Utah Stonewall Historical Society Archives

This Day In Gay Utah History June 7th

1954-Father of computer science and mathematical genius Alan Turing died of cyanide poisoning. He committed suicide by eaten a poisoned apple as in the Walt Disney Movie Snow White. He had been responsible for cracking a code used by Germany during World War II, which gave the Allies an advantage. After being tried for homosexual acts, he was forced to undergo medical treatments including estrogen injections.

1970-Author E.M. Forster died after a series of strokes. His novel about Edwardian Era Forster was homosexual, which prompted themes in his works, especially the novel Maurice. Though conscious of his repressed desires, he was twenty-seven before he yielded to them physically. In 1906 he fell in love with Syed Ross Masood, a seventeen-year-old future Oxford student he tutored in Latin. The Indian had more of a romantic, poetic view of friendship, confusing Forster with constant avowals of his love. His novels included Room With A View, Howard's End, and Passage to India. 

EM Forster

homosexuality Maurice was published after his death.

Anita Bryant

1977 Miami repealed the Dade County, Commission’s Gay anti-discrimination ordinance. Anita Bryant Florida Citrus industry spokeswoman and former Miss America spear headed the Save Our Children Committee and collected enough signatures to force a ballot referendum.  The Florida anti-Gay movement began the attack on the Gay rights gained in many cities and states since Stonewall.  Bryant’s ties to the citrus industry made Orange juice a boycott item in Gay households and establishments.

1978-California's Proposition Six, also known as the Briggs initiative, qualified for the November ballot. The bill sought to ban Gay teachers and forbid discussion of homosexuality that was neutral or positive.

1986-The Libertarian Party held its nominating convention.  Bob Waldrop was the Utah state Chairman,  “I went to the state’s Libertarian Party’s convention at the University of Utah along with Gordon Jones, Jon Butler, and Willie Marshall.  Willie Marshall had converted the town of Big Water, Utah to the Libertarian Party and is the only totally Libertarian community in the U.S.  It seems that the entire Libertarian Party of Utah is made up of Tax Protesters, Mormon Polygamous, Pot Heads, and Gays. What strange bed partners!” (Journal of Ben Williams)

1988  I ordered a cake yesterday from Albertson’s with a Pink Triangle on it to celebrate Unconditional Support’s first anniversary. We had a business meeting tonight and we read our articles and by-laws and voted to modify some of them.  It was a nice turn out and afterwards we had cake and ice cream. (Journal of Ben Williams)

1990 Thursday BOARD RECOMMENDS LIFE IN PRISON FOR WOOD The Utah Board of Pardons has recommended that Lance Conway Wood, convicted of first-degree murder in the torture slaying of Gordon Ray Church, spend the rest of his life in prison. Board of Pardons Chairman Pete Haun noted that Wednesday's decision could be reversed by a future board. Meanwhile, Wood, 22, may apply in writing every five years for a "re-determination" of the board's decision. Wood's co-defendant, Michael Anthony Archuleta, was sentenced to death for his part in the November 1988 murder. The two picked up the victim in Cedar City and took him up a nearby canyon where Archuleta cut the victim and put him in the trunk of the car, according to testimony. Archuleta then drove north to the Dog Valley area, where Church was slain. His skull was fractured, arm was broken and his elbow dislocated, and a tire iron, which was apparently inserted nearly 19 inches up his rectum, pierced his liver twice, according to medical testimony. Jumper cables were attached to the victim's genitals.

1991 “ Tonight was community council [Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah] and 

Robert S. Smith

we met in the Stonewall Center for the first time. Bobbie Smith had asked me to act as Secretary since Brenda Voisard and Robert Austin were away at the Desert and Mountain States Conference in Las Vegas and he had to conduct the meeting. Fran and Brent [Pace son of BYU professor George Pace] had come up to Salt Lake prior to the meeting but I really didn’t get to spend much time with them because the council started at 7 pm. The place was packed and yet about 1.3 of the council members weren’t present. No major drama really at the council except for Becky Moorman complaining about being slighted by the Pride Day Committee and calling it a lack of professionism. She said the Bridge had to be published in Las Vegas because they can’t find a print shop in Utah willing to print the magazine. Most of the meeting was monopolized by Gay Pride Committee but that was to be expected. Matt Landis [Queer Nation member] was kind of rude when he attacked Affirmation as racist at council for having their auction. Rocky O’Donovan didn’t even attend council. Anyway after the meeting  John Bundy from Affirmation went over to Matt and said he wished that if they had a problem with them in the future that they come talk to them and then Matt started in on Affirmation being racist an then this Lesbian I don’t even know, named Renee [Rinaldi] said that it was all my fault for not allowing Queer Nation to have an action against Affirmation and then she called me a racist so I jumped in her face an said “Who the hell do you think you are calling me a racist?  You know me for two minutes and have me pegged for a racist?” Then she started poking me in the chest and I said “Get your fucking finger off me Lady, Now!!” and then she called me a sexist and all her Queer Nation cronies surrounded her like protecting her from me and I said, “Well there goes the Political Correct Police!” and Curtis turns and says, “that’s really unfair,” and I said, “Then don’t start policing the community.” Well needless to say the Brouhaha made for an interesting conversation among those who witnessed it.  Back in the meeting room, while putting up chairs I was still venting my feelings and then Michael Aaron criticized me for talking behind Queer Nation’s back. I let him know that I ‘am’  Queer Nation too and I won’t stand for one group to be setting themselves up as arbitrators of what is correct and incorrect in the Gay community. Queer Nation was organized to promote Gay visibility not political correctness. Anyway to show that I can’t be dismissed or ran off, I went with Chuck Whyte to the Bay Club to participate in an action against the owners called “Queer Night at the Bay”.  The owners of the Bay are Gay and yet discriminate against openly Gay people at their club.  I was told to remove my bandanna before I would be admitted in . Anyway about fifteen of us from Queer Nation, Toni [Palmer], Laura, Nancy Perez, Kathy, Renee [Rinaldi], Devon Hanson, Lewis, Curtis Jensen, Matt Landis, Melissa Sillatoe, Michelle Davies, Dale Sorensen, Rocky O’Donovan, Robert Erichhsen, Chuck Whyte, and myself and about three other guys I didn’t know gathered on the bottom dance floor. We wore t-shirts saying “Nobody Knows I’m Gay”, “Queer Nation Utah”, etc and had stickers all over ourselves saying Dyke, Faggot, Fear No Queer, etc. The other patrons of the club were feeling on the most part like “how trendy, chic, and hip. Faggots and Dykes at our club.”  In fact several people gravitated towards us and started same sex dancing along with us, empowered by our example. However after several songs, the owner stopped the music, said we had to remove our stickers, had security come down to harass us, and people in the crowd started booing the owner Trace. Dale Sorensen told him to lighten up or see headlines saying, “Gay Owners of the Bay Discriminate Against Gay Patrons.” However Renee, still full of rage and anger about everything, (to whom on the dance floor I had apologized for jumping in her face but not for my convictions), started poking Trace when told to remove her stickers and was evicted from the club along with Toni and Laura. We didn’t stay much after that. We had however a kiss-in and then left. I thought it was chicken shit that we didn’t all leave when the women were kicked out but Rocky was the avenging angel and he’s still very angry at me and won’t even talk to me. Good! Well Chuck and I left about 12:30 am when the others went out to coffee. Feeling persona non grata, Chuck and I went instead to the Deerhunter. Didn’t stay long. Just cruised through and stayed long enough for one beer. Taked to David Estes who was back from Vegas, and he said that the Conference [Desert and Mountain State] is in debt big time, almost $60,000 and only 29 were registered by the time the conference began and almost 19 of them were from Utah. This will probably be the end then. I didn’t get to bed until nearly 2 am.

