Autumn 4th Quarter Journal 2004 October-December

 

October

1 October 2004 Friday

“Honor the Earth with the  Indigo Girls Live at Kingsbury Hall University of Utah Campus.” This event is being held in conjunction with the ASUU Presenter’s Office and includes a special presentation by Winona LaDuke on American Indian and environmental justice. Tickets are $20 for U of U students and $40 for the general public, and are available at the Kingsbury Hall ticket office.

2004 Pride 2004: Visions of Acceptance October 1 & 10-15 Honor the Earth with the Indigo Girls Live at Kingsbury Hall University of Utah Campus October 1, 7:30pm This event is being held in conjunction with the ASUU Presenter’s Office, and includes a special presentation by Winona LaDuke on American Indian and environmental justice. Tickets are $20 for U of U students and $40 for the general public, and are available at the Kingsbury Hall ticket office ~ (801) 581-7100 ~ the Olpin Union Main Desk ~ (801) 581-5888 ~ and ArtTix ~ (801) 355-ARTS. Film Screenings The Blessing Saints and Sinners Salt Lake City Library Auditorium 210 East 400 South  October 10, 2pm These screenings are held in conjunction with the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Salt Lake City Film Center. The Blessing will be screened first, with Saints and Sinners immediately following.

 

2 October 2004 Saturday

The Utah Bear Alliance participated in the Fifth OscarBear Film Festival in Utah and presented "Casey's Dad" which won Best Picture.

            The ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE's 18th AIDS Awareness Fund Raiser Week began and ran through the 8^th of October 2004

Cy Martz  President of Utah State University at Logan’s Gay Straight Alliance wrote for Mad Queer Disease, “Mending the Way We Fight I recently attended my local "Don't Amend" Town Hall meeting. I was impressed at the great organization of the Don't Amend organizers. They had everything: buttons, stickers, bumper decals, DVDs and yard signs. It all said "No on 3" and "Don't Amend."

The Don't Amend Alliance has done incredible work. They should be proud of what they have accomplished in the way of education about the amendment. Unfortunately, the meeting wasn't very well attended — 15 by my count, only three of whom I didn't recognize as members of the GLBT community. The rest were friends of Dorothy.

In all who attended, I couldn't help but notice there was something missing, something not there. I had my buttons, my stickers, my yard sign and my DVD. However, in that room full of queers talking about an amendment that relegated themselves, their families and their relationships to second-class status, there was a void of anger.

Why is the gay community acting so calm during this blatant and hurtful period of discrimination? Aren't we the same people who have engaged in such civil rights landmarks as the Stonewall Riots and ACT UP? Why are statements like "It's unnecessary" and "It goes too far" the only admonishments we dare say about this legislation? Isn't any type of legislation that etches hate into our state constitution a little far-reaching? Why don't we hear our leaders, our activists, using words like "hate" and "discrimination?"

It seems to me that the gay community feels that this amendment is so permanent that we don't want to piss anybody off who may possibly vote against it. However, we as a community cannot afford to pander.

A common misconception people hold is that it's not okay to get mad. I believe that we should not let our anger cloud our perception, but it is nonsense to stifle the human emotion that is able to harnesses the most energy. Anger is the purest, most galvanizing and most motivating emotion we as humans have.

 Regardless of what our churches and Sean Hannity may tell you, anger is the emotion that changes minds and gets things done. The gay community and the Don't Amend Alliance have acted as the straight-friendly, happy-go-lucky, sedate population for long enough. It's time to start talking louder. It's time to start getting madder. It's time we let people know that we're not going to take this with a smile on our face!

So often I hear queer activists talk about how acceptance comes with exposure. "If they just get to know a more real and human homosexual, straight people will be more accepting." There is nothing more human or real than being reactionary. We have to be real and honest and let our adversaries and those on the fence know that if this amendment passes, we're going to be affected negatively, and we are upset.

We need to be challenging. We must challenge their rhetoric. When they say that the amendment will protect families, we must ask, "How?"

We may not win this constitutional battle. In fact, it's not likely that we will. But we can use this as an opportunity to get gay people in the news, show discrimination in action and unveil the hypocrisy of our homophobic surroundings.

However, when a group like Don't Amend says things like "You don't have to be for gay marriage to be against this amendment," or "There are already three laws in the state of Utah that define marriage as being between a man and a woman" it sends a message and makes a dangerous bargain.

Messages that do not talk about discrimination but moreover speak about defeating a single amendment set a precedent of allowing the heterosexual population to continue living under the ignorant assumption that they and their lifestyle is superior to that of a homosexual.

Dude, Where's My Penis? In the search for equal rights and overall acceptance, the queer population has relegated itself to the role of neuter. From Will and Grace and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to Ellen DeGeneres, the queer population has allowed the public to accept homosexuals without accepting homosexuality.

We are now seeing the other edge of that sword because people feel that they can vote for this amendment and still be gay-friendly or at least not be homophobic. Straights feel that they can vote for an amendment that condemns the homosexual lifestyle, but not the homosexual.

We hear this in the language of our politicians. John Kerry doesn't believe that the word "marriage" is an appropriate term to use for same-sex couples, but he's still gay friendly because he thinks we need equal rights.

Governor Olene Walker can condemn the amendment just a few months after she signs it, and her worries about re- election are over.

For good, straight Mormons, voting to amend our state's constitution is just a matter of loving the sinner and condemning the sin.

It is crucial that we put the sex back into "homosexual." The only way for gay people to get equality is to have straight people feel as comfortable with gay sexuality as they feel with their own.

We cannot change the perception of our bedroom activities if we hide them. I want my penis back! I want to be a sexual being, just like everybody else. I am more than just a great sense of fashion. We need to fuse sin and sinner back together and work on selling the complete package.

Now, I don't mean that we should be exchanging blowjobs in the grocery store or post office queue. However, you would think that actual homosexuality would be at least visible in the Don't Amend video.

As you watch the video, you meet Jane and Tami. They sit a comfortable distance away from each other and announce immediately that they met at church, as to not seem too "dykey."

You also meet Tony and Paul, two gay fathers. They, too, sit an appropriate Bible's width apart. Neither queer couple ever touches during the entire interview. This does not resemble two people so in love they wish they could marry.

There was one couple in the video that did show affection toward each other. Gary had his arm around Millie as she put her hand in his lap. They talked about their family and they were unapologetically in love.

Unapologetic Fags I think gay people have been trained that their form of sexuality is something to be ashamed of, so even when we ask for equality, we do it with our heads bowed.

It's time we stop worrying about what "they" will think if we get angry, or what "they" think if we talk about our sex lives. It's time to start living for us. If we can stop being ashamed and own up to our own sexuality and our own emotions — not apologize for them — then people will soon see that efforts to put a stop to our lifestyle are a waste of energy.

Being angry, showing emotion, even having sex are all part of our real human nature. We shouldn't have to apologize for any of it. If we stop letting straight society inflict shame upon us, that is one less thing they can control.

We should not be ashamed of wanting equal rights. We all need to be unapologetic in our slow but apparent advancement. We need to become the unapologetic fags and dykes and own our sexuality.

 I am a fag. Unapologetically, I am a fag. I am an angry fag and I'm not sorry. I might not be able to find a yard sign or a bumper sticker that says that, but I'm still sending a potent message. Cy Martz is a senior at Utah State University majoring in public relations. He welcomes your comments:

 

3 October 2004 Sunday

My cousin Terrie Williams wrote me: Hi Junior, Yes, I miss the beach get together's too!! I was just thinking about that the other weekend when I went bike riding along the beach and all these families were putting up their tables and shelters for the beach day.

It's my mom & dad's wedding anniversary in October. They will be celebrating their 60th!!! Frances [my cousin] and I will be going to Texas to help celebrate. Marilyn's oldest daughter Dina gave birth to a baby girl about a week ago. Aleesa [Frances’ daughter] and her husband and their daughter Lilli came to visit the week before Labor day weekend. They're doing great. Lilli is going into middle school. She turned 11 in August. That's about all the news, weather & sports right now. Love, Terrie

October 3 – Janet Leigh, American actress (b. 1927)

 

5 October 2004

Rodney Dangerfield, American comedian and actor (b. 1921)

 

6 October 2004 Wednesday

As part of AIDS awareness week the ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE presented the play "Jeffery" for at Club Heads UP Tonight at and Friday at 7:30pm  The Heads Up Club is on Pierpont Ave across from Baci Restaurant Cost: $5.00 Donation going to RCGSE AIDS Fund “Tell all your friends and help support the RCGSE and there AIDS FUND to help others this Christmas.”

            The Queer Utah Aquatic Club with 48 Utah swimmers went to participate in 14th International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championships held in Ft. Lauderdale until the 11^th of October.

Michael Aaron wrote: Subject New Editor- I wanted you, our writers, photographers and designers, to know that a change of leadership has happened today at Salt Lake Metro. Jere Keys has joined the newspaper as editor, replacing Brandon. Jere is the former editor of Out Las Vegas, Las Vegas Bugle and QVegas magazines. He recently left Las Vegas to return to the state he was born in to help his family. Jere is 27 years old, has been an outspoken advocate for gay rights, regularly appearing in interviews about the Las Vegas gay community. Las Vegas Weekly declared him the "cheerleader for the gay community in Las Vegas."

He has dedicated a lot of time to Las Vegas Pride, the Nevada Gay Rodeo Association, Equal Rights Nevada and many more gay organizations. He was born and raised in northern Utah, graduated cum laude from the University of Nevada, Reno with a BA in Theatre. He is "blissfully single" and loves to engage in "philosophical debates about Buffy and the Vampire Slayer.

We will deeply miss Brandon and wish him well in where life next takes him. His professionalism and talent is in large part the reason Salt Lake Metro is what it is today. We are hopeful that he will contribute to the   newspaper in the future.

Writers Meeting We would like to have a long-overdue writers meeting to introduce Jere to all of you and to paint a picture of what we see as the future of this newspaper. Please join us Thursday, October 14 at 5pm at the office. Office Closed Friday  In support of the Boycott for Equality, the Salt Lake Metro offices will be closed on Friday, October 8. Staff Newsgroup I noticed that some of you on this list have not joined the SLMetro Staff  Thanks! -Michael Aaron

I wrote to Michael Aaron “Sounds like you found yourself a cracker jack new editor. Hope you and Brandon parted amicably. I had sent Brandon an article for October. Don't know whether he saw it or not so I'll send it to you. Ben

Michael Aaron responded 'Thanks Ben. We/I still love Brandon and I hope he is alright through all of this. I wish things could have been different. Things won't be the same around here without him. I got your article and forwarded it to Jere. Thanks! -Michael

 

8 October 2004 Friday

The GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER  Public Safety Liaison Committee was held at Pioneer Police Precinct,  1040 West 700 South in Salt Lake City. SLC.

 Screening of “NO on 3” TV commercials spots were previewed at Tower Theater in the 9^th and 9^th area.

 

9 October 2004 Saturday

The Annual National Affirmation Conference was held in San Francisco as “Zion: Gathering Our Family by the Bay”.  The Keynote speaker was Kate Kendall

The Salt Lake Men's Choir performed “Classic Pops” in St. George, Utah.

The Lesbian hike of the Narrows at Zion Park was held the 9^th  through the 11th in Southern Utah.

Robert Kirby, Salt Lake Tribune Columnist wrote: A political hot button headache-Rusty and I have been friends for more than 30 years. The fact that he is a homosexual only rarely comes up, usually when I want to tease him about some stupid gay stereotype.

This time he brought it up by reminding me to take some time to vote against something horrible called Proposition 3. ''What's that?'' I asked. Seriously, I didn't know.

It was the wrong thing to say. Rusty went off on a tirade about whether or not he should be allowed to marry another guy: Prop. 3, a constitutional amendment that would further prohibit them from tying the knot, was unnecessary, unfair and probably fascist.

''Wow, I didn't even know you were dating somebody?''

''I'm not,'' he said.

''Then what's the big deal?''

This was worth another hour of political harangue that did less to inform than it did to give me a migraine. It was worse than the time I told Bammer's daughter that the importance I placed on the spotted owl was somewhere below that of a ham sandwich.

I hate it when stuff I don't care about becomes a political hot button, in this case whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to marry. It's fine with me as long as they don't register someplace pricey.

Being indifferent was OK for a while. But I vote. And now that some fathead has decided to put it on the ballot, I have to choose a side.

I could rely on theology to help me make up my mind. Most churches including my own say that homosexuality is a sin. But I don't care about that, either. I have my own problems with lust. As a committed heterosexual, it's a full time job for me just to keep from mentally undressing attractive female parishioners during church. I spend so much time trying not to do that I really don't have time to worry about what gays are doing.

But maybe it's time that I did. I can't imagine homosexuals ever causing more pain and bloodletting in the world than organized religion already has, but I could be wrong. I was wrong about disco.

While it is possible that homosexual marriages will cheapen and degrade heterosexual marriage, I'm just a little fuzzy on exactly how. Gay sex - which has been going on for a long time - hasn't done a thing to cheapen or degrade my attraction toward the opposite sex.

Maybe gays - who can't reproduce ''naturally'' - will eventually destroy the family as we know it. This would be the same family we know that already ends in divorce half the time, right?

I am completely open to the possibility that socially accepted homosexual marriages could bring upon us the wrath of God. But maybe this wouldn't be such a big deal if other non-sexually specific things weren't already bothering him; stuff like greed, bigotry and hatred.

Proposition 3 is a tricky issue. How am I going to vote on it? I think the best answer now is the same one I would have given back when I was falling in love and deciding whom to marry: None of your business.

 

10 October 2004 Sunday

Film Screenings of The Blessing Saints and Sinners held at SLC Library Auditorium by LGBT Resource Center in conjunction with the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Salt Lake City Film Center. The Blessing screened first, with Saints and Sinners following.

Rebecca Walsh of The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Word Perfect co-founder now champions Gay rights  "Don't Amend": Bastian's personal life and his political sensibilities seemingly have changed 180 degrees

The conversation was brief when Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson first met Bruce Bastian. Eight years ago, Anderson was running for Congress and advocating gay-marriage rights. Bastian told the political hopeful he was too liberal. "There weren't a whole lot of people who discussed gay marriage at the time," Anderson says. "It was a very short conversation."

The two didn't talk again until Anderson was running for mayor in 1999 and the candidate became one of Bastian's causes, collecting $15,000 that year and another $22,500 last year in campaign funds. Perhaps the normally reclusive Bastian's name on Anderson's financial disclosure forms was a political coming out of sorts, because the WordPerfect co-founder and philanthropist hasn't stopped there.

He joined the board of the national gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign a year ago and has contributed half the Don't Amend Alliance's budget for fighting Utah's proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage.

 He was grand marshal of the Utah Pride Day parade this year.

In a way, Bastian has come full circle from that 1996 meeting with Anderson. Local and national politics have forced him out of a self-imposed exile. Now, rather than avoiding the debate over gay marriage, Bastian has plunged himself into its fiery core.

"Those who support [constitutional amendments] to define marriage are saying that they are entitled to certain laws and legal benefits and protections because they sleep with the right person and I sleep with the wrong person," he says. "It's wrong."

Twenty years ago, even five years ago, it would have been unthinkable for the 56-year-old Bastian to say that in a newspaper article. But along with his political sensibilities, his personal and public life has turned 180 degrees.

The son of a Twin Falls, Idaho, farmer and grocer he prefers to call a musician, Bastian was the fifth of six children. Separated from his siblings by a span of years, Bastian was nerdy and quiet. He mastered the clarinet and saxophone and, despite his reserve, was elected student body vice president in high school.

He enrolled at Brigham Young University and decided to major in math. But the choice of study didn't quite fit.

After a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy, Bastian returned to BYU and studied music.

At 28, he married a girl from Canada, his "best friend" Melanie, and started a family.

For five years, Bastian directed the university marching band as a graduate student. But when he was passed over for the faculty job of band leader, fate stepped in.

Bastian switched the emphasis of his master's degree from music to computer science, met professor Alan Ashton and designed a precocious word processing program that became WordPerfect Corp.

Now, it all seems so prescribed to him. The "right" thing to do - four kids and a house in the Utah County suburbs. He had known he was gay since high school, but had never followed through on his feelings.

Then, on one of his business trips, he fell in love with a man. "I don't think straight people can begin to imagine the inner turmoil and fear at this moment in a gay person's life," Bastian says. "All your dreams, plans, everything falls apart. The whole foundation of your life crumbles. You can stay the course or follow your heart and go to where every human being dreams of going – to happiness ever after."

It was 1984, at the height of the AIDS scare in America. His children would be harassed, his social network destroyed. Still, Bastian came out to his wife. They continued to live together for several more years; he spent much of his time on WordPerfect business trips. Eventually, he moved out and they divorced in the mid-1990s.

It was the worst-kept secret in the family. His older sister, Constance Embree, was terrified when she found out her baby brother is gay. "He's my brother, and he hasn't changed," she says. "I just worry about the rest of the world."

Bastian got hate mail from his employees. His four sons were teased at school. His closely guarded privacy was his attempt to protect them from publicity during the brutal high school years.

When his youngest son graduated, Bastian's political isolation ended.

The sale of WordPerfect to Novell in 1994 made Bastian and Ashton multimillionaires. And for more than a decade, Bastian quietly bankrolled Utah's cultural arts - $1.3 million in cash and in-kind donations to Ballet West and another $1.3 million to buy pianos for the University of Utah Music Department.

"We have been able to achieve some special ballets and programs that we otherwise wouldn't be able to do if we didn't have his support," says Johann Jacobs, Ballet West executive director. "He is extremely generous in using his money to make the community a better place. He does whatever it takes to stick to his commitments."

Somewhere along the way, philanthropy transitioned to activism. Bastian has reduced his donations to the arts to dedicate more resources to what he considers a battle over fundamental human rights.

Besides donations to candidates, he has given Human Rights Campaign more than $1 million in just over two years. And he set up the Alliance's office with donated computers with WordPerfect software and $315,000.

This election year, he travels the country for the campaign. "He has a profound commitment to equality and fairness for all Americans - including gay Americans," says Cheryl Jacques, campaign president. "Where he sees injustice, he devotes himself to reversing it."

Bastian is driven by an image of his lonely adolescence. "As a gay person, you grow up hating yourself. No matter how much you accomplish in life, you will be a failure because you are gay," he says. "I'm doing this for the kid in Idaho, growing up on a farm. I don't want him to go through the s--- I went through."

He left the Mormon church years ago and asked church leaders to remove his name from church rolls. Religious arguments against gay marriage frustrate him. He has more use for the Golden Rule. "The sanctity of your marriage depends on you," he says. "If the value of your marriage depends on what anyone else is doing, you need to re-evaluate your marriage."

Bastian hopes cooler heads - and more rational arguments – will prevail on Nov. 2. Uncomfortable with the label "activist," Bastian at times wants to return to quiet anonymity. Despite being surrounded by marble and groomed gardens and five full-time staff in the custom, 30,000-square- foot home he built in the Orem foothills, he often wishes he was in his cramped London apartment.

"I'm just Bruce in London. And people know I'm gay and who cares? It's not important," he says. "I like to be a regular guy."

Periodically, he thinks about leaving Utah once and for all. If he could drop his house in the hills of Tuscany or take his schnauzers Max and Lucas to England, he says, he would do it "in a heartbeat." But then his children and grandchildren live here. He feels as though he is just getting to know them.

So he stays in a conservative community that has marginalized him and his ilk, still hoping that someday things will change.

Anderson worries about the day Bastian might leave. "Most bigotry toward gays and lesbians comes from treating the other as an abstraction rather than a human being," he says. "We need to be able to put a face on the other to understand that they are entitled to the same kinds of rights and dignity as anybody else. "Bruce is an important face," Anderson adds. "I don't think most people who oppose equal rights for gays and lesbians can get to know Bruce and come away with those same negative feelings."

October 10 – Christopher Reeve, American actor and activist (b. 1952)[167]

11 October 2004 Monday

The U of U's LGBT Resource Center sponsored the 3rd annual University Pride Week through the 15^th.  . Vision of Acceptance was theme.

A National Coming Out Day Rally was held at Olpin Union Patio  at the University of Utah Campus sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Student Union.

I wrote on the Utah Stonewall History Group Site, WHERE ARE ALL THE COMING OUT RALLIES?  Monday October 11 is National Coming Out Day. What is that you might ask? And why are all the banks closed for it? No no no. The Banks are closed to celebrate the European conquest and annihilation of the Indigenous cultures of the America. That is Columbus Day. It's a hetero thing.

NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY is ours! And it’s so much more fabulous. It’s about conquering our internalized homophobia and annihilating preconceived notions of gender roles. That's a homo thing.

National Coming Out Day is an official project of the Human Rights Coalition and was begun in 1988 to commemorate the historic 1987 March On Washington. Over a half a million queers turned Washington lavender and Ronald Reagan red. We marched, we sang, we smooched, we got married, we got laid, and we got arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court protesting the infamous Hardwick versus Bowers decision. Not necessary all in that order.

What does "coming out" of the closet mean? The slang term "being in the closet" is used to describe keeping secret one's sexual orientation. It comes from the Victorian idiom that everyone has a skeleton in their closet. A "closet case" originally referred only to someone who kept his or her sexual orientation secret but heteroes have hijacked the term to mean anyone who has a secret.

There are many good reason why a person does not want to face society's homophobia. In many places in the world, coming out of the closet means losing one's job, home, family, friends, and religious and political membership. In the Middle East it could even mean your life! That is why every closet door that is opened whether a crack or with a wham bam is a courageous act and, in essence, the defining moment in a person's life.

            Pre-Stonewall "coming out" simply meant self-acknowledgement and realization. Other than one's sexual partner no one else needed to know. However Post-Stonewall there was a titanic paradigm shift where "coming out" meant telling at least one other individual that you were Gay. This pronouncement in effect tied one's fate to the fate of the entire Gay Civil Rights Movement. Yes, it was at first  terrifying, but the knowledge and security in knowing that you were not alone in the struggle was reassuring and soul satisfying.

Coming out to family and talking to them is messy. There is no way around that.

When I use to facilitate a Gay support group called Unconditional Support I use to always encourage people to come out to their parents. I said it won't kill them. However later I learned from Ralph Place that his mother committed suicide jumping from the Charleston Apartment building on 13th East after he came out to her. So that proved the exception to the rule.

