistance and Research Fund.  All functions throughout the community bars

 

6 March 1999 Saturday

The Lambda Hiking Club  went Ice Skating - $5 rental fee meet at 1pm north side of MacFrugals's parking lot 200 S 700 E SLC

KRCL Radiothon Support Community Radio began. “Phone in your pledge during the expanded "Concerning Gays and Lesbians" from noon to 1pm. Let's show KRCL that we care about community radio 359-9191 or 800 359-9191 90.9FM”

The Brass Rail in Ogden and the Royal Court presented an "All Female Review" 830 pm  $5 Hosted by Tonya

 

7 March 1999 Sunday

The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) met 3-5pm in upper level at the GLCCU.

Wasatch Affirmation met at 5pm in the MCC at 823 S 600 E. A workshop on love and personal spirituality was presented by Margo Hope

The Trapp bar and the Royal Court presented a "Male Stripteaze" 7pm $5 Hosted by  Bridgette and Yvette

            I read that film director Stanley Kubrick died at the age of 70 today. What a legacy did he leave behind, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and the Shining. So many more.

 

8 March 1999 Monday

Joe DiMaggio died today, baseball Hall of Fame guy and was married to Marilyn Monroe. I heard he always left roses at her mausoleum. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you Woo, woo, woo What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson? Joltin' Joe has left and gone away Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey. He was 84 years old.

"Peggy" Cass, a favorite game show panelist and played Miss Gooch in Auntie Mame died today. She was 74

the Little Lavender Book debuted online as kind of a Gay Business directory. www.lavenderbook.com

 

9 March 1999 Tuesday

the Royal Court held their business meeting at 7pm in the upper level of the Center

 

 

10 March 1999 Wednesday

JACKIE BISKUPSKI UTAH FIRST OPENLY LESBIAN LEGISLATOR TO SPEAK AT THE CENTER On Wednesday March 10, Jackie Biskupski, Utah's first openly lesbian legislator, will be speaking about her experiences being a woman, a lesbian and a Democrat in her first session of the Legislature.   This free event will begin at 7 p.m. upstairs at "The Center" - The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah - at 361 N 300 West in Salt Lake.   Men and women of all ages and all sexual orientations are invited, so invite you friends and relatives .. . anyone you think would be interested. Yes, you'll have a chance to ask questions and you can go early or stay late and socialize, too.  The Stonewall Coffee shop is downstairs for your enjoyment, too.

 

The Rev. Kurt Howard believes his church congregation made a "bold" and "courageous" decision selecting him as their new pastor. Perhaps the first openly gay minister in Utah County, the Rev. Howard says he feels accepted in an area known for its conservative political and theological views. "I'm here because the congregation discerned God's future for the congregation and decided to include me," said the newly appointed pastor of the Provo Community United Church of Christ, 175 N. University Ave. Clark Swenson, a member of the church council responsible for the decision to hire a new reverend, said the Rev. Howard's sexual orientation "was incidental." "He possesses great leadership abilities, is warm and genuine, and the bottom line is that he is a good Christian." 

Swenson said some church members may have been hesitant accepting the minister.  But upon meeting him, they were won over because they could accept him "for who he is rather than what he is." 

A native of San Diego, Calif., the Rev. Howard had never been to Utah before his appointment earlier this year.  He said he is impressed with what he sees here: beautiful mountains and friendly and diverse people. The reverend feels the United Church of Christ encompasses the most liberal mainstream congregation in America. Thus, the church attracts people of all persuasions, those who are open to new ideas. 

"Each person is responsible for discerning their own beliefs," he said. He doesn't consider his congregation liberal or conservative, but "searching." Here, he said "diversity is not tolerated but celebrated."

"Coming out to himself," as the Rev. Howard describes confronting his sexual orientation, was for him "a crisis and a painful decision."  He had never considered himself gay.  He married, had children and was content with "the American dream." It wasn't until after a divorce four years ago he began to experience different feelings.  His biggest concern was how to tell his family members, but even that had a positive outcome.  They were supportive and loving, he said.

During his 12 years in the U.S. Navy, the reverend served as a chaplain, a capacity he enjoyed.  Still, he wasn't exactly sure what God wanted him to do with his life.  He said he just knew he wanted to serve God in some way. After leaving the Navy, he enrolled as a theology student at Claremont School of Divinity in Claremont, Calif., and graduated three years later with a master's in theology. 

He began searching for an area where he could be of greatest worth. He served as an assistant pastor in California and Pennsylvania but wanted a congregation of his own. In his interview for the Provo church position, he talked with the five-member council about his lifestyle, about his desire to serve and what he would hope to accomplish while here.  The interview, he said, was positive, and he was anxious to get to work.  After the council chose him, the church congregation gave its final approval. 

As the new pastor, he wants everyone to know they will be accepted "just the way they are."

Toni Billings, another member of the search committee, said when they considered hiring the Rev. Howard, they did some in-depth thinking, studying, and with much prayer, received the confirmation that he was the one to serve here.  "We did have a lot to consider," she said, adding that the Rev. Howard has a "high degree of integrity and was completely up front with the issues. He's a good person, so we had to side with that."

While the Rev. Howard said he has heard rumors that some people are upset about the decision to hire him, no one has said anything to him personally. "Those who are believing would be delighted" to have a gay pastor, said Doug Wortham, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community of Utah. Wortham said that while many communities nationwide have gay pastors, he is not aware that there have been any in Utah County. 

In past pastoral callings, the Rev. Howard has focused mainly on "the church side of the call" but feels there is so much more that needs to be done.  He doesn't want just a "Sunday church" but a community center where people are involved with others each day of the week in various activities.     

An HIV-AIDS group meets each Thursday with church members to discuss problems and give encouragement to each other.  The Rev. Howard wants this meeting to be helpful for those with the virus, as well as families and friends.  He plans to invite guest speakers to provide the latest information. Children and youths are taught in special classes and involved inservice projects. 

In 1986, the Community Church began the Food and Care Coalition, which continues to serve needy people.  This is a good project, the Rev. Howard said, and as an added goal, he would like his congregation to "pay more attention to the homeless in our midst and look for opportunities to love them."