1996 Page: E1 There was no k.d. lang, no Melissa Etheridge,no Janis Ian.   ``No one was out then,'' said Chastity Bono, recalling the Jan. 2, 1990, issue of the tabloid Star that outed her as a lesbian.   Five-and-a-half years later, Chastity, the only child of Cher and musician-turned-politician Sonny Bono, outed herself in an issue of The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian news magazine. The outing came after a year of off-the-record meetings. ``We spent a long time talking through the difficult concerns, and the concerns were huge,'' said Judy Wieder, who wrote The Advocate story and is now the magazine's executive director. ``I became the therapist and friend.   ``Chastity's a person of very strong character, and she wanted to do it and knew it was important to do it.''   Today, Bono, 27, is a writer-at-large for The Advocate and on the road as a spokes woman for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project, which encourages gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation. This weekend, she will be in Salt Lake City, where she will be grand marshal of  Gay Pride Day events.   Bono made the decision to come forward after musicians lang, Etheridge and Ian had outed themselves. ``They were very good role models for me,'' Bono said via telephone from the San Francisco home she shares with partner Laura LaMastro, who works for a computer consulting firm.   ``I was never very courageous about this kind of thing. But my story may mean something to others struggling to come out.''   She made the decision to come out after her lover's death from cancer in 1994.   ``I never went out to events with Joan because I was in the closet,'' said Bono, referring to her former partner only by her first name. ``I don't have the opportunity to do that now, and I decided I was never going to make the same mistake with another lover.   ``That was the last straw,'' Bono said of Joan's death. ``Going through an experience like that puts your priorities into perspective.''   She also quit the band after the loss. ``I just thought, `You know what? I don't want to do this anymore.' '' When Bono decided to come out, she decided to do it in a big way.   ``I didn't want to deal with looking over my shoulder anymore or to worry about what was written about me. When you're a celebrity who comes out, you really take control over [thetabloids]. They don't have any power any more,and that's a good feeling.''   While she says her life is her own again, Bono still gets angry talking about her experiences with the tabloids.   ``I was the first famous lesbian to be outed. I'm not talking about rumors and innuendos, I mean outing,'' explained the well-spoken Bono, who made her first public appearance when she was 2 on ``The Sonny and Cher Comedy Show.'' After the Star outing, Bono, then a musician, panicked and retreated into a life of hiding, lying, shame, confusion and rage. She dared not walkout the same door as her lover for fear of the paparazzi.   ``It was a terrifying experience and I thought my career was over,'' recalled Bono, whose rock band Ceremony was on the verge of being signed with Geffen Records. ``It was assumed then that if you were rumored to be gay or came out, it would have a negative effect.''   Bono went ``far into the closet. I was angry at the gay community, and I was so repressed for so long.''   Although she finds the tabloids vicious and` `pretty much s--t,'' she is able to poke fun at them today.   Bono's parents learned of her lesbianism when she was 18.   Cher's response was ``a typical parental reaction. She just kind of blew up at first, was very upset and then digested it and dealt with it.'' In the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, Cher, who portrayed a lesbian in the movie ``Silkwood,'' said, ``I freaked out, told her to get out and cried for a week. I felt angry and guilty.''   The two reconciled within days.   Cher's reaction was not borne of homophobia, said her daughter, who had grown up around openly gay people. In fact, a friend of her mother's later became one of Chastity's lovers.   ``Her response was coming from `Oh, my God, this is my child and I'm worried about her and will she be happy and stuff.' She knows it isn't necessarily the easiest life.''   Sonny Bono was the first in the family to know she was gay. ``I was reading this lesbian book, and he saw it in my room,'' she told The Advocate in 1995. ``He picked it up and said to me, `Is there something you want to talk to me about?' So I told him and he was like `Oh, I knew.' He was really great about it, very supportive.''   But now, Bono says her father is anything but supportive. While daughter and father often have disagreed over politics, this is the first time the debate has become personal.   Sonny Bono, a Republican congressman from Southern California, apparently has flip-flopped on the issue of same-sex marriage. Chastity says that he told her, in an interview for The Advocate, that he would support the marriages if there was no cost to the government or private sector.   As it turns out, Sonny Bono is one of the co-sponsors of the controversial anti-same-sex-marriage bill, known as the Defense of Marriage Act.   ``I was very disappointed in him for that,'' Chastity said.  ``He's my father and some timesyou put family over politics. But aside from that, after what he told me for The Advocate, I find it incredibly hypocritical of him.''   (Sonny Bono did not return calls from The Tribune requesting comment on the issue.) For Chastity Bono, the pressure to stay in the closet came from entertainment executives.   ``People are afraid it will affect their marketability. That's why you have so many celebrities in the closet. A lot of those people are being encouraged to be in the closet by all the people making money off them -- producers, directors, studio heads, agents. It's all reflected in the tone of the country.''   But Bono does not believe proclaiming one's sexual orientation has the negative effect people expect it will.   ``If you look at the people who have come out-- Amanda Bearse, Dan Butler and Mitchell Anderson -- it certainly hasn't affected their careers. And if you look at people who have been rumored to be gay . . . they're all doing just fine.''   Still, Bono says, ``No big movie star has taken that leap of faith yet.''   As spokeswoman for the 1996 National Coming Out Project, Bono urges gay men and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation. She also is speaking out on lesbian health issues.   ``What people don't realize is the effect that coming out has on other people. There's research that shows that people who know someone who is gay or lesbian are much more likely to be supportive of our causes. Coming out can make a big difference on a small level. ``I have respect for any gay or lesbian person who is out and open. Not living with fear and shame, that's commendable.''  The Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and  lesbian organization, approached the Utah  Gay Pride Day committee about having Bono as its guest. ``We felt like we were not being heard here nationally, but as it turned out we were,'' said Jeff Freedman, co-chairman of Sunday's events.   ``Usually people of national importance hit Pride Day in major cities,'' he said. ``But Chastity Bono will have a greater impact coming here. Leaders such as she see that, recognize it and act on it.''   Bono is concerned about teen-agers and the Utah Legislature's ban on gay and  lesbian clubs in public schools.   ``It's terrible. . . . Gay and lesbian kids have a higher suicide rate. That's a proven fact. To be able to have a support system is really helpful. To not have that is dangerous. You're really dealing with issues of life and death.''   Compared with others' turbulent teen years, Bono said she was lucky. She graduated from New York's High School for the Performing Arts, where ``there were other gay and lesbian kids and all my friends were very accepting. It was a very artistic, progressive school. But that's not the case where you guys are.''   Bono has advice for parents of gays and lesbians. ``It's your kid. Don't let something as unimportant as sexual orientation destroy a relationship. It's not worth it.''