Okay, so your parents might drop dead. At least they knew the truth. Actually I think this lady had far more issues then a Gay son.

When you come out to your parents please don't do it over the phone and don't do it in person. Write a letter. Why? When you confront your parents in person or on the phone you have not given them time to adjust to the news before giving a response. That response usually will not be "I am so very proud of you." That will come later. You must allow them time to mourn for all the dreams and expectations they had place on. You must let them work though anger, disappointment, self-accusation, fear, and pain. All they range of emotions that you have already gone through.

Remember in effect when you come out to your parents you are bringing the family secret out of the closet too. Ultimately, if they are honest, they will eventually tell you that they always knew you were a bit different, more sensitive

or more tom boyish, more queer.

The greatest American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, wisely said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Fear of what others think of us is a paralyzing emotion. It prevents us from being alive and living up to our full potential as human beings.

The first Coming Out Day was held in 1988. Three years would pass until a community wide event was held to celebrate National Coming Out Day in Utah. In 1991 members of the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah and Queer Nation marched peacefully for 90 minutes around the fountain at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building on State Street.

Nearly three dozen Gay-rights advocates, hoisting placards and a Rainbow Coalition flag, marched at the Federal Building in downtown Salt Lake City to commemorate National Coming Out Day. ``We're here. We're queer. We're fabulous. Get used to us,'' chanted the demonstrators.

Gay activist and former Chair of GLCCU and LGSU member, John Bennett, "came out" to a Television reporter that evening. He stating that he was a grandson of the man for whom the federal building was named and that he was proud to be a Gay man. This was no small feat considering his uncle was a conservative Republican United States Senator. The Bennett family survived the pronouncement intact as far as I know.

For the next several years National Coming Out Day was observed in Utah at the Utah Stonewall Center, where a reception and an open mic was provided for members of the Lambda community who were not ready to be so open in the public but "who wanted to come out in a more secure location. "Various other community organizations, mostly student organizations such as LGSU, and SL Community College's Gay Support Group also hosted "coming out events."

The most significant celebration of Coming Out Day in Utah occurred in 1995 when the Utah Stonewall Center presented Candace Gingrich, sister of then Republican U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who spoke of the necessity of "coming out of the closet".

A teenager, Kelli Peterson, attended the presentation and recognized an East High School teacher, Camille Lee in the audience. The catalyst for the formation of the Gay/Straight Alliance at East High School was initiated on that Coming Out Day. Yes, Utah had apoplexy and said all kinds of nasty things to the East High Lambda students, but in the end we won.

Coming Out Day makes a difference in people's lives. Whether one is 15 or 65 coming out a very challenging experience but one that is ultimately life affirming. All the lying, subterfuge, deception, disconnectedness goes away. Integrity and self-esteem takes their place. Love heals, and self-love heals wholly.

The only organization hosting a National Coming Out Day event this year that I know of is LGSU. If anyone has more info please send to USHS. If you need to come out but are afraid- Come out to me then- Ben Williams.

A Film Screening of “Gay Pioneers” was shown at the Salt Lake City Library Auditorium at 210 East 400 South sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center held in conjunction with the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Salt Lake City Film Center

 

12 October 2004 Tuesday

Lisa Diamond, Professor of Psychology, University of Utah lectured on "What Does Acceptance Really Mean? Embracing the Diversity of LGBT and Heterosexual Experiences Over the Lifespan" held at Women's Resource Center. Noon Lecture Women’s Resource Center, 293 Olpin Union University of Utah Campus

Subject: Gay Men's Health Summit & Reception October 12th- 15th-Gay Men's Health Summit "INVENIO"  5:00 PM to 7:00 PM INVENIO Reception at Panini If you are a gay man, or if you know one, this is an event for you. Come to find out about INVENIO, come to register, or just come for the food and company! Panini is located inside the Wells Fargo Tower at 299 South Main Street.  This is the fourth year that the Utah AIDS Foundation is the presenting sponsor of INVENIO. This is a great weekend to learn more about gay men's health issues, and also to connect with other gay men. We have had over 150 men in the past and expect even more this year. Help us build the energy behind gay men's health. For a complete schedule of workshops and events click the link above! Utah AIDS Foundation 1408 South 1100 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84105

 

13 October 2004 Wednesday

Film Screening of “Tying the Knot” held at the Salt Lake City Library sponsored by LGBT Resource Center and held in conjunction with the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Salt Lake City Film Center.

 

14 October 2004 Thursday

Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of Congressman Dick Gephardt and 1st openly Gay family member of a presidential candidate in history, was Keynote speaker for the LGBT Resource Center's Pride Week at U of U. Charles Milne director of the Resource Center.

2004 Pride at the University of Utah: “Visions of Acceptance”. Chrissy Gephardt Keynote Address Director, Grassroots Campaign Corps for the  National Stonewall Democrat. She spoke at noon in the Gould Auditorium, in the Marriott Library as part of Pride Week

On the forefront of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered politics, Chrissy Gephardt came out in the 2004 presidential democratic primary as the openly lesbian daughter of Congressman Dick Gephardt. The first openly gay family member of a presidential candidate in history, Gephardt is an accomplished spokeswoman for GLBT issues, and gave issues of equal rights and social justice a prominent place in the 2004 campaign. Gephardt reaches out to students in high schools, colleges and universities to encourage active participation at the polls and relates current political issues to the lives of young people.

Gephardt continues her involvement in LGBT and youth politics through her work as the Director of the Grassroots Campaign Corps for the National Stonewall Democrats, America's only grassroots Democratic lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organization. She is also on the board of directors of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization that is committed to increasing the number of openly gay and lesbian elected public officials at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

Gephardt's commitment to social justice began with her career as a social worker in mental health. She has worked for the past four years in the field of social services in various non-profit organizations. Her work specifically involved community mental health services, women's mental health, hospital social work, clinical case management, employee assistance programs, and counseling. Much of Gephardt's work has centered on assisting women in their recovery from the devastating effects of trauma in their lives.

Gephardt is an accomplished speaker for LGBT issues, women's issues, and other causes related to social justice. Through her public persona, she is committed to furthering the cause of social justice in the LGBT community including voting rights, relational and familial rights, equality in employment and other legal rights. She also possesses a strong dedication to raise awareness around women's issues such a reproductive freedom, women's mental health, and domestic and sexual violence. And finally, she believes in working towards ensuring the vital participation of all people in the political process, particularly the youth of America.

Gephardt is a 1995 graduate of Northwestern University in Illinois and completed her Master of Social Work in 2001 from Washington University in St. Louis. After living in St. Louis from 1995 to 2001, she moved to Washington D.C. where she currently resides.

A Gala Dinner and Silent Auction was held at the Jewish Community Center 2 North Medical Drive, featuring Chrissy Gephardt. The event cost $65 per person, $650 per table. All proceeds went to benefit the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center.

 

15 October 2004 Friday

My nephew Michael Wachs wrote me: “Sorry for not writing sooner with the news, Life is in such a hurry right now it isn't even funny. Wanted to let you know that I am done with school again. Graduated from my second course from Westwood. Now I have my avionics certificate and my airframe license as well. Accepted a job offer from Cessna doing radio and electrical installations on their aircraft coming off the assembly line.

PLUS wanted to let you know about the biggest event. Patti and I are getting married on the 22nd. of this month (oct). Nothing fancy or anything since family can not be there but we are planning on doing a huge event later on when we can have everyone there. Anyhow. Gotta get going. Planning for the move calling people and packing. Life is good.. Love, Mike.”

            The University of Utah’s LGBT Resource Center sponsored a “Pride Dance” in the Saltair Room, Olpin Union Building on Campus. $5 per person. Pay (cash only) at the door.

Toni Johnson, Director of The People With AIDS Coalition of Utah announced the Living with AIDS Conference tonight. They held their “Eleventh Annual Community Awards with a “reception honoring the dedication of outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses who have led the fight against HIV/AIDS”. The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel 500 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, Tickets $50. Hors d'oeuvres & Silent Auction “6:00 pm Award Presentation 7:00 pm. The Community Awards Reception honored Chuck Whyte and Ron Johnson as outstanding individuals who have led the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The Utah AIDS Foundation held INVENIO, their three day Utah Gay Men's Health Summit at the Hilton Hotel.  “If you are a gay man, or if you know one, this is an event for you.” The "INVENIO" reception was held at Panini located inside the Wells Fargo Tower at 299 South Main Street “This is the fourth year that is the presenting sponsor of INVENIO. This is a great weekend to learn more about gay men's health issues, and also to connect with other gay men. We have had over 150 men in the past and expect even more this year. Help us build the energy behind gay men's health. Utah AIDS Foundation 1408 South 1100 East Salt Lake City.

Mike Romero and I went to see Walt Larabee perform as part of folklore story telling conference held here in Salt Lake.

The 2004 Daniel Crowley Memorial Storytelling Concert presented Walter Larrabee at the 2004 American Folklore Society Meeting held in Salt Lake City at the Little America Hotel, Ballroom B. Co-sponsored by the Storytelling Section and the LGBT Section. Suggested Donation: $10, public invited. The society's annual  meeting took place October 13-16, 2004 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah with Craig Miller being a local contact.

"Is Salt Lake a Drag?" Artist Walter Larrabee tells (and demonstrates!) how drag is a positive outlet that helps men and women bridge the gap between the societal constraints of reality and the limitless potential that exists in the world of imagination and fantasy. In this hour and fifteen minute show, Walter introduces us to many of his best and some of his most intimate friends including well-known celebrities of stage and screen.

Perhaps a city's sense of place is determined by the sensibilities of its citizens. Like any other city, Salt Lake is a place of contrasts. Despite its determinedly sober reputation, Salt Lake has a long-standing history of gaiety. Together, Walter, and all his personalities and friends reveal a lighter side of Salt Lake City that many people are afraid to see or believe does not exist at all. Is Salt Lake a drag? You decide.

The American Folklore Society is an association of people who create and communicate knowledge about folklore throughout the world. Our more than  2,200 members and subscribers are scholars, teachers, and libraries at colleges and universities; professionals in arts and cultural organizations; and community members involved in folklore work. Many of our members live and work in the U.S., but their interests in folklore stretch around the world, and we are home to a

large and growing number of international members.

I wrote on my Utah Stonewall History Group Site: SALT LAKE A DRAG? NO WAY! Walter Larabee, or simply "Walter " is the consummate entertainer. His artistry is riveting, and he effectively communicates to an audience "how drag is a positive outlet that helps men and women bridge the gap between the societal constraints of reality and the limitless potential that exists in the world of imagination and fantasy."

Within the Little America ballroom, all eyes were upon Walter. Even when ducking behind a partition, he kept us engaged as a masterful storyteller. Franke Holt, who ably assisted Walter, helped with the music, costumes, and also  participated in one skit.

Walter Larabee's mostly one-man extemporization was for the 2004 Daniel Crowley Memorial Storytelling Series, and it was a first-rate example of the talent Salt Lake City can produce. The one-night stand was performed for the American Folklore Society's annual meeting held at the Little America Hotel on October 15.

Walter deftly demonstrated for his audience, many of whom may have been skeptical, that drag is indeed a folklore art form. As the LGBT section facilitator, Craig Miller, aptly stated, "drag truly is folklore because there are no academic or formal training where drag can be learned." It is an art form peculiar to our Lambda culture that is passed down from generation to generation by mentors to novices.

Walter's depiction of the women celebrities he so admires, is, as he deadpans, done in a "techno female illusionist" style. These characterizations of women, with whom he has become identified, were infused with Walter's warmth, humor, and naughty ribaldry. Walter nearly brought the house down as a pogo stick jumping operatic diva.

The highlight of the evening however was when Walter's mother shared the stage with him to lip-synch "Suddenly Seymour" from "Little Shop of Horrors." Walter may have the distinction of being the only "drag artist" to perform with his own mother.

If there was a glitch in the evening's rich variety of skits, it had to have been the audio equipment, the bane of every drag performer. The rousing "Nine to Five" song was barely audible in the Dolly Parton number, although Walter's interaction with his audience amply made up for the lack of volume.

After an hour and half of efficacious rendering, we all shared with Walter's mother, pride and love for this incredible entertainer.

Walter has enriched our lives with his talents and has raised money for our various projects within and without the Lambda Communities of Utah. Donations from this performance went to the LGBT Youth Story Telling Scholarship fund. Ben Williams

            Rocky O’Donovan commented, “Walt Larrabee performs for American Folklore Society tonight   Good goddess, there's some queer Utah history! I've known Walt for 25 years now. He and I were in "Promised Valley" and "Within these Walls" (the LDS church's official sesquicentennial musical) together in 1980.

150,000 Mormons saw us perform "Walls" at the Huntsman Center on the U of U campus. Most of the guys in these two casts were homos, but of course it was unspoken until many years later when we all started showing up at the Sun in the late 80s!

I loved Walter and really looked up to him as one of the nicest people I ever met. Walt even came to my missionary Farewell. When I left for my mission in November 1980, I had the choirs from the combined casts sing at my Farewell.

Gawd, I was such a drama queen, I just had to have a HUGE Farewell gala extravaganza! How many other missionaries had a 100 voice (non-ward) choir sing for them???!!

If anyone has contact info for him, please let him know I'd love to hear from him! I'm sure he only remembers me as Rocky though....Have him email me at Connell O’Donovan Thanks for the great memories....Connell Santa Cruz

A new Gay bar Heads Up opened at 163 West Pierpont Avenue in Salt Lake. Advertised as “Gay every day Club.”

 

16 October 2004 Saturday

Aunt Marie Williams wrote: Well haven't heard from you for a long, long time.  How are things going?  I guess it getting cooler there.  We are getting a little cooler here.  I am thankful that the summer is over. 

We finished most of the tax returns and completed all the ones that the clients brought in their records.  Oct 15 was the last extension date.  I am taking a couple of days off at the end of the month don't know just where I will go, maybe Santa Fe or Palmdale.  I would like to see your mother.  Then things will be a little busy for me until the end of the year. 

The boss is sailing around the cape on a cruise.  You know that is what you should do sometime.  When Stephen and I went to Alaska we really had a good time.  Well nephew I will write more later and I hope to hear from you soon.   Love Auntie.”

I Replied: I talked to Mom last week she seemed in better spirits. She is thinking however of selling the car to Charline since she doesn't think she'll drive by herself again. Charline is going to church there and making friends so I think she has settled in. She is still looking for work.

Michael Wachs finished all of his schooling and got a job in Witchita, Kansas. They are paying to move him there. He and Patty are getting married on the 21st of this month.  She has a little boy named Matt.

Wallace and Mattie Lee celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with everyone going back but Gary. 

I've picked up a cold but am almost over it. Occupational hazard when teaching kids. Weather has been cooler but gorgeous. The canyons were red and beautiful.  Take care.

 

17 October 2004 Sunday

ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE held their Lagoon Day in Farmington, Utah

 

20 October 2004 Wednesday

The Mormon Church just 13 days before Utahns voted on the amendment, officially stated that "Any other sexual relations, including those between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of the family. The Church accordingly favors measures that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that do not confer legal status on any other sexual relationship."

 Supporters of the amendment asserted the second statement showed specific LDS support for Amendment 3. Others, including moderately conservative Latter-day Saint KSL radio talk show host Doug Wright, believed that since the new statement applied only to "sexual relations" it highlighted precisely how Amendment 3 went too far.

 

21 October 2004 Thursday

 An Equality Rally was held at the Rose Wagner Theatre to fight Amendment 3.

2004 Join us Thursday, at the Rose Wagner Theatre (138 W 300 S) at 6:30 PM for an Equality Rally Everyone is welcome!

2004 FAMILY VOICES FOR EQUALITY SLC  October 21, 2004 Kick-off event of the PFLAG National Conference Proceeds to benefit Don't Amend Alliance Featuring: - CATIE CURTIS, folk-rock goddess - KATE CLINTON, faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist - REV. BARRY LYNN, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - PHYLLIS LYON and DEL MARTIN, the first same-sex couple officially married in the U.S. - JOE MUSCOLINO BAND, the Wasatch Front's premier band Thursday, October 21, 2004 7:30pm Abravanel Hall Tickets $20-$40 ($10 students) 801-355-ARTS or 888-451-ARTS $100 VIP tickets (includes premium seating and a post-show reception sponsored by Equality Utah) are available through Ruth at Don't Amend Alliance at 801.746.1314. Join us on the plaza outside Abravanel Hall at 6:30pm to rally against Amendment 3!

            The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement ''any other sexual relations, including between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of family.''

Family Voices For Equality Concert, was the kick-off event of the PFLAG National Conference, held at Abravanel Hall and featured Catie Curtis, Kate Clinton, Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin and Joe Muscolino Band ·

The Public Interest Law Organization held a panel debate entitled Countdown to the November Election: The Legal Battle over Gay Marriage, in the U of U's law school's Traynor Moot Courtroom. Debate participants included Evan Wolfson, William C. Duncan, Lara Schwartz, Lynn Wardle. Former journalist Phil Riesen moderated the debate.

 

22 October 2004 Friday

Salt Lake City was the site of the 2004 National PFLAG conference. Featured speakers were Bishop Gene Robinson, Congressman Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Simon LeVay, Evan Wolfson, Mathilde Krim, Frank Kameny, Kate Kendall, Rocky Anderson, and Paul Smith About 400 people at the national conference of Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays gave a standing ovation for longtime Lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Del Martin, 83, of San Francisco, the nation's first same-sex couple to be legally wed. The event was held  for four days.

Chad Beyer Executive Director of The Center hosted, “Open Door Documentaries” which was filming a feature-length documentary on LGBTQ homeless or "throwaway" youth in Salt Lake City. The event was held at The Forum Gallery 511 West 200 South Ste#110. “Join us for a night of drinks, music, and good company. Featuring live music from: Jane Thatcher & The 3rd Wheels. We will also debut an all new documentary short trailer highlighting our most recent footage.”

 

23 October 2004 Saturday

Babs De Lay’s women’s bar Mo Diggity's celebrated its 1 year anniversary

Elaine Jarvik of DESERET MORNING NEWS reported   “Gays' offspring do fine, expert says Support group hears findings at S.L. convention By The research - all the research - shows that the children of gay and lesbian parents turn out fine, says sociologist Judith Stacey. Stacey, the co-author of a controversial mega-analysis of gay parenting research, spoke Friday to the national convention of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), which is meeting this weekend at the Little America Hotel.

"It's amazingly brave and impressive of you to be holding your national conference in this place at this time," Stacey told the 400 attendees, referring to Utah's pending vote on a state amendment to outlaw same-sex marriages.

"There's no disagreement . . . that the quality of the parenting is at least as good" by same-sex parents as heterosexual parents, says Stacey, a professor at New York University. Opponents have to turn not to research but to "ideologues," she says, to shore up their case.

"They've never been able to say there's any harm done. It's only lies, more lies and the lying liars who tell them."

Yes, some of the research indicates that the children of same-sex parents are different than children raised by heterosexual parents, Stacey reports. "But differences aren't problems." One of those differences, she says, is that a "larger minority" of children raised by gay and lesbian parents "will not turn out to be heterosexual."

This is the finding, she admits, that made her analysis "incendiary," but it's a finding that doesn't need apologizing for, she says. What it means, she says, is that these children "will have freer opportunities to come to understand their desires and act on them, and that this is a good thing."

This is exactly the kind of finding that upsets people like Dr. Bill Maier, a child and family psychologist who is vice president of Focus on Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. Maier, contacted by phone on Friday, says he commends Stacey for being willing to say "these kids are not the same," but doesn't agree with her conclusions.

PFLAG, he argues, started as a support group for families of gay and lesbian children "but has been co-opted by the gay lobby. . . . My impression is that PFLAG is more interested in attaining their radical political goals than examining the research on homosexuality and what is best for human beings, both children and adults."

Stacey was joined Friday by two sets of same-sex parents. Anthony Butterfield and Paul Redd-Butterfield are the parents of 2-year-old twins Lucas and Liam. Chris Johnson and Lorie Hutchinson are the parents of 12-year-old Olivia. "This is not a social experiment, this is our family," said Butterfield, who along with his partner is part of a group of about 50 same-sex parents who have activities once a month, most recently a Halloween party. "Radical gay agenda stuff," he added with a smile.

In a question-and-answer session after the panel discussion, Butterfield was asked whether he and his partner act as two fathers or "mother" and father. What his own mother does when she mothers "is not a function of her being a woman," he answered. "If our child falls down, it's not like we both say 'Get up!' We can 'mother.' " Butterfield and Redd-Butterfield became parents via an egg donor and a separate surrogate mother.

Sociologist Stacey noted that she recently attended a christening of surrogacy twins at a Catholic church in California. The older sister of these twins explained to her playmates that surrogacy is "when your mommy has a baby for two men." "And the sky didn't fall," Butterfield interjected.

PFLAG did not choose Salt Lake City for its national convention this year to coincide with the debate over Amendment 3, says PFLAG interim executive director Ron Schlittler of Washington, D.C. "It just worked out that way."

"All these people didn't come to this as radical liberals," he said about the parents who filled the hotel ballroom. "These people have traveled the journey a lot of people are reluctant to take." The group, he says, has "a particular angle on family values we think needs sharing."

Kirsten Stewart  of The Salt Lake Tribune  reported 'We are going to win,' gay-rights leaders declare at rally Marriage issue: A national convention of supporters of gays gathers in SLC Leaders of the gay rights movement on Friday shared inspiring stories from the front lines of the culture wars at the national conference of Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays.

They sought to reassure families, who may feel like they're losing ground in the fight to legalize same-sex marriage, that 10 years from now they will be on the right side of history.  "When you're in the midst of a movement it can be hard to feel the movement," said panelist Kate Kendall, director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. "But we are  moving and we are going to win."

About 400 people piled into main ballroom at Salt Lake City's Little America Hotel for the discussion, which was interrupted several times by applause and a standing ovation for longtime lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Del Martin, 83, of San Francisco - the nation's first same-sex couple to be legally wed.    

Kendall, who was raised Mormon in Ogden, said "it's disappointing" to return home at a time when Utah and 10 other states are considering constitutional amendments that would block recognition of gay marriage. But she takes heart in other victories.  

From a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling upholding gay and lesbian unions as constitutional, to same-sex nuptials performed in San Francisco, Kendall traced the beginnings of this country's next "great civil rights movement."