 

11 March 1999 Thursday

The weekly meeting of "Coloring Outside the Lines", the GLBT student group at the South Campus of the Salt Lake Community College, will feature Kathy Worthington of "Kathy's List". Topics: The Millennium March on Washington (scheduled for April 30, 2000) and fighting homophobia in your daily life. Some go for coffee afterwards at The Center. It's free and men and women of all ages invited.   No need to be affiliated in any way with the Community College.

 

Erick Myers Gay Psychic - Intuitive reading on relationships, careers, finance and matters of the heart 7pm Coffee Shop at the Center - no charge

 

Radio City and the Royal Court present "Un-Drage" 9pm $5 Hosted by Wilma and  Bredgette

12 March 1999 Friday

Axis and the Royal Court present "Pink Party" 8pm $5 Hosted by Empress Bridgette Bricks and the Royal Court present "Un-Drage" 1130pm $5 Hosted by Sheneka

 

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

 

13 March 1999 Saturday

Lesbian comic Nancy Norton will be performing at the Center Presented by Lavendar Productions of Evanston Two shows at 7pm and 9pm, reception at 8pm  $20 per ticket to benefit Utah gay youth who are raising funds to attend Boston's Gay Youth Pride celebration  call 539-8800 to find out how to get tickets from the Gay Straight  alliances

 

The Sun and the Royal Court present "Empress Show" 8pm $5 Hosted by the College of Empresses

 

14 March 1999 Sunday

The Wasatch Mountain Bears held their Sunday Brunch 11am at The Olympian 2181 S 700 E

Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (GALPAC) met at 1-3pm upper level of the  Center

Wasatch Affirmation met at 5pm in Ogden at the Viking Villa Club House 433 E 980 N enter from  450 E off 900 N

The Royal Court presents "Name that Drag" 830pm at the Sun Club $5 donation  Boys impersonate the Queens

 

15 March 1999 Monday

The Women's Book Club and the Inklings Bookstore  present a discussion of Rita Will (Rita Mae  Brown Autobiography) 7pm upper level at the Center

 

16 March 1999 Tuesday

The Youth Empowerment Project met at 7pm upper level at the Center. The Gay Men's Singles Mixer met a 7pm Coffee Shop at the Center      Conversation, Videos and "WILL & GRACE" bring treats

 

17 March 1999 Wednesday

PFLAG Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-Flag) 7pm upstairs at the Center

 

WEAVER LAWSUIT WHITTLED DOWN Deseret News, By Jeffrey P. Haney, PROVO – A 4th District Court lawsuit filed by a citizens group that wants gay teacher Wendy Weaver dismissed from her post at a Utah County high school was whittled down considerably in a ruling issued late Tuesday. Although the majority of complaints by the Citizens for Nebo School District for Moral and Legal Values were dismissed, Judge Ray Harding Jr. left intact claims that Weaver violated religious and personal rights of some students while working at Spanish Fork High School. Harding felt the group provided sufficient evidence to proceed to trial with two claims.  The plaintiffs say that Weaver criticized the LDS Church in class and that her access to the girls locker room violated one student's religious rights because of her beliefs on homosexuality. Dismissed complaints in the 48-page ruling include allegations that Weaver endorsed specific religious viewpoints, violated rights given to parents by the Utah Constitution, overstepped a state law that prohibits the use of psychological tests in schools without written consent from parents or guardians and broke rules governing the Psychological Licensing Act. Harding also dismissed the claim that Weaver's teaching certificate should be taken away because her marital-like relationship with a woman may violate the state's sodomy laws. "The important thing is that Wendy was vindicated in almost every respect," said Stephen Clark, an attorney for the Utah ACLU who is working in Weaver's defense in tandem with Salt Lake attorney Richard Van Wagoner. However, Clark said the legal team will request a clarification on the two counts Harding allowed to remain in the suit, particularly the assertion that Weaver's presence in a locker room may violate a student's rights. Jeana Barney, a former student at Spanish Fork High, was offended by Weaver's presence in the locker room.  Barney said she had undressed in Weaver's presence but would not have had she known Weaver was a lesbian.  Shesaid the state should protect students like her from individuals whose beliefs or lifestyles differ from theirs. "She doesn't prowl around in the locker room," Clark said.  "She didn't do anything.  The claim is that because Wendy simply had access, her rights were infringed." Matt Hilton, legal counsel for the Nebo group, said he was pleased that some of the claims were allowed to go forward but objected to Harding's removal of Attorney General Jan Graham from the suit as a defendant. Craig Jackson, director of Utah's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, also was dismissed as a defendant.  Four plaintiffs were also dismissed because they could not show they had been directly harmed by Weaver's continued employment at the district. Tuesday's decision is the latest in a string of legal decisions that have favored Weaver, who told Nebo School District administrators in 1997about her sexual orientation. In November, U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins ruled for Weaver in a federal civil-rights suit that claimed she was illegally refused a job as a volleyball coach and was told she could not discuss her sexual orientation with students or staff at the school.      Nebo officials, ordered by Jenkins to remove letters from Weaver's personnel file and offer her a job as volleyball coach, opted not to appeal the decision.      Weaver continues to teach at Spanish Fork High School, instructing psychology and co-ed volleyball courses.  She has decided to decline the offer to coach the school's team next year.

 