1996 Page: B1 Salt Lake Tribune Kelli Peterson is hoping that East High School's protests

Kelli Peterson

 of the 1990s will be to Utah gays and lesbians what the landmark integration of Little Rock's Central High School was to blacks in the 1950s.   ``Utah is going to be as ashamed of this as Little Rock is of the Central High School incidents,'' said Peterson, founder of East's gay  -straight student alliance. ``This is going to be Salt Lake's most embarrassing moment.''   Late last year, Peterson ignited a fire-storm of controversy when she asked if a group of gay and lesbian students could meet at a public high school. The request started a chain of events propelling Utah and Peterson into the spotlight of international news coverage.   Thursday evening, Peterson graduated from East High School. She'll enter Weber State University this fall, but isn't sure what her major will be.   Looking back, Peterson said she had learned voluminous lessons on life, the news media, political action and being in the spotlight.   Her saga began last fall when lawyers for the   Utah State Office of Education and the Utah Attorney General's Office concluded that gay and lesbian students could use public-school campuses for meetings under federal law.   In response, members of the Utah Senate held a secret meeting where anti-gay video footage was shown. Some lawmakers alleged that some Utah teachers were using obscene demonstrations to teach school children about homosexuality, a claim that was immediately refuted.   Then, the Salt Lake City School Board banned all noncurricular clubs to block gays and lesbians from meeting on the district's high school campuses. Come fall, all political, ethnic, social, community service and hobby clubs will have evaporated at the schools.   That action drew the ire of students who rose from their seats to join in rallies and protests. And some students blamed Peterson.   ``I went from being an unknown, anonymous kid to being this political figure getting telephone calls from the White House and The New York Times,'' she said.   In her days of anonymity, Peterson experimented with fire-engine red, burgundy and purple hair hues. She wore what she described as weird clothing.   But her transformation into a symbol for gay and lesbian youth made her image paramount.   ``It's a lot of pressure to be perfect,'' Peterson said. ``I have to dress a certain way. There's a lot of pressure to present this normal, mainstream `90210' gay kid.'' And it seemed the phone never stopped ringing. If it wasn't NBC's Today Show sending limousines to her house, it was the BBC interviewing her live from London. College and university gay-history and women's-studies classes clamored for her to appear.  National awards and speaking invitations came in from Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York City.   Amid all that, she suffered personal setbacks. She said one of her male supporters began harassing her and telling others she really wasn't a lesbian.   Even she heard the rumors that she had had a sex-change operation, that she had AIDS and that her ``mother was a flaming lesbian from San Francisco who put me up to this.   ``Sometimes I wondered if people are really all that separate from animals,'' Peterson said.   Her sister, Holly Peterson, and Rachel Bauchman started a gay-straight alliance at West High. Bauchman has made headlines for her failed lawsuit claiming her choir teacher infused Mormonism into the repertoire.   Through all the brouhaha, people forget Peterson was a teen-ager trying to finish high school. Aside from her family's support, East Principal R. Kay Peterson, no relation, kept an eye out for her. ``Kelli and I were good friends through it all,' 'Kay Peterson said. ``I have counseled her through some of the tough times.''   Peterson said the principal called regularly at her home to see how she was faring. ``He made the high school experience safe for me. When I was being harassed, I told him who was doing it and it ended.''   Now the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund are planning a lawsuit against the state for new legislation aimed at banning gay and lesbian   clubs from public high schools.   Peterson expects that by the time she graduates from college, the case will have landed in the U.S. Supreme Court.   ``The biggest disappointment is the realization that I could not change everything,'' Peterson said. ``I could not make people think these are normal teen-agers who needed help.''   But the issue won't be going away. Clubs at East and West still are meeting unofficially, and students from other Salt Lake Valley high schools have joined the East group. Students at Tooele and Hunter high schools have said they want to start alliances.   Charlene Orchard of the Utah Human Rights Coalition, a gay and lesbian civil rights group, has worked closely with Peterson during the past year. Orchard said Peterson has matured and become a leader.   ``She has been a focal point for a lot of our frustrations, concerns and anger,'' Orchard said. ``It really has brought out many of the elements in Utah that we want to change. Our legislators met about it secretly while our kids have taken it to the streets.''