  She said the photographs broadcast worldwide of the San Francisco weddings "have forever changed the nature of this discourse in this country. No one can think of this as an abstraction after seeing their children, brothers and sisters standing in line for hours to be married, something any other couple in this country can take for granted." 

There has since been a backlash as legislators have rushed to preempt such weddings in other states. But "while we're the focus of attacks," said Kendall, "this is part of a broad strategy by the conservative right to roll back other civil rights. Immigration, reproductive rights and affirmative action will be next."

Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson likened the Massachusetts court ruling to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate schools. "People today see that as a luminous moment when our nation did something right. But when it came down, it wasn't greeted with unanimous applause," said Wolfson, recalling the lynchings, freedom rides and political manifestos denouncing the "so-called activist judges" that followed.

 "We are on that human rights battlefield again," said Wolfson, who believes it's only a matter of time before Americans opposed to gay marriage come around.

The drafters of Utah's Amendment 3 represent Americans who are "adamantly against, not just gay marriage, but gay people," said Wolfson. "They could have stopped at sentence one but couldn't help themselves. What they really want to do is drive gay people out of the public sphere completely." But Wolfson believes that in addition to the third of Americans for gay marriage, there is another third avoiding the debate, but who will eventually "catch the wave" and "join us on the right side of history."

 

24 October 2004 Sunday

Miss Gay Rocky Mountain, an official preliminary to the Miss Gay USofA Pageant, was held at Club Sound with special guest Kelexis Davenport Miss Gay UsofA at Large for 2004.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., shouted, God Hates Fags," "Thank God for Aids" along with others, at PFLAG conference attendees in SLC

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah announced reduces in operating hours because of budget crunches.

 

25 October 2004 Monday

Jason Bergreen of The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Anti-PFLAG protesters chime in on issues during rally outside Conference ... Sign carrying protesters rallied outside a Salt Lake City hotel Sunday, loudly opposing this weekend's gathering of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

The small group of eight to nine protesters, members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., shouted, "you hate children," and "scat," along with other stronger language, at PFLAG conference attendees and anyone else crossing the street between the Little America and Grand America hotels between noon and 1 p.m.

The protesters, some standing on American flags, waved brightly colored signs with slogans that read "God Hates Fags," "Thank God for Aids," "Thank God for Sept. 11," and "Death Penalty for Fags." They also sang America the Beautiful , changing the lyrics to disparage homosexuals.

At one point Sunday, PFLAG member George Tarquinio confronted protesters by waving his arms above his head and begging for salvation. "Help me, help me, I want to repent," the Phoenix, Ariz. man said mockingly.

At one point, a heated verbal exchange broke out briefly between a protester standing on the corner of Main St. and 500 South and a motorist who stopped to comment on her sign.

Another man entering the Little America hotel greeted the protesters by holding up his middle finger. But the hour-long protest, though loud, was peaceful and mostly ignored by pedestrians. A Salt Lake City police officer kept an eye on the city-permitted protest from his parked patrol car about 20 feet away. PFLAG member Sue Null, of Houston, Texas, said the group actually helps the gay and lesbian cause. "It's unnerving," she said of the protest, "but the long-term effect is that they are so outrageous any thinking person wouldn't come out and support them."

Vince Horiuchi of the Salt Lake Tribune reported on the PFLAG conference, “Gays and God: Some churches are softening stands Slow progress: A panel at the PFLAG conference says the ecclesiastical communities are starting to become more accepting.

Though they tried, Gary and Millie Watts, of Provo, couldn't continue to go to church after they learned their son and daughter were gay. The Mormon Church's position on homosexual relationships while two of their six children were gay was too much to bear.

"When I would go to church, and they would sing or they would have a talk, Millie would cry," Gary Watts said. "I can't tell you how much we've gone through and how painful it was."

For the Wattses, it was difficult to stay devoted to a religion that he said closes the door for gays and lesbians. Leaving was how they managed their relationship between religion and homosexuality.

But there is change afoot, albeit small, among ecclesiastical communities in their view toward gay and lesbian issues, though more must be done, according to a panel of church leaders who spoke Sunday on the last day of the national conference of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, a nonprofit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Episcopalians and their straight friends, points to the confirmation of the Rev. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire as the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church.

"I'm utterly convinced that God loves everyone unconditionally," she said, adding there is a rising acceptance of gays and lesbians in the church. "I like to think that every inch we claim is an inch of hope," she added.

Even the Unitarian Universalists, a more progressive church on world issues, once was not accepting of homosexuals, according to the Rev. Meg Riley, director of the church's Office for Advocacy and Witness. But it has since changed as cultural and social views of gays and lesbians evolved, she said.

            In a 1967 study, more than 7 percent of its members thought homosexuality should be discouraged by law while 80 percent felt it should be discouraged by education, she said. Then in 1972, the church opened the Office of Gay Concerns to help with gay and lesbian members, and now in 2004, more than a third of the congregation is actively involved in educating its members about homophobia. "It's not by magic that change happens," she said.

Bob Rees, a former bishop with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Los Angeles, said he became a supporter of homosexual acceptance in his church - even though he does not have a family member who is gay - after he started counseling gay and lesbian members who were being looked down on in his singles ward. "In the process, my heart became schooled in what it means to be treated as evil - a lot of heartbreak slowly came out," he said of the counseling sessions.

For the Wattses, the experience has taught them that each family has a different way of handling how to balance their religious faith with the fact that a family member is gay.

"Everybody's got to do it their way," Gary Watts said. "If you can do it [stay in the church], great." The Wattses have co-founded Family Fellowship, a Utah support group for Mormon families with gay or lesbian members. Gary Watts also serves on the national board of directors for PFLAG.

Rees said he has experienced some backlash in the church over his open views for gays and lesbians. "I have had to deal with some ecclesiastical censure or disapproval," he said, though he is still active as a member of the High Priest Group leadership in his current ward. "But I feel one of our responsibilities as Latter-day Saints is to honestly try to do God's work, and that means helping to be the healer of shattered hearts."

 

28 October 2004 Thursday

Mark Havnes of The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Willy Marshall Utah's Only Gay Mayor  Mayor of Big Water, awash in criticism, intending to stay put- BIG WATER - Willy Marshall is not going anywhere. The Big Water mayor vows that he will not resign the post despite a deluge of criticism he has been receiving from a group of residents who want him to quit. They say he is self-serving, unfit to run Big Water and makes many ashamed to say they are from the 416-person, south-central Utah town nine miles north of Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona state line.

 The tongue-lashing for Marshall, elected mayor in 2001, was delivered by about 60 residents who crowded into the Town Hall on Tuesday night. Their complaints ranged from his recent firing of the town marshal, letting packs of domestic dogs run free and portraying the town in a recent The Salt Lake Tribune article as nothing more than a refuge for polygamists and pot-smoking political mavericks who disregard the law.

"You should quit, resign, just go away," said one man, who identified himself as Rocky. "You represent only yourself, and I made a mistake of voting for you."

Clarence Trent said government under the Constitution is of, for and by the people, and that laws should be administered equally – not by the double and triple standards he accused Marshall of practicing. "You are an embarrassment and disgrace to the town," said Trent.

Former Mayor Tonya Roseberrie also accused Marshall, who is openly gay, of giving the town a bad image. "You have embarrassed the town by who and what you are," said Roseberrie. "You make me embarrassed to be from Big Water."

Deputy City Clerk Jennie Lassen read from a prepared statement, saying that while Marshall has made mistakes, those calling for his resignation were misinformed and are trying to circumvent the democratic process by forcing him out - instead of voting him out at the election next year.

Resident Sandy Blair read a letter - she claimed it represents a majority view of residents - asking Marshall to resign. No signatures were attached to the document. The letter says things he said in the newspaper have sullied the town's reputation. "We do not want to be the laughingstock in the national media," the letter stated.

It then listed several state codes the residents believe Marshall has violated and concluded with a call for his resignation Marshall, who does not plan to seek re-election, defended his record as mayor and listed his accomplishments. His biggest, he said, is getting the tiny town's streets paved.

 "I was elected to a four-year term and I am not going to resign," Marshall told the audience. "You can try and impeach me, and maybe that's the noble way to go out. I'll also accept the publicity that would go with it."

 

30 October 2004 Saturday

My cousin Barbara Nasady wrote:  Hi,  I've been staying with my Mom while she recovers from her last bout with congestive heart failure. Therefore, I don't have much of a chance to look at my e-mail since she has no computer. 

Beverly [her sister]  is packing to move here and will arrive on 11/10. She'll be looking for a place to live with Dad and Mom, now won't that we interesting.  I can be reached on my cell phone. Don't think I've forgotten about you all. I still love ya. Barbara.”

 

31 October 2004 Sunday

Utah gubernatorial candidates Jon Huntsman Jr. and Scott Matheson Jr. were asked whether they viewed homosexuality as a sin by ABC4 news reporter Chris Vanocur. Followed by 10 seconds of dead air, Matheson finally responded: "No." and Huntsman, said "I'm going to reserve judgment on casting aspersions on it until we know more about it."

2004  Willy Marshall Utah's Only Gay Mayor  Mayor of Big Water, awash in criticism, intending to stay put By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune  BIG WATER - Willy Marshall is not going anywhere. The Big Water mayor vows that he will not resign the post despite a deluge of criticism he has been receiving from a group of residents who want him to quit. They say he is self-serving, unfit to run Big Water and makes many ashamed to say they are from the 416-person, south-central Utah town nine miles north of Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona state line. The tongue-lashing for Marshall, elected mayor in 2001, was delivered by about 60 residents who crowded into the Town Hall on Tuesday night. Their complaints ranged from his recent firing of the town marshal, letting packs of domestic dogs run free and portraying the town in a recent The Salt Lake Tribune article as nothing more than a refuge for polygamists and pot-smoking political mavericks who disregard the law. "You should quit, resign, just go away," said one man, who identified himself as Rocky. "You represent only yourself, and I made a mistake of voting for you." Clarence Trent said government under the Constitution is of, for and by the people, and that laws should be administered equally – not by the double and triple standards he accused Marshall of practicing. "You are an embarrassment and disgrace to the town," said Trent. Former Mayor Tonya Roseberrie also accused Marshall, who is openly gay, of giving the town a bad image. "You have embarrassed the town by who and what you are," said Roseberrie. "You make me embarrassed to be from Big Water." Deputy City Clerk Jennie Lassen read from a prepared statement, saying that while Marshall has made mistakes, those calling for his resignation were misinformed and are trying to circumvent the democratic process by forcing him out - instead of voting him out at the election next year. Resident Sandy Blair read a letter - she claimed it represents a majority view of residents - asking Marshall to resign. No signatures were attached to the document. The letter says things he said in the newspaper have sullied the town's reputation. "We do not want to be the laughingstock in the national media," the letter stated. It then listed several state codes the residents believe Marshall has violated and concluded with a call for his resignation Marshall, who does not plan to seek re-election, defended his record as mayor and listed his accomplishments. His biggest, he said, is getting the tiny town's streets paved "I was elected to a four-year term and I am not going to resign," Marshall told the audience. "You can try and impeach me, and maybe that's the noble way to go out. I'll also accept the publicity that would go with it."

 

November

1 November 2004

I wrote Michael Aaron,  “Regarding articles sent to the Metro it would be nice if there was some sort of feedback or acknowledgment about them. As you know I don't want compensation for articles but last issue I sent in four articles, two reviews, a news article, and my column. I don't expect the paper to print all unsolicited material but since they were time consuming to write and I am not a paid staff member a simple "Thanks we can use them, or Thanks but tighten them up, or No Thanks no space or No Thanks they suck" would be appreciated.

I sent Brandon Burt, before the paper was even began, five historical columns as he requested and he only used one. I labored to make the information fit within his 700 words guide line so it was discouraging to see that effort wasted.

I am sure Jere Keyes is a crackerjack editor and the paper will prosper under his watch, still I think an acknowledgment of material sent in is important. At least to me. Hope you had a fun Halloween Ben Williams Ben,

Michael responded Thanks for the feedback. I agree wholeheartedly and apologize that important things like that get missed in the hubbub of all this. I'll get with Jere to make sure we get it fixed. Often times it's the simplest things you could be doing that contribute to your success or failure.

I'll also mention the existing articles to Jere. I doubt he knows about them. I sincerely appreciate the effort you put into this paper as well as the community at large. It is so helpful especially as we develop this into something that can pay a few people. -Michael

Jeremiah " Jeremy " van Wagenen wrote, ‘A Young man's Reflections on Life in 2004 SLC UT  I've been reviewing my life....and I've gotten to view closely other people’s lives....I hear the phrase.... I feel so old...when people hear I'm only eighteen...nineteen...twenty...yet alone...fourteen...fifteen...sixteen.....I think to myself....how could anyone survive ten more years or twenty more years of what I've been through already... It's as if people need a resume when they meet people for their first or second time..in order for them to even clasp my reality.... I've been attracted to older people...and I think to myself ...why?

The older the wiser right? Some one also asked me....what are you up to this week? I replied, "Ask me after election Day!" We often tend to ask ourselves if our life is accomplished...or worry about being satisfied with our lives....I once read a cover of a Youth Zine stating "Today's Youth Are Out of Control and They Simply Don't Care." I care about how my life is perceived...and stress out about not dying happy.....I'm use to people criticizing my life and time.....and I look at my life at twenty...and how many others their are out there......Today's youth are the adults of yesterday....children are becoming teens by the time hit eight or nine.... My life at 20~ I volunteered for more than ten different organizations leading over to five years of youth activism -youth volunteer work....dedicating hundreds plus hours of volunteer service to the community and to myself.....I've done two years of culinary training at a tech school...where I was kicked out and brought back in...Spoke out on my issues with men and life... and then being asked to tone it down....and with my response being....these girls will learn more about men...through me...then they ever will in their entire life -times four.. I also experienced the truth about the Utah Culinary scene...and experienced how homophobia can play in a technical trade yet alone a work force......I've was harassed and driven out of school not twice...but four times........ I lied about my age and who I really was especially between the ages of thirteen through almost sixteen....then coming clean about lies.. and my real life..to my fellow friends, cliques, family, co-workers...mentors..... I've seen my friends at school get pregnant and listened to their issues with men...drugs...and sex.... I've written and interviewed people...that have been raped, confused with their sexuality, romance, had their baby killed by a fiancé, youth prostitution, and most of all the ideal love life and reality on love of a gay teen...and then gave a reading about their life...and mine... I've slept with more than 90 people...and have spoken to people that have slept in triple digits..being only seventeen or eighteen.....and feeling...they aren't bragging.....they're frustrated about men...how badly younger people are viewed as sex objects when they are wanting more..so am I ..and realizing men will say anything to get a lay...... I've traveled across the map...Loneliness is the worst feeling.... I've been asked to be in Porn....never did I or would I....you tell me though the difference between Hollywood today and a porn...and I say..better acting... I've modeled for artists for about two years...and have had hundreds of photo images taken of me....yet haven't appeared on a cover or in a magazine for modeling...I've prostituted myself a couple times....being strapped for cash...even though I had the thought and views...I'd never do this to myself...and yet I did... I've spoken out about Political Causes and gave workshops on Youth in Activism and Youth in War...Why get involved and Why be an Activist! I've been in two magazines about my life and activism...yet interviewed by the same person Mike Glatze Got kicked out of my house three times...once for a week.. when I was twelve/thirteen..once for a few months.at fourteen...and then permanently at eighteen....due to my fathers issues with rebelling and being gay...I came out to my few friends when I was thirteen then to a conservative community and my family at fourteen...to the church at fifteen...Have spoken out about why youth need positive role models and mentors...in their life...At fifteen I spoke out about my views on love....to a girl that was so lost about a guy....after I described my view...I had her in tears......she's not the only one....I've had four phone relationships/friendships....with people I never saw....with the longest one...ending fully after three years.. I've worked jobs from working Concessions at the Zoo...to taking a three hour total bus ride up to snowbird and hitchhiking down...to working retail ...one Job in specific I remember having leaving for a couple hours for sushi and sake....coming back popping breath mints..while trying to remain good composure even though we couldn't leave the restaurant with out a friend picking us up because they'd served us so much alcohol....and breaking out into a sob story with how badly I'm mistreated out work...being called Fucking faggot...and Fucking queer...etc...even though that wasn't true..and getting paid the full paycheck..if not more...I've had four relationships with guys that were fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, and twenty four.....I've dated guys in their thirties and forties.....most of all...I had a guy that lied to me about his age being thirty six...and then telling me he was really forty six...I knew my karma with lying in the past was in affect of this situation....it was an issue I accepting of and still wanted to still see the guy....unfortunately he did not...and still hasn't seemed to get over it....I've viewed the life of a mother...that is really true and dear to her faith......and got frustrated when three teens went bad.....meaning...having her oldest turn to the whole wannabe gangster scene....to a daughter that was meeting guys off a phone chat and going to yeha clubs....to a son she had a lot in common with....and he decided to speak out about being gay.....and praying to God her two other sons would turn out so called "Normal".....A mother that has taken a lot of criticism and suffered pain through her Husband's Stubborn Air force Military Behavior....turning more Miserable and Stubborn once he retired and ruined his back and decided to move to a beautiful place called Bountiful Utah....I've had my freedom taken away for 9 months....with two of those months being in a Juvenile Delinquent Center....for Aggravated Assault and Assault with a deadly weapon...due to a fight that broke out between me and my sister...over an animal rights issue..that broke out into bringing up a lot more issues....I've been scarred by my sis....a slap on the face...and a death threat involving a Knife....being quite a few feet away...resolved with me being hand cuffed on a rainy day...yelling out Animal rights will never be deliberated.....or liberated...and then finding out it was the other word around...ruining my whole glam movie moment....The list goes on.....and then again...that's it......I've always I looked up to people in movies how their life was perceived....I even remember writing down some thoughts I thought people would say if I had died....."I will be famous...I'll make it that way.." "I thought my sex life was amusing...Jeremy made mine seem dull yet comforting after baring his life with sex and men.." "He took modeling for art classes seriously.....he was baring out his beauty....and did it rather well.." " What a fighter...what combo" "He was a boy always wanting to be loved....and found love through the wrong people..." " The most straight ...straight forward guy you could meet...I mean..before getting me off in the car...he told me ..."I'm sorry, I know girls don't do it for me...and I think you are way hot!!! Is it okay if I just go down on you?"....because he couldn't get aroused...." "He's really photogenic.....in interesting ways.....he didn't have the perfect body...or teeth....yet he had these eyes and these teeth..with a gap...and semi bold lips...and a body that flowed more like a woman in his poses....which made him so great....none of the other twinks...wannabe Abercrombie and Fitch Models in Utah got that!" "Who ever knew a boy who mislead people believing and thinking he was a ditz....proved to be rather mentality stimulating..." "Sandra Bernhard BABY!!!" I always wanted my life to be like a movie....and would often compare my life to movies...you know how you review a person's life and get all emotional at the end....It was so beautiful and breath taking.....My life is better than any movies I've seen.....I review my life quite frequently...sometimes I forget how entertaining life is....and was....It's rather weird....the past two years...I've been I've been speaking out more about my life.....and I think ...aren't I suppose to be doing this before I die...or when I'm like fifty or sixty......My goal in life is to die in love.....I've stressed that out with sometimes the wrong meaning....I'm a romantic...I see the over all picture....and I have loved...I have loved people who have brought so many interesting view points into my life.....I've been blessed......I know I may die with a week or year or who knows.....I'm still trying to make the most out of my life.....and I think gull....If I'm saying this at twenty.....what will I be saying at forty or sixty if I make it there... Thanks for reading.... Jeremy...

 

2 November 2004 Tuesday

Amendment 3 passed. Utah voted 66% to 34% to amend the state's constitution to ban marriage and civil unions for Gay people.

The Utah Constitutional Amendment 3 defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and woman. It passed in in Utah as did similar amendments in ten other states.

The amendment, which added Article 1, Section 29, to the Utah Constitution, reads: Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.

            Only Grand County and Summit County voted no.

George Bush was re-elected over John Kerry who I voted for.

 

4 November 2004 Thursday

Michael Wachs wrote: No phone yet and will be a bit before we can get ya that. > Our new addy is : 1805 Cathrine  Wichita, KS 67213 > As soon as we get our phones on we will let you know the new numbers. Give all our love. Mike and Patti

 

8 Nov 2004 Monday

 I am steph Ben's cousin. I do not write as eloquently as Ben. I live in Southern California and I am Lesbian and a mother of 2. For the first time since I have come out, I am really fearful. I am fearful of what is to come for me and my family and for all of us. I live in a fairly Gay friendly state, but, things are changing everywhere. Hate has become fashionable and acceptable. What is going to be next on Bush's agenda. Are we going to have to register? Are they going to start coming for us? I really question the validity of the electronic voting. Every company seamed to have some sort of ties to the Bush Team. Yes, we do need to get into activism, it's always taken activism. Yell, loud, be heard. We cannot take this lieing down. Everyone who is not like them cannot afford not to speak out. Bush's agenda is not constitutional. Steph

 

9 November 2004 Tuesday

Gov. elect Jon Huntsman Named Transition Team among them according to a later SL Tribune article is Gordon Storrs of the Utah Gay Republicans.

Joe Baird of the Salt Lake Tribune reported, “Envision Utah taps water project founder Envision Utah has named Alan Matheson as the new executive director of the Coalition for Utah's Future. Matheson, an attorney and founding director of the nonprofit Utah Water Project, was chosen by the Coalition's Board of Trustees.

He replaces Stephen Holbrook, who is stepping down Dec. 1 after 16 years. Board member Pamela Atkinson also announced Monday that Governor-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. has agreed to serve as Envision Utah's honorary co-chairman, joining Spence Eccles.

