APRIL 2000
1 April 2000 Saturday
I filled on my 2000 census form today listing
Mike Romero and I as partners. In the year 2072 if anyone cares they will find
us after we are long dead.
Affirmation: Gay &
Lesbian Mormons will hold its annual mission reunion today at 7 p.m. at
Metropolitan Community Church, 823 S. 600 East, Salt Lake City. Potluck (bring
a dish), entertainment and guest speakers. Call 486-6977. "After
Conference Sunday Fireside" -- Sunday at 5 p.m. Janis Allred and Camille
Biexei will speak on "Creating a Spiritual Community” at Metropolitan
Community Church, 823 S. 600 East, Salt Lake City. Call 486-6977.
5 April 2000 Wednesday
The Salt Lake Tribune Mayor Outlaws Gay Bias
Anderson makes good on campaign promise;
Executive Order Bans Gay Bias In S.L. City Hall BY REBECCA WALSH
Quietly, but
deliberately, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an executive order
Tuesday night that is meant to protect Gay and lesbian city workers from
discrimination. “This goes beyond legal ramifications. It's not merely
symbolic," Anderson said. "It's going to be very effective in sending
the message that we will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation in Salt Lake City." Besides adding "sexual orientation"
to city nondiscrimination policies, Anderson signed two more executive orders.
One requires city managers to consider diversity when hiring. And another
restricts city workers' acceptance of gifts. Anderson's unilateral decision to
bolster city anti-discrimination policies fulfills a campaign promise and puts
to rest an issue that divided current and former City Council members. "Doing it this way will send a positive
message without a lot of the divisiveness we saw in the community when the
council dealt with this issue," Anderson said. In 1997, former
Councilwoman Deeda Seed, now Anderson's chief of staff, sent her council
colleagues into convulsions when she proposed adding "sexual
orientation" to Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination laws. The council adopted
the change at the end of 1997, but a group of newly elected council members
repealed it a month later. Ultimately, council members avoided the troublesome
words, replacing the list of protected groups with a requirement that city
bosses base hiring and firing decisions on "job-related criteria."
Current Council Chairman Carlton Christensen, one of those who repealed the
ordinance, wonders why Anderson bothered with an executive order. "Why doesn't our current ordinance meet
the needs?" But Anderson said those broadly worded guidelines are not
enough. "It's extremely important that laws or ordinances or
administrative orders confront the issue of discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation directly," he said.
Anderson's order -- basically the language Seed originally proposed --
will change city personnel policies, but leaves in place the council's
ordinance. The University of Utah adopted a similar policy in 1991. And Salt
Lake County commissioners added protections for Gay employees eight years ago.
Cities such as Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Ann Arbor, Mich., have similar
ordinances. The issue dogged Mayor Deedee Corradini during her 1995 re-election
bid. Challenger Rich McKeown said he would sign a memo protecting Gay and
lesbian city employees from discrimination. Corradini never responded. And two
years ago, during the council's machinations, Corradini stayed out of it,
despite pleas from the Gay and lesbian community -- and Anderson -- to veto the
repeal of the original ordinance. Anderson promised to sign an executive order
protecting Gay city employees from discrimination during the 1999 mayoral race.
He makes no apologies for leaving council members out of it. "This should come as no surprise to
anyone." But council members were shocked when they received copies of the
orders. "I'm disappointed that he's issued executive orders without
briefing the council first," said Councilman Keith Christensen. "The
council is the policy-making body of this city and all of the sudden we're
seeing executive orders that deal with policy decisions that we haven't
discussed." Civil-rights
advocates praised Anderson's action Tuesday. "If someone loses their job
because of discrimination based on sexual orientation, they have recourse
now," said Paula Wolfe, director of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Utah.
Wolfe would like Anderson to consider extending city benefits to partners of
Gay and lesbian employees as well. The mayor's order does not include such
benefits. Anderson said he supports the idea, but City Council members would
have to change benefits policies.
Anderson said his two additional executive orders remedy other lapses in
city laws and policies. When he took office, Anderson appointed a group of
attorneys, professors and professionals to review city ethics laws. After
months of meetings, the committee recommended revisions to a city ethics
ordinance that restrict employees' acceptance of gifts. Two years ago, city leaders adopted the
ethics ordinance in the wake of Corradini's gift-gathering scandal, setting a
limit on gifts at $50. Again, Anderson said that is not enough. "A bright
line needs to be drawn prohibiting all gifts, without regard to the intent
behind the gift or consideration of whether or not the gift would in fact exert
influence," the order states. "Over time, an unfortunate perception
has arisen that citizens with money have better access to the chambers of power
than those without money. Other professionals, like judges and journalists,
abide by strict codes of conduct that forbid acceptance of any gifts. Salt Lake
City employees ought to ask no less of themselves." For months, Anderson
avoided accepting even a free cup of coffee. His executive order is less
stringent, however. Employees can accept social gifts such as meals or honorariums
from Sister Cities. But they cannot solicit or accept additional gifts through
their jobs. "We ought to ask ourselves, 'Would I be getting this if I
didn't work for Salt Lake City?' " the order says. "If the answer is
'No,' then the gift should be refused." gain, both Councilmen Carlton
Christensen and Keith Christensen are skeptical. They worry the new gift policy
could lay an undue burden on city employees.
But Anderson said workers will be able to decide for themselves if a
gift or meal is "a reasonably necessary part of doing the job for the
taxpayers." "It's a matter of
judgment," he said. Anderson's
final executive order sets an aggressive agenda to diversify city
government. "The city will take
affirmative action to recruit, hire, train, retain and promote qualified
individuals who will add to the diversity of our work force," the order
states. "Salt Lake City managers shall make every effort, to the extent
allowed by law, to have a work force that reflects the diversity of our
community." Anderson was chagrined recently to find the city has no
affirmative action program, as required by federal law. The mayor has staffers
working to draft a plan. Meantime, his order will require city directors to
annually review internal barriers to diversity, outline strategies and analyze
their successes and failures. "We will take measures to bring diversity to
city government," he said.
8 April 2000 Saturday
Actress Claire Trevor died today at the age of
90. She was in the 1939 Stagecoach movie with John Wayne which is one of my all
time favorite movies.
10 April 2000 Monday
I turned 49 today and took my birthday off
from school like I always do because I don’t want to deal with the fuss the
kids make if they know its my birthday. It’s cooler today than it has been but
everything is blooming.
I
watched some television this evening That 70’s Show and Everyone One Loves
Raymond. I used to watch Ally McBeal but got tired of it. Actor Larry Linville
who played Major Frank Burns in MASH died today. He was only 60 years old
11 April 2000 Tuesday
The Salt Lake Tribune Students Sue District
Over Gay Clubs Two East High juniors say S.L. district violated their rights
when it denied requests to form clubs;
East High Juniors Sue District Over Gay Clubs BY HEATHER MAY Two East
High School students sued the Salt Lake City School District on Monday, claiming
discrimination because the district will not allow them to form a club to
discuss Gay and lesbian issues. Jessica Cohen and Margaret Hinckley, both
juniors, contend the district violated their First Amendment rights of
expression when it denied their requests to form the Rainbow Club in 1999 and
the PRISM (People Respecting Important Social Movements) Club in January. The
civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court, is the latest attempt to create
school-sponsored clubs that deal with homosexuality in Salt Lake City schools.
In 1996, after students proposed a support group for Gay, lesbian and bisexual
students, the Salt Lake City School District banned all nonacademic clubs. The
district was then sued in 1998 by students Ivy Fox and Keysha Barnes, who claimed
the ban violated their rights of free speech. Last October, a federal judge
ruled the ban is constitutional. Gay, lesbian and bisexual students and their
supporters have continued to meet after hours on public school campuses as
community groups. But because those clubs are nonacademic, they are not
sanctioned by the schools, which means they must rent space, pay for insurance
and cannot advertise their clubs at school. In the lawsuit, Cohen and Hinckley
contend their clubs would have an academic tie to history, sociology,
government and biology classes since they look at homosexual perspectives on
all those subjects. The clubs would be open to students of any sexual
orientation. "What a cool way to extend or enhance the curriculum in a way
that's really meaningful to them," said Stephen Clark, staff attorney for
the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and lead counsel for Cohen and
Hinckley. "You would think educators would be rewarding that kind of
initiative and creativity. Unfortunately, because it deals with sexuality in
some broad sense, it's somehow off-limits." The New York-based Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund and the National Center for Lesbian Rights,
based in San Francisco, joined the lawsuit as co-counsels. The mothers of the
two girls approved the lawsuit. Cohen and Hinckley have asked the court to
force the district to allow the PRISM and Rainbow clubs to meet as
school-sponsored clubs and to pay their attorney fees. The Salt Lake City
School District declined comment on the lawsuit. Assistant Superintendent
Cynthia Seidel, in charge of approving academic clubs and the suit's sole
defendant, said in a March 1 letter that the clubs are not adequately related
to curriculum. The impact, experience
and contributions of Gays and lesbians are "not taught in the courses you
cite," she wrote in explaining why she rejected the PRISM club. But Cohen and Hinckley believe Seidel is
applying district standards unfairly. She approved a humanities club, a
problem-solving club and Polynesian Club, the lawsuit says. The latter was
created at East High School to help students better understand the Polynesian
community and enrich a Tongan language class. In an interview, Cohen said she
wants students to have a better understanding of Gays and lesbians. The clubs
would have filled the gaps left by teachers who "can't or won't"
discuss Gay and lesbian issues, she said.
"That's ridiculous to make some people go through hoops when other
people can say, 'Hey, I've got an idea for a club and it ties with these
classes,' and [the district] says, 'OK,' " said Cohen. Hinckley, a distant
relative of Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, believes the district
denied the applications merely because they contained the words "Gay"
and "lesbian." Clark said the district is showing bias against Gay
viewpoints. He notes that under district policy, Gay and lesbian students would
be allowed to join other academic clubs and offer their opinions on homosexual
issues, "but for some reason Superintendent Seidel is prohibiting the
formation of a club that would sort of focus on the expression of that
viewpoint," Clark said. "So it's like: 'You can express this
viewpoint, but not too much,' " Cohen and Hinckley could convene the
Rainbow and PRISM clubs after school under the Utah Civic Center Act. The law
allows community groups to rent space from schools as long as they are
sponsored by an adult and provide liability insurance. But Clark said his clients want to meet
"as full citizens in that community and not be treated as second-class
citizens."
14 April 2000 Friday
Napster the file sharing music platform that I
use to down load so much music for use in school for hard to find songs as well
as a ton of songs for my own use is being sued for copyright enfringement so it
will probably disappear and no more free music.
Pride Fest 2000 held a Gay & Lesbian Film
Festival Friday April 14 – Saturday April 22 at Taggart Student Center
Auditorium Utah State University, Logan Utah. Co-sponsored by: USU Departments
of: Communications; History; Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology; Women
& Gender Research Institute; USU Pride! Alliance; KUED Television; G.L.S.N.