Charlene Orchard

1996  The  Dr. Kristen Ries Award for Community Service was given to Charlene Orchard and Doug Tollstrup (Clariss 

Doug Tollstrup AKA
Clariss Cartier

Cartier)  Jeff Freeman and Carrie Gaylor Co-chairs of Pride Day “While vitriolic debates over gay rights have dominated state politics for months, thousands of Utahns gathered  at the City-County Building on Sunday in the name of gay pride. It appeared to be the biggest Gay Pride Day in Utah history. The parade itself had more than 60 entries -- from the lone Utah Log Cabin Club Republican to a float jammed with Village People impersonators dancing to the '70s tune ``YMCA.'' Bruce Harmon, a parade organizer, hypothesized that conflict over a 

Jeff Freedman

gay-straight student alliance at East High School, which thrust Utah into the national spotlight, galvanized many Utahns -- gay and straight -- to attend the event. ``The Legislature and school board

Carrie Gaylor

 did more for us than we could ever do for ourselves,'' said Harmon, decked out in a rainbow vest and accessories. ``People said, `Enough is enough.' ''Funky fashions were de riguer. Men in hot pants. Men in rhinestone gowns and crowns. Women who were nearly bald. Shirtless men flaunting nipple rings. Studded tongues clicking in conversation. One man wore a straw hat covered with 21 varieties of plastic fruit, two grasshoppers and a butterfly. He also  sported a Technicolor dress he rescued from his mother's garage sale. ``Does she know I'm wearing it?'' he asked, holding his finger to his lips, ``shuuuush.'' But most folks just hoped their sunglasses and baseball caps would protect them from the broiling sun. Families sprawled out on the grass with picnics. Toddlers sucked snow cones dry, while performers sang their music from center stage. A few couples held hands . Many shrieked in joy when they found a friend they had forgotten they missed. Under one shady tree, Paula Gibbs-Taylor ticked off her reasons for bringing her daughters Jordan, 7, and  Maya, 10, to the march. ``To help expose them to different types of people,'' said the Park City physician. ``Parades are fun. Support. The concept of gay pride, of tolerance, appreciation of difference. To help kids see there is a lot of universality despite our differences.'' The morning began at the Capitol where floats and marchers congregated. Enormous trucks were repaving the street around the Capitol, which some marchers viewed as a city conspiracy. Stationed at the front were Dykes on Bikes, a group of lesbians on motorcycles. At 10:30 a.m., Harmon launched the proceedings, by announcing over the loudspeaker, ``Ladies, start your engines.'' The parade has a contagious energy. Rather than people rallied around a cause, the cause was the people. As the procession wound down Capitol Hill, past Temple Square and down Main Street, supporters cheered. Marchers carried signs and wore T-shirts with slogans such as ``Hate is not a family value,'' ``God made me and he doesn't make mistakes'' and ``Has anyone seen my Constitutional Rights?''  Several dozen high school students -- including Kelli Peterson, founder of East High's gay straight alliance --chanted: ``Two, four, six, eight. How do you know your kids are straight?'' Peterson's parents also marched wearing signs that read ``Proud Parents.'' In what Harmon deemed a precedent-setting appearance, two politicians drove in the parade: Salt Lake City Councilwoman Deeda Seed and U.S. Congressional candidate Ross Anderson. The two signs of gay solidarity -- rainbows and the color pink -- were omnipresent. There were pink parasols, pink balloons, and a man rollerblading in a pink sequined leotard. A dozen marchers spun an enormous rainbow flag as they passed the LDS Temple  “I am tired of sitting on the sidelines,'' said the woman dressed in yellow toga and hat. ``Today I am here for   everybody. When the parade 

Chasity Bono

reached the City-County Building, Chastity Bono delivered the keynote address, praising Utahns for standing their ground in the gay-straight student club controversy. ``You should know that the time and energy you have put in and the personal risk you have taken here in Utah has advanced the entire community's fight for human rights,'' said Bono, a spokesperson for the Human Right Campaign Fund in Washington D.C. ``And we thank you for it.'' Bono is daughter of singer and actress Cher and Republican Rep. Sonny Bono of California. Despite President Clinton's promise to sign the Defense of Marriage Act, a pre-emptive law denying federal recognition of gay marriages, Bono urged the crowd not to boycott the polls. Instead, the gay community must organize, campaign and, most importantly, vote. ``It's up to us and our friends and families to stop this Congressional gay bashing,'' she said. ``Come out and come out voting. Later in the afternoon, the annual Kristen Ries award was given to Charlene Orchard, co-chairwoman of the Utah Human Rights Coalition, and Doug Tollstrup, who has raised money for charity by performing drag shows under the name Clariss Cartier for 17 years. Ries, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Utah Hospital, has worked for years with people who have HIV and AIDS. Tollstrup's father, a 71-year-old car salesman, was on hand to watch his son accept the award. ``They get enough persecution without getting it from their parents,'' said the Utah native. ``It makes me laugh when people say you can choose to be gay. It's in your genes. Either you are or you are not. You can't change. It     takes a lot of guts to live that lifestyle.'' Police reported no incidents of violence during the day. And organizers were ebullient about the huge crowd that spanned from babies to senior citizens. `No one can take your joy,'' said the Rev. Bruce Barton. `You have to give it away. We are not willing to do that anymore.'' (SLTRIBUNE 10 June 1996)