Huntsman is a former chairman of Envision Utah. Atkinson said Monday that Matheson was chosen as executive director "because we believe he has established himself as a problem solver who is able to work constructively with varied interests." Matheson, she said, has experience in fund-raising, lobbying, public policy and the media. The Utah Water Project is an initiative of Trout Unlimited that seeks creative, market-based approaches to balance water development and fishery protection. Matheson is a member of the Sandy City planning commission and the Envision Utah steering committee. The new Envision Utah executive director is a sixth-generation Utahn, born in Logan. Matheson is married with three children. The Coalition for Utah's Future, the sponsor of Envision Utah - the state's growth planning partner - is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization that receives 80 percent of its funds from private donations. -

 

11 November 2004 Thursday

Youthful Crimes Against Nature 1887 Volume 1 Issue 15 Ben Williams Lambda Lore

In a Salt Lake Tribune Police Beat article, dated November 30, 1886, an expose’ called "The Crowd of Bad Boys" mentioned a gang of youthful hooligans. They had been charged with robbing Independence Hall, the Husband's grocery store and assaulting a Chinese man by the name of Hong Hop by hitting him in the head with a "Boot black's outfit".  These street urchins were only referred to by their last names and were probably all between the ages of ten and fourteen. Two of the youths mentioned were [Willie] Paddock and [John] Ledford, who would later be charged with “Crimes Against Nature”.  This was not Paddock's first scrape with the law. In 1884 when he was about 11 years old, a grand jury "ignored" a case "under Territorial Law" probably due to the offenders young age. Three boys Thomas Adamson I William Paddock and John Adamson aged 10, 8 and 12 years respectively were arrested on Saturday charged with destroying property Salt Lake Herald March 13 1881

 Three years later Willie Paddock had more scrapes with the law when the salt Lake Herald wrote 23 March 1884 that he appeared again in Police Court. His father Alonzo came before the judge and complained that he would not have had to apply for bail if his son would have been treated like the others boys who had been arrested at the same time but turned loose. Mr. Paddock complained that his son was not released but kept in jail in close confinement because  "his boy did not belong to the same outfit or denomination." The city marshall however "denounced the statement of Paddock as a malicious falsehood untrue from beginning to end and grew quite eloquent in his defense."

In November 1886 the "youthful thieves" were arrested again and came once more before   Justice Pyper. The judge "was again confronted this morning by a row of half a dozen youthful offenders rang ranging from 11 to 17 years of age their names were Dan.  Henry,  Wm. Paddock, Fred Bubbles, Norton Curtis, Arthur Curtis and Samuel Chatterdon. They were all in a dilapidated condition with unwashed faces ragged clothing and unkempt hair the youngest of the number Dan Henry was without coat, hat, or shoes having only an old patrol stockings on his feet. His parents are both dead and he lives when he is home with an aged grandmother. After the proceedings were over Henry was detained by the marshal and provided with shoes and clothing".

The boys were accused of stealing a gold brooch, a collar button and some papers from "the house of Mrs Jane M Perry on the west side of the Jordan River. The youngest boy Dan Henry confessed the whole affair and the others others corroborated his statements. These were to the effect that at the time of the robbery in november.  Samuel Chattedon aged 17 , Dan Henry, William,  and Mudge Paddock went over the river shooting. Two of them young Dan Henry and William Paddock proposed going into Mrs Perry's house to get some food while Chatterdon was to keep guard on the outside. Mudge Paddock had nothing to do with the affair and left for home.  The boys got in through a window and helped themselves to bread and butter. Henry also appropriating the broach and button the latter of which he afterwards lost and took the former home where it was found today.  The boys then went into Mr Whittiker's orchard and helped themselves to apples.  young Chatterton  wanted the brooch  at first but concluding that if his father found it out he would get into trouble and left it alone. The next accusation was against the two Curtis boys,  Dan Bubbles,  and William Paddock. This was for breaking into Mr. John Clarks cellar and making away with a quantity of canned fruits. Bubbles and Paddock were  the ones who went inside while the other two kept a lookout.  A plea of guilty was made to this charge.  In summing up the two cases judge Pyper expressed strong regret that such a state of things existed. He then took the culprits in succession by closely catechising and explaining the wrongfulness of their course succeeded in making an apparent impression upon them each of the boys promised that henceforth he would lead an honest life and sentence was suspended during good behavior.  They were all warned however, that if they engaged in any more stealing, the suspended judgment would fall upon them to the full extent 199 days in jail and they were allowed to depart.

A later report, dated 7 January 1887, called, "A Pitiful Array of Youthful Scapegraces," (scapegrace: "graceless and good for nothing") mentioned Willie Paddock and John Ledford again, along with Dan Henry, Luzon Adams, Willie Adams, Arthur Curtis, and “George Bubbles.  They were in court for robbing a candy store and assaulting a boy. The reporter stated that the boy named “Bubbles” spent the afternoon on the court's bench "chewing gum as though his acquittal depended upon the number of times he kept his jaws moving per minute." Bubbles, in all later accounts, is referred to as “Richard Bubbles” or even “Dick Turpin Bubbles”.

The judge sentenced the youths to city jail, remarking "it was like passing judgment on babies, to sentence boys of such tender years, but nearly twenty houses had been broken into in the last few weeks, and racket had got to be stopped." Then the reported "pointed out to the readers" that in the courtroom, "the lack of Territorial House of Correction was sadly felt, for boys ought to have different treatment from adults."

"Richard Bubbles, the chewing gum, stolen money receiving fiend” pleaded not guilty wrote the same journalist. But in the follow up item, titled "Busted Bubbles", he reported, "that bold, bad, bumptious boy, Dick Turpin Bubbles, charged with acting Fagin to Ledford's Oliver Twist, next effervesced to the surface for sentencing. He burst with a loud explosion when court bound him over in $100 to the Grand Jury.”

It is ironic that while locked up in city jail for larceny, on January 8th the jailed youths committed sodomy with another prisoner named David Prior, for which they were to be charged with a felony. 

"William Paddock, Richard Bubbles, Arthur Curtis, Dan Henry, and John Leadford on the eight day of January A.D. eighteen hundred and eight-seven at the county of Salt Lake in said Territory of Utah in and upon one David Prior feloniously did make an assault, and there and then feloniously, wickedly and against the order of nature had a venereal affair with the said David Prior and there and then feloniously carnally knew him the said David Prior, and then and there feloniously and wickedly did commit and perpetrate the detestable and abominable crime against nature."

On the 21 of January The Daily Enquirer News reported that Willie Paddock's father Alonzo Paddock petitioned the court to have his son placed in the Territorial Insane Asylum in Provo rather than have him tried in criminal court. Evidence given by his parents was that the boy had an "incendiary disposition" and was capable of committing an assault on any person while under one of his "spells" and he has a disposition to sudden passion. He was judged insane on January 19th and sent to Provo.

In Utah’s 3rd District Court, Case 388, the youthful miscreants were indicted on 23 February 1887 by a Grand Jury for “Crimes Against Nature. “ The district court ordered the arrest of the boys with bail set at $500 each. The teenagers, already incarcerated, were brought before the judge on April 22, 1887. Richard Bubbles pled not guilty to both charges, of receiving stolen property and committing sodomy. However since the sodomy charge was the more serious of the two, and carried a greater penalty, the charges of larceny were dismissed. Because the nature of the charges was considered so heinous, all persons except the jurors were excluded from the courtroom during the examination of witnesses. The Prosecution dismissed the charges against John Leadford and Dan Henry, both whom were only about 12 years of age and thought to be not old enough to commit sodomy. Thirteen year old William Paddock, was absent from the courtroom because he "was judged insane and is confined to the Territorial Insane Asylum." The Deseret News claimed that Paddock's "utterly vile and depraved conduct was condoned by sending him to the insane asylum because there was then no reformatory in which he could be placed."

Only Richard Bubbles and Arthur Curtis were left to bear the blunt of the prosecutor's case of Sodomy. Oddly there were only three witnesses in this case, David Prior, the complainant, City Judge George Pyper, and LeBaron Havington, who was in jail for vagrancy, and who had observed the boys committing the sexual acts with Prior.

The newspaper journalist did not report the details of the case, saying that they were of "the most disgusting character and unfit for publication." Not wishing to offend the sensibilities of his readers, he was content to flesh out his story, by mentioning the antics of one of the witnesses, Le Baron Havington.

This witness Havington had prepared an essay which he wanted read to the court as a "preface to this testimony". The court denied the request, but evidently the reporter was privileged to it. The composition was an account of Havington's "persecutions" which he says were prompted by malice, and that it contained "statement and scrapes of ancient history …touching upon crimes of the ancients."  The reporter mused, "Altogether the epistle was a curious affair and gave evidence of a peculiarly disordered mind." Could Havington's essay have been a defense of homosexuality and thus seen as evidence of a queer or "disordered mind"? Was that why it was not allowed read in court? The “crimes of the ancients” was certainly homosexuality and Havington, arrested for vagrancy, states that he had been maliciously  “persecuted”.

The youthful offenders Bubbles and Curtis were found guilty “on the testimony of witness, the argument of counsel, and charge of the court”.  The jury however recommended the mercy of the court, “on account of the extreme youth of the defendants”.  Whether the two boys served any prison time for sodomy is unknown.

When Willie Paddock was released from the insane asylum the following summer, he had an arrest warrant issued by the 3rd District Court against him. By July 22, 1887 Paddock was in the custody of the Utah County sheriff but on 1 August 1887, his mother, Cornelia Paddock and grandmother Julia Cole secured the bond of $500 for his bail and on August 5 he released. The outcome of his trial is presently unknown.

In conclusion these bad boys did not stay out of trouble for long. In 1888, William Paddock, Arthur Curtis, Dan Henry, and Luzon Adams were all indicted for burglary in Case File 448 in the 3rd District Court. Bubbles is not mentioned again in criminal court records, which does not necessarily mean that he left his life of juvenile crimes behind. I suspect that Bubbles is simply an alias for a Gay teenager who loved to chew gum. each for being.

 Arthur and Norton Curtis and John Ledford were arrested again in 1890 "called youthful incorrigibles" for burglarizing The Waldron Store. Norton who was just a month shy of his 18th birthday was sentence along with his cohorts John Tremayne age 15 and a black youth named George Johnson age 17 who said his parents lived in Butte Montana to the state's reform school.

 The Deseret News reported on 11 March 1893 that William Paddock was in trouble again with a new gang of teenage were arrested for stealing $200 worth of Carpenter tools in the Avenues

 In March 1898 Norton was sentenced to six months in the city jail for petty theft. The crime reporter wrote that he was "though young in years is old in crime. The police think him the toughest of the tough and extremely shrewd." After Norton was released from jail he and his brother Arthur were arrested and tried for theft and assault. The Brothers sent to prison in Sugar house were called depraved and there Norton Curtis died 27 May 1901 age 28.

Arthur Curtis died 25 March 1948 in Salt Lake City at the age of 77 years.

November 11 – Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Nobel leader (b. 1929)[177]

12 November 2004 Friday

· Fourth Annual Drag King Contest held at Paper Moon.

· SL Police Department and the Gay and Lesbian Safety Liaison

Committee held a workshop on Cyber Dating and Cyber Crime with the

Gay community.

The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Gay & Lesbian (GLBT) Public Safety Liaison Committee are holding a workshop on Cyber Dating and Cyber Safety on Friday November 12th at 7PM. The workshop is free and open to everyone, and will be held in the training room at the SLCPD's Pioneer Precinct (it has a great Audio Visual/Web hook up) which is 1040 West 700 South.

The workshop will be led by members of the GLBT community and a member of the State Cyber Crimes Unit, and will cover online and personal safety, cyber stalking, and identity theft, and how to safely handle real time meetings with dates met on the Internet.

Given the increasing numbers of assaults, thefts, and victimizations coming out of gay chat rooms and dating/sex sites, this workshop is a perfect opportunity to learn how to protect yourself, and to ask any GLBT related cyber crime questions, such as dealing with aggressive hustlers, thefts, assaults, PNP, and can you report a crime if there were recreational drugs present, etc.. We recommend the workshop to anyone chatting and dating online.

If you have a problem that needs to be addressed confidentially, officers and members of the GLBT Public Safety Liaison Committee will be available to meet with you individually. Fergie. [ Donald Stewart]

 

13 November Saturday

 

2004 CENTER PEACE at The Center The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah invites you to an evening of entertainment and fundraising at the Center. Join us for Gay Bingo with the hilarious Cyber Sluts and learn more about the Center's work supporting people in the coming out process. There will be live music and prizes so come out and have fun for a good cause this Saturday, November 13 at 7:30. The Center is located at 361 North, 300 West.

 

 

Aimee Selfridge

2004 10th Annual AIDS Awareness Walk Make a Difference It's easy to become an official walker: Complete the entry form or call Aimee Selfridge, to get one. Ask your friends, family members and co-workers to walk with you or to sponsor you as you walk to raise funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS. All money raised in the walk will go towards HIV/AIDS education and helping those impacted by HIV/AIDS in Southern Utah. Donations are tax-deductible. You don't have to walk, you can sponsor someone to walk for you. Please if you know anyone who would like to sponsor walkers or business who would like to have a groups walk, let us know. Current sponsors are 94.3 The Planet, The Independent, PAWS, Xetava Gardens, The Pillar, The Southern Utah Gay & Lesbian Community Center, and United Hair. If you or your business would like to be included on this list, call Aimee Selfridge If you would like to help there are things that we need...someone to sponsor the copies and Flyers, we need a small stage, we need a port o' potty, water, 3 doz red balloons & 2 doz white, as well as many other things, if you are interested in helping or want more info...again, call Aimee.

10th Annual AIDS Awareness Walk

8:00 a.m.  Registration

8:30 a.m.  Opening Ceremonies

9:00 a.m.  Walk Begins

11:00 a.m. Closing Ceremonies

 Make a Difference It's easy to become an official walker:

 Complete the entry form (call Aimee Selfridge, to get one)

 Ask your friends, family members and co-workers to walk with you or to sponsor you as you walk to raise funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

 All money raised in the walk will go towards HIV/AIDS education and helping those impacted by HIV/AIDS in Southern Utah. Donations are tax-deductible.

 You don't have to walk, you can sponsor someone to walk for you.

 Please if you know anyone who would like to sponsor walkers or business who would like to have a groups walk, let us know.

 

Current sponsors are 94.3 The Planet, The Independent, PAWS, Xetava Gardens, The Pillar, The Southern Utah Gay & Lesbian Community Center, and United Hair. If you or your business would like to be included on this list, call Aimee Selfridge at 635-0624 or 313-4528. If you would like to help there are things that we need...someone to sponsor the copies and Flyers, we need a small stage, we need a port o' potty, water, 3 doz red balloons & 2 doz white, as well as many other things, if you are interested in helping or want more info...again, call Aimee.

· Human Right's Campaigned hosted 1st Annual Women's Forum at the

Alta Club with guest speaker Adrian Boney -Director of Volunteer

Relations

·  GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER CCU's Executive Director Chad Beyer and Board Chair Maryann

Martindale hosted annual fundraiser CenterPeace.

· St. George 10th Annual AIDS/HIV Awareness Walk was held

 

14 November 2004 Sunday

· Queer Lounge and HRC hosted sneak preview of film Testosterone at

Brewvies

· Utah Stonewall Historical Society call for Protest action held at Cup of Joe's.

2004 The Forgotten Race 3rd Judicial District Judge David Young deserves no support  from gay and lesbian Utahns  By David Thometz You might not know it, but a little bit of history has happened to gay and lesbian Utahns. For the first time, four gay and lesbian political groups have offered endorsements of candidates and ballot issues for this year's general election Only one of these four groups' endorsement considers what will likely be the most relevant race this year for gay and lesbian people. For the second time in six years, state 3rd Judicial District Judge David S. Young faces an uphill battle for retention  -- and his job. Of the four political groups, only one, GayVoteUtah.com, published a recommendation against Judge Young’s retention. While another group, Human Rights Campaign Inc., is national and generally ignores local races and issues, and understandably didn't offer a recommendation about Young, our other two groups were surprisingly missing in action on this issue. Neither Unity Utah Inc. nor the Utah Democratic Gay and Lesbian Caucus included their opinions on the Young campaign. You remember Judge Young. In 1996, leaders of Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats along with the state gay and lesbian Anti-Violence Project and the state chapter of the National Organization for Women spearheaded a campaign against Young. Despite many examples of questionable conduct, he eked out a bare majority in his retention election. Women, gays and lesbians aren't the only people angry with  Judge Young's performance. Recently, he refused to jail two men who had sex with a 12-year-old girl at a Tooele party, reduced their second-degree felony convictions to third-degree felonies and imposed only community service. Years earlier, Judge Young prevented a Park City mother of three from moving to Oregon with her children, ruling that children must stay in Utah so they can be reared in a proper Mormon environment. In 1988, Judge Young granted a temporary restraining order against a Salt Lake County woman, insisting that she not have an abortion. Her estranged husband was seeking custody of the unborn child. Despite these and many other examples, perhaps the most infamous of Judge Young's decisions came in 1994, when he reduced the sentence of David Thacker who pleaded guilty to the  1993 shooting death in Park City, Utah of Douglas Koehler, a 31-year-old Salt Lake City gay businessman. Thacker was charged with shooting and killing Koehler after a night of drinking, drugs and a homosexual encounter in Park City. Thacker later tracked Koehler and shot him in the head. Faced with a possible first-degree felony murder conviction and sentencing to life imprisonment for the killing, Thacker offered a plea-bargain of second-degree felony manslaughter with a potential one to 15 years for the killing and an additional one to five years for the use of a gun in the commission of a crime. Judge Young agreed to a motion by defense attorney Ron Yengich to reduce the sentence to a total of just zero to five years, with a one-year penalty enhancement because a gun was used. Summit County attorneys and state prison officials recommended unsuccessfully against the reduction. Thacker was released in 2000. The ultimate sentence of one-to-six years is not much longer than the one-to-five penalty enhancement alone, and essentially negates any sentence at all for the actual murder. Thacker originally faced a sentence of 15 years-to-life, but Judge Young reduced the sentence to zero-to-six years, and there was the possibility that Thacker would be a free man immediately after the trial based on his time served. It was only due to the stated anger of the parole board that Thacker served the maximum six-year sentence. During this process, prosecuting attorneys consulted GLUD and  AVP leaders Michael Aaron, Carrie Gaylor, David Nelson and Howard Johnson, who also served as business and estate attorney for Koehler. The group argued unsuccessfully for at least the one-to-15-year manslaughter penalty. GLUD leaders also filed complaints against Judge Young with the American Bar Association, the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts, the Utah Bar Association, the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission and the Utah Judicial Council. The public outcry provided backdrop for Utahns' anger against a judge who seemed out of touch with community morals. AVP, GLUD and NOW leaders launched a "No On Young" campaign, and argued for his immediate removal. These gay and lesbian efforts are believed to have colored Judge Young's 1996 and  2002 performance evaluations. While falling short of our goal to remove Judge Young, the foundation was built upon which every bad decision he makes results in a renewed call for his ouster.  Arguably the most important ballot issue affecting gay and  lesbian Utahns this year, Judge Young's retention received the least attention from our groups and leaders. Young deserves no  support from gay and lesbian people. [David Thometz is a Democratic leader and election strategist, and has worked for more than 15 years as a gay leader in Utah. He is the owner of UtahDemocrat.com, and serves as an adviser  to GayVoteUtah.com.

 

15 November 2004  Monday

A Gay man was assaulted and beaten on 600 West in SLC coming home from a Gay bar. He was hospitalized.

 

16 November 2004 Tuesday

· Forum to discuss ramification of the passing of Amendment 3 sponsored by Equality Utah and U of U LGBT Resource Center

· Students from East and West High organized a walk out to protest among other things the passage of Amendment 3 and Gay rights.

2004 16th COMMUNITY DIALOGUE: BUILDING COMMUNITY: MOVING  FORWARD FROM AMENDMENT 3 Tuesday Nov 16, 2004 7:00 p.m. University Union West Ballroom (200 S Central Campus Drive) Salt Lake City The LGBT Resource Center and Equality Utah proudly co-sponsor a community dialogue night focused on Amendment 3. Now that it has passed how do you feel? Where do we as a community go from here? Come to the Community Dialogue to express your thoughts, feelings and opinions on what we need to be doing as a community to strengthen ourselves. We want to hear your input!! The dialogue will be hosted by Michael Mitchell, Executive Director Equality Utah, Scott McCoy, Campaign Manager Don't Amend Alliance, and Charles Milne Program Coordinator U of U LGBT

Members of Utah’s gay community say they want a protest or some other show of the anger and frustration felt by many after the November 2 election and the passing of Amendment 3. Several people made a call to action at a November 16 forum held at the University of Utah addressing the amendment, which defined marriage as only between a man and a woman and denied marriage-like rights to other couples. Following the remarks of several Utah gay and lesbian political leaders (Jane Marquart, Scott McCoy and Michael Mitchell of Equality Utah, and Charles Milne of the University of Utah LGBT Resource Center), some audience members flatly told the leaders there should be plans for protests, sit-ins and the like.

Attendee J. Davison de St. Germain said he felt there needed to be more visible signs of the community’s strong feelings. Others echoed his comments at the forum, like attendee Frank Williams who took issue with the speakers looking too much at the silver lining, and not showing enough anger. “Why aren’t you all really mad? No one sounds like it!” Williams said. “Why hasn’t anyone said the ‘B’ word tonight? This is bigotry plain and simple.”

McCoy, who directed the Don’t Amend Alliance in the fight against the amendment, argued that protests weren’t always the best means to the end. “It’s not that we’re not angry or stupid. There are ways that we can move forward to achieve the objective. When you’re in the water, you can thrash around so much that you actually drown,” said McCoy.

Earlier in the evening, McCoy, and his colleagues provided the forum with a long list of “little victories” that the fight against Amendment 3 had won. McCoy told the group that more people voted against the amendment than for Democrat Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, that six of the other eleven states with similar amendments passed them with higher percentages, and that two Utah counties (Summit and Grand) defeated the amendment altogether. “This issue isn’t over. We’re going to have to live with this. But we’ve positioned ourselves much better for the future.”

Some audience members at the forum had taken issue with Marquart’s statement that there are no plans to sue over the Amendment, and that lawsuits would only happen “as life happened” and the amendment is challenged. Marquart and others told the group that if there were a lawsuit planned to fight state anti-same sex marriage amendments, it wouldn’t start in a conservative judicial system like Utah’s.

But while some are talking, others have begun acting on plans to demonstrate. A group loosely affiliated with the Utah Stonewall Historical Society held a preliminary planning meeting November 14 and is now soliciting others who want to help plan the protest. The protest is tentatively planned for the first day of the state legislative session in 2005. “A protest, a demonstration, a show of solidarity are all appropriate ways to describe it. It’s a way of capitalizing on the frustration we feel,” said co-organizer Ron Hunt.