JUDGE ELIMINATES MOST COUNTS IN CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST SPANISH FORKTEACHER WENDY WEAVER Salt Lake Tribune, BY HILARY GROUTAGE, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE     A lawsuit filed by a group of Utah County residents seeking to oust lesbian teacher Wendy Weaver was pared significantly Tuesday by 4th District Judge Ray Harding Jr., but he left intact claims that Weaver violated students' religious and personal liberties. Harding said the suit could proceed on claims that Weaver, a Spanish Fork High School psychology teacher, made derogatory statements about the LDS Church and that her presence in a girls locker room offended one student's religious beliefs about homosexuality. Nevertheless, said Weaver's attorney, Rick Van Wagoner, "Judge Harding's decision vindicates Wendy Weaver on almost every score." But plaintiffs' attorney Matt Hilton said the ruling raised serious questions about whether parents can turn to the courts for relief when issues such as those involving Weaver's fitness to teach arise. Two of nine counts in the complaint, filed by Citizens for Moral and Legal Values in Nebo School District, were left in place in the 48-pageruling.  Earlier, Hilton agreed to withdraw a claim that Weaver had inappropriate contact with female students. The lawsuit is the second in as many years for Weaver, who publicly acknowledged in 1997 that she is a lesbian. That year, she filed a federal civil-rights suit against the Nebo School District after officials told her she could not coach the girl's volleyball team or discuss her sexual orientation with students.  Late last year, U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins ruled in Weaver's favor. In his Tuesday ruling, Harding dismissed claims that: • Weaver violated the Utah Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which prohibits administration of psychological tests without written consent of student's parents or guardian. • Weaver violated the Psychologist Licensing Act. • Weaver violated parental rights protected by the Utah Constitution. • She violated the Constitutional Freedoms in the Schools Act, which states that school officials and employees may not use their positions to endorse, promote or disparage a particular religious viewpoint. • Weaver's lesbianism violated Utah's teacher certification requirements because she may be in violation of the state's sodomy law by living with her partner.  Three of the counts involved that issue. The two remaining counts deal with the Utah Constitution's provisions on religious liberties, privacy rights and equal protection under the law. Count V claims that Joshua Lee, a student in Weaver's advanced-placement psychology class, said his rights were violated when Weaver made disparaging remarks about the Mormon Church during class.  Weaver said Tuesday she does not recall what those remarks were. Count VII claims Jeana Barney, a former student at Spanish Fork High, was offended by Weaver's presence in the women's locker room.  Barney said she had undressed in Weaver's presence before Weaver came out as a lesbian.  Barney claimed that had she known Weaver was a lesbian, she would not have changed in her presence.  She also claimed Weaver violated her right to privacy, and that the state should protect students like her from individuals whose beliefs or lifestyles differ from theirs.     Weaver said Barney never was her student and she does not recall ever seeing her in the locker room. "In 19 years of teaching, I've never had a girl even use the shower, "Weaver said. "Girls would much rather shower at home." Attorney Van Wagoner said he is preparing a request for clarification on the remaining two counts and is particularly troubled about Barney's complaint.     "Are we going to have to create separate facilities for everybody?  The  people who are offended go here and the ones who are not offended go there? How can someone's status, be it black, gay or lesbian, violate someone's civil rights?"     Hilton, the plaintiffs' attorney, took particular issue with Hardings' ruling that the Utah state Board of Education and the state Division of Professional Licensing were the proper forum for questions about whether Weaver improperly administered a psychology test to students.  He also objected to Harding's decision to remove Utah Atty. Gen. Jan Graham as a plaintiff. "This raises a significant question about disenfranchising parents" from the ability to turn to the courts for relief, Hilton said. Weaver has said she had proper parental permission to administer the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, MMPI, and that her former husband, Gary, a licensed psychologist who works for the Nebo School District, interpreted the results.  Meantime, Weaver remains a popular advanced-placement psychology teacher at Spanish Fork High School.  She also teaches a coed volleyball class, but has decided against coaching the girl's volleyball team next year, even though the federal court decision in her favor forced the school to offer her the job. (17 March 1999 Wednesday 03/17/1999 Page: A1 )

 

18 March 1999 Thursday

GAY TEACHERS UTAH ANTI-GAY GROUP IN UTAH COUNTY LIKELY TO APPEAL RULING IN LAWSUIT AGAINST WENDY WEAVER Deseret News, By Jeffrey P. Haney, Deseret News staff writer PROVO — Matt Hilton sighs when asked how many hours he has dedicated to a lawsuit filed by a group of Utah County conservatives in an attempt to oust gay teacher Wendy Weaver from her job. "Too many," Hilton says, sounding notably disappointed with a ruling issued Tuesday by 4th District Judge Ray Harding Jr. dismissing all but two misconduct claims against Weaver, a psychology teacher.  Claims that Weaver violated religious and personal rights of some students while working at Spanish Fork High School were left intact. An appeal of the ruling is likely, he said.  And if an amended complaint is filed, the Nebo School District may be added as a defendant with Weaver and the Utah State Board of Education.  "I'd rather not," he said.  "We've been pretty resistant to the option, but it is one we will look at." By adding Nebo to the defendant list, Hilton believes his arguments may be more applicable.  Although the judge dismissed four plaintiffs Tuesday because they weren't directly affected by Weaver's employment, Hilton said they may be able to remain by claiming an interest in how taxes are spent. His clients, the Citizens of the Nebo School District for Moral and Legal Values, also say they should have rights to seek recourse from the courts if school boards refuse to take action against a teacher whose personal or professional conduct is called into question by parents. Harding, though, refused to issue a judgment against Weaver based on Hilton's claims that Weaver is unfit as a teacher and practiced psychology without a license in her classes. "The statutory claims brought by the plaintiffs request this court render a decision on issues that have been statutorily delegated elsewhere," Harding wrote.  Utah's laws, he said, grant the state board of education "exclusive authority" over matters dealing with certified teachers.  Harding said he is bound only to "compel the requisite administrative bodies to comply with mandatory disciplinary procedures" in issues regarding teacher certification. "If that is his perspective, then parents have nowhere to go," Hilton said.  "That's my opinion." Stephen Clark, an attorney for the Utah ACLU, said the irony of Hilton's suit is that conservative groups historically have implored the court not to meddle in decisions by school boards, which are made up of community members who are familiar with local standards. Clark and Hilton said they will draft requests for clarification on claims that were left untouched in the suit.  Both want the judge to further explain his reasoning for not dismissing the claim by a student that her religious rights were violated by Weaver's access to the locker room. The judge ruled that because student Jeana Barney's beliefs include modesty and chastity and because Weaver had publicly revealed her same-sex attraction, Barney's rights may have been infringed upon because her  participation in school activities required her to use the locker room. "Wendy didn't do anything wrong," Clark said, noting that there was no other way for Weaver to enter her office without first walking through the locker room.  "What would that mean for the school?  For the principal? That's quite an unclear part of the ruling."  "The way he handled the locker room questions caused more problems than it solved," Hilton agreed. The other remaining claim, that Weaver demeaned the LDS Church, will also be debated at a trial.  "Wendy is confident that once the facts come out, she will be vindicated," Clark said.  "She has made an effort not to offend anyone for their religious beliefs."       Harding's ruling brings Weaver's legal battles closer to an end.  Four months ago, U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins issued a ruling in favor of Weaver's claims that her rights of privacy and due process were violated by Nebo School District officials when they took away her job as volleyball coach and asked her not to discuss her same-sex partnership with students.