Matinee - $2.50 Evening Feature - $3.00 Double Feature - $5.00 Full festival
Pass: Students - $20.00 Non-Students - $25.00 ASK YOUR PROFESSOR ABOUT EXTRA
CREDIT Movie Show Times: Friday April 14: 2:00 pm – Boy’s Life (5 Short
Features) (Post Movie Discussion) 6:00 pm – It’s in the Water (Comedy) (Post
Movie Discussion) 8:00 pm – Love, Valour, Compassion (Drama) (Post Movie Discussion)
Saturday April 15: 3:00 pm – Out of the Past, Friends & Neighbors
(Documentaries) (Post Movie Discussion) 6:00 pm – Torch Song Trilogy (Drama)
(Post Movie Discussion) 8:00 pm – Neptune’s Rocking Horse (Drama) (Post Movie
Discussion) Monday April 17: 2:00 pm – Friends & Neighbors (Documentary)
(Post Movie Discussion) 6:00 pm – The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in
Love (Comedy) (Post Movie Discussion) 8:00 pm – The Edge of Seventeen (Drama)
(Post Movie Discussion) Tuesday April 18: 2:00 pm – Out of the Past
(Documentary)(Post Movie Discussion) 6:00 pm – Boy’s Life (5 Short Features)
8:00 pm – Being at Home with Claude (Drama)(Post Movie Discussion) Thursday
April 20: 6:00 pm – Love, Valour, Compassion (Drama) 8:00 pm – Being at Home
with Claude (Drama) Friday April 21: 2:00 pm – Torch Song Trilogy (Drama) 6:00
pm – It’s in the Water (Comedy) 8:00 pm – The Incredibly True Adventure of Two
Girls in Love Saturday April 22: 4:00 pm – Neptune’s Rocking Horse (Drama) 6:00
pm – The Edge of Seventeen (Drama)
8:00 pm – Killer Condom (Comedy)
15 April 2000 Saturday
The Salt Lake Tribune Preacher Says Bible Is
Gay Friendly For years, Samuel Kader
struggled to choose between love for his Maker and his attraction to other men.
It was one or the other, he had been taught, for the Bible makes it clear that
homosexuality is an abomination to God.
Or does it? The now Rev. Kader, in his 18th year of domestic partnership
with another man, says years of study have convinced him otherwise. The Bible
does not condemn same-sex love, he writes in Openly Gay, Openly Christian: How
the Bible Really is Gay Friendly (Leyland Publications, 1999), but makes a
uniform offer of acceptance and salvation to all. That is what he preaches
Sundays at Community Gospel Church in Dayton, Ohio, the predominantly Gay
Pentecostal fellowship he founded 14 years ago. It will be the same message he
delivers April 28-30 during revival meetings at Ogden's Glory to God
Metropolitan Community Church. Kader
says he has recently witnessed "a sovereign act of God" in the
growing openness of the homosexual community to the gospel. "[He] is causing Gays to become on-fire
Christians when the church at large denies God's love for us and our
existence,” the pastor said. "Christ is being exalted in our lives, and he
is not converting us into heterosexuals -- just Gays who love God more and
more." As for the Bible, Kader's
160-page book challenges scripturally based arguments that God condemns
homosexuality. One is the Genesis account of the destruction of Sodom, a fiery
judgment traditionally linked to threats by the city's men to rape two angels
sent to rescue Lot and his family.
"Bring them out to us, that we may know them," Genesis 19:5
quotes the mob as demanding. Lot offered his daughters instead, but the enraged
crowd rushed his door. The attack was turned back when the angels blinded the
attackers. Lot and his family were evacuated and Sodom perished shortly
thereafter. Openly Gay, Openly
Christian argues that the Hebrew verb translated as "to know" is
ambiguous, being variously interpreted into English as "to know
carnally" and "to be acquainted with." Kader also wonders why,
if the crowd did consist of would-be Gay rapists, Lot offered them his daughters?
Kader strives to clarify the account with other scripture. Ezekiel 16:49-50,
for example, lists as Sodom's abominations pride, haughtiness, idleness and
injustice to the poor; the passage does not mention homosexuality. Kader does
allow that Leviticus 18:22 seems to clearly condemn same-sex relations by
stating: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an
abomination." However, he maintains
the offense -- for which the Bible demands death -- was technically of a
religious, rather than sexual, nature. The writer of Leviticus, held to be
Moses, was concerned with Israelites engaging in pagan rituals associated with
idolatry and male temple prostitution, Kader argues. Such alternative views
have found increasing acceptance among some liberal, mainline denominations, a
number of whom welcome Gays and lesbians. It is with more conservative,
evangelical churches that biblical condemnation of same-sex relations finds its
most loyal adherents. The Rev. Eric Frye, pastor of Salt Lake City's First
Southern Baptist Church, remains unshaken in his conviction that scriptures
clearly declare "that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God. "I
haven't read [Kader's] book, haven't heard of the book until now. But
homosexuals aren't the first group in the world to try to rationalize away the
straightforward narrative of the Bible," Frye said. The Rev. Douglas Oss, pastor of Salt Lake
City's Capital Christian Center and a respected scriptural translator in his
own right, is familiar with Kader's arguments. However, he, too, believes they
fail when Old and New Testament passages are taken as a united commentary on
the issue. "The clincher text is
found in Romans 1:18-32, wherein homosexual behavior by both men and women is
said to be against the 'natural order' .
. . . against nature, and
therefore sinful," he said. Oss lists himself among biblical scholars who
find lacking alternative interpretations that St. Paul, the writer of Romans,
also was referring to pagan male temple prostitution, or specifically
condemning only abusive same-sex relations.
Still, if the Bible defines homosexual conduct as a sin, it also
condemns the acrimony the issue has generated.
"There are hate-mongerers on both sides of this," Oss said.
"Hatred is wrong no matter who it originates with. . . .
I want to avoid this and defuse the militancy and harsh polemics. In my
experience, homosexuals will find evangelicals to be open, flexible and
understanding, while not compromising their own views about the bold teaching
of scripture in this area." The Rev. Greg Kornmueller of Salt Lake
Christian Center in Murray sees himself in that role. While he also rejects
deconstruction of the Bible's same-sex declarations, he believes it is critical
to remember all human beings are precious to God. "I would agree with one point Mr.
Kader makes: Yes, the Bible is really Gay-friendly. [God] sent his only son
[and he] was called sin for each of us," he said. "That's God's love
for us in action." It is that
love that Kader says convinces him that his scriptural interpretations are
right, and that God accepts him as both Gay and Christian. As for Kader, he says he has always loved
God. Raised a Roman Catholic, he was swept up in the Jesus Movement of the
1970s, experiencing a dramatic conversion while in college. Still, he struggled
with his sexuality, at times fasting and seeking prayer in a futile quest to
become heterosexual. Then, a lesbian
friend convinced him to end the charade. "'Any God worth his salt made you
the way you are and won't condemn you because of it, '" she said.
"Those words carried me."
Finally at peace, Kader soon felt called to preach. He joined the
Gay-affirming Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches, earning ministerial credentials at
Samaritan College in Detroit in 1982. A year later, he met Robert Shisler, an antique dealer. They have been together
since. Acceptance of his ministry has
come slowly, however. Kader says he and his flock have been excluded from
Dayton's inter-church fellowship, Metropolitan Churches United. He longs for
the time when Christians, Gay or straight, can work together. Patience and a good testimony by Gay
believers will eventually win the day, Kader predicted. "We are winning [mainstream] pastors and
churches into our camp one heart at a time," he said. "Something is stirring, and I believe
it is the direct result of Gay Christians living out their witness before other
members of the Body of Christ. I only see this increasing in scope and
numbers," he added. "Too many have come too far to go back
now." The Rev. Jim Morgan, pastor of the 30 to 50
parishioners of Glory to God MCC, says that is certainly the case for Gay
Christians in Utah. His Gay-affirming denomination has three churches in the
state: Salt Lake City and Logan, in
addition to Morgan's Ogden congregation.
"We are being very deliberate and taking our time to lay a solid
foundation of biblical principles and truths," he said.
"[We try] to serve the greater community in general and the lesbian and
Gay community in particular through outreach programs and setting down some
deep and lasting roots."
The Salt Lake Tribune Sacred Light of Christ
Pastor Jim Morgan welcomes member Maria Gallegos to the altar to partake
in the Holy Communion and individual prayer during church service. At left is altar assistant Josh Proveaux.: Sacred Light of Christ
church member Jon Lamoreaux raises
his arm during service. Utah Ministers
Speak About Divine Intervention, Being Gay Ministers Speak About Being Gay The
message is as Bible Belt as you can get: sin, conviction and the prospect of
eternal separation from God. Then, the Rev. Jim Morgan offers an out -- the tear-stained altar before his
pulpit where desperate penitents can grasp the lifeline of forgiveness. But if
this is that Old Time Religion, it comes with a twist. While the message
preached at Morgan's Glory to God
Metropolitan Community Church in Ogden echoes that preached every Sunday in
mainline evangelical Christian churches, he knows he and his flock would be
anathema to many of those same congregations.
Morgan, like most of his congregation, is Gay. But as certain as he is
about every sinner's need for salvation, Morgan is convinced that God has
blessed both his ministry and an 18-year "holy union" with his
spouse, Joseph Wegener.
Confirmation, Morgan says, comes whenever he takes his place behind the pulpit
Sundays at Glory to God or its Salt Lake City sister church, Sacred Light Metropolitan Community
Church. "I'm able to look into their
eyes and be able to see when they 'get it,'" the pastor said. "That
is absolutely one of the most precious moments in life, when that light turns
back on inside a person. You know that they understand that what they have
feared all this time is nothing but a shadow. "They realize that God really does
love them and accept them the way they were created," Morgan said.
"It's
nothing short of a miracle." Miracles and epiphanies. He believes
he has experienced them both on his personal spiritual journey. Raised Roman
Catholic, Morgan wanted to serve God as long as he can remember. But along with
devotion to the divine, he took unshakable same-sex desires into a Southern
California seminary. Finally, at age 21, he surrendered to his orientation and
abandoned his priesthood quest. "I realized that this was more than
just a phase, that this was who I am," said Morgan, now 53. "Then
came a dry wasteland period that we Christians sometimes go through, where God
seems to be totally absent, and yet your heart and soul cry out for his
presence." Eventually, he severed ties to the church of his youth
and relocated to Alaska. It was a life-changing move for Morgan. One day he
read about the Rev. Troy Perry, an
openly Gay preacher in Los Angeles who had launched MCC as a ministry to other
Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender believers. In 1972, with Perry's
blessing, Morgan became a minister in the 40,000-member denomination, turning a
home Bible study group into a church. A decade later he met Wegener, now 49. The
couple moved to Utah and founded Glory to God in 1996. The
Rev. Kelly Byrnes, too, believes in divine intervention. For him, it came
nearly 20 years ago as he wandered a lonely, star-lit mountain road near Ogden Canyon's Pineview Reservoir.
Struggling with Gay desires, a failing seven-year marriage and depression, he
considered suicide. "I was camping with my family [his then wife and their son] and I
got up in the middle of the night and just started walking . . . on the road up to the dam above Pineview,"
said Byrnes, now 44. "But on the way I had one of those screaming fits
with God. We had it out, and eventually it just was clear to me, like he said, 'You're
going to be OK.' It struck me so hard I just had to stop."