Mitchell, executive director of Equality Utah, said at the forum he supports the idea of a protest as long as it serves a purpose. Anyone interested in helping plan the protest is encouraged to join the yahoo group or call Todd Bennett

I wrote to the Salt Lake Metro, “Too often we in the Gay community turn over our power to those we feel have some legitimacy or influence within the heterosexual power structure. While building bridges between the Gay and Non Gay world is important must we be twisted into the heterosexual mold in the process?

As an older timer in the SL Community I truly see the need to revamp the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah. GLCCU was a grassroots, community organizer, community builder, and more importantly a forum where people who are passionate about taking charge of their destiny could dialog with one another.

After reading the SL Metro article on the Nov 16 forum held by Scott McCoy, Michael Mitchell, Charles Milne, and Jane Marquardt I first asked myself who appointed these people our leaders? The answer is no one. They have no more authority or power than the community is willing to give them.

It seemed apparent from my interpretation of the article that these so called leaders were not at all responsive to the call to action by the very people who were willing to go out on a cold November evening to be heard.

In fact McCoy seemed very patronizing so I certainly hope he was misquoted.  But the article made me wonder if McCoy has his own personal agenda and ambition beyond the scope of the people in the audience.

A letter written to the Metro by Deborah A. Pavek also complains that leaders in the community had a misplaced “emphasis on the fact that straight couples were affected by the passage” of Amendment 3. 

“My immediate gut reaction was I wasn’t thrilled by the message of Don’t Amend.” 

“We need to focus our energies and resources on larger issues facing this community.” It is clear that people in our community are feeling frustrated by the lack of any leadership from the self designated “Center” and the single minded political agenda of Stonewall Democrats, Log Cabin Club, and Equality Utah, all who are driven to elect candidates and build influence within the Status Quo establishment. 

I’ve heard don’t rock the boat so many times in my life that the next person who says it I am going to drown.  Muffins, we aren’t even in the boat in Utah and if I have to pretend to be heterosexual I’d rather swim.

The GLCCU began in 1986 with just a handful of people with a bitch and a gripe. From there we created a community council similar to SLC neighbor councils where are issues were addressed and “voted” on (hey that’s a novel concept) and we elected out spokes people.

We had a liaison from the police department, we had AIDS committees when the state was doing nothing, we had a community center committee (Utah Stonewall Center and later GLBTCCU), Pride Day Committees, Anti Violence Committees, Media Outreach Committees, Youth and Aging Committees but more than all this much more we had US!

We knew the faces of those making a difference, we knew the Cache Valley Alliance people, we knew the Utah Valley Men’s Group and Provo Men’s Society (PMS).

We were able to monitor fraud when people swooped into our community wanting our resources and disperse vital information back to constituents like at the Anne Frank’s Holocausts Exhibit’s removal of the mention of Gays as Nazi victims.

Perhaps there can never be another GLCC of UTAH but couldn’t we at least have a Wasatch Front one?  I know I am just an old man living in the past, but I do believe that at GLCCU meeting a call for a Protest would not have fallen on deaf ears. Ben Williams

 

17 November, 2004  Wednesday

Subject: Does anyone have more info on attack?  Alleged assault outside gay bar may be hate crime. Salt Lake City police are investigating a possible hate crime near a gay bar. A man says he was hit by a car twice and then assaulted by two of its occupants outside the Trapp, 625 S. 600 West, about 7:15 p.m. A gray Oldsmobile Cutlass, carrying four passengers, drove by and someone yelled at the man. Then the driver struck him with the car, backed up and struck him again, according to a police report. A man and a woman got out of the car and beat the man, who was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The suspects are described as a Latino man in his 20s, with black hair and no shirt, and a Latino woman with medium length hair in a pony tail and a white sweat top.

Anyone with information can contact police at 799-3000.

Gay community copes with No. 3 Legislation and civil disobedience are two ways in which members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community are coping with the passing of Amendment 3, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday. Although there was some disagreement regarding which method was better, some participants stressed the need to incorporate both aggressive and behind-the-scenes tactics.

 “Every civil-rights movement has depended on different strategies,” said Chad Beyer, executive director of the GLBT Community Center of Utah. Beyer gave the example of the Women’s Civil Rights Movement. He said women successfully won the right to vote through both protests that put them in jail and through lobbying for changes in legislation. So, too, should the GLBT community work multilaterally to effect social change, he said.

Evan Done, president of the U’s Lesbian Gay Student Union, said he agreed with Beyer. “The reason why there is a place for both is because they both work off each other,” Done said.

Done cited a more recent example of the accommodating-militant dichotomy: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. “I don’t think that Martin Luther King Jr. would have gotten nearly as far as he had it not been for some of the work that Malcolm X had done,” he said. “Likewise, I don’t think that Malcolm X would even have had a place to speak and a voice…had it not been for the initial work of Martin Luther King,” he added.

A panelist of three experts argued strongly that legislative pushes will lay the groundwork for combating Amendment 3′s effects. Jane Marquardt, chairperson of Equality Utah’s board, said that legislators and courts have community roots, and that these federal officials would need to know GLBT people before changing laws.

 “I heard someone say a great line: ‘Before we’ll ever win at the ballot box, we have to win a discussion at the water cooler,’” she said. Marquardt added that states around the country are voting on the issue of gay marriage before spending enough time debating the issue. “It’s like we took the test on the second day of class,” she said, urging the GLBT community to become gay-issues educators.

Panelist Scott McCoy, campaign manager for the Don’t Amend Alliance, said he agreed with Marquardt that people should educate the community about the basic legal rights that Amendment 3 denies homosexuals. He added that the topic of gay marriage itself carries too much emotion and religious ideals.

Panelist Michael Mitchell, executive director of Equality Utah, said that in addition to education and discussion, he sees lobbying as a powerful tactic. “Early in the session, we’re going to have a lobby-training day,” he said. “We’re talking about bringing in people from all over the state, bussing people in…and getting everybody up on the hill on the same day to lobby.”

Mitchell also spoke about Governor-Elect John Huntsman’s campaign promise of pushing for reciprocal benefits for homosexual couples. “He said it, we’re going to push him for it,” Mitchell said.

Because the proponents of Amendment 3 gained a victory on Election Day, they may become more relaxed toward other gay issues, such as hate-crime legislation, Mitchell said. “This may be the year for hate-crime [legislation] to pass,” Mitchell said.

Together, the panelists also urged the audience to write letters to newspapers, volunteer for equal-rights groups and continue talking to friends and family members. “It’s incredibly important as we approach the holidays…that we take our partners home,” Mitchell said.

For some audience members, the panelists’ suggestions were not enough. Some expressed a desire to take a more active approach by holding protests and filing lawsuits.

“One of the questions we’ve been asked frequently…is ‘When are you going to sue?’” Marquardt said. “I think that most likely, the challenges to Amendment 3 will come up as life happens.” Marquardt cited a possible example of a gay couple whose family challenges the legitimacy of a will after a partner’s death.

Mitchell said the audience should not give up protesting completely, but that the GLBT community as a whole should focus on channeling its rage in a proactive manner. Not much is accomplished if the goal is just to stage an angry protest, he said. Instead, perhaps GLBT supporters should wear black armbands on Jan. 1, the day Amendment 3 becomes an active law.

Charles Milne, program coordinator for the U’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center, echoed Beyer and Done’s sentiments. “We all need to be working together from different angles,” he said. He added that building coalitions, both with legislators and with straight friends, is key.

Done said he agreed with Milne that straight people can be powerful allies to the GLBT community. “The most powerful thing an ally can do is be an ally every day,” Done said.

For more information about becoming an ally or about gay issues in general, visit the LGBT Resource Center online at www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/ or Union Room 317. Students can attend the LGSU meetings, which are held every Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Union Room 411.

 

20 November 2004 Saturday

The Imperial Rainbow Court of Northern Utah held

Coronation 2004-An Evening of Diversity: A world Wide Celebration at

Ogden Marriott

 

23 November 2004 Wednesday

Chad Beyers resigned as EC of  GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER CCU

 

25 November 2004 Thursday

SLC MCC hosted a community Thanksgiving Dinner

Can't Cook or Don't Want to but still want queer energy? Sacred Light of Christ Metro Community Church is hosting a dinner at 823 South and 600 East. Doors open at 11 a.m. for socializing and dinner served at 2 pm. Bring a side dish and the church will provide the rest.

Joe Redburn is also hosting an annual Thanksgiving Dinner at the Trapp also at 3 pm.

No excuse to be alone.If anyone knows of others please post.

 

DEATH of A SODOMITE Vol 1 Issue 16 Ben Williams Lambda Lore

            It is rare to see the word “Sodomite” used in 19th Century journalism and rarer yet to find it in the headlines of the Deseret News.  The broadsheet was founded as the official organ of the Latter Day Saints Church shortly after the arrival of Mormon refugees to the Wasatch Front.  The weekly paper printed pontifications from the Tabernacle pulpit as well as more secular news. However, whatever was printed was carefully reviewed and approved by the Mormon hierarchy, in particular Brigham Young. Therefore an article on the murder of a Camp Douglas soldier for sexual assaulting  a Mormon youth  printed in October 1864 was more as a warning to the Gentile population of their precarious situation among the Saints, than as an accounting of salacious facts. Nevertheless it is the first public use of the word Sodomite in Utah.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, California regiments were organized to protect the gold and silver fields of the west and to protect the overland mail routes between Salt Lake City and Sacramento. Utah had questionable loyalties and with Brigham Young refusal to let Mormon men enlist in the war, it was up to California to provide the men power. Two regiments from California would eventually be stationed in Salt Lake City on the east bench overlooking the area above where the University of Utah is located today.  These two regiments were the 2nd Regiment of California Volunteer Cavalry and the 3rd Regiment of California Volunteer infantry.  Camp Douglas was established in July 1862 to house the California Union volunteers. Their presence was also to deter the Mormon Saints from acting on any  notions of secession of their own while the American Civil War raged on.  After all Utah was a slave territory and Brigham Young made it clear that Mormons were not going to fight to preserve the Union.  Tensions between the local populace and the federal troops stationed in Utah were, to say the least, unpleasant for the next four years.

The soldier who was assassinated for his crime on the Mormon boy was a 25 year old man named Frederick Jones. Not much is known about him although he is listed as a farm laborer born in Illinois in the 1860 United States Census of California. He was a 21 year old single man working for Charles Minter Taylor who was a young prosperous farmer in the community of Lee in Sacramento County. 1860 Census Sacramento, California When the American Civil War began in 1861 both Taylor and Jones joined as volunteers for the Union Army as both men were natives of the Northern States.

Charles Taylor joined the 2nd Regiment of the California Volunteer Cavalry serving in companies C and D and stayed primarily in northern California. Frederick Jones also joined the 2nd Regiment of California Volunteer Cavalry but he joined when the regiment was stationed at Fort Churchill in Nevada. Jones joined Jan.11, 1862 and was assigned to Company A which was stationed in central Nevada to protect the Pony Express Route and the California Emigrant Trail from Indian depredations. The adobe built  Fort Churchill was established in 1861 on the Carson River just south of present day Silver Springs, Nevada.  While at Fort Churchill Jones must have encountered soldiers from the 3rd Infantry which was also stationed there at the same time before being ordered off to Salt Lake City to build a camp there and establish a federal presence.

Fort Churchill was very primitive and must have been incredibly hot and desolated and by September 1862 Frederick Jones is listed as having deserted on Sept. 7 at Cold Springs, Nevada near present day Reno. His motives for desertion is unclear and his whereabouts uncertain until the summer of 1864 when Jones appears in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 The day after the Mormon Saints celebrated their Pioneer Holiday, Jones enlisted at Camp Douglas as a Private in Company G of the 3rd California Infantry in the Union Army on 25 July 1864. Three months later he was murdered. 

 On the afternoon of October 19th, while in City Creek Canyon, Jones encountered a 9 year old Mormon boy who he sexually assaulted and sodomized.  Jones told the boy he would cut his throat if he told anyone but he immediately went home and told his father Charles Monk Sr., who was the school trustee of the Eleventh District of Salt Lake City. The enraged father took his boy  to Camp Douglas where in the Quarters of Company G, the boy  saw Jones. Monk Sr. then went to General Patrick Connor’s Head Quarters where the General’s assistance was solicited. An orderly was immediately instructed to bring the accused  soldier before the General, but on returning to the Quarters of Company G, Jones could not be found.

After much searching Frederick Jones was eventually found, sitting in the extreme corner of the building “turning the leaves of a book.” Private Jones was said to have turned “pale” when he saw the boy and his father, but he denied the crime. He voluntarily accompanied Charles Monk Sr.  to the General’s Headquarters where he again he denied the charge. The General ordered Jones to be taken to the guardhouse and instructed the father to secure a warrant and let the civil law take its course

            Private Jones remained in the camp's guardhouse until October 25th when he was brought to the city jail. The next day he was brought into court and questioned by Justice Jeter Clinton.  Jones again pled not guilty. He was returned to jail for the next three days until finally brought to trial on October 28th. Judge Clinton while believing Jones to be guilty released him due to the fact that Utah had no Sodomy Law to criminalize anal sex. 

After Jones was released from jail he left to return to Camp Douglas. When he was at the southeast corner of 1st South and 2nd East he was shot in the back around 7 p.m. in the evening. Four shot had been fired but the ones to the back of the head and shoulder killed him. Mormon Bishop Edwin Woolley, grandfather of Spencer W. Kimball, was the first to find Jones after hearing the shots and fleeing footsteps. Woolley found Jones dead and "weltering in his blood." Jones' body was lying in front of the residence of Horace Eldredge, Brigadier General of the Nauvoo Legion, from where two boys and a young man testified to having seen the flash of the pistol that killed Jones. The Salt lake Coroner recorded his death as an assassination.  Charles Hempstead, editor of the Union Vedette, called the soldier's death "A Horrid Assassination".

 In contrast on October 31, 1864, Thomas Stenhouse, soon to be Mormon apostate, and editor of the Salt Lake Telegraph printed an account of the murder calling it "Death of a Sodomite".  His bias towards Jones was clearly evident when he wrote, “we have no crocodile tears to shed over him (Jones), he is dead, and we have not the slightest disposition to call him back again to change the manner of retribution. To give the details of his crime would be to besmear our sheet with facts so loathsome enough to crimson the face of the most barbarous of the human race.  We confine ourselves to narrative, our readers who want more information the we are disposed to publish can seek it elsewhere.”

  Hours after Private Jones was found, the Mormon police arrested Charles Monk  Sr.  for his murder.  Captain Charles Hempstead, provost marshal of Salt Lake City, acted as prosecutor in the murder case. The Captain repudiated any sympathy with the perpetrator of the "most heinous of heinous crimes,” while at the same time denouncing at the same time the assassination of Jones. Charles Monk’s defendant counsel, however, addressed the Mormon court and stated that Monk had an alibi at the time of the murder and “everybody being of the one opinion the court”  the defendant was discharged. 

Private Frederick Jones was buried in an unmarked grave at Fort Douglas as per California Volunteer Records.

 A few months after the assault on his son, records show that Brigham Young called Charles Monk in December 1864 to settle in Spanish Fork. One can not think but there was a reason to remove Charles Monk Sr. from Salt Lake City. Monk Sr., a Mormon polygamist, died 31 March 1920 in Spanish Fork at the age of 88 years.  Charles Monk Jr. died 16 February 1952 in Big Horn County, Wyoming at the age of 96.Charles Monk Sr.

 

30 November 2004 Tuesday

Scott Lewis Hoerster and Larry Steven Bates are charged with felony aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and failure to appear in two previous court arraignments for an April attack on two Gay men.

 

December

1 December 1, 2004 Wednesday

When Homosexuality Stopped Being a Mental Illness Volume 1 Issue 17

Ben Williams Lambda Lore

    Most Gays remember June 27, 1969 as the date of the Stonewall Rebellion. However very few remember the historical significance of December 15, 1973. On that date the American Psychiatric Association's Board of Trustees recommended the removal of homosexuality from the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM) list of psychiatric disorders.

Until 1973 homosexuality had been treated in American society as a crime and then later a disease. Homosexuals, who did not regularly end up in jail, often ended up in mental hospitals subjected to various brutal "cures," such as aversion therapy and electroshock therapy. For most of the 20th Century, homosexuals were being classified as mentally ill which prevented them from entering such professions as education, government, law enforcement, and ironically psychiatry. After the Stonewall Rebellion Gay activists demanded that all this stop by removing homosexuality from the APA's list of mental diseases.

An APA Committee first instituted the construct of homosexuality as a pathology in 1952 with the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Known as the "Psychiatrist Bible", the DSM classified homosexuality as being "among the sociopathic personality disturbances". In other words homosexuals were insane; this despite of the findings of Dr. Alfred Kinsey that 37 percent of American males had reached orgasm with another male.

In the 1950’s UCLA Psychology professor Evelyn Hooker was the first to challenged the theory that homosexuality was a mental illness. In her 1957 ground breaking study "The Adjustment of the male Overt Homosexual," she showed that there was no specific psychopathology linked to homosexuality.

However later Dr. Irving Bieber published a study that declared homosexuals were the product of a dysfunctional family containing a domineering mother and a passive father. This theory became widely accepted by Americans, even today. In 1973, Bieber told an interviewer that "a homosexual is a person whose heterosexual function is crippled, like the legs of a polio victim.

Gay Liberatists and the APA collided in 1970 when activists barged into the APA National Conference held in San Francisco, where Dr. Irving Bieber was a keynote speaker. The Gay Libbers’ main goal was to "de-legitimize the authority" of the APA and to "talk back to them. Activists thus dressed in outlandish costumes, heckled from the audience, called Bieber a "motherfucker", while APA attendees verbally attacked back, even calling a Lesbian a "paranoid fool and stupid bitch".

At the 1971 APA  National Conference, Gay Liberationists broke through a conference room door and stormed through the audience denouncing the APA's position on homosexuality and demanding the removal of the stigma of mental illness. The following year, Lesbian activist Barbara Gittings asked John Fryer, a Gay Psychologist whose career was ruined for merely being suspected of being Gay, to speak at the 1972 National Conference. At the Dallas Convention, Fryer donned a large Richard Nixon mask and addressed his peers as Dr. Anonymous, detailing the plight of Gay Psychiatrists. He received a standing ovation.

While Gay Liberationists were hammering at the APA from the outside, a group of closeted Gay psychiatrists worked to put liberal psychiatrists in the political echelons of the APA. The fall of 1973 Ronald Gold, a Gay Liberationist and a founding member of the Gay and Lesbian National Task Force met with Dr. Robert L. Spitzer,who was on the APA Committee which decided what and what was not a disease. Spitzer agreed to have Gold speak at the 1973 APA Conference in Honolulu.

 There Gold gave a speech entitled, "Stop! You Are Making Me Sick." After the conference Dr. Spitzer was invited by Gold to attend a meeting of Gay psychiatrists in a "campy Gay bar" in Honolulu and was surprised to see so many well-respected colleagues there. Dr. Spitzer and Gold left the bar and went and drafted a change in the DSM, deleting any reference to homosexuality being pathological.

 Later, on December 15, 1973 the APA's Board voted to remove homosexuality from the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM II) after intense debate. The board stated that homosexuality "does not necessarily constitute a psychiatric disorder." Members of the APA who specialized in treating homosexuals, in particular Dr. Bieber protested the board's decision.  However a letter went out in the name of the board, urging APA members not to reverse the board's decision which was upheld by the general APA membership the following year on April 9th by a 58 percent approval.

Effectively, this decision was the official acceptance of homosexuality as a viable sexual orientation and acted as a catalyst for an increase in Gay Liberation throughout the Western world. "Gay Libbers triumphed over their greatest enemy, the psychoanalysts", by forcing the APA to examine its own positions and remove homosexuality from its official list of mental diseases.

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Utah AIDS Foundation will hold an open house today at 1408 South 1100 East from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. The group is encouraging guests to make prayer flags and will have information available on where people can get tested for the disease. Westminster College will host another event, a film festival and quilt display, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Carey Hamilton

World AIDS Day this year is on a Wednesday---Dec. 1. You are invited to attend the service at the  New Promise Lutheran Church at 929 W. Sunset Blvd, St. George Utah at 6 p.m.  Wed Dec 1, 2004  6:28 am

World AIDS Day recognized in Utah by WSU, Westminster College, UAF,

PWACU, Holladay United Church of Christ, New Promise Lutheran Church at St. George Utah

· Jason Atwood, a member of Copper Hills High School's Gay-Straight Alliance protesting administration's refusal to allow Gays to attend school prom without parent permission slip, was hit in the head with a thrown soda can from a passing car.

 

 

2  December 2004 Thursday

Jessica Ravitz of The Salt Lake Tribune reported “To dance, gay teen needs OK of parents Principal says: "There's a danger" for the senior to attend the event in West Jordan with his boyfriend

WEST JORDAN - The story began innocently enough. A high school dance. A teenage romance. And a boy who wanted to attend the event with his boyfriend. But Jason Atwood, a 17-year-old senior at Copper Hills High, knew better than to show up at the November dance unprepared. He had been openly gay for four years, and his experiences had taught him that peers could be cruel.

Screams of "faggot," warnings that he would burn in hell, taunts in the hallway. He had heard it all. So he asked to see the chaperone list to make sure he and his boyfriend would be watched over. "I was worried about my safety," Atwood said. And so was the school - which is where the conflict arose.

Principal Tom Worlton, who acknowledged that harassment was an issue in his West Jordan school, told Atwood same-sex couples would need parental permission to attend the dance. "There's a danger, and I believe the parents ought to be aware of that," Worlton said Wednesday. "If parents were OK with it, I'd make no judgment."

But that extra requirement smacked of discrimination to Atwood. And it kept at least two students away from the dance. One of Atwood's friends - who's not openly gay at home - didn't even try to attend. And Atwood said his father wouldn't sign the permission slip for fear that it would absolve the school of responsibility if anything were to happen to his son.

Liability, however, wasn't the issue in Worlton's mind. An assault at a school dance would weigh on him, he said, as would the cries from parents who might turn around and say: "You knew this was a dangerous situation, and you didn't tell us?"

Dani Eyer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said Worlton's reasoning is off the mark. State law explicitly places the burden on schools to protect students from harassment and promote tolerance, she said. Eyer added that equal treatment of students means an evenhanded application of policies. "Would you require a note for a disabled student to go to a dance?" she asked.

Even so, Worlton is not budging. He said his position as principal - this is his sixth year at Copper Hills - gives him wiggle room when it comes to making safety decisions. "I don't feel like I'm really discriminating," he said. "Unless someone can convince me that it's an unfair policy, we'll live with it."