 

19 March 1999 Friday

Today is Career Ladder Day as it’s the end of the third term so no school for the kids. I had most of their grades already done so I mainly lessoned planned and changed bulletin boards.

 

Paul Kenny is a human Academy Award on Thursday at Salt Lake City's Trolley Square, promoting the Utah AIDS Foundation's Oscar Night Gala.

 

20 March 1999 Saturday

Today is the first day of spring and my globe willows are already leafing out.

The Western Trans-sexuals Support Network (WSTN) 10am-noon upstairs at the Center and Engendered Species held a Drop In Open House 7-10pm Coffee Shop at the Center

The Wasatch Mountain Bears St Patty Party at Todd and Ron's 951 E Charlton Circle. I used to go to them and sit in their hot tub. They were fun but I just don’t feel like it anymore.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

21 March 1999 Sunday

Wasatch Affirmation met at  5pm at MCC to watch a video and had a discussion "All God's Children"

 

The Utah AIDS Foundation’s Gala Oscar Night Party fundraiser was held at the Doubletree Hotel SLC. Joe Redburn at the The Trapp held am Academy Awards Night Celebration 7pm. The Utah Gay Latino Association held a dance at Brick's at 9pm

 

23 March 1999 Tuesday

NEBO SCHOOL DISTRICT ORDERED TO PAY COSTS IN WEAVER LAWSUITTHE DESERET NEWS   Nebo School District's losing bid to silence teacher Wendy Weaver will cost the district $61,910.U.S. District Senior Judge Bruce S. Jenkins has ordered the district to pay that amount to cover Weaver's attorney fees and legal expenses in her year-long legal battle. Weaver, a Spanish Fork High School teacher since 1982, sued the district in 1997 after school officials ordered her not to discuss her "homosexual orientation and lifestyle." Jenkins ruled in November that the sweeping ban along with the school's decision not to renew Weaver's volleyball coaching assignment violated her constitutional rights. With the ruling, Weaver won damages totaling $1,500.As the prevailing party in the lawsuit, Weaver last week was further awarded attorney fees and legal expenses. She was represented by attorneys David Watkiss, Jennifer Middleton and Stephen Clark.

 

GALPAC GAY CIVIL RIGHTS RALLY UTAH - TINY RALLY AT THE STATE CAPITOL BEGINS WEEK OF ANTI-GAY COUNTER- DEMONSTRATIONS BY RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES by Kathy Worthington, Salt Lake City A handful of right wing conservatives rallied at the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday March 23 in the first of a week of rallies meant to counteract the gay rights rallies being held across the country this week.   The group also reportedly plans to be at the Capitol on Saturday, when a Utah rally is planned as part of nationwide "Equality Begins At Home" events, according to as spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (GALPAC), one of the groups organizing the Saturday rally. Just how many conservatives will actually come out for the anti-gay counter-demonstration is not known, of course, as such efforts have not drawn large groups in the past, at least not in Utah.  That this writer can remember, the only time in the past that a fairly large number of people has turned out on the "anti-gay" side was at a Salt Lake City school board meeting to discuss the gay clubs issue, and, even at that 1996 meeting, those who favored outlawing gay clubs were outnumbered by those in favor of the clubs. One positive side of the conservative's decision to counter-demonstrate is that it means the mainstream media will be more likely to cover the event and discuss the issues. Coverage of such events in the mainstream media is one way to get people thinking about and discussing the issues.   Such coverage is also often a catalyst for getting closeted gay people to come out and to get involved. Some gay or gay-friendly people, however, get frightened by the presence of anti-gay demonstrators and/or the media and that makes them stay away from events like Saturday's rally.  It will be interesting to see how many folks each side is able to get to the rally.

 

24 March  1999  Wednesday

I went to the Gay and Lesbian Community Center tonight as part of my Utah Stonewall Historical Society Lecture. Doug  Wortham asked me a while back if I would consider doing a talk about Community Building in the 1980's. We met upstairs and only about 5 people showed up who I think just wandered up from the coffee shop downstairs. I am not sure if it’s worth it to continue in person meetings.

 

BOTH SIDES ASK FOR DISMISSAL OF LAST TWO COUNTS IN CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST SPANISH FORK TEACHER WENDY WEAVER Conservative Group that filed the suit wants to appeal it to higher court Wednesday, March 24, 1999 SALT LAKE TRIBUNEBY HILARY GROUTAGETHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE    Attorneys on both sides have asked that the two remaining counts of a law suit against Spanish Fork High School teacher Wendy Weaver be dismissed to clear the way for an appeal of the case.    The stipulation and motion was filed in 4th District Court in Provo on Tuesday, said attorney Matthew Hilton, who represents the citizens group working to oust Weaver, a psychology teacher, former volleyball coach and lesbian. "This clears the way for us to have a clean appeal" to the Utah Supreme Court, said Hilton, who wants to pursue the dismissed claims involving parents' rights to turn to the courts if local and state school boards do not, or cannot, address their concerns.   Last week, 4th District Judge Ray Harding Jr. dismissed all but two of the nine counts contained in a 1997 lawsuit filed against Weaver, who divulged her sexual orientation earlier that year. The remaining counts involve former Spanish Fork High School students who said they were harmed by Weaver's remarks in class and her presence in the girls' locker room. In Count 5, former student Joshua Lee said Weaver had offended him with remarks about the Mormon tradition of farewell testimonials for departing missionaries; he claimed Weaver said the meetings serve a social function rather than a spiritual one. Lee also objected to Weaver's suggestion that her then-husband, Gary Weaver, should read books besides the Book of Mormon to their children. Wendy Weaver and Gary Weaver were later divorced.    Count 7 is based on a statement by plaintiff Jeana Barney, who claimed she had undressed in the girls locker room, then felt uncomfortable about it after she learned that Weaver was a lesbian. Weaver has said Barney never was her student, and that she has no recollection of being in the locker room at the same time she was. In the stipulation and motion filed Tuesday, and agreed to by attorneys on both sides, Count 5 would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled later. Count 7 would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it would not be revisited. A longer, more detailed order asking Harding to dismiss the counts will be filed later this week, Hilton said. The seven dismissed claims are the ones Hilton most fervently wants to argue in court. Parents, Hilton said, should have a right to turn to the courts if they believe school boards have not properly handled their complaints about their children's schooling.    "Parental consent, practicing psychology without a license. We think we have a right to sue on that," Hilton said. Hilton and the 13 plaintiffs claimed in the original lawsuit that Weaver was unfit to be a teacher because she is a lesbian and that she violated the Utah Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Psychology Licensing Act, the Constitutional Freedoms in Schools Act and Utah's teacher certification requirements. The lawsuit claimed Weaver had administered psychological tests to students while teaching psychology courses, had made inappropriate comments about the Mormon church in the course of her lectures and had inappropriate contact with female students. The 4th District lawsuit is the second in as many years that Weaver has been involved in. The first she filed herself in U.S. District Court against the Nebo School District after officials told her she could not coach the girl's volleyball team or discuss her sexual orientation with students. Late last year, Judge Bruce Jenkins ruled in Weaver's favor and the school district was forced to offer Weaver her coaching job again. She declined. Last Friday, Jenkins ordered the Nebo School District to pay Weaver's legal fees in the case. The fees total $61,910.46. Rick Van Wagoner, a cooperating attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who is representing Weaver in the 4th District Court case, said Weaver will win the latest case on appeal.  "We're going to claim victory on this," he said.