• Sunday Page: E1 Salt Lake Tribune There is one moment during last year's Gay Pride Day parade that Carrie Gayler remembers as clearly as a snapshot.   The activist was walking toward the front of the procession. After marching down Salt Lake City's Capitol Hill, she stopped at the intersection, then turned to admire the crowd and colors that streamed down Main Street like a multicolored ribbon.   ``You saw a continual stream of people, a thousand people marching down the hill, proud, saying, `This is who we are,''' she recalled. ``I cried. I was so moved.''   Part festival, part politics, Gay Pride Day, in many ways, is an anomaly. While many homosexuals hide their sexual orientation for fear of persecution, one day each year, gays and lesbians, their friends and families take to the streets to celebrate their place in American society.   Festivities Sunday start with a march downtown, followed by an afternoon party at the City and County Building's Washington Square with speakers, bands, information booths and food. Organizers predict this year's celebration will draw the largest crowd to date, topping 5,000 people.   Officially, Gay Pride commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. Commonly considered the catalyst for the gay-rights movement, the three-day riots began after police shut down The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. While police often raided gay bars, for the first time patrons fought back in what has been called the ``Gay Boston Tea Party.''   In major cities, Gay Pride Day is celebrated the last Sunday in June. Smaller cities pick other weekends so residents can attend larger celebrations across the country. While Utah's march is a decidedly tamer affair than San Francisco's infamous parade, organizers expect some local color.   Leading the parade will be a group of leather-clad lesbians known as Dykes on Bikes. Chastity Bono, daughter of Sonny and Cher, will preside as grand marshal. Also expected are a half-dozen floats, horses from The Utah Gay Rodeo Association and several men dressed like Gayle Ruzicka, leader of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum. The majority of marchers will be neither famous nor flamboyant. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, artists, travel agents and telecommunications workers -- gay and straight -- will walk to show solidarity and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Some gay activists wish the media would focus on the gay everymen and women instead of those wearing the most outrageous costumes. ``The media will portray it as a freak show,'' Gayler said. ``It's how they always do it.''   While Gay Pride Day is often compared to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the right wing has used footage from San Francisco Gay Pride marches in anti-gay videos, suggesting such antics typify the ``gay lifestyle.'' Even some  gay activists concede that TV footage of men strutting with feather boas hurts their crusade to assimilate in mainstream America.   Others, like Marlin Criddle, a Salt Lake

  

  Marlin Criddle

   City attorney, believe Gay Pride must maintain an open-tent philosophy. Discrimination against drag queens, for example, is no different from any other kind of prejudice, he said.   ``Perhaps from a public-relations standpoint you would like not to see so much of that,'' Criddle said. ``At the same time, they are an element of the gay community. I don't see them as dangerous. We do ourselves greater harm if we try and eliminate them.'' Just as the women's movement has many sectors, there is no single gay platform or way of life. Likewise, many Utah lesbians and gays won't march -- or even watch the proceedings -- for fear of being identified, or worse, filmed by TV cameras and broadcast across the valley.   The consequences of being outed can be severe. Few Utah companies include gays and lesbians in their nondiscrimination policies, which means they could be fired solely on the basis of their sexual orientation.   ``Everyone must make a decision for themselves,'' said the Rev. Bruce Barton, co-chairman of the parade. ``I respect and honor whatever decision people make.''   The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the State Capitol. The public is invited to march alone, with friends or with organizations such as Parents, Families and Friends

  

  Rev. Bruce Barton

   of Lesbians and Gays.   At the City-County Building, Bono will deliver the noon keynote address. The Kristen Ries Award will be given at 1:30p.m. Since 1987, the award is given each year to someone involved in community service who has served as a role model and mentor to others. The honor is named after Ries, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Utah Medical Center, who has treated many Utahns living with HIV and AIDS. Music will continue throughout the afternoon with performances by J. Nelson Ramsey, Megan Peters, The Royal Court of the Golden Spike, The Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Salt Lake City, Sweet Loretta, Honest Engine and the Disco Drippers.   The night preceding Gay Pride Day, the Utah Human Rights Coalition will hold a town meeting with a panel of Utah activists involved in controversy surrounding the Gay/Straight Alliance at East High School. Bono will speak and respond to questions. Refreshments follow. The event, which begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Red Lion Hotel, is free and open to the public. Kelli Peterson, original organizer and first president of East High School's Gay-Straight Alliance, was a featured speaker at the International Pride Rally and March in San Francisco last weekend. Sponsor: The San Francisco Lesbian,   Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee in memory of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York. In recognition of her efforts to promote understanding for people of diversity, she was presented a black leather jacket by another East High graduate -- author Geraldine Barr, who once wrote comedy material for sister Roseanne.
• Pride Day 1996 was held on June 7 for the first time at the City-County Building at Washington Square Park in Salt Lake City. Pride Day Co-Chairs were Jeff Freedman and Carrie Gaylor. The Dr. Kristen Ries Award for Community Service for that year was given to Charlene Orchard for her work with the Human Rights Campaign and to Doug Tollstrup who performing as Clariss Cartier is a tireless fund-raiser for the community. The Pride Day Parade Grand Marshall was Chastity Bono, the daughter of singer and actress Cher and Republican Rep. Sonny Bono of California. Two politicians for the first time drove in the parade: Salt Lake City Councilwoman Deeda Seed and U.S. Congressional candidate Ross Anderson. Bruce Harmon and his lover Rev. Bruce Barton were co-chairs of the parade organization. Organizers estimated that 8,000 attended  this year’s event.
• `” Several dozen high school students -- including Kelli Peterson, founder of East High's gay straight alliance --chanted: ``Two, four, six, eight. How do you know your kids are straight?'' Peterson's parents also marched wearing signs that read ``Proud Parents.'' 
• Chasity Bono, 27, spokeswoman or the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project Grand Marshall of Utah’s Gay Pride Day Parade. Bono delivered the keynote address, praising Utahns for standing their ground in the gay-straight student club controversy. ``You should know that the time and energy you have put in and the personal risk you have taken here in Utah has advanced the entire community's fight for human rights,'' said Bono, a spokesperson for the Human Right Campaign Fund in Washington D.C. ``And we thank you for it….``It's up to us and our friends and families to stop this Congressional gay bashing,'' ``Come out and come out voting.