At Midvale's Hillcrest High last spring, gay students were prevented from wearing anti-smoking "Queers Kick Ash" T-shirts out of fear for their safety. Atwood takes a different tack. "I've turned my pride shirt inside out, I've hid my rainbows," he said, noting that he never wanted this to be about "making a statement." He just wanted to be a typical teen. A boy having fun with friends at a high school dance. But the administration's reaction has galvanized him and others to speak out.

Supporters and members of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance - Atwood is a co-chair - banded together in all-day protests this week just off school property. The number of demonstrators has fluctuated, because of the cold, and the reactions from passers-by have run the gamut. Some have emboldened him but others have greeted him with obscenities, snowballs and glares. The bump on his head from a soda can - thrown from a car Wednesday - was a reminder of what he's up against.

"It's something no student should experience, especially in a place where they're supposed to be learning," he said. "But it's something I've been dealing with since I was 13 . . . and I've been raised to stand up for what I believe in."

12-year-old Olivia White took on Gayle Ruzicka, the grande dame of conservative Utah politics. ""I just want to know what problems she thinks we'll have growing up with wonderful people who love us," White told the audience at SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson's second Freedom Forum to discuss Utah law that prohibits unmarried partners from adopting.

 

3 December 2004 Friday

Jessica Ravitz of The Salt Lake Tribune reported; “Principal reviews gays-at-dance policy._Prom dream a dance step closer for gay student Note from home: The principal will re-evaluate a policy requiring permission for same-sex couples

Jason Atwood protests outside Copper Hills High School in West Jordan . A policy requiring parental permission for same-sex couples to attend school dances has sparked a wave of protests at the school. Atwood is the co-chair of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance and the person who went public with his concerns about the rule.

WEST JORDAN - No promises. But it looks like - come prom time - Jason

Atwood may be able to walk onto the dance floor arm in arm with his boyfriend without a note from his parents.

After four days of protests outside Copper Hills High, Atwood, 17, and his allies won a small victory Friday afternoon when Principal Tom Worlton agreed to re-evaluate the school's policy - issued last month - requiring same-sex couples to get parental permission before attending school dances.

With about a half-dozen additional supporters, the handful of Copper Hills students took to the street, across from the school, to challenge the edict, which Worl- ton saw as a way to alert the parents to the dangers their children might face.

"The kids themselves were expressing concern about harassment at the school dance, which is what generated my response," Worlton said Friday. "That was not an attempt to get out of liability and not a response to deprive them from coming to the dance."

But that wasn't how Jason's father, Quovaudis Atwood, viewed it. He feared his signature would clear the school of responsibility. "I'm not at the dance with Jason. . . . How could I be responsible for my son?" the father asked. "As long as I'm paying taxes to support that school, my son deserves every bit of protection, education, whatever that school has to offer."

This from a man who struggles with his son's sexual orientation. "I'm sort of torn here," he conceded. "I love my son deeply. I will always love him. But I don't approve of his lifestyle."

With posters bearing slogans such as "Stop Discrimination" and "Give Gays a Chance," Atwood and a small circle of friends - including his boyfriend, Tom Tolman, 15, of Granger High in West Valley City - staked their positions Friday morning. "I'm so proud of you," Tom's mother, Patricia Gilley, said after dropping him off. "You can't help who you love."

The young protesters then braced themselves for the predictable insults, obscene gestures and, hopefully, some honks of support.

Meanwhile, inside his office and on his phone, Worlton said he had received a stream of calls supporting his stand. "I don't think that what's happening out there is good for anybody," he said. "Apparently, from what I hear, they're taking abuse. And I don't perceive that as healthy for these kids."

By afternoon, Atwood said the cold protesters were greeted with a lunch offering - subs, fries and drinks - brought out by school administrators, who encouraged them to come indoors to meet with Worlton. But before they were inside, Atwood said his boyfriend was  pelted with a raw egg.

For more than an hour, Atwood and two friends sat with administrators. They spoke of the abuse they had suffered in school and promised to start reporting incidents when they occurred. Until now, they had been keeping the attacks to themselves. "We did make some progress," Atwood said.

Worlton said he couldn't promise he would change his policy, but he did vow to re-evaluate it and discuss it with school officials. Either way, he will make his decision in time for the prom.

Whatever the outcome, Jordan School District officials said they stand by the principal and his right to make safety decisions. "If we become aware of an issue that we believe would pose a harm or injury to a student," Superintendent Barry Newbold said, "we need to take reasonable action on it."

But Louie Long, Granite School District's senior director of high school services, said all couples attending a dance should be treated equally. "We wouldn't require permission slips from any other couples," said Long, a former principal at Cottonwood and Skyline high schools.

Last spring at Murray High, two girls attending Junior Prom were allowed to do the traditional promenade down the Capitol steps as a couple. "We've chosen not to make [same-sex couples] a problem, and we've never had a bad experience as a result of it," said Martha Kupferschmidt, Murray district's director of personnel and student services.

If he could have his way, Jason Atwood would like Copper Hills to accept him as he is. "But a part of me knows that'll always be a dream because wherever you go, you'll always find intolerance," he said.

Brian Chase, a Dallas-based attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund - a national civil rights organization for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities - is more hopeful.

"As more kids come out of the closet . . . it lets people realize gays and lesbians aren't outsiders," he said. "They're actually their own kids from their own community."

jravitz@sltrib.com

Rhina Guidos of the Salt Lake Tribune reported, “KRCL celebrates 25th Anniversary. Founder Stephen Holbrook keynote speaker. Steve Holbrook to speak at KRCL's 25 Anniversary  KRCL marks 25 years of making waves "The station also once hosted the nation's longest-running show on gay and lesbian issues."

In the 1990s, the only radio station in Salt Lake City that satisfied Ebay Jamil Hamilton's craving for hip-hop was the nonprofit KRCL. The music was like a piece of imported chocolate, and Hamilton didn't gobble it down like a Snickers bar: He savored hip-hop like a chocolate truffle. "It was a big deal for me," says Hamilton, now 27, who began tuning in to the station at age 8. His mother used to threaten: No homework, no KRCL. KRCL offers a mix of community news and world and ethnic music. Hamilton, along with many members of Utah's ethnic, racial and other minority groups, found the programming was like an oasis in the Utah desert.

That's how many listeners have described KRCL over the years, says Donna Land Maldonado, general manager of the station, which today celebrates 25 years in Salt Lake City. She runs KRCL with six full-time staffers, three part-time workers and 120 volunteers. "If you look at ethnic minorities and women in any media, [their presence] is still in low existence," she said.

Music and other programming that appeals or resonates with them is still largely absent from mainstream radio. That has helped KRCL maintain about 40,000 weekly listeners, according to Arbitron ratings - low for commercial-radio ratings but a modest audience for an independent station.

When KRCL popped up a quarter of a century ago, Utah radio was full of bland programming, says station founder and board member Steve Holbrook. "At that particular time in its history, there was pretty vanilla standards or offerings in the local media," he says. "There was certainly no ethnic programing of any kind."

Today, tune in to 90.9 FM or Radio Free Utah, as the station bills itself, and you might hear American Indian music, Tongan community news or Hamilton's Friday night show, which features hip-hop and acid jazz. Variety has been the standard at KRCL. "The first time I ever heard Vietnamese music was because of KRCL," says Hamilton.

The station also once hosted the nation's longest-running show on gay and lesbian issues, Maldonado says.

But KRCL's programming has done more than teach listeners about other ethnic groups. Maldonado recalls a family who called during an American Indian program looking for a lost family member who herded sheep. Another listener called to tell the family the shepherd had been spotted recently in the mountains and was doing well. "[We've] made positive social changes in this community," Maldonado says.

"KRCL has allowed people to help others, to know where to seek help, to let those of us who can help, help." It's a sentiment that translates across ethnic communities, says Ivoni Malohifoou-Nash, who hosts a Tongan public-affairs show.

Last Tuesday, the show focused on informing families of Pacific Islanders who have family members in prison about visitation. "It's our only resource to know what's happening," Malohifoou-Nash says. "You see the paper or the TV and it doesn't mean anything to you." Tune in to the Tongan public-affairs program and it will include reports on the American education system, news from the Pacific Island region, and immigration news and issues, she says.

But KRCL hasn't survived solely on minority-community support, says Maldonado. A large part of the station's $900,000 annual operating budget comes from listeners who tune in for bluegrass, jazz and reggae music shows, for the environmental commentaries and for "Radioactive," which tackles progressive issues.

KRCL's trademark has always been its alternative voice, says Holbrook, who developed the idea for the station at a time when the peace, environmental and gay movements were fringe groups. Like minority groups, those movements also have found an audio bulletin board in KRCL, which links them with others in the community who share their views.

"We are what we are," Maldonado says. "To some, an oasis. People have called us a treasure, a touchstone, a link to the real world."

Happy B-day! KRCL will host a free birthday party in the atrium of the Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, Saturday from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. The celebration will feature food, cash bar, a birthday cake, remarks by founder Steve Holbrook, music and dancing. Tickets are required and are available at KRCL, Orion's Music, Salt Lake Roasting Company, Guitar Czar and the Native American Trading Post. Parking available in the garage, but TRAX is recommended.

 

 

 

4 December 2004 Saturday

Associated Press Article on Copper Hill's Ruckus  “(West Jordan, Utah) A school principal refused to let two gay 17-year-old boys attend a high-school dance as a couple without permission from their parents.

Tom Worlton, the principal at Copper Hills High School, said he was concerned for the safety of the boys who might be taunted by others.

"There's a danger, and I believe the parents ought to be aware of that," Worlton said Wednesday. "If parents were OK with it, I'd make no judgment."

Jason Atwood, a 17-year-old senior, said Worlton's condition smacked of discrimination and kept him and his boyfriend from attending the dance.

Atwood's father wouldn't sign a permission slip for fear that it would absolve the school of responsibility if anything were to happen to his son.

Dani Eyer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said state law requires schools to promote tolerance and protect students from harassment. "Would you require a note for a disabled student to go to a dance?" she asked.

Worlton said he rejected the allegation of discrimination, adding, "Unless someone can convince me that it's an unfair policy, we'll live with it."

Supporters and members of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, led by Atwood, held all-day protests this week just off school property.

Reactions from passers-by ran from support to obscenities, snowballs and glares.

Atwood sported a bump on his head from a soda can he said was thrown from a car Wednesday, a reminder of what he's up against.

"It's something no student should experience, especially in a place where they're supposed to be learning," he said. "But it's something I've been dealing with since I was 13, and I've been raised to stand up for what I believe in."

©Associated Press 2004

5 December 2004 Sunday

This Sunday at 7:30pm, the Salt Lake Men's Choir will present its 22nd Annual Holiday Concert, titled "What Sweeter Music."  This evening will also be the 10th anniversary of our Artistic Director, Lane Cheney. Please plan to attend this one-night-only concert at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre in the Rose Wagner Fine Arts Center138 W. Broadway (300 South) . Tickets are $15 at 355-ARTS.

In this day of rotating leadership and rotating organizations, I just think it's great to recognize when a leader has stuck with a long-standing organization for 10 years. Lane Cheney, Artistic Director for the Salt Lake Men's Choir will be

celebrating his 10th year with the choir at Sunday's concert.

2004 This Sunday at 7:30pm, the Salt Lake Men's Choir will present its 22nd Annual Holiday Concert, titled "What Sweeter Music." This evening will also be the 10th anniversary of our Artistic Director, Lane Cheney. Please plan to attend this one-night-only concert at the Jeanne Wagner Theatre in the Rose Wagner Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $15 at 355-ARTS.

In this day of rotating leadership and rotating organizations, I just think it's great to recognize when a leader has stuck with a long-standing organization for 10 years. Lane Cheney, Artistic Director for the Salt Lake Men's Choir will be celebrating his 10th year with the choir at Sunday's concert.  Michael Aaron

The December 5th holiday concert of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir will be the tenth anniversary, to the day, under the baton of Artistic Director Lane Cheney. This is quite a milestone for me,, said Cheney. ,Ten years ago I hadn’t done anything for ten years.  was a teacher that worked nine months at a time, moving on to another school at the end of the year. Lane CheneyToday, Cheney is also a choral music education specialist and Acting Director of Choral Activities at Utah State University, where he conducts the University Chorale and Women’s Choir, teaches choral methods and literature, and supervises student teachers in the public schools. He also serves as Director of Music at First United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. Under Cheney’s tutelage, the Choir has nearly doubled in size, has grown tremendously in its level of artistry and has embarked on a number of regional and world tours, including a trip to Australia for the Gay Games to sing in the Sydney Opera House. Cheney earned a Bachelors of Music degree magna cum laude from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, where he sang with the Westminster Symphonic Choir under such notable conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, and Kurt Masur. He completed his Masters of Music degree in choral conducting at the University of Utah. He is also in demand as a guest conductor and clinician for choral festivals and has presented workshops for choral conductors in national and international forums.

6 December 2004 Monday

Valarie Larabee named Executive Chair of Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Community Council of Utah by Maryanne Martindale Chair of the Board of Trustees

Rosemary Russo of Bountiful Letter to SL Editor on Copper Hill Prom Dance  Familiar story- Jessica Ravitz's Dec. 2 article on a Gay teen facing discrimination in high school is an all-too-familiar story. As an alumna of Copper Hills and as one of the founding members of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, I can empathize with Jason Atwood's struggle and I admire his courage.

The school's explanation that discrimination is necessary to guarantee student safety is the same excuse I was given when I and other Gay students were kicked out of a school dance at Copper Hills back in 1999. This reasoning only sends a message that behavior which threatens the safety of gay students is expected, and furthermore, is acceptable.

Demanding that parents sign a permission form to allow their children to be subjected to possible violence shows that school officials would rather prevent Gay students from attending dances than take responsibility to ensure that such harassment does not occur.

Instead of inventing legal forms to hide behind, school officials and teachers should be educating their student body on why harassment and violence against other students is wrong, as well as providing sufficient oversight to immediately stop any violence that may still occur.

In any case, thanks to the efforts of students like Jason Atwood and organizations like the ACLU, I'm inclined to believe that high school will eventually be better for future generations of Gay students at Copper Hills High.

Mike Cronin of The Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday Young activist channels passion Joshua Nowitz wants a hate-crimes law Rain fell around him. Oblivious, the 18-year-old kept reading. Joshua Nowitz  stared at the epitaph of one of the first Utahns known to have died because of violence motivated by hatred. He knew the story well.

In 1879, a band of 12 men murdered Joseph Standing, a 24-year-old Mormon missionary serving in Georgia, simply because he was a member of the LDS Church. The acquitted killers had boasted, "There is no law in Georgia for the Mormons."

"[Utah] was founded by people who sought to escape persecution," Nowitz said last month in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. "But now, we're in danger of falling into a state of persecution ourselves."

What was once a mere high-school senior project - a paper and field work on hate crimes - at central Utah's Wasatch Academy ultimately compelled Nowitz to put his college plans on hold, shunning more than $100,000 worth of academic scholarships in the process. Nowitz moved to Utah's capital at the end of the summer to help Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, pass a new law banning hate crimes.

Litvack and his predecessors have failed in that task for each of the last 13 years. All that exists on the books is a form of hate-crimes legislation that is so vague even Attorney General Mark Shurtleff decries it as useless.

Utah remains one of only a handful of states that do not have an enforceable, prosecutable hate-crimes law. "I think it's disgusting," Nowitz said last month over breakfast at a downtown restaurant. "It's about human rights. A hate crime is an attempt to silence someone because of who they are, what they believe and what makes them different. It makes us all victims."

He believes the issue is significant because advocates for a tougher standard, along with the Salt Lake City Police Department, agree that hate crimes occur. Police statistics show that a total of 43 hate crimes were reported during 2002 and 2003.

A visible advocate: Salt Lake City Detective Dwayne Baird said police are powerless to prosecute hate crimes. Enforcement gets murky, he said, when it's difficult to tell whether the crime was motivated by hate or another reason. Of the 43 crimes reported, police determined that 24 were primarily motivated by hate.

Nowitz said that since there is no way to track the crimes without first passing a law, "It's kind of like trying to desegregate the country before abolishing slavery."

A Jew with nearly shoulder-length brown hair and a pierced eyebrow, Nowitz himself could be a hate-crime target. Lanky, loud and loquacious, the 5-foot-11, 140-pound teenager often elicits powerful reactions from those he meets. Those who encounter him have no choice but to form an opinion. His demeanor demands it.

 "The first thing I asked him was, 'Why are you here?' " said his 28-year-old roommate, Adam Milman, a medical student at the University of Utah. "He told me he wanted to pass hate-crimes legislation in Utah. I wanted to know why a person's motivation to commit a crime was essential."

Milman, who also is Jewish and leans to the right politically, said he recognized that though he might not agree with Nowitz's views, he couldn't dismiss them. "His responses are not based on emotions," Milman said. "He provides articulate, intelligent answers that I have to address."

Hate-crimes legislation is a controversial issue nationally, and particularly in Utah. Some opponents claim that it's part of "the gay agenda." In past years, legislators have cited the Bill of Rights' guarantees of free speech as a reason to block passage.

During other sessions, they have argued that Litvack and his predecessors have sought to extend protection to some groups, but not to others. With those roadblocks, a stronger hate-crimes bill has faltered every year since 1991.

 "No golden egg": Litvack, Nowitz and Shurtleff say an effective law would actually protect all groups from hate-motivated violence. Mark Cohen, a Democratic Pennsylvania legislator, sums up that perspective. "Hate crimes deserve to be taken even more seriously than ordinary crimes because they victimize all they threaten, as well as all they directly harm."

In May, Nowitz organized a Capitol Hill rally in favor of stronger hate-crimes legislation that attracted about 150 people. The coalition Nowitz helped found - Utahns Together Against Hate, or UTAH - has hired a lobbyist to work on behalf of a new hate-crimes law.

Litvack said the lobbyist's salary will come from private donations. The Democratic lawmaker couldn't say whether this January's legislative session will be the one that leads to the long-awaited hate-crimes triumph. "It's hard to have an accurate feel for where my colleagues are at this point," he said.

But Litvack said Nowitz's presence on the team could have an impact. "If there's one thing I've learned about this issue, it's that there is no golden egg in the sense that one person, one thing is going to push us over the edge," Litvack said. "But one thing Josh is bringing that we haven't had in the past is devoted time. Up 'til now, the individuals who fought for it have done it only part time, in addition to their own full-time jobs."

Nowitz works about 40 hours a week on the issue, crafting recruitment letters, compiling hate-crimes data and connecting the coalition's growing network of contacts. His passion for the cause, and life in general, surprises virtually no one. Nowitz, who says he has been diagnosed with an attention-deficit disorder, has interests that span a wide spectrum.

He has a black belt in tae kwon do, is an actor and a songwriter, and plays the piano. "He's got something driving him that you can't quantify," says Tass Bey, his former debate coach and rhetoric teacher at Wasatch Academy. "In class, when most students are content, Josh is wanting to break new ground. Generally, he's categorized by upper-end originality and unpredictability."

Bey says that Nowitz's brilliance and boldness compensates for what he lacks in patience, careful plotting and understanding.

"The majority has been wrong": Another teacher - Lee Thomsen, who taught English to Nowitz in Houston before the teen transferred to Wasatch Academy - has witnessed a transformation in his former student. "[In Houston,] you knew there was a lot going on there. But you got the sense of him not being really sure of who he was," said Thomsen, now principal of Rowland Hall-St. Mark's Upper School in Salt Lake City.

 "It's clear that he's much more confident, that he knows himself in a much deeper way than he did a year and a half ago." Yet with a self-awareness unusual for one so young, Nowitz concedes that one of his flaws remains following through.

"I've always had a lot of different ideas, but my eyes are often bigger than my stomach," he says.

Thomsen and Nowitz see the young man's hate-crimes work as a  nontraditional vehicle for self-exploration, and simultaneously, an opportunity to permanently alter Utah's political landscape. His current journey is important enough to Nowitz that he's chosen to finance his own stay in Salt Lake.

Some days he doesn't know how he's going to eat. He earns no money from his hate-crimes activism and his wages are $6.50 an hour plus tips at a neighborhood coffee shop, where he works 30 hours a week. Nowitz also pays $400 a month in rent.

He fibbed to his parents that he had another $900 saved up to convince them that he was financially independent. His father, Les Nowitz, a 64-year-old Houston physician, confirmed that he and his wife, Leora, 57, are not financially supporting their son. "He's standing on his own two feet," Les Nowitz says.

"I'd like to see him achieve it [passing the hate-crimes law]. He's only 18 years old. If he can pull it off, it would be a big feather in his cap." Though conservatives in the Legislature could prove nearly as challenging as his personal finances, they don't daunt Nowitz either. "In most moral crises that caused a societal change, the majority has been wrong," he said. "Look at the civil-rights movement. It's always been the few who have turned out to be right."

What is a hate crime? Nationally: The U.S. Congress' definition of what constitutes a hate crime has evolved since it first identified the term in 1992. Today, a hate crime is any crime committed due to the perpetrator's hatred, bias or prejudice based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. In Utah: Utah's current law defines a hate crime as a civil- rights violation and is categorized as a third-degree felony. Acts committed by perpetrators that could fall under this law consist of: the misdemeanor offenses of assault, property destruction, any criminal trespass offense, theft, obstructing government operations, any offense of interfering or intending to interfere with activities of colleges and universities, any offense against public order and decency, any telephone abuse offense, any cruelty to animal offense or any weapons offense. If the perpetrator commits any of those offenses with the intent to intimidate or terrorize another person or with reason to believe that his action would intimidate or terrorize that person is guilty of a third degree felony. The law states that "intimidate or terrorize" means an act which causes the person to fear for his physical safety or damages the property of that person or another. The act must be accompanied with the intent to cause a person to fear to freely exercise or enjoy any right secured by the Constitution or laws of the state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

Donald Steward commented: People, we have work to do before the 2005 legislature! Over four hours ago I started doing some research on Hate Crimes in preparation for this year’s legislative session, and I am absolutely in shock! I pulled up the policy statement on hate crimes from the Sutherland Institute and its Director Paul Mero. That led me to a bunch of LDS "pro-family" sites, and Meridian Magazine (an online magazine for LDS), Concerned Women for America, Focus on the Family, and some of the most ultra-ultra right wing stuff I have ever seen.