 

CIVIL LAWSUIT AGAINST WENDY WEAVER IS FAR FROM OVER DESERET NEWS, March 24, 1999 Weaver lawsuit is set for dismissal — but legal battle is far from over By Jeffrey P. Haney, Deseret News staff writer PROVO — A 4th District Court lawsuit seeking to oust Wendy Weaver from her teaching job could be soon dismissed — but the legal battle is far from over.  A motion to dismiss two remaining counts against the gay Spanish Fork educator was prepared to clear the way for an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, said the legal team for the Citizens of the Nebo School District for Moral and Legal Values. Matt Hilton, attorney for the citizens group, was disappointed at last week's ruling by Judge Ray Harding Jr., who only allowed two of nine claims in a 1997 suit against Weaver to remain. He said the ruling stymies the rights of parents to seek address in courts if school boards do not address their concerns. Attorneys on both sides had asked for summary judgment on the counts, which included a claim that Weaver was practicing psychology without a license in her classroom. Left intact were two claims that Weaver violated religious and personal rights of some students.  "We feel there were substantial problems with the ruling," said a spokesman for Hilton's office. "The purpose (for the motion to dismiss) is so we can take it up on appeal." The counts that will be dismissed both involve students who say they were harmed by Weaver's alleged derogatory statements about Utah's dominant religion and her access to the women's locker room. Among the counts remaining, a former Spanish Fork student, who never was Weaver's student, feels her rights were violated by having to change clothes in the locker room near the former coach's office. This claim will be dismissed with prejudice.      Another student said he was offended when Weaver reportedly told classes that an LDS tradition of holding farewell meetings for missionaries had "no purpose." Both sides agreed to dismiss this claim without prejudice. The 13 plaintiffs claimed in the initial 4th District suit that Weaver, as a gay woman, was morally unfit to be a teacher. They also said she stepped over legal lines drawn by the Utah Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Psychology Licensing Act, the Constitutional Freedoms in Schools Act and the Utah's teacher certification requirements.  Harding dismissed those claims last week, but spurred the most recent legal action. In November, Weaver won a U.S. District Court suit against the Nebo School District for violating her rights of privacy and due process. She sued after officials told her not to discuss her same-sex attraction with students, parents or other staff and denied her a coaching job because of her sexual orientation.  As a result, the Nebo School District was ordered to pay Weaver morethan $60,000 in legal fees.      Rich Van Wagoner, a Salt Lake attorney who is working in tandem with the ACLU in Weaver's defense, said Harding's ruling in regard to the claim by Jeana Barney that her personal and religious rights were violated by Weaver's presence in a locker room was problematic. "That is opening up a Pandora's Box or Parade of Horribles or how ever you want to state it," Van Wagoner said. "Anytime the mere presence of someone offends someone's rights, you have to start providing different access to facilities for everybody. . . . It goes right back to separate but equal."  "If I were in Matt Hilton's shoes, I would not want to be known as the lawyer who resurrected separate but equal," Van Wagoner said.

 

25 March 1999 Thursday

I read a sad article about Greg Hardin being involved in a DUI accident. By STEPHEN HUNT THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE   WEST VALLEY CITY  --  Motorist Greg Brent Hardin had three earlier drunken driving convictions when he ran a red light last June and slammed into another car while fleeing police. On Tuesday, Hardin told a 3rd District judge this latest drunken driving episode was "awake-up call . . . realizing I could kill myself or another person."  Since the crash, Hardin, 37, says he has remained sober, completed an alcohol treatment program and started an Alcoholics Anonymous program for people like himself with AIDS.   Judge Ann Boyden said it appeared Hardin was on the right track, but she ordered 60 days in jail to make sure he understands the seriousness of his crime. Boyden also ordered Hardin to pay a $300 fine and more than $19,000 in restitution to the driver he crashed into.   "It's important for me to hear this was awake-up call," the judge said. "But punishment and victim compensation are also important."   The crash occurred shortly before midnight on June, 28, 1998  --  only five days after Hardin had been fined and ordered to do community service for a previous DUI conviction.   Hardin had been drinking beer while cruising near Oxbow Park in South Salt Lake and propositioning men for sex. When police stopped Hardin for questioning near 1000 West and 3000 South, he ignored commands to show his hands and sped away with police in pursuit. At the intersection of 1300 East and 3300 South, Hardin ran a red light and clipped the front end of a pickup truck driven by Lee Siegel  --  a reporter with The Salt Lake Tribune. Siegel was not seriously injured, but his vehicle was totaled.   Hardin was charged with third-degree felony failing to respond to police, class A misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol and class C open alcohol container in a vehicle. Hardin pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges of attempted failure to respond and DUI.   Corrections evaluators recommended no jail time for Hardin. But victim Siegel asked Boyden:  "What kind of message is the state of Utah sending by letting repeated drunken drivers off with slaps on the wrist?   "If you do not sentence Mr. Hardin to spend time in jail reflecting upon his behavior, I sincerely believe he will soon drive while intoxicated yet again and eventually kill someone."   Hardin, who was a lending assistant for First Security Bank, said he received a promotion the day after the crash. But he later lost his job when his employers learned, from a Tribune story, that Hardin was carrying bank documents in the car  --  including a $98,000 mortgage check. That check and other documents were strewn across the intersection during the crash.