Seemingly out of nowhere came a Weber County sheriff's deputy, driving up to
Byrnes to ask him if he was all right. "That was really weird. He just said I
should go back down and find some place to sleep," Byrnes
said. He and his wife divorced soon
after, and one day he picked up a copy of Perry's autobiography, The Lord is My
Shepherd and Knows I'm Gay. He eventually began attending what is now Sacred
Light, becoming increasingly involved first as a deacon and later a lay pastor.
Byrnes founded Logan's Bridgerland MCC
in 1990, not long after he and Courtney
Moser, a food services employee at Utah State University, began a committed
domestic partnership. Byrnes' congregation seldom exceeds 10 worshippers, but
he sees his ministry as more community oriented. Along with speaking on Gay
issues and joining panel discussions at USU, much of his ministry involves
working with individuals trying to balance love of God with same-sex
attractions. "You have to start where the hurt is," Byrnes said.
"That isn't any different for Gay people than straight. But you have to
decide if you are going to be a loving person, a charitable person, a real
person as a Gay or lesbian. "The
biggest challenge is just to keep going," he said. "It's
not about finding a comfortable way, it's about finding your way -- and that is
always going to be a challenge."
Morgan agrees, adding that where faith lives, so does hope:
"Whatever else you do, don't give up on God because he hasn't given up on
you."
21 April 2000 Friday
It’s Good Friday and I have a four day weekend
for Spring break. Mike took off this evening without telling me where. He took
Smokey with him.
The Salt Lake Tribune
Gay-Club Issue Goes Back to U.S. Court
East High students seek injunction to allow discussion group,
PRISM, to meet on campus. East High School students hoping to create a
club to discuss Gay and lesbian issues demanded Thursday to be allowed to meet
on campus for the rest of the school year. Through their attorneys, Jessica
Cohen and Margaret Hinckley asked a federal judge to force the Salt Lake City
School District to let the PRISM -- People Respecting Important Social
Movements -- club convene immediately, pending the outcome of a lawsuit they
filed last week. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell made no decision Thursday on
the girls' request for an injunction forcing the district to allow the club to
meet. She is expected to rule within days. Cohen and Hinckley, both juniors, claim
in their April 10 lawsuit that Cynthia Siedel, an assistant district
superintendent, violated their First Amendment rights of free expression by
denying their request to create the PRISM Club in January and a separate group,
called the Rainbow Club, last year. The girls designed the clubs to allow
students to discuss Gay and lesbian perspectives of history, sociology and
government. Campbell sharply questioned the district's refusal to sanction
PRISM. "Just because you go to school doesn't mean you don't have First
Amendment rights," Campbell told Dan Larsen, an assistant state attorney
general representing the Salt Lake City School District. Siedel rejected the
PRISM Club in March, saying it wasn't tied to academics. East High, she noted,
doesn't offer courses from Gay and lesbian perspectives. Nonacademic clubs were
banned in 1996 by the district to prevent students from forming a support group
for Gay, lesbian and bisexual students. The ban was upheld in federal court
last October. The district argued that
PRISM is too narrowly focused on Gay and lesbian issues to be academic.
"Because it was narrowed to be exclusive, it was no longer
curricular-related," Larsen said after the hearing. "It's not a
history club or a science club anymore. Its organizing nucleus is a
Gay-positive perspective on curricular subject matter." It is OK for
students to express their views on Gays and lesbians during class and in other
clubs, Larsen said. But a club formed around that perspective would be
"viewpoint exclusive," he said. Siedel apparently applied the same
standard to nix a women's literature club. She testified she had suggested
students form a genderless club instead. Campbell seemed particularly
interested in that decision and asked for district records on it. Larsen also said later that exclusive clubs
such as PRISM are not acceptable because they are political, thus unrelated to
curriculum. The district also does not allow clubs related to political
parties. "This [Gay and lesbian]
social movement they want to talk about is political," he said. "It
may not be a political party, but the content is [politicized]."Campbell,
however, sharply rebutted Larsen's arguments and declared that school
administrators were not above the law. Campbell said her responsibility was to
uphold the U.S. Constitution "and I will do that even though I am not an
elected official." Stephen Clark, representing Cohen and Hinckley as legal
counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said the district
violated its own club policy. The rule against "viewpoint exclusive"
clubs, he noted, is not part of the district's rules. "They're new regulations nobody's ever
heard," he said after the hearing. "The issue is, are these students
being treated fairly under the district's own rules?"
23 April 2000 Easter Sunday
Mike Romero took off with Smokey so I was home
with just Oscar, Priscilla, and Saffy. The Giles invited me over but I was in
no mood to be around anyone. There were nearly 40 Tornadoes that swept across
the South today.
25 April 2000 Tuesday
The State of Vermont made history by passing
House Bill 847, becoming the first U.S. state to legally recognize civil unions
for same-sex couples, a significant milestone in marriage equality.
26 April 2000 Wednesday
LDS Ultimatum on Gay Scouts? BY MARK EDDINGTON
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
If the Boy Scouts of
America is forced to accept Gays as scoutmasters, the LDS Church will withdraw
from the organization and take more than 400,000 Scouts with it. That's the
contention of Salt Lake City attorney Von G. Keetch, who has filed a brief with
the Supreme Court supporting the Boy Scouts' ban on homosexuals on behalf of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and four other religious
organizations. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today on a
controversial 1999 New Jersey high court ruling that stated the Boy Scouts
could not exclude Gays. The nation's justices are expected to rule on the
matter in June. Keetch, with the Salt Lake City firm of Kirton & McConkie,
predicts dire consequences if the Scouts lose the case. "The Scouting
movement as now constituted will cease to exist. . . . The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints . . . would withdraw from Scouting if it were
compelled to accept openly homosexual Scout leaders," Keetch said in the
Feb. 28 brief filed on behalf of the LDS Church, the National Catholic
Committee on Scouting, the General Commission on United Methodist Men of the
United Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the National
Council of Young Israel. The LDS Church is the single largest sponsor of
Scouting units – more than 30,000 -- in the nation. That amounts to
400,000-plus Scouts. The United Methodist Church, with more than 424,000
Scouts, has the most youths involved. The Catholic Church sponsors 355,000
Scouts. In the brief, Keetch said no final decisions have been made, but all
the religious organizations could follow the Mormons' lead and bolt from
Scouting if the ban on Gays is struck down. LDS leaders would not comment
Tuesday about the church's possible exodus from Scouting. Boy Scouts of America
national spokesman Greg Shields did not want to speculate on the impact such a
pullout would have on the movement, which involves roughly 6.2 million youths
and adults across the nation. "We value the [Mormon] church and its
contribution to Scouting and the young people who participate in
Scouting." he said. "The only thing I can say is that we will abide
by the law." A Utah Scout leader, however, did not hesitate to say what
effect an LDS exit would have on Scouting. "The impact would be
dramatic," said Ron Nyman, spokesman for the Utah National Parks Council
of the Boy Scouts that oversees 58,000 Scouts from Utah County to the Arizona
border. He said 98 percent of his council's troops are LDS-sponsored. The LDS
Church is closely connected to Scouting throughout Utah. The church uses the
program to help instill fundamental values in its male members, ages 12 through
18. Scout leaders in Mormon congregations are appointed by their bishops.
"The ramifications of losing this case should be the scariest thing that
could ever happen to private society," Nyman warned. "If they can do
this to Scouting, they can do it to churches and everything else." The New
Jersey ruling last August stemmed from a 1992 lawsuit filed against the Boy
Scouts by James Dale, who was expelled as the assistant scoutmaster of a
Middleton, N.J., troop in 1990 after it was learned that he was involved in a
Gay student group at Rutgers University. Boy Scouts exclude homosexuals from
participation. Scout leaders maintain homosexuality is immoral and out of
harmony with the group's values. They further argue that they have a First
Amendment right as a private organization to choose their own leaders and who
they will allow to participate. In siding with Dale, New Jersey's Supreme Court
ruled the Boy Scouts are a "place of public accommodation" and
therefore are subject to that state's laws barring discrimination against Gays.
Evan Wolfson, Dale's attorney, said the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently
rejected the notion that the First Amendment gives groups the right to
discriminate. "Boy Scouts do not come together to promote an anti-Gay or
discriminatory message," said Wolfson in a statement. "Scouts come
together around the traditions and values of Scouting, things James Dale always
did and still desires to uphold." Michael McConnell, a University of Utah
law professor who is helping New York City attorney George Davidson argue the
case for the Boy Scouts, said the New Jersey ruling is ludicrous. "The
underlying question is if one group can have a message and serve a subsection
of the population without the government getting involved and telling it how
diverse it needs to be," McConnell said. “This is really about the
survival of private groups as elements of society." Kay Godfrey --
information officer with the Great Salt Lake Council, which boasts 75,000
Scouts from Kaysville to Draper -- is confident the Scouts will prevail. He
said homosexuality has not been much of an issue in Utah. He noted, though,
that there have been a few Gay Scouts and Scout leaders booted from the
organization during his 10 years with the Great Salt Lake Council. "We do
not feel homosexuals are the kind of role models we want for our youth,"
said Godfrey, who added that prospective leaders are usually not asked about
their sexual orientation. For Andy Baggs -- a psychologist with the Nebo School
District and scoutmaster of Provo's Troop 999, which is not affiliated with the
LDS Church -- the issue is straightforward: Scouts pledge to be "morally
straight" when they raise their right arm to recite the Scout Oath.
"I don't see how one can define homosexuality as being morally
straight," he said. "If you don't want to adhere to Scout standards,
you shouldn't join the club. You don't join the club and then try to change the
standards." But former Scout leader Wes Davey of Springville sees it another
way. "For us who are LDS, we've been taught to love the sinner but hate
the sin. If this teaching is true, then the LDS Church has a moral obligation
to accept celibate Gay youth into its Scouting programs and a moral obligation
to petition the Boy Scouts to change its policy," he said. "Right
now, the church won't even let celibate Gay youth participate. It shouldn't
matter if a youth is homosexual or heterosexual, as long as they are not
engaging in immoral behavior by having sex."
27 April 2000 Thursday
A1 Judge Rules in Favor Of School Gay Club
District deemed unfair in barring East High club, must allow it to meet pending
outcome of lawsuit, Judge Rules In Support Of Gay Club BY HEATHER MAY THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The Salt Lake City School
District must allow East High School students who want to form a club to
discuss Gay and lesbian issues to meet on campus pending the outcome of their
civil-rights lawsuit, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell's ruling
is the biggest victory yet for Gay and lesbian students and their supporters
who have been fighting since 1995 to be allowed to meet at high schools in
Utah's capital city. Campbell's ruling
applied to the People Respecting Important Social Movements (PRISM) Club at
East High. Plaintiffs Jessi Cohen and Margaret Hinckley, both juniors, tried to
create the club in January to provide a forum for students to discuss Gay and
lesbian perspectives on sociology, U.S. history and government and politics. But district Assistant Superintendent
Cynthia Siedel, who oversees club applications, rejected PRISM, saying it
wasn't academic. Nonacademic clubs were banned in 1996 to prevent students from
forming a support group for Gay, lesbian and bisexual students. Students filed
a lawsuit in 1998, but the court upheld the district's ban. Backed by the Utah chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union, Cohen and Hinckley filed their lawsuit on April 10,
claiming the district's denial violated their First Amendment rights of free
expression. In granting the students'
motion for an injunction forcing the district to allow the club to meet,
Campbell wrote that the district had denied their application based on an
unwritten rule that was not applied consistently. In so doing, said ACLU attorney Stephen
Clark, Campbell "reaffirmed the important principle that when government
officials, including school officials, set about to restrict free speech, they
have to do so through clear and consistent and coherent principles." "All the students were seeking was to be
treated equally," he added. "That's the important thing this court
recognized." Cohen said PRISM
could meet as soon as Monday. "I'm pretty excited about it," she
said. "I'm glad somebody listens to the voice of reason." In an earlier hearing, Siedel said the PRISM
club would be "viewpoint exclusive" because it focused too narrowly
on Gay and lesbian issues. Such clubs are as impermissibly political as young Democrat
or Republican groups, she said.