Did anyone else know that Mero was a congressional aide for Dannemeyer and Dornan!!!???!!! Or that he wrote a report in 1997 called "Homosexuality: Your Tax Dollars at Work." arguing against AIDS funding. No wonder he is gunning for the hate crimes bill.

Seriously folks, spend some time going through these "pro-family" sites, look at their bio's and boards, and see what sort of arguments and moralizations these folks are using. Ten to one, they are going to get thrown at us this session.

I spent two hours in the Ideas and Society section of Meridian Magazine alone and I am just dumbfounded at how there is absolutely no discussion of our perspective or GLBT representation, and how close to hate speech their arguments really are.

I was especially amazed to see all of the articles blasting gay marriage as the end of the traditional marriage and families, and not one mention of divorce anywhere! Talk about selective vision. If we are going to fight these people for our basic rights, we need to know who they are, who they are connected to, and how and what they think. To all of you folks ticked about the election and wanting to do something constructive...educate yourself, get to know these arguments and be prepared to counter them. Fergie.

 

7 December 2004 Tuesday

Darrell Johnson of Salt Lake City Letter to Editor  Salt Lake Tribune “Permission to date” The gay and lesbian students of Copper Hills High School are justifiably upset about being required to have a signed parental permission slip before being allowed to attend a dance with their same-sex partners. The school says it is because they cannot guarantee the students' safety. Does the school require interracial-dating students to get permission slips? Do they require blue-eyed Aryans who date brown-eyed Hispanics to obtain permission slips? Seems to me the ones who need parental permission slips should be the thugs who would harass these young men and women.

 

8 December 2004 Wednesday

Utah 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson decided a child was better off with two Lesbian mothers. In making the ruling, the judge said the couple were equal partners in the decision to have a child, sharing in the selection of the sperm donor.

Elizabeth Neff of The Salt Lake Tribune reported “Judge says girl is better off with two mothers Vermont civil union: The Utah jurist says the nonbirth mother of the child has visitation rights after the two women split up After considering Utah law and the best interests of a 3-year-old girl, 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson has decided the child is better off with two mothers. One is her birth mother, who conceived her through artificial insemination while in a lesbian relationship. The other is the birth mother's former partner, joined to her in a Vermont civil union before the girl's birth.

Hanson ruled state laws allow the former partner to maintain a parent-child relationship with the girl through visitation. The case is now before the Utah Court of Appeals, which will examine how much protection Utah law provides to gay or unmarried couples raising children related to only one partner.

The conservative Alliance Defense Fund, which litigates cases involving religion, publicized its role in the case Tuesday by describing it as a battle for parents' rights waged by a churchgoing woman who has abandoned her lesbian past.

But Hanson has said the case does not turn on the debate over gay marriage or gay adoption. "What this case is about, is whether or not a child is better off in this rather uncertain world, with as many people as possible taking an interest in the child, both financially and emotionally," the judge said in an October court hearing. "I do not believe that any clear-thinking person could rationally say that a child is not better off with as many people who care about that child as part of her life," he said.

Last week, the judge signed an order granting supervised visitation to Keri Lynne Jones, of Taylorsville, on two days a month and on Christmas Day. After six months, visitation will increase to alternating overnight weekends, and Jones will be required to support the child financially. Cheryl Pike Barlow, the girl's birth mother, wants the appellate court to overturn the visitation order. In court filings, Barlow says she is no longer a lesbian and now has religious objections to exposing her daughter to her former partner's gay lifestyle.

Jones and Barlow were joined in a Vermont same-sex union when Barlow was five months pregnant in 2001. Barlow gave birth to the girl that October. The couple broke up two years later, after Jones had an affair with another woman, according to court documents.

 Judge Hanson had ruled in October that Jones would be eligible for visitation if she could establish she had a parent-child relationship with the girl. He cited Utah case law on the doctrine of "in loco parentis," in which a person acts as a parent although they have no blood or legal ties to a child.

Hanson pointed to a 1978 Utah Supreme Court ruling that supported a stepfather's bid to seek visitation. "The court sees no legal reason to discriminate in applying the doctrine . . . to a couple who are in a committed lesbian relationship," he wrote. "The heterosexual or homosexual relationship between the two adults is irrelevant to the doctrine of in loco parentis."

Following a trial, Hanson agreed the girl would benefit "both emotionally and financially" if she were allowed contact with Jones. In making the ruling, the judge said Jones was an "equal partner" in the decision for Barlow to have a child, sharing in the selection of the sperm donor.

Jones participated in the child's birth and care, and became a co- guardian of the girl, who had the surnames of both women on her birth certificate, the judge said.

Attorney Frank Mylar, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund and represents Barlow, says Hanson has done an end-run around Utah laws. Mylar said in loco parentis only applies to cases where the parent is absent from the child's life. "Where does it end, when you have a legal stranger that is not related by blood, marriage or adoption, and they are claiming rights to your child?" he asked.

"Anyone who is a fit parent has a constitutional right to say how their child is to be raised, and what associations they are to have." Jones' attorney, Lauren Barros, says Hanson did not pave new legal ground, but simply applied existing Utah case law. The point of such rulings, she argued in court filings, "is to protect children's relationships" with those who have acted as their parents.

Barros points to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling she says allows courts to protect a child's relationship with a parental figure. She said a former partner who petitions for visitation must prove the couple intended them to have a child-parent relationship. That was the case for Barlow and Jones, Barros said. "They had done all these things that intended to create a family," she said.

Barlow had asked the appeals court to halt visitation until the case is decided, arguing Jones has had no significant contact with the child in over a year. The girl "does not take well to strangers" and is already getting a new day care provider, she said.

 But in issuing a one-page ruling Friday, Court of Appeals Judge Gregory K. Orme declined. He cited the "careful, measured way the trial court has crafted the visitation order," and said "any creation of harm is itself speculative."

Barlow also argued Hanson's ruling interferes with her constitutional rights to raise her child as she sees fit. "I want what is best for my child," she said, "and I know in my heart that my child should not have contact with Ms. Jones at this time."

Maryann Martindale Chair of the Board of Directors wrote, Remember - there are two sides to every story. Several articles have been circulating that reference the Jones v Barlow custody case. It is important for people to realize that there are two sides to every story and the current articles do not give a balanced view of the case. Quotes have been taken out of context and articles have an obvious slant in favor of one side over the other. There is no objective reporting in any of the pieces. The stories read as though they were ghost written by Miss Jones' team.

Miss Barlow is quoted although she was never contacted for comment by any of the reporters. Assertions about what she said in court are paraphrased and inaccurate. These reporters are taking the low road. Instead of investigating and delving into the complexities of this case, they have gone for the sensationalistic approach.

During the course of the trial, and in private conversations, Miss Barlow has continually asserted that this is NOT a gay/straight issue. Although she may be reevaluating her own personal lifestyle, the reasons for her resistance to involvement by Miss Jones were not based primarily on Miss Jones' sexual orientation.

Miss Barlow believes that Miss Jones does not have the proper parenting skills to participate in a positive way, in the raising of her child. Points that were brought up in court that were not taken into consideration: 1. Several witness on behalf of Miss Barlow testified about numerous occasions when they witnessed Miss Jones in less-than-stellar behavior with the child.

They also testified to specific conversations with Miss Jones where she indicated she had not forged a bond, was jealous of the bond the child had with Miss Barlow, and other issues she had with parenting.

Miss Barlow's witnesses were primarily lesbians, many of which are currently in same-sex relationship, some with children. These are not people who are out to bash the lesbian lifestyle, they testified because of their concern for the child and had witnessed negative parenting behavior on the part of Miss Jones.

2. Miss Barlow decided to have a child before she and Miss Jones met. She inseminated four times before conceiving, once in California before she knew Miss Jones, twice after meeting Miss Jones but before they lived together, and the fourth time, one week after they moved in together. This was not a decision made because Miss Jones was in her life.

3. Throughout the entire course of the trial, Judge Hansen was antagonistic towards Miss Barlow, her counsel, and her witnesses. He cut off testimony, continually admonished Mr. Mylar for trying to point out legal guidelines, and got upset at Miss Barlow when she asked him to repeat a question she hadn't heard.

He was biased and it appeared from the outset of the trial that his decision was already made, long before the end of the case. Another very important concern that reporters and the GLBT community at-large is not taking into consideration is the negativity such a ruling could have.

While you may agree that GLBT partners should have rights similar to those married partners have, they do NOT have such rights, not under current Utah law. This ruling is an end-run around existing statutes. It applies such a broad definition to "in loco parentis" that anyone who can establish a connection to a child could conceivably sue for visitation or custody.

The GLBT community should be VERY CONCERNED about this precedent. This opens the door for non-partner, concerned parties to sue for visitation and/or custody, such as parents who disapprove of their gay child's lifestyle could sue for visitation of their grandchildren, etc. The opportunity for misuse is great and the GLBT community should not be happy with this ruling.

While it may have allowed visitation to a lesbian, it could be, and likely will be used against lesbian parents in the future. The GLBT community should be outraged at the anti-adoption laws that are in effect and outraged by their inability to become foster parents under the current law.

The community should be fighting these laws with everything at their disposal. This case is not the way to win those rights. It is a misuse of the system and distortion of the facts that is granting rights which may very well be reversed by a higher court that does not give credence to the emotional nature of the case but instead, overturns Judge Hansen's ruling based on existing Utah law.

This case is about parental rights and until the GLBT community successfully fights for legalization of their parental rights, this case will only serve as ammunition for those who seek to limit (or eliminate) those rights altogether.

The bottom line is this; this is NOT a gay/straight case, it is a case where a fit, biological parent is being thwarted from deciding what is in the best interest of her own child. It is certainly complicated by their personal lifestyles and while it may be tempting from a reporter's perspective, to run with that angle, these articles are extremely unprofessional and far from objective.

Sue aka Love Utah Kids responded to Martindale,  “As an attorney, a mother and a lesbian, I find that this email is bias.  After all, Maryann Martindale did testify on Ms. Barlow’s behalf.  I believed she testified that she had only spent two personal occasions with Ms. Jones and her daughter and also saw them at a couple of meetings.  She then proceeded to testify that Ms. Jones should never see her daughter again.

 I believe the Judge saw through her flimsy testimony as do many who have seen the tapes or have read the transcripts of the hearings. 

First of all, Ms. Barlow’s attorney sent out the Press Release.  It’s typical that the reporter contacts both attorneys’ after receiving a Press Release (which was received from Frank Mylar).  All quotes were directly from the attorney’s or directly from court documents.  There was nothing "ghost written". 

HE wrote the release.  You can read the initial Press Release dated two days prior to The Tribune article. This is the organization that is funding Ms. Barlow.  Take a good look at their website and decide for yourselves if this case is about sexual orientation.  This group is even associated with DOMA In my opinion, this is most certainly a gay/straight issue for Ms. Barlow.  That's the reason they went public.  They're trying to gain allies in this very conservative community and if anyone thinks going public will "help" the Jones side, think again.

 I can tell you that I've followed this case since the beginning, January 2004.  When I wasn't present in court, I read the court papers and then ultimately watched video of all five days.  I heard all the testimony.  I heard each ruling by Judge Hansen.  I can tell you that, although there were people who questioned Jones' parenting skills, after their testimony they were found to be either bias or not credible. 

Most were people who were not even present in their family life.  Some of the witnesses have never met Ms. Jones.  One of those witnesses ended up reversing her testimony in a letter brought to the Judge because she was lied to by Barlow & her attorney the day of her testimony.  She wrote that her testimony was based on anger and she believed that Ms. Jones should be reunited with her daughter. 

Ms. Barlow had one full year to build her case, just as Ms. Jones did.  In that year, Barlow terminated her lesbian attorney & hired a very conservative attorney.  It wasn’t until two weeks prior to the final ruling that Ms. Barlow announced her new lifestyle and her desire to find a husband to adopt her child.  Her arguments through the year changed again and again. 

To correct the email by Maryann Martindale, Ms. Barlow & Ms. Jones were in a committed relationship when THEY began the artificial insemination process in November of 2000.  Court documents show that Ms. Jones took part in the entire process from finding the OBGYN to selecting a donor. 

They prepared for this child, conceived this child & raised this child together from the very beginning.  No matter what the cause of this breakup, the child should not have to suffer and be deprived from one of her parents.

 As you can imagine, I will tell you that Judge Hansen was not antagonistic.  There were many times that he got angry due to repetition on Mr. Mylar's part and also questionable answers where Ms. Barlow & her witnesses were concerned.  He stated in his ruling that he considered most to be bias and/or not credible. 

I have seen Judge Hansen work over the years and know him to be a very fair Judge.  He is not considered to be an "Activist Judge" nor a "Liberal Judge". I also want to state that you should not feel threatened by this ruling. 

The prior email will have you believe that anyone can snatch up your child by just merely knowing their favorite color.  This is not the case.  This woman is not just anyone.  She is this baby's mother.  She is one of her two parents.  She had to prove that she not only intended on parenting the child but that she also participated in the child’s everyday life for over two years.   She also had to show that it was in the child’s Best Interest to be re-introduced to her after almost a year. 

(Court documents show that Ms. Barlow made a unilateral decision to keep the child away from Ms. Jones soon after their breakup because, legally, she could)  Ms. Jones’ evidence was overwhelming & accurate.  Her witnesses, and I wasn't one of them, were found to be truthful and knew this family first hand & personally.  Shame on you Maryann Martindale for being the President of the Board of The LGBT Center and involving yourself in such a hurtful case that tried to take away rights from non-biological, FIT, parents. 

Why send out an email that’s sole purpose is to divide a community when we are in crucial times and should be banding together?  While I don’t know either Ms. Barlow or Ms. Jones, I do know what I saw and what is right.  The Judge made the correct decision and after a long wait, justice prevailed. I applaud you, Ms. Jones, in your fight.  Keep up the good work and God bless you and your daughter. Thank you. Sue

Matyann Martindale responded, “First, no one knows the reasons for my involvement in this case or the conflicted feelings I have had during its course. The bottom line is this -I believe Cheryl Barlow. The things I witnessed and the conversations I had with both parties convinced me of this over and over.

To state that I only had a couple contacts is minimizing it. I also had extensive conversations with Keri Jones both email and in person that confirmed things I had witnessed and subsequently testified to. I did not fabricate or lie.

My opinion, after watching the proceedings, was that the judge was biased. Obviously "Sue's" opinion is different. I was not the only lesbian who testified for Miss Barlow, I am not the only person who has voiced concern over Judge Hansen's handling of the trial.

Again - it is just opinion. I also believe that as long as the State of Utah has laws in place that do not recognize gays and lesbians as parents, that anytime we try to use laws that were written for a different purpose to cover rights we don't currently have, we run the risk of exposing ourselves in other ways.

You may be an attorney, but I have talked to several attorneys all of which agree that this case exposes gay and lesbian families. In your mind Keri Jones is a parent, but in the State of Utah she is only someone who acted like a parent - that same definition applies to babysitters, grandparents, etc.

I am just saying that we need to be cautious. So, villify me if you must. I still believe what I testified and witnessed to be the truth or I would not have participated. Show me someone who is NOT biased in this case. It is complicated and messy and getting more so every day. This one is far from over.  MM

 

9 December 2004 Thursday

Barbara Danforth Nasady wrote: The Dr. had said Mom could survive 2-3 days at home, or 2 weeks in the hospital. APPARENTLY, he knows nothing about the spirit of our family. Mom has been home from the hospital for over three weeks. She is doing much better now, having lost all of the fluid she was retaining. She had dialysis one time in the hospital and that got her started. Now that she's lighter it will be easier for her to get strength back. Her heart and lungs will function better, too, as a result.  Of course, she still has emphysema, and diabetes, and the complications that come from those chronic illnesses. But we can rest a little easier now that the congestive heart failure has been addressed. After the first of the year, Bev will rent a house in Oceanside where she will live with Mom and Dad (yes, they will be together in the same house again). Gina and Willie live there, and I have my apartment so we will all pitch in. Of course, Alan and Carol (in Fontana), and Stacie, Steve, Brandon and Timmy (in Camarillo) will visit, as well. We expect to see Mom and Dad down at the beach, Dad fishing and Mom enjoying the ocean she loves so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had to spend time with Mom, but I will be returning to work after the first of the year.  Thanks for your support. Love,Barbara

 

10 December 2004 Friday

Utah Gay Rodeo Association · UGRA's Salute to Cowgirls

· Lesbian comedian, Paula Poundstone, performed at Mo Diggity's

 

11 December 2004 Saturday

Utah Gay Rodeo Association UGRA's Annual Salute to Cowboys

Happenings and Goings - On at the Stonewall Coffee Shop: Get DOWN here! This Saturday, December 11th, we will be having our first open mic.  This is for musicians, writers & poets.  Everyone is welcome to come and support the coffee shop,  share your written work or play a cool song or two.  I know this is short notice, but that's okay, because we will be having OPEN MIC night the 2nd Saturday OF EVERY MONTH.  If you can't come this week come next month either to participate or just enjoy the local talent, homemade baked goods, & specialty coffee.  Also,  Adeitia, the all female band that packed the house last Thursday, will now be providing their seductive brand of folk rock for your listening pleasure on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month!  Come and check it out!

 

13 December 2004

Michael Aaron wrote me, “Hey Ben, I'm realizing I didn't send you this email before our papers hit the stands again. We ended up having to cut 4 pages out of the paper, which meant that we had to cut some of the articles and columns that weren't time-sensitive out of this issue. This meant that your column was unfortunately bumped again. We are looking at it for the January 6 issue, unless you wanted to put something else there.

We are doing a Year in Review issue for Dec. 23. The email you sent with the first half of the year will definitely be used as a resource to compile that. I'm wondering if you have any more of the year already compiled. You may want to write your own take on the year in your column, but we will be putting together the actual year in review story. Sorry that I didn't tell you about this sooner. -Michael

I wrote back to Michael I am almost finished with my chronology for the year.  I was waiting for Metro and Pillar to come out especially the Pillar since they are monthly- to finish off December- since unlike Gordon B. I am no prophet.  That is why I sent it in two parts.

I still haven't picked up the Pillar so not sure when Snow Ball other annual December events are being held but I will send you what I have through the end of November. If you use it at all please acknowledge the Historical Society you know what they say-no such thing as bad press. Thanks for info on the former column. I never get feedback so never know what is going on with anything, whether too long, too wordy, not interested etc. One thing about doing a history column its already old news. LOL Hope you are having a stress free Holiday.  Best Regards Ben

Michael Aaron responded, “You are funny.  Snowball is this weekend. Starts Friday night, but the actual "Snow Ball" is Sunday night. I think I put a blurb on it in the Gay Agenda section.   Jere is putting together another quarterly writers' meeting the second week in January. He's also like anyone looking for feedback to maybe schedule a sit-down with him. I will definitely credit you and the USHS for the Year in Review stuff. Thanks, Ben. –Michael

I wrote back “Here attached is the 2nd half of the Year in Review.  Hope you realize it’s a pain in the butt to keep track of…Good thing I enjoy a good pain in the butt now and then. Ben

Michael Aaron wrote: I can imagine how much of a pain in the ass it is. Huh. I tend to like that once in a while too. Is that part of being gay? Thanks so much, Ben! -Michael

Jere Keyes wrote Upcoming Writers Meeting  We will be having our next quarterly staff and writers meeting for the Salt Lake Metro on Monday, January 10 at 6 p.m. Agenda topics to include: * the results of our recent readers’ poll * 2005 editorial calendar * upcoming special events * "State of the Company" report Of course, we'll also have Q&A time, a chance to meet and mingle with your fellow writers and staff, and I will set aside time for one-on-one meetings with anyone who wishes to chat after the formal meeting. Further details about the meeting forthcoming, but if you have any questions, please feel free to call me. Thanks, Jere Keys Editor, Salt Lake Metro Office:

14 December 2004

A LITTLE OFF GAY CENTER  Vol 1 Issue 18 Ben Williams Lambda Lore

      With the departure of Chad Beyer as executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah (I think its pronounced glib-tick-coo but have never found anyone to confirm this), I got to thinking about all the other courageous men and women who served as Utah’s Lambda Community EC’s. I say courageous because it takes nerves of steel and a hide the thickness of a bull (dyke) elephant, to face the on slaught of name-calling and daily criticism. And that’s just from the Gay community.

      Someone asked me once to apply for the position of director of The Utah Stonewall Center and I looked at him in disbelief as if he had asked me to ceremoniously disembowel myself. I’m sure that would have been less painful then what we inflict on our leaders.

      Actually I have to admire how long Chad lasted being a transplant from the east and not used to Western hospitality. It had to have been a step down to unpack bags in the City of Salt and think, “what the hell am I doing here!”

      The first person, of whom I am aware, to have stepped up to the Gay Community Center directorship plate was way back in 1975. Dorothy Makin served as the first director after Joe Redburn and the Board of the Gay Community Service Center told her that Judy Garland expected every homosexual to so his (or her) duty. “Ask not what the Gay community can do for you but what you can do for the Gay community center!” Later some confused homosexuals thought it was “who you can do in the community center” but that’s another story. Ms. Makin lasted about six months until the “flippin’ fags” drove her to distraction and she said the hell with this.

      To the rescue came Ken Storer, who having a Master’s Degree in Organizational Behavior as well as extensive training in psychology counseling and group therapy, should have known better. After six more months the Radicalesbians drove him to drink and he headed to Boise where he knew he could get a stiff one.

      After a valiant effort, Salt Lake City came to the conclusion that perhaps we were a tad bit immature to actually run a “community center”. After all the Seventies was the “me generation”. Could have work though if someone would have thought to put a disco ball in the joint.

      Nearly ten years would pass before memories faded enough to start another venture. In 1984 The Gay Community Service Center and Clinic was incorporated as an offspring of proud parents, Auntie De and Beauchaine. Because no one else was crazy enough to do so, this odd couple was chosen as pro tem co-directors. Now what was different about this second go around was the clinic portion; which was inspired by Duane Dawson. He noticed a lot of Gay boys were starting to get mighty sick and nobody in the straight world gave a hoot. The Center and Clinic inspired a lot of hoopla and fundraising but that was about all. Auntie De sputtered out and Beauchaine reinvented the concept so often that it became nearly unrecognizable. Kind of like Michael Jackson.