 

26 March 1999 Friday

Utah AIDS Foundation Associate Director Stan Penfold has been named acting executive director of the foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent the spread of HIV. He succeeds former Executive Director Barbara Shaw, who has accepted a position as development director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church.

 

By Lisa Johnson Moving from Miami to Salt Lake City can be a culture shock. "Thank God for events like the AIDS Foundation's Academy Awards party," says KSTU (Ch. 13) news director Geoff Roth. He had heard about Utah's conservative culture and night life when here located here three years ago, and wasn't expecting much when he happened upon this wild gala during his first few months on the Wasatch Front. "It made me feel much better about my decision," he says. "I attend this party every year. I wouldn't miss it."   It's true there is not an event in March that rivals this one for sheer surprise and entertainment value. Sure, you can catch the boys from the local universities gliding across the basketball courts in sleek uniforms during March Madness, at least for a while. What's not expected is to see the volunteers with the Utah AIDS Foundation gliding across a ball room in lame loincloths, painted metallic gold from head to toe, imitating Oscar himself. The six live Oscars were a nice touch at this year's party, named "Sunday Matinee" because, for the first time, the awards were presented on Sunday.   But the Oscars weren't the only changes in this year's festivities at the Double Tree hotel. For the past two years, the event was at the Utah State Fair park, which was unavailable to the Utah AIDS Foundation this year. "I think the move was a good one," says director of development Julie Mayhew. "Even though we raised the price $10, we had more people this year. I think people like being uptown."   The carpet at the Double Tree did deter the drag queens on roller skates selling tequila shots. There wasn't a single one to be found. Instead, the cross-dressing highlight of the evening was made by Geoffrey Darian, who spent all day with Edith Martin, decorating the party venue. When the woman who was supposed to wear the Carmen Miranda costume failed to show up, Darian donned it himself, fruit-basket headdress and all. Partygoers did a double take when they noticed the Latina film star of yore had a hairy chest and a mustache. It was all part of the raucous fun. This year, shot sales were left exclusively to members of the Utah Gay Rodeo Association, who dressed in full cowboy regalia, with chaps, hats, kerchiefs and holsters to fit in with the matinee theme. They spent the week prior whipping up hundreds of Jell-O shooters, pouring them into little plastic-lidded cups, to be sold for a buck apiece. You had your choice of peach Jell-O with schnapps, sparkling grape Jell-O with vodka, or this year's new addition of "Drunken Cherries," marinated in liqueur then dolloped with whipped cream. All proceeds went directly to the Utah AIDS Foundation. The Gay Rodeo Association, by the way, is the second largest rodeo association in the world.   Prominent Salt Lake residents from the straight side of the community were there, many looking swank in classic tuxedos and elegant ball gowns. But their eagerness to participate went beyond that. "It's good to see such a large cross-section of the community here, supporting such a great cause," said architect Bernardo Flores-Sahagun. The evening included an hors d'oeuvres reception, with food contributed by the DoubleTree, the Wyndham Hotel, Tuscany, the Marriott Hotel, Pomodoro, the Little America Hotel and Granato's, all volunteering time and food for the event. Such competitors teaming together made for a remarkable repast.   There was also a silent auction with fabulous items like Rosenthall furniture, ski passes, jewelry, a Trevor Southey limited-edition lithograph framed by the "A" Gallery, and, as last year, a walk-on part in "Touched by an Angel." Of course, there was also the sit-down dinner with Cornish game chicks, in dining rooms equipped with large television screens so guests could watch the broadcast. And, finally, there was dancing to the music of the Swingorillas.   Many members of Utah's Hollywood crowd gathered at private homes, like people from the cast of "Promised Land," who intently watched the awards while noshing on Gerald MacRainy's homemade crawfish gumbo. But over at the DoubleTree, conversation was light and raucous. One table got into a spirited debate over who is the most beautiful man in Hollywood. The conversation was spearheaded by Adam Jensen and Robert Trujillo, first-timers at the event who swear they won't miss it next year. After eliminating young hunks like Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck, Sean Connery won the title.   Another table was stricken by the remarkable similarity between Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Jack Valenti and Utah's First Security Bank president Spence Eccles. Could they be twins separated at birth? several people wondered.   At the end of the day, the Utah AIDS Foundation had surpassed its goal of raising $110,000.  “The very next day, I got phone calls from two companies about reserving corporate tables already for next year, and one from another woman who said she heard that this benefit was THE place to see and be seen, so she wanted her name put on the mailing list for next year.  "That's a development director's dream," Mayhew said with a laugh. So if you missed it this year, tickets are still available for next. Party on.

 

27 March 1999 Saturday

SALT LAKE RALLY ON SATURDAY TO CALL FOR LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINSTDISCRIMINATION BY SHAWN FOSTERTHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Many city, state and federal laws protect people from discrimination based on their race, national origin, religion, gender, disability or political belief. Missing from that list, say advocates for gays and lesbians, is sexual orientation.  On Saturday, Utahns will join thousands of others across the nation in urging policymakers to make it illegal to discriminate against people because of their sexual partners. The Salt Lake City rally will be held at noon on the state Capitol steps. "People should be judged on their job performance, not their personal lives," said Ben Dieterle, one of the organizers of the event. "Gays and lesbians want to be able to work, do a good job and live their lives without discrimination. For the average person, it's a no-brainer that sexual orientation needs to be added to anti-discrimination laws."    The issues has been raised before in Utah.   

Last year, the Salt Lake City Council repealed a month-old city law that protected city employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.    And in the past session of the Legislature, a bill that would have toughened the state's hate-crime law was defeated in committee.    "We cannot treat groups differently," Sen. Terry Spencer, R-Layton, said at the February committee hearing. "`This would be a step backwards to classify people . . . that does a disservice to all of us."  

 Salt Lake City Councilman Bryce Jolley shared the sentiment.    "Every time we enumerate another class, we only create more division, “Jolley said Tuesday. "We should say we don't discriminate period. No one should be discriminated against."