1997-President Clinton made an address to the nation calling for action against hate crimes, including anti-Gay violence.

1998-Pope John Paul II gave a speech attacking the recognition of same-sex relationships.

1998-Reggie White, defensive end for the Green Bay Packers, vowed to continue to fight the militant homosexual agenda. He also claimed that God told him not to retire from the Green Bay Packers.

2002 From: "Mark Swonson" To: "Chad Keller" Subject: Pride Reception Hi Chad: I just wanted to tell how much fun that party was. I had such a goodtime and I think everyone else did too. That’s also very nice place to hold it too. That way we can sit inside or outside. All of you have done such a wonderful job as always. I am never disappointed with Pride. All of you put so much work into it throughout the year. Thanks Chad and all the committee members.  Mark Swonson

2002 Michael Webb to Pride Day Committee Re: PARADE ROUTE...PLEASE SHARE TO THE World Say, I have a question. Where's the GAY in Utah Pride? Mike  Subject: PARADE ROUTE...PLEASE SHARE TO THE WORLD The Parade will be staged at Liberty Park as it was last year.  The 8th annual Utah Pride Parade will depart from Liberty Park at 10:00 AM heading to the festivities at Historic Washington Square (down 900 south to 200 east to the 

Marty Pollack AKA
Marita Gayle

City County Building)  Where Marita Gayle Empress 6 will be announcing and welcoming each contingent to the Festival.  Watch for a couple new additions and a surprise or two.  We hope to see you all there along the route or in the parade.  Remember we have some spectator awards this year!! The Committee thanks the entire community for its incredible support.  May each of you have a memorable and exciting Pride Day 2002...its your day to celebrate!   Yours always in Pride!-Chad Keller 2002 Parade Chair and the entire Parade Committee 

2003 Mike Picardi Subj: Saturday's Film  - SLC Just a short reminder about the film, Brother Outsider, that the Stonewall Democrats and the Black Caucus of the Democratic are sponsoring this Saturday, the 7th at the new Salt Lake Public Library. The film is FREE and will begin at 11:00am in the Auditorium. The film is 88 minutes long and we will have a short discussion after. Please tell anyone who may be interested and we'll see you Saturday! Mike Picardi, Chair, Utah Stonewall democrats

2003 SLC PRIDE INTERFAITH SERVICE When: Saturday, June 7, at 7:00 pm Where: Congregation Kol Ami 2425 Heritage Way (2760 South) Salt Lake City The second annual Utah Pride interfaith service will be held on Saturday evening of Pride weekend at the synagogue of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City. The service will consist of music, prayers, and presentations that celebrate our spirituality and sexuality as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons (GLBT) with our families and friends. The service will last approximately one hour. After the service, we will have refreshments and hold a social. Come join GLBT people from various faith traditions as we celebrate not only who we are, but also what we believe and value. For more information: http://www.utahprideinterfaith.org Sponsors: Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons Congregation Kol Ami Integrity Utah Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake City The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, St. Patrick's Gay and Lesbian Outreach Ministry United Church of Christ - Holladay United Church of Religious Science - Salt Lake City Salt Lake Tribune 06/07/2003 Saturday    Page:

Kate Kendall

2003 Salt Lake Tribune  Kate Kendell, a graduate of the University of Utah School of Law, now heads The National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco.  A VISIONARY LEADER Native Utahn: Salt Lake City's Gay Pride Parade's grand marshal is a national crusader for equal rights;  Parade's Grand Marshal a Rights Lawyer By Rhina Guidos    The Salt Lake Tribune Adoption and same-sex marriage are at the forefront of issues faced by today's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the United States, says a native Utahn who is returning this weekend to participate in Salt Lake City's gay pride celebration.  Kate Kendell, who heads the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, is grand marshal for Sunday's Pride Parade.  As an attorney and executive director of the NCLR, Kendell has been involved in national and high-profile child-custody and compensation cases, including a dog-mauling case in San Francisco and an action involving custody rights for lesbian mothers in the South.  "There's clearly no respect for our relationships and families," said Kendell, 43, who grew up in Ogden, graduated from Weber State University and the University of Utah School of Law and was the first staff attorney at the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Utah, sadly, is one of the worst in failing to recognize legal relationships between committed lesbian and gay couples," she said. "That's shameful. That kind of bigotry has no place in government policy." She particularly attacks a Utah law, enacted in 2000, that prohibits unmarried, sexually involved couples from adopting children. Many gays and lesbians believe the bill targeted gay couples, who cannot legally marry in Utah. Kendall also worries about the harassment gay youth still suffer in schools around the nation. She said legal action has been taken in several states to challenge school curricula regarding homosexuality and inadequate consequences for those who bully students because of their sexual orientation. "We're working in all the country with those issues," she said. "The final big picture issue is relationship recognition," Kendell added. "We want to change the culture in this county, to eradicate homophobia and anti-gay bias and to have one's sexual orientation be irrelevant when one is buying a home or adopting a child."  Kendell is co-counsel in a lawsuit filed by Sharon Smith, whose partner, Dianne Whipple, was killed in 2001 by her neighbors' dogs in a San Francisco apartment complex. Smith is seeking damages for the loss of her partner and is challenging a California law that does not allow unmarried partners to seek damages for the death of their mate.  The NCLR also is involved in the lawsuit by an elderly couple who claim they were denied access to an assisted-living facility because they are gay. "All of the work that we do is emotional, sometimes traumatic," Kendell said. "But it's work that's truly a privilege to do and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing. It's about women and men who have suffered heart-breaking discrimination or outright harassment or violence." Paula Wolfe, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah, said Kendell was chosen to be the parade's grand marshal because of her Utah roots and for her nationwide work. "She's still doing things to affect lives," Wolfe said. "And she has a huge following in this community."