Campbell, however, attacked all of the district's arguments in her
23-page ruling. The requirement that
clubs have no "exclusive viewpoint" does not exist because it is not
included in the district's club policy or applications to form a club, Campbell
wrote. The district had argued that such a standard is implied. "There is no requirement [explicit or
implicit] that the club addresses the entire subject matter of the class from
every conceivable viewpoint," the judge wrote. Even if such a rule exists, Campbell wrote,
the district has not applied it to all clubs. The Polynesian Club at East High,
for example, would have to be considered "viewpoint exclusive"
because it focuses on Polynesian culture.
Moreover, Campbell wrote, "club membership is not limited to Gays
and lesbians, and there is nothing in the club application that would even
indicate that only pro-Gay viewpoints would be tolerated in club
meetings." Dan Larsen, an
assistant state attorney representing the school district, said he may appeal
the injunction to the 10thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The district could
also amend its policy on clubs to address Campbell's complaints and expressly
forbid those with a narrow viewpoint, he said.
But Campbell, perhaps anticipating such a move, wrote in a footnote that
a rule against "viewpoint exclusive" clubs wouldn’t make sense. "All clubs are, in a sense, viewpoint
exclusive: French clubs are 'viewed' from the perspective of French-speaking
students. . . . All student clubs are 'viewed' from the perspective of Utah
high school students." For their
part, Cohen and Hinckley now can advertise their meetings in the school paper,
and PRISM will have a chance to be in the school yearbook. Clubs that aren't
school-sponsored, such as the Gay Straight Alliance that was the subject of the
1996 lawsuit, don't get those perks. Under state and federal law, non
sanctioned clubs must rent space from the school, pay for liability insurance
and find an adult sponsor.
28 April 2000 Friday
School District to Review Veto of 2 Clubs S.L.
City officials act after ruling on PRISM BY HEATHER MAY THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Having been rebuked by a federal judge for
stopping students from forming a club devoted to discussing homosexual issues,
the Salt Lake City School District has decided to review its rejection last
year of two other clubs.
On Wednesday, U.S.
District Judge Tena Campbell issued an injunction forcing the district to
temporarily allow East High School students to form their proposed People
Respecting Important Social Movements (PRISM) club. That ruling means that pending the outcome
of their civil suit, PRISM students can meet on campus and explore Gay and
lesbian perspectives on history, sociology and government. Two East High juniors sued the district
earlier this month, claiming their First Amendment rights of free expression
were violated when assistant superintendent Cynthia Siedel denied their
application for PRISM. Now the district
is re-exploring decisions against two proposed West High School clubs. On
Thursday, Salt Lake City Superintendent Darline Robles said Siedel will review the two
applications to see if they, too, fall under Campbell’s ruling. West High students wanted to create Students
Against Drunk Driving (SADD) and a Women's Studies Club (WSC).Siedel vetoed the
clubs last October, questioning their academic credentials and what she saw as
exclusive or narrow viewpoints.
Campbell, in fact, mentioned WSC and SADD in her 23-page PRISM decision,
though she did not direct the district to allow those clubs to meet. However, the judge wrote that both matched
the curriculum; WSC is related to an English class and SADD goes with a health
course. "Assuming that some of the
authors discussed in the English course are female, there is a 'fit' between
the subject matter of the club and the subject matter of the course," she
wrote of WSC. The two West High clubs
may also benefit from Campbell's attack on the district rule against
narrowness. The district said its club policy implies that clubs cannot have an
exclusive viewpoint; rather, clubs should explore issues from all
perspectives. But in defending PRISM,
Campbell wrote that such a rule isn't implied in the policy and even if it
were, it has not been applied consistently. She also noted that all clubs are
organized around a particular viewpoint.
On those grounds, Campbell issued an injunction to force the district to
allow PRISM members to meet, which they could do as soon as Monday. Salt Lake City school board members met for
1 1/2 hours Thursday morning before ordering Siedel to review the WSC and SADD
decisions. District officials also expressed disappointment with Campbell's
ruling. "I had hoped the judge would rule in our favor," Robles said. She defended the district's ban on narrow
clubs: "Our curriculum is not [based on a] narrow viewpoint. When you talk
about history, it's a broad viewpoint."
During the next school board meeting on Tuesday, the board could decide
to appeal the injunction or rewrite its club policy and explicitly forbid
"viewpoint exclusive" clubs.
The battle over clubs began in 1996, when the Salt Lake City District
banned all nonacademic clubs to prevent students from forming a support group
for Gays and lesbians. The ban was upheld in federal court last October. In response, Jessi Cohen and Margaret
Hinckley created PRISM and claimed it was tied to history, sociology and
government classes. When the district denied that club in January the students
sued, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah.
30 April Sunday
MAY 2000
1 May 2000 Monday
With May flowers also comes the end of another
school year. It goes pretty fast now. Steve Reeves the bodybuilder and actor
who played Hercules a lot died today. “So let me show you around, maybe play
you a sound You look like you're both pretty groovy Or if you want something
visual that's not too abysmal We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie.”
3 May 2000 Wednesday
Conference Uninvites Gay Group Teacher meeting
to focus on equity in the classroom; Equity Meeting Uninvites Gay Advocates BY
KATHERINE KAPOS THE SALT LAKE
TRIBUNE The Gay Lesbian Straight
Education Network (GLSEN) of Utah says it was invited in March to give a
workshop at a two-day Equity in Opportunity conference. A few weeks later, the
group was politely uninvited. "It's bizarre," said Network member
Linda Chamberlain. "It's like having a multicultural conference and only
inviting white people."
Two hundred Utah
teachers will attend the conference today and Thursday at Salt Lake Community
College to learn how to create equity in their classrooms. But they will have
to listen closely to get information that will help their Gay students.
Advocates wondered if it was the workshop's title that caused organizers
anxiety: "Homophobia 101: Teaching
Respect for All."
An offer to change the
name was rejected. Robert Brems, associate superintendent of the state's
Applied Technology Education division, said he was not worried about the name,
but felt the workshop was unnecessary.
The division co-sponsors the conference with Equity in Opportunity
centers at Salt Lake Community College, Utah Valley State College, Weber State
University and Dixie College. The keynote speaker and two other workshops will
deal with sexual harassment and gender behaviors, he said. "I know GLSEN
would like to see the issue addressed in a different way, but we feel like we
have given it time, thought and consideration," Brems said Tuesday. This
is the fourth year the division and equity centers have sponsored the
conference, which teaches educators and students how to promote tolerance and
respect in their classrooms. A federal grant helps fund the four equity centers
and is covering a portion of the conference cost. Not everyone in charge of the conference
agrees with the decision to drop the network from the program. Christina
Kemeny, coordinator of the Equity in Opportunity Center at SLCC, said she
invited the group because she believes homosexuality is an issue that warrants
a separate conference presentation. "It's a huge part of equity in schools
and we should be able to address it," she said. "Homophobia 101"
is modeled after the national organization's faculty-training program, said
Camille Lee, a group member who planned to make the presentation. Lee said the
session briefly covers homosexual slurs used by students and the differences
between sexual orientation, identity and behavior. But most of the 90-minute
presentation is focused on the day-to-day life of Gay and lesbian students and
what teachers can do to support them. The information has been presented numerous
times to Utah teachers in a variety of settings, from the Utah Education
Association's annual convention to education classes at the University of Utah
and Weber State University. The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network also has
conducted a four-part education series this year throughout the state. Teachers
who attended the series are eligible through the State Office of Education for
credits that help them move up the pay scale.
Lee said that regardless of their political or personal beliefs, Utah
teachers have Gay and lesbian students in their classrooms and students'
parents who are homosexuals. "Teachers are having to deal with this,"
said Lee. "And they are really
seeking information so they can be supportive of all their students."
While they won't get that message to teachers this week, the story does have a
silver lining. Brems has invited the Gay
Lesbian Straight Education Network of Utah to conduct a workshop for employees
at State Office of Education sometime in the future.
5 May 2000 Friday
Cinco de Mayo and I had my students make
flowers our of color crape paper like in Mexico.
We start end of level testing next week. Oh
well
12 May 2000 Friday,
7pm Family Fellowship is having a
meeting/social get-together at Little America Hotel in Salt Lake (between 500 S
and 600 S and between Main and W Temple) in the Arizona Room. It will be a nice
catered dinner. Stephen Clark, ACLU attorney working on the East High lawsuits,
will give an update. (See http://www.acluutah.org/ for info about the recent
court vistory.) Others will tell about their experience in Washington, DC, for
the Millennium March on Washington for Equality, then there will be
entertainment. This is a great opportunity to relax and associate with some
really great and supportive parents. They committed to have at least 70 people
at the dinner, but fewer than that have signed up so far, and they have to
cover any shortages on the expenses, so any support we can give them would be
appreciated. The cost is $25 per person. Tickets need to be purchased by this
Wednesday, May 10, by calling Gerry Johnston at 801-568-1141 (in Salt Lake).
For all those that can afford it, it should be a great evening.
21 May 2000 Sunday
Actor John
Gielgud died today. He was great in Arthur and in Prospero’s Books. He was one
of the greats. He was 96 years old.
Meeting at the Gay
& Lesbian Community Center of Utah, 361 N 300 W in Salt Lake. Open
discussion until 6:15, when we'll leave for Provo and the 17th Annual
International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.
23 May 2000 Tuesday
SALT LAKE CITY SCREENING OF "OUR
HOUSE" Out of the ordinary filmmaker comes to town: Filmmaker, Meema Spedola
will be in Salt Lake City for a screening of her new film, Our House a very
real documentary about kids of Gay and lesbian parents. The one hour
documentary which profiles sons and daughters (ages five to twenty three years
old) in five diverse families will be shown at OSH Auditorium at the University
of Utah on Tuesday, May 23 at 7 pm. Spedola will participate in a discussion
with the audience following the screening. Spedola has also authored an
autobiographical essay which appears in Out of the Ordinary, an anthology by
and about children of Gay and lesbian parents. All are welcome to come to this
event and admission is free. Our House, a presentation of ITVS (Independent
Television Service) can also be seen on KUED (Channel 7) on June 5th at 11:30pm.