   Dieterle said opponents misunderstand the issue.    "We're not asking for an affirmative-action program," he said. "We're not asking for any special consideration. We are recognizing that people are discriminated against because of sexual orientation, and that it is wrong."    Heterosexuals, Dieterle argued, have as much reason to support this kind of legislation as gays and lesbians.    If a gay boss targets an employee because he or she is straight, the worker should be protected. 

  "We are still living in a society where not all people are treated equally," said Jackie Biskupski, a first-term Democratic state representative who is a lesbian. “The point of the rally is to say that it is not OK."

 

Rally at the State Capitol Steps Saturday, March 27, 1999 at noon As a part of the "Equality Begins at Home" campaign, Utah will join 49 other states to rally for equal rights for the gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community. During the week of March 21-27, tens of thousands of GLBT individuals and their allies will tell American Legislators that bigotry is un-American. Speakers include:  NGLTF organizer Alexis Sinze, Dr Thresea Martinez, Professor Deb Burrington,  ACLU Attorney Steve Clark,  Debra Dean, Holly Peterson, Wendy Weaver and others With Special musical guest: Trace Wiren, Mary Tebbs, and Kathryn Warner

 

The Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee of Utah (GALPAC) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Invite You to Rally at the State Capitol Steps Saturday, March 27, 1999 at noon to tell Utah Legislators to ADD US TO THE LIST! Employment Discrimination cannot continue! As a part of the "Equality Begins at Home" campaign, Utah will join 49 other states to rally for equal rights for the gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community. During the week of March 21-27, tens of thousands of GLBT individuals and their allies will tell American Legislators that bigotry is un-American. Guest speaker include: Dr. Debra Burrington- Assistant Director Womens Studies Program U of U Charlene Orchard-Political Organizer Dr. Theresa Martinez-Social Work U of U, and KRCL's "the voice of the people", Rocky Anderson-Mayoral Candidate, Alexis Page-NGLTF, Ed Mayne-AFLCIO Jackie Biskuspi-UHR and Possibly  Dr. Kathry Stockton-English Dept U 0f U, and Queer Theorist Paid for by the Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee of Utah, anon-partisan, grass roots organization that promotes equality for the GLBT community of Utah and supports candidates committed to achieving that goal

 

Gay activists rally at Capitol in campaign to seek equality Another group protests what it calls propaganda By Jana McQuay Deseret News staff writer More than 200 gay and lesbian activists filled the steps of the Utah Capitol Saturday as part of an "Equality Begins at Home" campaign, which has involved more than 250 similar demonstrations in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Supporters of the effort have included the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union. The campaign began last Sunday and ended Saturday. Spanish Fork High School teacher Wendy Weaver was among the speakers who talked about discrimination in the workplace. Weaver recently won a discrimination lawsuit against school officials. U.S. District Judge Bruce S. Jenkins ruled in favor of Weaver's constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection. Weaver called herself an "accidental activist" who fell into national media attention after being complacent for 17 years as a teacher and volleyball coach. ACLU attorney Stephen C. Clark continues to represent Weaver in a lawsuit filed against her by a citizens group in Utah County. Dave Jones, Rocky Anderson and Jim Bradley, Democratic mayoral candidates for Salt Lake City, all spoke out against discrimination based on sexual orientation.      Jackie Biskupski, the first lesbian candidate elected to the Utah House from District 30, said she wanted activists to do more than just sit on the steps of the state Capitol. Biskupski asked activists to get involved and dedicate their time, energy and finances to win the battle for equality.  Gay activist Richard Teerlink said he had retired from Kearns High School after 31 years of employment as a biology and chemistry teacher. He held a poster that read: "Some of your best teachers are gay."   Teerlink said he kept his sexual orientation quiet until after his retirement in 1997 to protect his career and retirement benefits. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force field organizer Alexis Sainz said she was confident that full equality for activists could be achieved in the next decade.  The rally came to a close with live music performed by Gearl Jam, a local group of singers and songwriters. During Saturday's rally, the America Forever Foundation protested across the street against homosexuality "propaganda." The foundation held a three-day vigil to promote a Youth and Children Human Rights Campaign, which ended Friday evening. A Utah family founded the America Forever Foundation last October. PHOTO: Kathy Worthington waves a flag during the gay-rights rally at Capitol.

 

Reconciliation held a Line Dancing Lessons and Party upstairs at the  Center. The Wasatch Mountain Bears had a Video Party  at Pete and Blair's 1764 S 600 E

 

28 March 1999 Sunday

Gay and Lesbian Political Action Committee (GALPAC) 1-3 pm upstairs at the  Center

Wasatch Affirmation held pot luck social at Gary and Milly Watts' home  in Provo

 

29 March 1999 Monday

The GLCCU held a Meeting of the Community Forum at the Center Each organization is invited to send at least one representative to the meeting  Individuals are invited to join the Forum as well

The Wasatch Mountain Bears played Cards at the Center 730pm

 

30 March 1999 Tuesday

There was a Gay Single Men's Mixer held 7pm at the Stonewall Coffee Shop at the Center. “ Conversation, Cards, Videos "Will and Grace" I went without Mike Romero even though technically I wasn’t single just to get out and try to see what is happening with Gays in the community. It wasn’t much of a mixer as most guys were with their friends they came with or were sitting alone. It wasn’t organized at all and most guys there were in their 20’s it seemed. I was out of place for sure so I just perused what is left of the Stonewall Library and ordered a cup of coffee. I read a copy of the April edition of the Pillar that was out already.

I read in the newspaper that Lucille Ball’s second husband Gary Morton died at the age of 71. I didn’t know he was so much younger that her. 