• Kate Kendell Kate Kendell grew up Mormon in Utah and received her J.D. degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1988. After a few years as a corporate attorney she pursued her real love—civil rights advocacy—and became the first-ever staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. In 1994 she accepted the position as Legal Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and made the move to San Francisco. In 1996 Kate was named as NCLR's Executive Director. In that capacity she is responsible for day-to-day operations and oversight of all aspects of agency operation. Through direct litigation and advocacy NCLR works to change discriminatory laws and to create new laws and policies benefiting lesbians and other oppressed members of the queer community.  Kate Kendell and the NCLR have been envolved in such ground-breaking GLBTI events as the Domestic Spousal Rights suit allowing Sharon Smith to receive benefits for the terrible dog mauling of her partner, Diane Whipple, the current suit against Adoption.com for discrimination against a Gay couple, and the allowing of San Francisco Gay Marriages. 

2003 Salt Lake Tribune Section: Utah    Page: B3  The Salt Lake Tribune Art Weekend Festival Will Celebrate Gay Pride By Rhina Guidos    The Salt Lake Tribune  On paper, Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of Utah's Gay Pride day. But it was in 1974 that a handful of gays and lesbians quietly got together in Salt Lake City to recognize the beginnings of a civil rights movement born with the Stonewall Riots in New York City. "This celebration was held in a secluded location primarily because many were afraid that the city would not allow gay people to congregate together in its city parks," according to the Utah Stonewall Historical Society.    "It was a small community that was out," said Craig Miller of the Utah Pride Committee. "They celebrated at city parks with picnics and it grew and grew and grew." This year's "Utah's 20th Gay Pride Celebration" of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities spans the weekend, with a Saturday dance and march and a Sunday morning parade followed by a day-long festival downtown at Washington Square.  "It's about bringing people together to celebrate who they are," said Paula Wolfe, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah, one of several organizations sponsoring the festival.  Most agree that groups in Salt Lake City began marking gay pride day in an organized manner as early as 1974. Nine years later, the city approved the first permit to hold an official event on city grounds, Miller said.  Although crowds ebbed and flowed with the years, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities and their supporters have been making it a successful event in recent times, Miller said.  "It's a huge festival," he said, that draws visitors from all over Utah and Idaho, Montana and Nevada. The event also draws mainstream political candidates courting the gay vote, which is why this year's festival will have a designated "political stage" that will give attendees a chance to discuss issues such as gun control, gun violence, same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples, said organizer Jerry Rapier. For families, there will be face painting and a children's area. Miller said outsiders are sometimes surprised by the turnout and by the city's long history of celebrating the gay pride festival, which recognizes 1969's Stonewall Riots, an event where a group of gay men in Manhattan stood up to police who were raiding a gay bar.  "Utah, in general, has become a more diverse and open [place] which is making it easier for us to be honest about who we are," Rapier said.   "Salt Lake City has grown up a lot."

• PRIDE DAY 2003 TO HONOR KATE KENDELL AS GRAND MARSHALL This year's Grand Marshall for Pride Day is Utahn Kate Kendell.  She will be honored with a Grand Marshall Reception on the 5th Floor Terrace of the City Library on Friday, June 6, from 6-10pm.  Music will be provided by Stonecircle and the recipients of the Pride Community Award, the Pete Suazo Award and the Kristen Ries Award will also be honored.  Tickets are $25 If photo is used, please credit the artist Jan E. Watson. For further information please contact Paula Wolfe Kate Kendell leads the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a progressive,feminist, multicultural legal center devoted to advancing the rights and safety of lesbians and their families. NCLR is committed to creating a world in which all lesbians live freely, without fear of discrimination. NCLR also recognizes the oppression and marginalization of other groups in our community including gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals and engages in legal advocacy and policy work on behalf of all LGBT individuals. Through direct litigation and advocacy NCLR works to change discriminatory laws and to create new laws and policies benefiting lesbians and other oppressed members of the queer community.  Kate is a frequent panelist and lecturer on a broad range of subjects impacting the lives of lesbians and gay men. She has presented at  dozens of conferences and community events including the California State Bar Association, Marriage and Family Therapists, Mills College, American University School of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, Lavender Law and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Conference. Kate and her partner Sandy Holmes live in San Francisco with their son, Julian, age 6, and daughter Ariana, age 7 months. Their family includes Kate's daughter Emily, age 21. Kate grew up Mormon in Utah and received her J.D. degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1988. After a few years as a corporate attorney she pursued her real love -- civil rights advocacy -- and became the first-ever staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. In this capacity she oversaw the legal department of ACLU of Utah and directly litigated many high-profile cases focusing on all aspects of civil liberties including reproductive rights, prisoners' rights, church/state conflicts, free speech and the rights of lesbians and gay men. She loved it and never looked back. In 1994 she accepted the position as Legal Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and made the move to San Francisco. As Legal Director Kate was responsible for strategy and vision for NCLR's legal program including coordination of all litigation, amicus curiae participation and litigation strategy.  In 1996 Kate was named as NCLR's Executive Director. In that capacity she is responsible for day to day operations and oversight of all aspects of agency operation including coordination of all litigation and litigation strategy and development of strategy with regard to policy and program initiatives. Major program emphasis includes all aspects of LGBT family law, youth rights, elder law, LGBT immigration and asylum and homophobia and sports. She is responsible for financial management and fiscal oversight of agency. Kate acts as the primary spokesperson on behalf of NCLR to the media. She has done hundreds of interviews with dozens of print, electronic and web media, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, The Advocate, Crossfire, 20/20, National Public Radio, Salon and many others. Some of her most important and rewarding responsibilities include working with, and fostering alliances among, other community and advocacy organizations committed to social justice.