25 May 2000 Thursday
The Salt Lake Tribune After 5-Year Struggle,
East High School Club Discusses Gay Issues BY HEATHER MAY THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The forum, a Salt Lake
City classroom. The participants, high school students. The topic, same-sex
marriage. Five years after the contentious debate over Gay-lesbian-straight
school clubs began in Utah, East High School students met Wednesday in the
state's first school-sponsored club organized to discuss current events from a
Gay and lesbian perspective. The PRISM Club -- People Respecting Important
Social Movements -- meeting featured Laura Gray, a Salt Lake City attorney
involved in Gay-rights issues. About 45 students attended. In accordance with
Salt Lake City School District policy, the discussion had to relate to
sociology or history classes and was held after school. After the meeting,
students said they talked about the historical, legal and religious
significance of marriage and the current restrictions barring Gays and lesbians
from forming such unions. The district barred news media from the meeting,
claiming it was for students only. However, district personnel attended, along
with an attorney for the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU is representing East High juniors Jessi Cohen and Margaret Hinckley,
who in April filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit claiming the district
violated their First Amendment rights to free speech by rejecting PRISM as an
academic club. The district banned all nonacademic clubs in 1996, a year after
East High students tried to form a Gay and lesbian support group. But U.S.
District Judge Tena Campbell issued an injunction against the district last
month, forcing it to temporarily acknowledge PRISM as a legitimate club pending
the outcome of the students' lawsuit.
Wednesday's meeting is "definitely a win," said East High
senior Ivy Fox, who unsuccessfully sued the district in 1998 over the ban.
"It's such a good feeling to see all your hard work pay off."
Sophomore Evan Done attended the club meeting, but didn't think the discussion
was appropriate. "It is an
important step for the Gay community that needed to be taken," he said,
but "I don't really think it has a place in school." Cohen said most
students respected their peers' opinions during the exchange on marriage.
"I'm glad nobody got extremely aggravated," she said. "It's nice
to know people in your school you don't think would support other ways of
thinking [were] there." The days leading up to Wednesday's activity weren't
so calm. PRISM advertised the meeting with fliers and during regular school
announcements over the school intercom. Some of the fliers were torn down and
ripped up. Students posted so-called "straight pride" fliers, which
showed two connecting male symbols and two connecting female symbols that were
crossed out. Throughout the week, there were rumors that PRISM members would be
harmed following the meeting. The school's police officer was on hand
throughout the session, and there were no incidents.
28 May 2000 Sunday
Over Memorial Day weekend we held our Annual
Coronation for the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire. The festivities
started on Thursday evening with the In-Town Awards held at Zipperz. Empress
Veronika made a delicious spaghetti dinner.
During this evening, Chris, Veronika, R. Lee and Cortney gave awards to
several individuals who had supported them through out the year. Next came P.R.
Ball which was held at Axis. R. Lee and Cortney were in rare form with
production numbers, a great set and many entertaining performers. The Out of
Town show was held at the Sheraton Hotel. This evening many of the out of town
guests performed showing off the extensive talent this nation holds. Now for
the big event; Coronation! This was also held at the Sheraton and what a fun
evening it was! There were many fun,
upbeat numbers as part of the entertainment, with local bars from Salt Lake
putting together entrances. The candidate entrances were extremely well
received. Out of town courts also got
into the festive air by contributing lavish production numbers as well. The evening progressed with flair and after
poignant final walks by the stepping down PR’s and Monarchs we topped off the
night with the crowning ceremony. Chaise Manhattan is our newly elected Board
member. Rhett Larsen and Felicia are the New Emperor and Empress of the
RCGSE. After an exciting evening,
Victory Brunch was held at The Trapp on Monday. Chris Veronika, Cortney and R.
Lee gave out several more awards. This was the final part of their stepping
down, and although tear-eyed, they seemed proud of their accomplishments.
Felicia and Rhett were greeted as the new reigning monarchs. Then the new PRs were announced. Christopher
and Vanessa are the new Prince and Princess. Rhett Larson will be known as The
Endurance of the Spike, The Silver Stallion Emperor and Felicia will be known
as The Point of the Spike, The Empress Extreme, The Silver Lining Empress.
Christopher will be known as the Quick Silver Prince and Vanessa will be the
Absolute Sterling Silver Princess. The
25th reign of RCGSE will be known as The Millennium Court, The Dawn
of a Fresh Beginning. (Reflections Vol 25 Issue 1 June 1 2000
30 May 2000 Tuesday
The Salt Lake Tribune SHOOTER ARRESTED A man
arrested on suspicion of assault Sunday night after firing a pellet gun inside
a Salt Lake City athletic club may face additional hate crimes charges in
connection with the incident. The 23-year-old suspect entered the 14th Street
Gym, 1414 W. 200 South, at about 11:40 p.m. and allegedly fired at least two
shots from the pellet gun "to clear the place out" according to Salt
Lake City police. The suspect, who lives near the gym, reportedly complained
about traffic in and out of the health club, which has a primarily homosexual
clientele.
31 May 2000 Wedneday
I
watched a new reality show called Survivor on CBS about a group of people
stranded on an island competing to win a prize of a million dollars.
JUNE 2000
2 June 2000
Friday
Finally
this long 4 day week is over trying to keep my students from going bonkers as
they know its all over. So we had Field Day, movies, sing alongs, lots of
recesses and cleaning the class room room and emptying out the desks. I handed
out the final report cards as I sent them on their way. One on my traditions is
for them to watch Tiny-Toons How I Spent My Summer Vacation. I left right after
the kids did because I will come back on Monday to clean what was left.
4 June 2000 Sunday
The
Salt Lake Tribune Federal Judge Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Over Sodomy,
Fornication Laws Y MICHAEL VIGH THE
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A federal judge has
upheld an earlier magistrate's decision to dismiss an 8-year-old lawsuit that
alleged Utah's sodomy and fornication laws violate a constitutional right to
privacy. Last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Boyce recommended dismissing
the lawsuit, noting Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom had said his office
has priorities other than prosecuting men and women for having sex outside the
bonds of marriage. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart agreed with
Boyce's recommendation, calling it "well reasoned." The case was
filed in 1991 by civil-rights attorney Brian Barnard on behalf of a plaintiff
known only as "W.N.J.," and other Utah residents, who also challenged
the law anonymously. The suit claimed unmarried couples are discriminated
against by the sodomy and fornication laws because such practices are legal for
married Utahns. W.N.J., who was unmarried at the time of the filing, said he
had engaged in fornication and sodomy, and had planned to do so in the future.
He said he feared criminal prosecution, and sought to overturn the law because
he said it was unconstitutional. But
Boyce had responded: "It is apparent the Utah fornication and sodomy
statutes are not being enforced in Salt Lake County by the . . . Salt Lake
County district attorney [who was named as a defendant]. . . . The injury to
plaintiffs is purely hypothetical and not concrete." Barnard's lawsuit
only addressed "noncommercial, non prostitutional, consensual and
heterosexual" private relations. It did not raise the issue of homosexual
physical relationships. Under Utah law, sodomy includes any sex act involving
the "genitals of one person and mouth or anus of another person,
regardless of the sex of either participant." Married couples are exempt
from the statute.
The
Salt Lake Tribune Dan Guevara of Mira Loma, Calif., takes his first turn in the
barrel races Saturday during the Gay Rodeo at Utah State Fairpark.; Bob Buenfil, left, and Patrick Kearns watch
the rodeo opening ceremonies after making the long trip from Acton, Calif. HOW
TO STIRRUP EXCITEMENT Bucking a Stereotype;
Debut of Gay rodeo breaks new ground in Utah; Gay Rodeo A Milestone For Utah The day was
hot, and so was Erica K, her tall, slim bod tucked in a tight, velvet
mini-dress and matching black pumps. Not
exactly the attire you'd expect to see at a rodeo. Then again, there is a lot
more to this rodeo than meets the eye. For starters, Erica K is California's
Miss Gay Rodeo, which is not to be confused with Ms. Gay Rodeo, who is,
biologically speaking, a real woman. The second thing is you don't have to be
Gay, lesbian or a transvestite to enter. Third, and most important, you don't
have to leave Utah to compete, at least not anymore. This weekend marks the Utah Gay Rodeo Association's
first-ever rodeo, and that's no small matter when you consider this group has
been ridin' and ropin' for 11 years.
"The Gay community in Utah has come a long way," said rodeo
Grand Marshal Dean Walton, a.k.a. Auntie
De'. He should know. Walton, who grew up on a ranch in Wyoming,
has been part of many Utah firsts, from initiating the annual pig roast and
high heel race to co-founding the Gay/Lesbian
Business Association. He also started the Salute to Cowboys, a 23-year-old fund-raising event that heightened
awareness for the Gay Western lifestyle. That gave rise to the UGRA in
1989. Today, the association has 150
members -- and it took darn near every one of them to organize the rodeo, which
continues today at the Utah State Fairpark.
With sweat dripping from his forehead and tears filling his eyes,
fund-raising coordinator Chad Keller
described all the hard work that went into making this weekend a reality. The
cost of the inaugural event could near $50,000 when all the ribbons, buckles
and catered meals are considered. To raise the money, members sold toe tags on
Halloween, wreaths at Christmas and raffle tickets during Cinco de Mayo. There
were dozens of barbecues and drag shows and dances. "This community really
stepped forward, and not just the Gay community," Keller said.
"They believed in us and that allowed us to take the next step." It was a milestone not only for Utah, but
for Gays everywhere, said public-television reporter Jan Sylvester, who is covering the rodeo for "Colorado
Outspoken," a weekly program that airs on KBBI in Denver. Utah has been a
hotbed of discouraging and derogatory comments about Gays, from the fight at
East High for a Gay/straight alliance
to the state's recent refusal to let unmarried couples adopt. Because of that,
Sylvester said, there is national interest in the rodeo. "It gives us something positive about
Utah and lets the word out that this isn't such a bad place," she
said. Several contestants said they
came to Salt Lake City not so much for the competition, but to show support for
the UGRA and its first event. Present were Gay rodeo representatives from
California, Canada, New York and states in between. Greg
Baczek came from Albuquerque, N.M., to lend support. Utah has been in the
news a lot, Baczek said, and that has created a false impression. "There
is a large Gay and lesbian community here, but you wouldn't know that if you
just read the national blurbs. You would think it is totally closed off." That certainly was not the scene Saturday,
as the rodeo drew 99 contestants and more than 500 spectators. The were treated
to traditional events like barrel racing, pole bending and bull riding, as well
as ever-popular "camp" events like goat dressing, steer decorating
and a wild drag race. The latter is a crowd favorite involving one male, one
female and one person dressed in drag. Team members pull a steer -- or as one
contestant said, "it drags you" -- across a chalked line, after which
the drag queen must ride the animal back across the stripe. Fun, but dangerous, said Clark Monk, Utah's public relations
coordinator and first runner-up to the international association's Mr. Gay
Rodeo. Monk's partner Kris once took a horn through the jaw. Gay rodeos also feature a few heartfelt
traditions. The Ceremony of the Riderless Horse is a farewell to friends who
have passed away. What's more, profits are donated to charity -- this weekend's
beneficiaries include City of Hope, the YWCA's battered spouse programs and the
Special Olympics. Thom Brennan had
an especially tough time returning to Utah for the rodeo; it was his first time
back since his friend, Salt Lake City resident Leonard Ray, died of AIDS in 1996. Brennan and Ray were partners in
and out of the rodeo arena, where they competed in steer decorating, a timed
event that involves tying a ribbon on a steer's tail. Brennan and his new steer deco partner,
Sherry Le, both work for the Los Angeles Police Department, which had a
recruitment booth set up in the arena concourse. Next to the booth, vendors
hawked T-shirts with such slogans as "Rodeo Naked" and "Bear
Bum" and photographs of Gay lovers.