      The third effort was more effective. The Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah decided that it was high time to have a community center back in capital city. So after endless monthly committee meetings, Charlene Orchard got the financial packaging together to open the Utah Stonewall Center-a Project of the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah. What a mouth full! Effable Craig Miller was elected as the first director of the Utah Stonewall Center but after a slugfest year he chose to step down.

      Since it’s not polite to hit a girl, Melissa Sillitoe, lately of the Utah Gay and Lesbian Youth (UGLY) Group, rolled up her sleeves, and charmed the hell out of everyone while cleverly managing to be efficient and business like. She even sweet-talked Marlin Criddle into having the post be a part time salaried position. A first! Melissa was short enough to dodge most of the slings and arrows, and after nearly 3 years she walked away with all her integrity and most of her body parts. The experience, however, scared her straight!

      By now the Utah Stonewall Center had cut the cord from the GLCCU and was free floating. Between 1995 and 1997 the Stonewall Center seemed to be hemorrhaging directors, among them, John Bennett, Renee Rinaldi, who became the first full time director, Michael O’Brien, and Alan Ahtow who had the distinction of pulling the plug as directed by Brook Heart-Song.

      Ahtow oversaw the disembodied Utah Stonewall Center while it was in the “Ethereal World” (also known as Cyberspace) until a new creature arose in 1998, reincarnated as the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and tuh-duh “Stonewall Coffee House”.

      New and improved, with respectable hardwood floors, “The Center”, wink wink, hired Monique Predovitch, for about five seconds, until asking for a tried and true Utah Gay activist, Doug Wortham, to make sense of the place. Rolling up his sleeves and putting his shoulder to the wheel, Wortham managed to hand over the wood floors to Seattle’s Best, Paula Wolfe without a scuff mark.

      Paula Wolfe and gang ran the center for five years, hand picked their own board, and swallowed up Pride Day. Wolfish about getting grants for the Center Paula finally bailed as the cash cows dried up. Seeking greener pastures she moved back to the Emerald City. Then lo and behold a knight is shining armor came from the east to rescue us but faster than you can say “dangling Chad” he dropped from the scene.

      Now a plucky Valarie Larabee will be our new lightening rod, ahem, I mean Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah executive director. Valarie -Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee! Quick someone call the Gay Help Line. Oh I forgot. It’s been disconnected.

David Nelson announced Our Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah meetings include our indoor and outdoor shooting-range meetings on Dec. 14 and 19. If you know someone who is or was a SSSU member, remind them to resubscribe to our forum. Our database was deleted accidentally in October, and we're trying to rebuild it. Invite your family and friends to join us … just forward this message to them.

And, remember to celebrate the Second Amendment, and all our constitutional rights, on Dec. 15 for the 213th U.S. Bill of Rights Day.

 

16 December 2004

Heidi Ho Waters resigned from the ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE due to fiduiary irregularities during her reign as Empress XXVIII.

Greg Harden stepped down as chair of ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE Board over controversy whether a non monarch could serve in that position.

 

17 December 2004

SL Tribune revealed that Utah Log Cabin Republican Chairman Gordon Storrs is a member of Huntsman's transition team. Gordon Storrs, Master Planning Coordinator at SLCC

Fruit Heights Republican Sen. Greg Bell drafting legislation to allow unmarried adults who live together but are ineligible to marry in Utah the right to sign a contract legally establishing their relationship and granting the couple some rights assumed in marriage.

 

19 December 2004

ROYAL COURT OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE EMPIRE presented Snow Ball with Theme A Christmas Carol: Past,Present, and Future at Club Sound

 GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER CCU elected Evelyn Garrington President, and Robert Austin, Vice President of the board. Mariane Martindale will step down January 1.

 

20 December 2004

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Utah announces that the Utah Stonewall Coffee Company will close due to fiduciary problems

GLBTCCU announced that the Utah Stonewall Coffee Company which had been part of the center since its inception in 1998 will close due to fiduciary problems

Deborah Bulkeley of the Deseret Morning News reported “Gay center faces funding woes Director hoping to raise enough to keep programs going A bleak funding situation is threatening to shut down the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah and the social and outreach programs it provides, the new executive director said. "We are committed to not closing our doors," said Valarie Larabee, who took the helm of the GLBT Center, 361 N. 300 West, two weeks ago.

Since learning of the financial situation this week, Larabee said she's launched an aggressive fund-raising drive to keep the center viable. "We have $10,500 in the bank, and our monthly expenses average about $20,000," she said. "Somewhere in mid-January we start going into the red."

Larabee's goal is to raise $160,000 by Dec. 31. That, she said, would fund the GLBT Center through June, providing enough of a cushion to plan ahead, though the center could remain operational on less.

 "If we got $20,000, it's one additional month of operating," Larabee said. "It would be prudent at that point to start cutting programs." Board chairwoman Maryann Martindale said the center has been operating "bare-bones" and month-to-month for some time. She said it hasn't been able to recoup the loss of as much as 25 percent of its budget when a tobacco prevention grant wasn't renewed. That grant would have provided $100,000 per year for two more years.

The GLBT Center also lost its executive director of 4 1/2 years in April when Paula Wolfe stepped down. Larabee started as executive director this month after Chad Beyer, who took the position in August, resigned. Larabee said the first service to be cut would likely be the coffee shop. The GLBT Center, established in 1991, also provides a meeting place, youth activity center and library. It sponsors the annual Utah Pride celebration.

Martindale said the center's most needed services are its youth programs. A lot of these kids sort of flounder when they come out with this identity. We give them a place where there's some hope," she said. "There's a high risk of suicide in gay youth, we really feel we play an important role in helping to stem that."

 

23 December 2004 Thursday

Jessica Ravitz of the Salt Lake Tribune reported “Gays win skirmish over dates for dance Copper Hills High: They no longer need permission slips; national group joins fray”

“Copper Hills High is singing a new tune about gay couples attending school dances. No longer do they need written parental permission – a requirement from the principal that sparked a round of protests and a flurry of national attention.

The school's about-face delighted Jason Atwood, the 17-year-old senior who fought Principal Tom Worlton's rule. "That is very exciting," Atwood said Tuesday. "Maybe I was wrong when I said Copper Hills wasn't tolerant. They're a lot more willing to work with students than I thought they were."

Atwood wanted to bring his boyfriend to a school dance last month, but was concerned they would be harassed. As a safety precaution, Worlton asked Atwood to bring a permission slip from his parents - a step not required of straight couples. The principal said he saw it as a way to keep parents in the loop about their kids' concerns.

Atwood's parents refused to sign the slip for fear that it would absolve the school of responsibility to protect their son. So Atwood stayed home. But he didn't stay quiet.

Atwood and his friends staged four days of protests outside the West Jordan school. After news stories about the dispute popped up in Utah and across the nation, Worlton promised to re-evaluate his stand.

Now, according to Jordan School District spokeswoman Melinda Colton, Copper Hills is dropping the permission-slip requirement. "If the student doesn't feel the need to tell the principal, [a same-sex couple] can just show up at the dance," she said.

However, if students - "gay or not" - approach Worlton with safety concerns, the principal still would place a call to parents. "It just . . . helps parents to be included," she said. Worlton could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Dani Eyer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, applauded the action. "If it's evenhanded across the board, that's great," she said. But the issue points to a continuing problem: discrimination, bullying or assaults of gay students in the nation's schools.

Lambda Legal, a 31-year-old nonprofit gay-rights organization, has launched its first national public service announcement campaign aimed at protecting gay youths. The group is targeting Utah for its television and radio PSAs because of the Copper Hills fallout.

"With the recent controversy . . . it became apparent that there was a particular need in this community for increased awareness – to educate gay students, public schools and the community at large," said Michael Adams, Lambda's director of education and public affairs.

The ads - funded partly by a former Reno, Nev., student who won a $400,000 settlement in a federal civil rights suit against his school district - feature various gay youths who discuss their rights in school.

One script reads: In second grade, I was the only kid who loved green. My teacher said it was OK to be different. Last year, I wanted to take my girlfriend to the prom. My school said, "No." It wasn't OK to be different anymore. Then I learned I had rights at school. I have the right to be who I am. I have the right to support from adults. We have the right to start a Gay-Straight Alliance. I have the right not to be harassed.. . We have the right to be ourselves - to be out, safe and

respected.

So far, four Utah television stations - KTVX, KSL, KSTU and KUTV - have received the PSAs. But only one, KTVX, has committed to running it in January. "It's a nice piece," Shar Lewis, community affairs director of the ABC affiliate said. "It's a little controversial, but that's not going to prevent me from running it."

Steve Poulsen, vice president of marketing at KSL-TV, said his station won't be airing the ads. "We will not be running these because they don't target a large percentage of our viewership."

Adams said such reactions miss the point. "It's important people see this as not just a gay issue but as an issue of the right of every person to receive a fair and supportive education," he said. "The fact that gay students have legal rights is indisputable. There shouldn't be anything controversial about that."

Harassment of gays A 2003 survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students found that: 78 percent heard slurs regularly, up to 25 times a day in high school. 19 percent heard similar epithets from faculty or staff at least some of the time. 83 percent reported that faculty or staff never or only sometimes intervened on their behalf. 65 percent had been sexually harassed. 39 percent had been shoved. 17 percent had been assaulted. 64 percent felt unsafe in school.

 

26 December 2004 Saturday

Today is the first anniversary of the death of my father. December 26 – The 9.1–9.3 Mw  Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting coastal areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, killing over 200,000 people.

Homo For the Holidays, a fundraiser for UAF, held.

Gordon B. Hinckley, Church President interview with Larry King, on CNN's "Larry King Live"; transcript available on cnn.com The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that gays have "a problem" and need help.

Appearing on CNN's Larry King Live, Gordon B. Hinckley stressed the importance of the traditional family, telling King that of gays, "We love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem."

King then asked the 94-year old leader of the world's Mormons if the "problem" is one caused by gays themselves or one they were born with. "I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem, Hinckley replied.

"Many people who have to discipline themselves. If they transgress, they become subject to the discipline of the Church. But we try in every way that we know how to help them, to assist them, to bless their lives."

Hinckley also reiterated the LDS opposition to same-sex marriage. Asked about civil unions Hinckley told King that the Church wants to be cautious. "Well, we want to be very careful about that, because that - whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of."

Earlier this year the Mormon Church was instrumental in getting passage of an amendment to the Utah Constitution banning gay marriage.  In a statement published by the Church two weeks before voters in the heavily LDS state went to the polls the Church said that men should only marry women and that ''any other sexual relations, including [those] between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of family.'' 

Hinckley's appearance on the King show was his fourth. The interview also touched on the church's relationship to African Americans. The Church did not allow blacks to hold the priesthood until 1978.  King, who is Jewish, but whose wife is a Mormon, asked if there will ever be a black prophet.

"There could be," Hinckley responded noting that he earlier this year dedicated an LDS temple in Ghana and expects to dedicate another one in Nigeria next year. [Mormon Leader: 'Gays Have A Problem' by Ed Welch 365Gay.com Los Angeles Bureau]

 

28 December 2004 Monday

Richard Butler wrote: It's been a long time. Hope all is well. I never hear from you anymore. I work strange hours and long days.I fell in love and plan on getting married. When is a big ????????????? mark. But it will happen some day. Please converse via e-mail all other means are iffy at best.  I still hope and trust that we are still friends. How's Mike and the dogs ?If you receive this e-mail let me know if everything's alright. Richard (lost in Kennecott) Butler.

I replied: howdy howdy howdy....Yes its been a long time- time just slips by...we thought you might have moved to Oregon.  Year seems to be a blur… went home a lot to deal with family matters...my principal of ten years was replaced and I am looking at changing schools. Mikes parents came down for xmas and sister moved to Folsom Ca.  The dogs are fine. I had to put Billy Cat down last June. He was 17 years old.  Haven't been over because I know you have odd hours and I am getting more and more to just stay home. How's your diabetis? I had pneumonia all last June. Was in bed for a month and took the summer to recover.  Mike bought a Equinox and sold the red truck to Randy and Kimberley. They gave it to Elysse who is driving now.  I still have my white truck. Only have 55,000 miles on it.

Richard Butler replied: Yes my hours are weird. Thay change my shift and hours all the time. I'm now on four days of 12 hours and four days off. (Lots of O/T)My diabetes is in check and have been off meds for about 6 months now. Just need to eat the right thinks and not the stuff I like LOL!!I spent the past summer going on a lot of trips with Brenda. We hooked up last spring and have been dating ever since. You remember Brenda? I think we came by your house once years ago. She is divorced now so we decided to get back together. We have gone to Idaho, Colorado, California and lots of places in between. She loves to camp and do BBQ's. Perfect match for me. I'll fill you in later on other details. I rotate in and out of weekends with my schedule so for several weeks I have days off during the week and vice versa. I was thinking about you guys and was glad to hear from you. Keep in touch. Richard P.S. I wrote your cell number down and will call when I get back into my "weekends" off. 

 

29 December 2004 Tuesday

AIDS and EXPERIMENTS Ben Williams Lambda Lore

I wrote an extensive article on Utah's Response to the AIDS Epidemic, an abbreviated version was presented at the Utah State Historical Society in 2003.

 Research for the paper led me to some very disturbing allegations many which I believe are more probable causes for the spread of AIDS in the Gay population rather the  mutated green monkey virus theory.

 We know that racist experiments using unsuspecting African Americans as guinea pigs were conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service. Four hundred poor, illiterate Black sharecroppers in Tuskegee, Alabama were given syphilis. and the doctors who carried out the experiment lied to the men and their families, telling them only that they were suffering from "bad blood."

 Radiation experiments were conducted on unsuspecting U.S. citizens during the Cold War years with even American children being given small doses of radiation in their cereal. Here in Utah, citizens were allowed to be down wind of atomic fallout while the official government spokesmen stated that there were no dangers.

 Dr. Sabin had a bad batch of live polio vaccine that killed hundred. Some blame the Smallpox eradication project by WHO as spreading HIV in Africa by a contaminated batch of vaccine.

Strange that the sexual revolution of the 1970’s, which involved many more heterosexuals than homosexuals, would produce AIDS almost simultaneously only in Gay populations in large American cities many as far apart as 2,500 miles.

Maybe not so strange-the Military-Industrial-and Pharmaceutical Industries were working day and night to produce bio-weapons during the Cold War.

On July 1, 1969 Dr. Donald MacArthur, deputy director of the Pentagon under President Richard Nixon testified before a congressional subcommittee during a hearing on chemical/biological warfare stating: “Within the next 5 to 10 years, it would probably be possible to make a new infective microorganism which could differ in certain important aspects from any known disease-causing organisms. Most important of these is that it might be refractory to the immunological and therapeutic processes upon which we depend to maintain our relative freedom from infectious disease.    

During the early 1970s, the U.S. Army’s bio-warfare program intensified, particularly in the area of DNA and gene splicing research but under the guise of the National Cancer Institute. In 1971 President Richard Nixon initiated his famous War on Cancer, and ordered that offensive bio-warfare research especially “genetic engineering of viruses” continue under the umbrella of orthodox cancer research. Immediately a major part of the Army’s bio-warfare research was transferred over to the National Cancer Institute where retro-viruses were created for the first time. As predicted by Dr. McArthur, by 1974 new cancer-causing and deadly to the immune system viruses were created at the National Cancer Institute.

In October 1976 the United States mobilized for an unprecedented inoculation program against an “influenza virus.” Governmental scientists warned of an outbreak of a deadly strain of the swine flu- similar to the influenza that decimated the world some sixty years earlier during World War I.  “Free” vaccination was offered to Americans and tens of millions lined up for their shots at public schools, governmental buildings, universities, medical institutions.  Never before or since has America taken a pro-active stance against a perceived health threat. The polio vaccinations of the 1950’s was for an already known disease. However Swine flu never came to America.

One has to wonder whether was it really swine influenza that governmental medical authorities wanted Americans inoculated for, or for some other unknown virus? While Swine flu never came to Utah, in January 1977 there were 11 confirmed cases of Guillian-Barre-Syndrone which was associated with many different kinds of viral diseases caused by reaction to the flu shot. G.B. Syndrome was virally similar to Epstein Barr Syndrome which also attacks the immune system and had never been seen before in Utah.

One night stands were fashionable in 70's in both straight and Gay communities- not just in the Gay men’s community.  And yet it was the Gay population  which was under attack for the spread of venereal disease.  In an article for  the Salt Lake Tribune dated 19 June 1977, Dr. Harry L. Gibbons, health director of Salt Lake City and County chastised “homosexuals promoting Gay rights to become more responsible in providing VD information to health officers….Be it homosexual or heterosexual, that is irresponsible sex, and constitutes a health problem, and therefore an additional tax burden. I would not mention homosexuals per se except it is my opinion that the percentage of VD problems resulting from homosexual contacts constitutes a much greater percentage of the overall VD problem.”

Ten years after Dr. McArthur’s testimony before congress, in 1979, the first AIDS cases were surfacing in the U.S,  mostly where Hepatitis B experiments were being performed.

By the beginning of the 1980s, Dr. Wolf Szmuness was awarded millions of dollars for his research and he collaborated with the most powerful medical institutions in the nation. Global connections included the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyons, France, and even the services of the Sengalese Army in Africa were employed to secure blood specimens in one of Dr. Szmuness' many African experiments.

After the Hepatitis-B experiment ended, Dr. Szmuness insisted that all thirteen thousand blood specimens donated by Gay men be retained at the Blood Center for future use. Due to space requirements, it is highly unusual for any laboratory to retain so many old blood specimens. When asked why he was keeping so many vials of blood, Dr. Szmuness replied, "Because one day another disease may erupt and we’ll need this material."

Years later in 1985 when this stored blood at the Blood Center was retested for the presence of HIV antibodies, government epidemiologists were able to detect the "introduction" and the spread of HIV into the Gay community sometime around 1978-1979, the same year Dr. Szmuness’ Gay Hepatitis-B experiment began.

With the publication of And The Band Played On in 1987, the media became obsessed with author Randy Shilts’ "Patient Zero" story about a young Canadian airline steward named Gaeton Dugas "who brought the AIDS virus from Paris and ignited the epidemic in North America."

 Dugas was diagnosed with AIDS-associated "Gay cancer" in June 1980 in New York City at a time when over twenty percent of the Manhattan Gays in the Hepatitis-B experiment were already HIV-positive. This 20%  infection rate was discovered after the HIV blood test became available in 1985, and after the stored blood at the New York Blood Center was retested for HIV antibodies. There was no mythical Patient Zero after all.

The Gay men of the Hepatitis B Experiment in 1980 had the highest recorded incidence of HIV anywhere in the world for that time. Even more than in African populations, where AIDS has been touted to exist for decades if not centuries.

For that year, this extremely high infection rate is the highest rate of HIV infection ever recorded for any "high risk" group in the AIDS medical  literature. The main stream media continues to promote unlikely stories about the origin of AIDS, always avoiding discussion of the idea that HIV came out of a laboratory, and always pointing the finger to black Africa.   

Many claim that AIDS existed latent and undetected in the Gay population prior to the Hepatitis experiments however "in those (Gay men) who received all three injections, 96% developed antibodies against the (hepatitis) virus. The experiment could never have been so phenomenally successful if the Gay men were infected with HIV before the experiment.  Studies have shown that hepatitis B vaccination is not very successful in immunodepressed people. In HIV-positive individuals, the success rate of the hepatitis B vaccine is about 50%, only protecting one out of two people infected with the  AIDS virus.”

This suggests that Gay men in Dr. Szmuness' study were healthy before the experiment--and damaged afterward. The experiment would have been a failure (never 96% effective) if the immune systems of the men hadn't been working at full capacity.

 At the time Dr. Szmuness was carefully selecting the healthiest Gay men in Manhattan for his vaccine trials, the country was going through one of its most homophobic period in history. America’s far right darling, Anita Bryant unleashed a religious backlash against Gay people in 1977. In October 1978, one month before Dr. Szmuness' experiment began, California voters were deciding whether to outlaw Gay people from teaching in the state's schools and in November of that year Harvey Milk, the first publicly elected official in America, was assassinated. His killer was declared not guilty due to his diminished capacity caused by stress and eating too much junk food

I don’t know whether the introduction of HIV via the hepatitis B trials was a deliberate attempt to liquidate the Gay community--and then blame homosexual men for spreading the disease to the "general population" because of their perverted and "high risk" lifestyle. Who knows? Could have been a lone maniac working out of the National Institute of Heath not necessarily a wide conspiracy.

AIDS Project Utah in 1986 sponsored nine different speakers in a Salt Lake AIDS Symposium including Dr. Mathilde  Krim, co-chair of the American Foundation for AIDS Research. She was the keynote speaker. Dr. Krim also suggested that AIDS was spread in the Gay Men’s community from tainted gamma globulin during the Hepatitis B experiments on Gay Men in the late 1970’s. But she hypothesized that the concurrent appearance of AIDS through out the world may have resulted from the use of Gamma Globulin extracted from African Blood donors.

One does have to believe in a lot of coincidences to accept official versions of the origin of AIDS. Why did a new "Gay disease" erupt as soon as homosexuals officially came out of the closet? Why were new retro viral diseases, never before seen in modern medicine, appearing so soon after retro viruses were "discovered"?  Why did the AIDS "super virus" appear a decade after it was predicted by the bio warfare experts? Why are Gay men, HIV-positive infants and poor Blacks the new experimental subjects for drug companies?  Money of course.

Jere Keys wrote to me Interesting article. I’m curious, though… do you believe there is a connection between the experiment and the early spread of HIV in America? Your column seems to imply so, without directly stating it. Or was it just a case of coincidental timing? I’m not asking you to rewrite the article or anything, I’m just curious about your personal opinion. Jere

 

31 December 2004

I am so unhappy with my life now, I feel like there's no joy in my life. I just go through the motions to keep a roof over my head, bills paid and take care of my furry family. I feel so unloved and unappreciated and not a useful member of the Gay community if I ever was. Chad Keller keeps me involved I suppose. 

Dear USHS Board Members and Friends, I am excited and pleased to announce that Ben Williams has been accepted to make a presentation at the State Historical Society's annual meeting. His presentation will be on Utah's Response to the AIDS Epidemic 1981-86.  Final Detail of the times will be forwarded later. I would invite member of our community to attend, for this presentation.  It is the first of its kind for the State Historical Society.   And may be  the first time in such a forum our community to take center stage in such a presentation.  If possible, and where appropriate please share with interested parties and members of your groups. Thanks! Chad Keller USHS Gay Pride Month.