 

 

Utah Chronicle Rallying Respect  Community Members Work to Gain Equality for People of Every Sexual Orientation Kathryn Cowles Chronicle Feature Writer THE WIND ON THE STEPS of the State Capitol Saturday whipped over hand-painted signs and rainbow diversity flags alike, meanwhile tousling hair of all colors and types. We were close to freezing. Any civil rights crusader would have been proud. As the crowd turned around mid-rally for pictures from the various newspapers and members of the press, I was overwhelmed with a great sense of the interconnectedness of the multiple issues and causes this  group represented. In fact, one point highly emphasized at the Rally for Employment Non-Discrimination for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community was the idea that all people who do not have equal opportunities, whether based on sex, race, religion, sexuality, social class, physical disability, age or any other reason, are fighting the same battle. Teresa Martinez, a sociology professor (also cross-listed in Women's Studies) at the University of Utah and a speaker at the rally, said, "These are human issues. They're not some other people in some other place. They're our issues, and we are all connected to each other."  The Employment Non-Discrimination Rally was organized by the Gay and Lesbian Political Action  Committee and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in cooperation with the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. This rally was one of 350 similar demonstrations connected with the nationwide  "Equality Begins at Home" project.  Because many civil rights issues are decided locally by city and state government officials, the "Equality Begins at Home" project focuses on legislation at the state level. As Alexis Sáinz of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force put it, local communities must work together "for equality in the workplace, at home, in our schools and in these very streets" because "the things that affect us on a daily basis are being decided right here."  Central speakers in the Rally for Employment Non-Discrimination were those who have been forced to fight, sometimes with a high media profile, for their own individual employment (and other) rights. Holly Peterson, a former student of East High and member of East's Gay-Strait Alliance, explained what happened to her when the management of a restaurant where she was employed found out she was a lesbian. They asked Peterson questions about her bumper stickers, her social life and her roommate, among other things. "They asked me to be more professionally feminine," she said. Peterson was asked to wear skirts and makeup, despite the fact that this was not required in the dress code (slacks and a shirt) when she was hired, before her sexuality became common knowledge.  Later, Peterson was fired from her job, presumably on the basis of her sexual orientation. "I have never been fired before," Peterson said. "Job security needs to be mandated," she said, because the threat of being fired on the basis of sexuality is real. Peterson hopes to find a political realm where, in her words, "I won't be fired for who I am." Represented among the many speakers at Saturday's Rally were three Salt Lake City mayoral candidates. The presence of these candidates was a sign that the GLBT community is recognized as a voting power.  The first mayoral candidate to speak was Rocky Anderson. "No one ever                  explains," said Anderson, "how special rights arise from simply guaranteeing                  gays and lesbians the same rights that everyone else enjoys." Anderson said he                  wants "legal protection for gays and lesbians," noting that pro-gay legislation                  not only supports gays and lesbians legally, it also "sends a message far beyond                  the political arena" that unequal treatment of the gay community in general will                  not be tolerated.  Jim Bradley, another candidate, commented on what the presence of three mayoral candidates as speakers at the rally meant. The fact that the necessity of equal rights among all citizens, regardless of their differences, was recognized by all three candidates seemed to Bradley to be a sign of a hopeful future in the way of civil rights. After all, Bradley claimed, it is the duty of a politician to "bring communities together and to accept, and in fact celebrate, diversity."  A third mayoral candidate, Dave Jones, focused his speech on how astounding  it is to him that our state, even our country, is still debating whether certain groups deserve basic human rights. Jones claimed that because of politically  active members of the GLBT community, politicians are "having to deal with" issues of homosexuality. "You are the people," he said to the crowd, "who are leading the change" in favor of civil rights. "My hat is off to you." Many members of the crowd seemed shocked, in the best sense of the word, at the positive and supportive statements these politicians had for the pro-gay citizens at the rally. Steve Clark, an attorney and member of the ACLU of Utah, spoke concerning discrimination in the workplace, pointing out that progress has been made overall in the movement for equality with "one glaring exception:" the GLBT community. Clark represents Wendy Weaver in what he says has been called "the most important case for the rights of gay and lesbian teachers in the country." Weaver was the concluding speaker at the rally. She deemed herself an "accidental activist" in that she thought her successful teaching and volleyball coaching in the Nebo School District would "outweigh the fact of who [she] was living with," rather than necessitate a fight to keep her own teaching position safe. "I was wrong," she said. Weaver's coaching job was discontinued on the basis of her sexuality. She was even asked not to discuss her sexuality or home life with anyone, including co-workers. The crowd did take a rather moral beating from a number of speakers upset by the lack of political involvement from much of the pro-gay community.  Jackie Biskupski, the first openly gay member of the Utah State Legislature, chided those in the crowd who were not politically involved. Biskupski said it took a group of East High School kids fighting for a Gay-Strait Alliance to make her realize how important it is to get involved “Change," Biskupski said, is "only going to come about when you take risks, when you're willing to fight a hard battle, like Wendy [Weaver], when you're willing to say 'enough is enough.'" Biskupski challenged members of the pro-gay community to "leave here today making a commitment to yourself that if you are going to demand equality, you must also demand from yourself time" in the form of a commitment, financially and otherwise, to personally help turn into a fact. University of Utah professor of women's studies Deb Burrington encouraged the crowd to "turn the light on in our own closets." Burrington said the debilitating prejudices within the GLBT community itself, and at times the lack of support for one another, disables the cause as a whole. "The struggle for liberation," Burrington stated, "must be a collective and inclusive event." Among the groups sometimes disowned by some members of the gay community are those who are labeled "transgendered," or "transsexual." Burrington criticized those of the pro-gay community who drop these and other fringe groups. This is, she said, just another form of "internalized homophobia." Members of the transgendered community were in fact represented among the speakers at the rally. Nicole Cline of the Western Transsexual Network spoke of "challenging some of the traditional thoughts society has that are so stereotypical of what we, in this community, are." Cline said the "government is accountable to us, 'We the People.'" Debra Dean, founder of Engendered Species, addressed local prejudices against the transgendered community. "All the world seems welcome here," she said, "but maybe not us."

 

31 March 1999 Wednesday

There was second blue moon this year tonight which is extremely rarely to have two in the same year. It won’t happen again in 10 years and by then I will be dead. This was my love song for Billy Bikowski’s unrequited love for me “If I miss you at all ... it's just now and then Just once ... in a very blue moon And I feel one comin' on soon…There's a blue moon shinin' When I am reminded of all we've been through…Such a blue moon ... shinin' Does it ever shine down on you? You act as if it never hurt you at all Like I'm the only one who's gettin' up from a fall Don't you remember? Can't you recall?” I don’t know how many night I wept over Billy.

Planned Parenthood came to the Center and presented a Women's Health Lecture with a discussion focusing on Lesbian Health Issues.