The rodeo is a sign of how far Utah's Gay-rights movement has come --
even Gov. Mike Leavitt wrote a letter welcoming participants. It also is a
reminder of how far it has to go. When
organizers called Utah stock owners to rent animals for this weekend's rodeo,
all refused when they found out it was a Gay-sponsored event. They ended up
using animals from Oklahoma City.
"You run into rednecks no matter where you go," said Grand
Marshal Auntie De'.
9 June 2000 Friday
The
Salt Lake Tribune Ex-Guard Sentenced For Sex Offenses A former Utah State
Prison guard who forced two inmates to engage in sex acts with him was
sentenced Monday to serve 1 year in jail.
The allegations against Jerry Gene Kessler surfaced after one of the
inmates spit Kessler's semen into a rubber glove after oral sex. The inmate's
girlfriend smuggled the semen out of the prison and DNA testing matched it to
Kessler, who was a sergeant in the prison's kitchen. At a 1998 preliminary
hearing, the 21-year-old inmate testified he endured Kessler's abuse for three
months before deciding to collect evidence against the guard. The inmate said
he cooperated with Kessler because the guard threatened to have him transferred
to a high-security area of the prison or to have him beaten or killed by other
inmates. Kessler, 36, was charged with six counts of first-degree felony
forcible sodomy and one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse. He
pleaded guilty to one count each of third-degree felony attempted forcible
sexual abuse and class B misdemeanor
sodomy.
12 June 2000
Monday
LOUD
AND PROUD: A FESTIVAL OF DIVERSITY 20,000 celebrate 'A New Era' at fifth annual
Utah Gay Pride Day parade and festival Photo: Hairstylist Dayvid Crook and his
outlandish beehive hairdo poke fun at a Utah icon Sunday during the Gay Pride
Day parade on State Street in Salt Lake. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)
BY STACY JURADO SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Nearly 20,000 people came out to celebrate diversity Sunday in Salt Lake
City and ended up just plain celebrating at the fifth annual Utah Gay Pride
Day. The festivities opened with a
parade that began at the state Capitol and proceeded south on State Street to
the City-County Building. Crowds gathered along the parade route to clap and
cheer. Some groups, like one from
Weber State University, carried simple, handmade signs with messages such as,
"No more violence, no more hate." The Utah Gay Rodeo Association --
which last weekend put on its first rodeo event in Utah -- ambled down the street
on horseback, while the Utah Gay Latino Alliance held big, cardboard jigsaw
puzzle pieces and danced into formation until the puzzle pieces fit together.
Variety is what parade watcher Michael Mack comes for each year. "This parade is always entertaining
and it's a great chance to observe diversity in what can be a pretty un-diverse
city," said Mack, who brought his 12-year-old daughter, Alexandra. A news release from the Utah Gay Pride
Association said that the 2000 celebration, "A New Era of Pride," was
the fifth annual parade event, although different demonstrations of Gay unity
and pride have a longer history.
State Rep. Jackie Biskupski served as grand marshal for the parade and
was on hand for the pride festival that followed. The festival included live
music, exhibit booths and vendors. The festival provided attendees with more
than just fun, according to Biskupski. "Coming here for many people is an
opportunity to open up and celebrate who they are," the openly Gay
legislator said. "They leave with the feeling that it's OK to be exactly
what they are." Pride Day
co-chairman Adam Frost saw the festival as a chance to increase acceptance by
the community as well.
"Gathering like this allows us to have a presence in the community
and as a whole, I think it's well accepted," Frost said. Although the organizers had received early
word that protesters would be present, there was no visible negative reaction.
Mothers pushed small children in strollers and couples sat under trees at the
City-County facility listening to the bands perform. Groups of people visited
and crowds streamed in and out of the food vendor area. Kim Russo, who co-chairs the event, said
the turnout was the largest ever. Plans for increasing ground space to
accommodate the crowds will be under way for next year's celebration. "As
early as this coming week, people will be meeting to plan Pride Day 2001,"
Russo said. "Twenty committee members meet all year long to organize the
events." General Distributing
and Bastain Foundation were the major sponsors of Pride Day, and Biskupski said
that as the attendance continues to grow, so do the sponsors. "The growing number of sponsors shows
that most people are just tired of prejudice," she said. "People are
starting to realize that all people, regardless, are pursuing the same thing
and that's happiness."
The
Salt Lake Tribune Utah Pride Events Have Been Around At Least 22 Years While it
is difficult to pinpoint exactly when Gay pride celebrations where first held
in Salt Lake City, the history of such events extends beyond the five years of
the Utah Gay Pride Parade. Pride celebrations have not always received
community acceptance. In 1977, the Hotel Utah canceled reservations for a
"Human Rights Convention" at the hotel. The decision was made by the
hotel's board of directors after it was discovered that the convention was
being sponsored by homosexuals. The next
year, however, brought an organized demonstration of Gay pride as "Gay
Pride Week" activities were held at the Northwest Multipurpose Center.
During a seminar on "Coming Out: Resources and Helps," local Gays and
lesbians discussed what it meant to them to admit their homosexuality. At least
one celebration was started as early as 1975. That was the year the Royal Court
of the Golden Spike Empire, an organization representing Utah's Gay community,
launched its first coronation. Utah's Gay and Lesbian Pride Day got its start
in 1981. Local Gay and lesbian groups
have been aligned with the national Gay Pride movement since at least 1996,
when organizers say Utah's first Gay Pride Parade was held.
FOCUSES
ON DIVERSITY THE DESERET NEWS Author: By
Brady SnyderDeseret News staff writer On the surface, it's hard to notice the
thread -- a link connecting a pair of conservatively dressed mothers to a
shirtless man with matching nipple rings and leather shorts -- but for Utah's
Gay community, it's symbolic of the diversity that binds them. In addition to
embracing diversity, participants in Sunday's Utah Pride Day 2000, which ended
in a booth-laden festival at the Salt Lake City-County Building, spoke of
ending the sometimes volatile division between Gay populations and the state's
predominantly LDS culture. "If (Gays and lesbians) want their lives to be
free of prejudice and hatred, they need to not participate in it
themselves," said Pride Day Grand Marshal Jackie Biskupski, Utah's only
openly Gay state representative. "Many (Gays and lesbians) resent the LDS
Church, because they feel they are treated as outcasts; but if (Gays and
lesbians) don't get rid of their prejudices toward the Mormon Church, then they
can't expect others not to act prejudicially toward them." Since 1978 when
Salt Lake's Pride Day was held at Sugar House's Fairmont Park, the festival has
gained momentum, and Sunday's crowd of 20,000 -- many who participated in a 10
a.m. parade down State Street from the State Capitol before the festival -- was
the largest to date, said Kim Russo, Pride Day co-chairwoman. "We're growing,"
Russo said. "I've noticed a lot more families are here this year, and we
welcome that." Affirmation, a support group established for homosexual LDS
Church members, occupied one of the many information and business booths at the
festival. Affirmation works with Gays and lesbians raised in LDS families who
are trying to reconcile their lifestyle with their faith. "I guess it
depends on how you define being Mormon. Most of us are inactive, but we still
value Mormonism as a cultural and spiritual system," Affirmation member
John Duffy said Sunday. "Many people who join feel very guilty at first.
They feel God doesn't love them, but we say God loves no matter how we've
chosen to live our lives."
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER The writer of the June 1 letter, "Homosexuality is as
controllable as anger," spoke authoritatively on the subject of
homosexuality. I, too, am concerned that "if lies are repeated enough,
some will begin to accept them as truth." Although we don't know, there
are many studies that suggest there is a physiological basis (Byne &
Parsons, 1993; Ellis & Arnes, 1987; Money, 1987; Swaab, 1995). The American
Psychological Association states that it is not a matter of individual choice.
The writer offered some statistics that suggested a drastically shorter
lifespan among homosexuals. I'd like to place some statistics beside the
"statistics" he presented. The percentage of suicide attempts among
194 Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth in a 1993 study was 42 percent. In Hunter's
1990 research, 40 percent of the youth reported violent attacks. Forty-six
percent of these attacks were related to their sexual orientation, and 44
percent of those who experienced violence expressed suicidal orientation. The
writer cited the Centers for Disease Control as finding that "the median
number of sexual partners during a lifetime is 1,100!" Is it possible that
the homosexual population of the study was drawn from homosexuals with a
disease? I have no problem with "seeking help from family, friends,
clergy, medical authorities and God," as long as all of these people are
accepting of the homosexual in need of support. Michelle Butler
Salt
Lake City
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER The June 1 letter, "Homosexuality as controllable as
anger," with its undocumented rhetoric astounded me. The letter writer
said, "If lies are repeated often enough, some will begin to accept them
as truth." I submit his statements are among those lies, and I challenge
him to submit documentation for his facts. I have read reports supporting
genetic homosexuality, as well as alcoholism. I can't understand why
"Christians" cannot follow the example of Christ. Christ ministered
to the people who society reviled in His day, and often reproved those who set
themselves above others in self-righteousness. Can the writer tell me exactly
when it was that he chose to live a heterosexual lifestyle? If a person can
change, could he alter his orientation to homosexuality? Many who have changed
their orientation force themselves to fit society's expectations, but they do
not change. In the wake of these transformations, many innocent people are
hurt. The short life expectancy in the Gay community is affected by suicide. In
the transgendered community, 50 percent attempt or succeed committing suicide
by age 30. To many, the human need for love and approval offer only two cures
for homosexuality -- acceptance or death. I do not live a homosexual lifestyle.
I simply live. I work, pay my bills,volunteer, try not to judge others and
teach my children to be honest, caring individuals who contribute positively to
society and respect all humanity, life and nature.Dominique Storni Salt Lake
City
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER As a human being, the misinformation propagated by those who
feel the need to impose their narrow definition of "healthy
lifestyle" on others concerns me. This might prevent those who are
something other than straight from realizing they are valuable human beings
with something to contribute just as they are. It wasn't long ago that left
handers were restrained and forced to do everything with their right hands.
"Normal" people thought it unnatural to use the left hand, so it was
necessary to fix those who exhibited this trait. Well, guess what? For left
handers it's unnatural to use the right hand. They can use it if they try, but
why should they have to? Is a right hander really all that put out because
someone else is using their left hand? Some people are ambidextrous, and for
them it is natural. Why should they be forced to stick to the right hand? The
June 1 letter, "Homosexuality is as controllable as anger," confuses
the issue of orientation, making it sound like it's defined by actions. This is
similar to claiming that a 4-foot person is 6 feet tall because they walk on
stilts, trying to fit in. But at least the 6-foot people are happy when the
4-foot person goes through this uncomfortable ritual to overcome their
"defect." The letter also quotes statistics that have reached
urban-legend status. They come from biased sources which have been discredited.
I invite readers to go to www.cdc.gov and try to find this data themselves.
Also take a look at www.apa.org/pi/parent.html," a paper with actual,
verifiable references. Note the discussion of the difficulty of obtaining
precise samples for this population. Also see www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html
and www.siecus.org/religion/reli0001.html. Perhaps the letter writer who
managed to provide such precise numbers could provide checkable references for
his claims. Dave E. Martin Ogden
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER To the writer of the June 1 letter, "Homosexuality is as
controllable as anger": Where in the world did you get such a kaleidoscope
of facts and figures? It is quite obvious to me that you never received an
academic scholarship. What business is it of yours what Gays and lesbians do
with their lives? So what if they all go to hell? I'm quite certain they will
not be the only ones there! It never ceases to amaze me how much hate and
prejudice fills our world. We have people dying on the streets of Salt Lake
City because they have no food to eat, and people like you complain about
someone's sexual orientation! When was the last time you helped the homeless or
walked around a track to help eradicate cancer? I have proudly served in the
Armed Forces for eight years, defending this country's freedom and honor. It
pains me to discover the criticism and judgments of an uneducated, hateful
individual such as yourself. I realize you may have been the last kid in your
fourth-grade class to be selected for the kickball team, but could you please
stop taking out your anger and bitterness on others who have moved past the
traumatic experiences of their childhood. It is time you joined the rest of the
adults and obtained a life. Angela McDermott Logan
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER The June 1 letter, "Homosexuality is as controllable as
anger," goes past all standards of journalistic, even editorial,
integrity. This letter, from a person self-identified as a physician, is akin
to phony "statistics" supporting, for example, a prejudice against
Mexicans. The writer's letter is simply bulging with blatant lies! For just one
example, the average lifespans of Gay men which he quoted (42/39, AIDS/no AIDS)
are taken directly from a discredited study by a discredited
"scientist" at the Family Research Institute, who has been booted out
of professional associations across the country precisely because of ethical
violations in such "studies." The rest of the statistics could just
as easily have been (and have been) published as anti-Gay propaganda directly
from the FRI and are just as damaging, especially the author's statement that
"association with ... child abuse ... is much higher in those practicing homosexual
behavior." This false information has been discredited since the
mid-80s.In 1984 all members of the American Psychological Association received
official written notice that the "scientist" was "dropped from
membership for a violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of
Psychologists" on Dec. 2, 1983, by the APA Board of Directors. In 1985,
the American Sociological Association adopted a resolution saying he "has
consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality,
homosexuality and lesbianism." Allan Ross San Diego, Ca.
OGDEN
STANDARD EXAMINER Regarding the June 1 letter, "Homosexuality is as
controllable as anger": The writer wasn't even subtle. His personal bias
about the issue of homosexuality was very evident. How can an individual who
uses such phrases as "unhealthy lifestyle," "deviant
behavior" and "struggling with same-sex attraction" possibly
present statistics about homosexuality in an unbiased way? How can someone who
has been through graduate school throw out such vague, poorly documented
statistics in such an undergraduate manner? Give us some specific data to
support such ridiculous conclusions. What qualifies the writer as an expert on
homosexuality? Has he read at least 20-30 good books on the subject of
homosexuality? Has he attended at least 50-100 hours of lectures on the subject
of sexual orientation given by some of the foremost researchers in the world?
Has he taken part in 100-200 hours of seminars and conferences? Has he personally
spent 200-300 hours in the company of Gay and lesbian persons to gain insight
into whether they have chosen their "deviant lifestyles" and are just
"pretending" to be homosexual?
"As controllable as anger"? Spare us such nonsense. Until the
letter writer can do a better objective and professional job in presenting his
views on a subject it is obvious he knows little about, I suggest he keeps his
vicious, hurtful "stuff" in his desk drawer with all the other
tabloid junk. Mac Madsen Ogden
15 June 2000
Thursday
The
Salt Lake Tribune Board May Lift Ban on School Clubs S.L. District reviews
policy; federal court appeal pending; School Clubs: Status Undergoing Review By
Salt Lake District. The Salt Lake City
School District's policy banning nonacademic clubs is under review after a
state agency opted not to pay for an appeal of a federal injunction that allows
a Gay-issues club to meet. U.S.
District Judge Tena Campbell forced East High School in April to let students
form a group called PRISM, where students talk about homosexuality as it
relates to government, history and sociology.
The Salt Lake City School District appealed the injunction to Denver's
10th U.S. Circuit Court on May 26. The district recently learned that the
Division of Risk Management, the state's self-insurance agency, will not cover
costs of the appeal. The division typically does not pay to fight
injunctions. School district officials
said they will pay for a private attorney to continue with the appeal. The cost
of fighting the injunction was not known Wednesday. In the meantime, school board members said
they are considering a policy change that would allow clubs currently banned,
including those organized around sports or politics, to meet once again. "The kids want their clubs back,"
said Joel Briscoe, a board member. "If they [PRISM] can legally meet, then
why shouldn't we allow all the other clubs to meet as well?" Currently, only academic clubs are
sanctioned by the school district. Such clubs are sponsored by teachers, and
members are allowed to advertise their meetings with fliers and over the school
intercom. All nonacademic clubs were banned in 1996 as a result of the
district's interest in preventing students from meeting to discuss
homosexuality. Students who want to form noncurricular clubs can meet under the
Utah Civic Center Act, which allows community groups to rent space after
school. But they are not sponsored by
the school and cannot advertise their meetings. School board members will discuss club policy during their meeting July 18. In
the future the district could emulate
the policy used in the Granite School District. Granite's policy
complies with a federal statute that says any school that receives federal funds
and also allows noncurricular clubs cannot limit or discriminate against what
goes on in those groups on the basis of religious, political or philosophical
views. In Granite, teachers supervise, but don't sponsor, nonacademic clubs and
members are allowed to use classrooms free of charge after school. If Salt Lake City District does welcome
nonacademic clubs, the district may require students to get parental permission
to join, said Kathy Black, board president.
"If [they] have a controversial club we believe parents ought to
know what their children are involved in," she said. The two East High School students who sued to
form PRISM have said their goal was to bring all clubs back. The two teens, backed by the Utah Chapter
of the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed the district violated their
rights to free expression when it turned down their club application. That
civil suit is still pending.
17 June 2000
Saturday
Utah AIDS Foundation Walk for Life Please join us for the 12th annual Utah AIDS
Foundation Walk for Life at the Salt Lake City and County building, 451 South
State Street in Salt Lake City. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and the
Walk begins at 9:00 a.m. If you have not registered already, you can
just show up in the morning. You are welcome to register and bring pledges on
Saturday, or you can just come and walk. We would love to have you join us and
pets of all kinds are not only welcome, but encouraged. In fact, for only a $5.00 registration and
another $20 in pledges, your pet will earn a snappy pet bandana and will be the
envy of the neighborhood. Along the Walk route there will be some great
entertainment and the Disco Drippers will be performing at the City/County
building at the end of the Walk. They
are a very fun band. The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, Utah Chapter will
be unfolding Quiltpanels at 8:00 in the morning. There will also be a dedication of several
new Quilt panels from Utah. If you would like additional information, please
follow the link in the logo above, or call us Friday at 801-487-2323 or
800-865-5004. Hope to see you Saturday.
Sincerely, Stan Penfold Utah AIDS Foundation
18 June 2000
Sunday
I
have the sad news that Steve Smith passed away last night. He had AIDS and
fought a courageous battle for many years. He died quietly at home about 8:30
Sunday evening with his family nearby. Although everyone knew his death was
imminent, it is still very sad news to those who knew Steve. He was 43 years
old and leaves an incredible family: wife, Kim, and sons Tony and Parker.
Tony is at the MTC. Parker is a student
at Skyline High School. His parents and brothers, including his twin brother
Stan, all live in the SLC area.
Steve was an accomplished flyer of state-of-the-art
combat jets in the Air Force. He flew planes for Northwest Airlines until his
illness required medication, at which time he needed to retire. He kept up his
active lifestyle as long as he could. He skied like a madman (and was a member
of the ski patrol) and rode his bike even harder. He played the violin, as does
Tony, and with Parker on the cello and Kim on the piano they formed a
breathtaking ensemble, much in demand as long as he could play.
Steve loved gardening and through his last few years
managed to make his yards a showplace. He wanted to get things done so that he
would be able to rest knowing he had left a bit of himself here. In typical
fashion, he tried to plant things that were low maintenance so his family wouldn't
be burdened. Steve participated in the California AIDS Ride, a grueling task
under the summer sun for even the best athletes.
Fighting an eye infection, he required over 4 hours of
IV medication every day, even on the trip. He rode as fast as he could, an IV
catheter in his arm, so he could quickly get the medications started. He didn't
want the medical team on the trip to have to stay up too late. He hated to be a
burden. Steve and Kim are personal heroes of mine. They have demonstrated
tremendous courage over the past few years, speaking out as a couple at
Affirmation and Family Fellowship meetings, and being willing to share their
story with other.
Steve attended several Gamofite retreats. We Gay LDS
people owe the softening of more than a few hearts to their efforts to help
people humanize AIDS and the dilemma of married Gay LDS people. Because he came
to Washington DC to participate in a series of HIV studies, I got to know and
love him and his wife dearly. We shared lots of laughs and frustrations
whenever he would visit. Eventually he was too ill to travel this far, but we
continued to stay in touch.
On one of his last trips to Washington I recorded for
him part of his life history, a gift to his sons. He was too ill to finish the
task, but I am transcribing the parts I have and will pass them on to Kim.
Funeral arrangements were pending when I spoke with Steve's brother Stan today.
Steve had arranged in advance to have an autopsy performed on him here in
Washington, at NIH. It was his wish that the doctors who had given him so much
have the chance to learn anything they could to help with the suffering of
anyone else. About a year ago he asked me if I could be available for that last
journey to Washington in case there was any trouble. After the procedure here,
he will be flown back to Salt Lake City for a funeral and burial. Anyone in the
SLC area who sees an obituary should post them here for us all.
.
20 June 2000
Tuesday
The
Salt Lake S.L. City School Board May Rethink Its Nonacademic-Club Policy Salt Lake City School Board members hope to
snuff a lawsuit filed by a student Gay-issues group by rewriting district
policy to do away with a blanket ban on nonacademic clubs. "We're hoping that if we revisit the
policy, the plaintiffs may reconsider the lawsuit," board president Kathy
Black said Monday. Board members learned that if the suit survives, however,
the district may find itself footing the bill to defend against the
civil-rights suit. The Division of Risk Management, the state's self-insurance
agency, has warned it may no longer defray the district's litigation costs.
Filed in April, the suit accuses the district of violating the First Amendment
rights of two East High School students when it rejected PRISM, a club formed
to discuss homosexuality as it relates to sociology, politics and history. In
April, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell issued an injunction allowing PRISM to
temporarily meet, pending the outcome of the civil case. Risk Management officials
subsequently decided not to pay for the district to appeal the injunction. Risk Management officials are also reviewing
coverage of the overall case, said Alan Edwards, director of Risk Management.
Typically, liability insurance policies do not cover suits in which plaintiffs
do not seek actual damages. In their suit, students ask only for the right to
meet as a school-sponsored club, along with $1 in nominal damages. "This is not about . . . whether we
think this is a good lawsuit,"
Edwards said. "As of now we haven't made a clear
determination" to continue defending the suit. The cost of funding further
defense of the suit is unclear. The state spent at least $180,269 when the
district was sued in 1998 by two other East High School students. That suit
stemmed from the district's ban of nonacademic clubs to prevent students from
forming a Gay-straight alliance. A federal judge upheld that ban last October.
Meanwhile, Salt Lake City school board members plan next month to discuss
changes to their club policy. If board members change the policy to accept
nonacademic clubs, too, the lawsuit could become moot. As a legal matter, the suit would remain
valid, said Stephen Clark, who is representing the East High students as legal
counsel for the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. There still
would be the matter of whether the district unfairly rejected PRISM's
application. However, Clark said that as a practical matter, a revised policy
might appease the plaintiffs. "The
students were really interested in going forward and securing their right to
meet," Clark said. "If the school board changes its policy in a way
that allows them to do that without the need for a federal injunction, they
will have achieved what they set out to achieve." State law says students
cannot form clubs that "materially and substantially . . . involve human
sexuality." However, schools must
also follow the federal Equal Access Act, which says schools that allow non
curricular clubs cannot discriminate against what goes on in the club based on
religious, political or philosophical views. The Granite School District's club
policy, which Salt Lake City school board members may emulate, would allow
students to discuss homosexuality as it relates to issues such as civil rights,
sociology or culture. It would ban clubs centered on the mechanics or dynamics
of sexuality.
21 June 2000
Wednesday
Today
is Mike Romero’s 44th birthday born in Rawlins. I took him to Chubby’s
for dinner and we both had Chili Verde Burritos. Always good.
In the news the Scottish Parliament made a landmark
decision to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which had
prohibited the 'promotion' of homosexuality. The repeal passed with a decisive
vote of 99 to 17, marking a significant moment for Gay rights in the United
Kingdom.
25 June 2000
Sunday
My
old branch president at BYU who held a court for me in 1976 was in the news as
the President of Weber State University.
The Salt Lake Tribune University WSU Selects
Recipients of Gay-Rights Scholarships 3 Students Given Scholarship For Gays at
WSU BY KIRSTEN STEWART
Legal and moral objections to a controversial Weber
State University scholarship earmarked for students who support Gay, lesbian and bisexual rights won't
prevent the school from awarding it to three students this fall. The first
winners of the Matthew Shepard scholarship were chosen in May from a pool of
eight applicants. WSU senior Emily Turner will receive a year's full tuition,
and two other students, who were not identified by the university, will get
partial tuition. Endowed in January with money raised by an independent
committee of university and community members, the Shepard scholarship was
created in memory of a Gay University of Wyoming student who was brutally slain
in 1998. It originally was intended to provide $2,000 in tuition assistance to
a Gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender student with a minimum 3.25 grade point
average. The criteria later were broadened to include students actively
sympathetic to Gay, lesbian and
bisexual issues. Two of the winners have requested to remain anonymous, said
university President Paul Thompson.
The school is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to protect
students' privacy, he said. Federal law prevents public disclosure of student
records and other personal information without their consent. "It's a sad day when you can't print
your name in the paper for fear that someone's going to hurt you," said
one of the winners of partial tuition, a 35-year-old WSU junior who lives in
Ogden with her partner and 5-year-old daughter.
A criminal justice major interested in pursuing a career in family law,
she said, "I haven't been discriminated against in a big way. I never lost
a job or anything. But I see things. I see the Matthew Shepards in the
world. "If I were younger and I
didn't have a family, I wouldn't have as much to lose," she added. Turner, on the other hand, feared there was
more to be lost by not publicly claiming the award. "I can't even tell you how honored I am
to receive this scholarship in Shepard's name. I consider it a great victory
for the Gay movement and the Utah community," said Turner, who is majoring
in sociology and women's studies. "You can't really have a movement if the
people in the movement aren't visible, united and confident." After she returns from an internship in
Washington, D.C., where she tracks legislation for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Turner will serve as
president of WSU's Delta Lambda Sappho Union, a Gay-straight alliance on
campus. Like Turner, all Shepard scholarship winners have extensive backgrounds
in community service and social activism, said Richard Beatch, one of the
scholarship committee members and a philosophy professor. The recipients are
expected to pursue work or study in human rights. Beatch said committee members
were "delighted" to offer the grant-in-aid this year. Since its
announcement, the scholarship has been under fire. Some have questioned the
legality of the university's administering scholarships that aren't tied to the
curriculum or based on academic merit or financial need. Partly in response to these concerns, WSU
trustees recommended in April that the school look into administering all
privately funded, donor-directed scholarships through an off-campus foundation.
The board hoped to distance the public university from scholarships that might
be seen as discriminatory or offensive.
Weber State officials are still investigating the possibility of working
with a private foundation.
Administrators are awaiting opinions from the Internal Revenue Service
and the state auditor before proceeding, said Thompson, who expects the
administration will report back to the board in the fall. One unforeseen benefit of all the attention
was that the scholarship committee raised more than $10,000 above its goal of
$40,000. The fund is supported by more than 203 donors, most of whom are
Utahns. The Shepard scholarship is the
first of its kind in the state, but not the first in the nation. Earlier this
month, three Gay and lesbian high school students were awarded full tuition to
Iowa state universities under a scholarship in Matthew Shepard's name.
29 June 2000
Thursday
The
Salt Lake Tribune Scouts Can Reject Gay Leaders LDS Church hails high court
ruling; homosexuals pledge to continue fight for public acceptance; Boy Scouts
Can Ban Gay Leaders Even as the Boy Scouts and LDS Church celebrated a U.S.
Supreme Court victory in a decade-long fight against admitting homosexual
Scoutmasters, Gays bitterly vowed to wage their struggle anew in the court of
public opinion. "This is a
pyrrhic victory for the Boy Scouts of America leadership; they have won for
themselves the dubious right to be bigoted and exclusionary," said Evan
Wolfson, senior staff attorney for the New York-based Lambda Legal Defense and
Education Fund Inc. "They have shown
. . . the country that they stand
for discrimination." In a 5-4
decision Wednesday, justices found that forcing the 90-year-old, 3.9
million-strong group to admit Gay leaders would violate the organization's
rights of free expression and free association under the Constitution's First
Amendment. While Gay-rights advocates insisted the ruling set a dangerous
precedent, they agreed with other legal observers -- including two Utah
attorneys -- that the decision's effect would likely be limited to
sexual-orientation issues. Salt Lake civil-liberties attorney Brian Barnard,
who won a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the state's revocation of the
St. George Elks Club's liquor license because it refused to admit women, said
it would be "a major stretch" to apply Wednesday's Scouting decision
to gender cases at large. "The
distinction is that our society has already said there is no legitimate
difference between men and women," he said. "Our society has not yet
said the same thing in regard to sexual orientation." Barnard noted that the case against the Boy
Scouts was filed by a former Gay Scoutmaster under a New Jersey law prohibiting
discrimination based on sexual orientation -- a law that has no parallel in
Utah statutes. John Baldwin, executive director of the Utah State Bar, also
failed to "see this at all as an inroad for other organizations to
discriminate." "Maybe it's
closer than comparing apples to oranges, but it's still at least oranges and
tangerines," he said. Wolfson
likewise dismissed the potential for the ruling to "open the floodgates of
discrimination" but insisted that exclusion on the basis of sexual
orientation would be reason enough for an increasingly accepting American
public to make Scouting regret its policy.
"Those who actively support the Boy Scouts must now work to end
discrimination and send a message of fairness," he said. Failing that, he and others called for
creation of an alternative organization for youth. Wolfson rebuked The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, which had threatened to pull its 410,000 Scouts from the
program if it were forced to accept Gay troop leaders. Second only in size to the 420,000 Scouts
sponsored by the United Methodist Church, the Mormon stand weighed heavily in
the group's decision to stand firm on its ban of Gay leaders, Wolfson said.
"The LDS Church played a huge role in pushing [the Boy Scouts] leadership
into adopting discriminatory rhetoric and policy that's going to be a
tremendous detriment to this organization," he charged during a
teleconference. "It will cause public schools and others [non private
sponsors] to reconsider their involvement with [Scouting]." In a brief statement, the LDS Church
applauded the justices for "affirming the constitutional right of the Boy
Scouts of America as a private association to determine its own standards for
membership and selection of leaders."
Church officials declined further comment, but the decision -- and the
LDS Church's stand -- won the gratitude of scouting leaders in Utah. "We
are indebted to those who have filed friendly briefs in Scouting's
behalf," said Kay Godfrey, spokesman for the BSA's Great Salt Lake
Council. The LDS Church was joined by
The National Catholic Committee on Scouting, the United Methodist Men, the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the National Council of Young Israel in
filing supporting briefs. Godfrey
estimates that there are more than 150,000 Scouts in Utah, more than 90 percent
of them from units sponsored by Mormon church wards. To RDell
Johnson, the decision is a disaster for Scouting and a death knell to his
dreams of volunteering as a troop leader. Johnson, now a 27-year-old staffer at
Salt Lake City's Gay and Lesbian Community Center; says he was 13 when he won
Eagle Scout honors. He is also Gay,
though he didn't "come out" until he was 15. "I was quite clearly aware of my
orientation when I was 13," Johnson said. "So was one other boy in my
troop, who was a year older than me; we were lovers." The high court's
ruling locks the door on Johnson's plans to someday lead a Scouting troop, a
position he says he would have otherwise accepted "in a heartbeat" to
share his love of the outdoors and Scouting's life lessons. Gary Watts, a Provo physician and board
member of the national Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
group, complained that the ruling will "perpetuate the myth that all Gay
men are pedophiles and cannot be trusted with our youths. "It paints an entire class of people with
a broad brush," said Watts, whose Gay son was an Eagle Scout. "This
decision will be very painful to them and their loved ones." The ruling
reversed a New Jersey Supreme Court finding that the Scouts wrongly ousted
James Dale in 1990 after learning he was Gay. On Wednesday, however, Dale balanced
his defeat with optimism that his struggle would pave the way for future Gay
Scoutmasters. "There's a lot of
room for hope in terms of where America is going," said Dale, who now
lives in New York City and is advertising director for a magazine for people
who are HIV-positive. "America is going in the right direction [in terms
of the acceptance of Gays]."
Members of Utah's all-Republican congressional delegation contacted
Wednesday praised the justices' ruling. Sen. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, found the ruling “legally and constitutionally
sound." Sen. Bob Bennett added,
"It's hard to find a provision in the Constitution that says any citizen
has the 'right' to be an official in the Boy Scouts or for that matter any
other private organization.
"Without discussing the question of whether homosexuality is good
or bad, a sin or not . . . this comes down to whether a private
organization had the right to choose its own leaders." Rep. Chris Cannon said "it was good to
see the court reaffirm things most constitutional scholars considered
clear." Vicki Varela, press
secretary for Gov. Mike Leavitt, said her boss found it "very
appropriate" the justices decided the Scouts were "a private
organization . . . able to set the policies and standards for
its members." In addition to
Rehnquist, the majority was joined by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin
Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting were Justices John Paul
Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
In the dissent, Stevens contended that the New Jersey
anti-discrimination law Dale sued under does not "impose any serious
burdens" on the Boy Scouts' goals, "nor does it force [the Boy
Scouts] to communicate any message that it does not wish to endorse. New
Jersey's law, therefore, abridges no constitutional right of the Boy Scouts
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