Dr. Kristen Ries

2005 The Body HIV Leadership Awards Tenth Anniversary Best Physician Dr. Kristen Ries-Utah's Best-Known HIV Specialist As a little girl growing up on a Pennsylvania dairy farm, Kristen Ries wanted to be a physician. Today, 30 years later, almost everyone infected by HIV/AIDS in Utah and the vast expanse of the Intermountain West is awfully glad Dr. Ries fulfilled her dream. As clinical director of the University of Utah Hospital's Infectious Diseases/HIV Clinics, Dr. Ries oversees 1,000 patients and directly treats 500. She also teaches about HIV care and regularly travels throughout Utah to provide HIV treatment to patients in rural areas. This means that she is responsible for some 90 percent of the HIV patients in Utah and surrounding areas. She is so revered that Utah's People Living With Aids (PAW) coalition not only bestowed its first activism honor upon her 18 years ago, but also named it after her: The Kristen Ries Community Service Award.  It's an apt honor for the doctor who, after graduating cum laude from Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, landed in Salt Lake City in 1981, about the same time AIDS began appearing in California. In private practice and later at the University, Dr. Ries witnessed the spread of HIV into Utah and was among the first -- and the few -- to take action. "There were a lot of doctors who would not treat the disease because of fear of the unknown or on moral grounds, since it was first identified as a gay male disease," Dr. Ries recalls. Today, despite progress in medicines and treatment, the noted medical ethicist and outspoken advocate for HIV care decries the fact that more isn't being done to ensure equality of treatment. "The greatest failure is that we have not been able to get more people interested in care of the underserved," she says. "A lot of people in medicine don't want to take care of poor people."  It isn't hard to understand why Dr. Ries, who reads ethics and philosophy as well as mysteries for relaxation, might be baffled by such attitudes. On her night table is a copy of Camus' The Plague. "You can probably guess why it calls to me," she says. PRACTICE Q: How long have you been practicing? A: I've been practicing for thirty years. "The greatest failure is that we have not been able to get more people interested in the care of the underserved." Q:Can you describe how your work has changed since you started? A: I have always been passionate about medicine and delivering good care. In the last 20 years, my practice has become almost all HIV/AIDS focused and I have become more and more involved in training and education to be sure that the patients will have care. Q:What's the best thing about your job? A: The patients. They have patiently taught me all that I know. Q: What's the worst thing about your job? A: The political climate of trying to serve the underserved; striving for equality. Q: What have been your greatest successes and failures? A: The greatest success: the quality of care that we have been able to deliver on a daily basis. The greatest failure: that we have not been able to get more people interested in care of the underserved. A lot of people in medicine don't want to take care of poor people. But there are dedicated people out there and it is improving. Q: What is the biggest challenge you face as a clinician? A: The biggest challenge is to continue to work on a daily basis and to not burn out. Q:Is there anything particularly challenging or different about working in AIDS care in a place that is largely Mormon? A: Yes, as in any conservative community, things continue to improve, but slowly, and lately Salt Lake City may be going more conservative as goes the country. Even the Mormon people have become much more accepting. An example is the PBS documentary The Smith Family about Steve Smith and his struggles with homosexuality and how he was infected with HIV and later infected his wife.  Q:In general, can you describe how has your ability to treat people with HIV changed over the years? Is it easier to give care, for instance, for the uninsured? A:Things have gotten a lot better, but now things are back to ground zero. Medical care in America is at risk. Q: Are you seeing more women in your clinic lately? From which community? A: Yes, but not a lot. They are mostly minorities. Q:What are the particular needs for women with HIV? A: Housing, drug treatment and general support. Q:What percentage of your clinic are immigrants. Where do they generally come from? A: Many from Mexico, Central and South America. Q: Any other immigrants you work with? A: We are one of the 12 centers for HIV-positive immigrants. We have about 35 patients from Africa. This has been a remarkable experience. Most have done very well and assimilated well. Q: Since you have worked in HIV from the very beginning, can you describe your experience in the initial years. How did you handle having so many patients who you had nothing to offer in terms of treatment? A: I'm sure in retrospect that I had post-traumatic stress disorder, but now it seems I am much more stressed with the current difficulties with getting care for people. Q: What do you think is the biggest problem people with HIV face today? A: For many of the patients, the biggest problem is the lack of life's skills. This has often been the risk factor that led to the behaviors that led to infection and makes life so difficult. Q: What other risk factors contribute to HIV? A: Childhood trauma and being human. Q: Do you think that prevention efforts are sufficient? A: No, we are not reaching the right population; we need research on how to do prevention. We also need to be honest and frank about the disease and prevention. Q: What single change would you like to see in HIV care? A: For HIV care, as well as care for all illnesses, we need a coordinated, streamlined program rather than the patchwork quilt that delivers unequal care. Q: What education or counsel do you provide to newly diagnosed patients? A: We always must be totally patient-centered and begin with the knowledge that the patient has already. One size fits one! Q: If you were infected with HIV today, at what T-cell count would you begin treatment? A: I don't know. Theoretically right away, but likely would wait until 250-300. Q: What's the key to a great healthcare provider/patient relationship? A: Partnership and mutual respect, with clear boundaries. Q: How do you feel about patients who take a proactive role in their own treatment? A: The best patient is a proactive patient. Many of my patients are proactive. It is important to be aware of the difference between being proactive and being in control simply for control's sake. Q: Who was your all-time favorite patient and why? A: I don't have favorites. All my patients are special to me. Q: What is the most useful thing you have learned from your patients? A: Humility. Q: How do you maintain a positive outlook and avoid burning out? A: Look at the whole picture and staying positive and realistic. Q: If you weren't a clinician what would you be? Why? A: I wouldn't be anything but what I am. AWARD Q:Who would you like to dedicate this award to? A: To my parents who helped me to become who I am! PERSONAL Q: Where did you grow up? A: I grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. Q: What did you want to be when you were a kid? A: I always was going to be a doctor, but as a kid I didn't know what that was. It has been a gift.  Q; When did you decide on medical school? A: I'd always wanted that since childhood. But I had trouble in college and my grades weren't good enough. It wasn't until I was in graduate school studying secondary education that I discovered I was colorblind and that had affected my learning. So, I went back and earned my way into medical school. It was like getting a second chance to be what I always wanted to be. Q: What made you decide to go into HIV care? A: Well, I was around before HIV/AIDS even started appearing. And when it did, it quickly became obvious that there was a pressing need. There were a lot of doctors who would not treat the disease because of fear of the unknown or on moral grounds, since it was first identified as a gay male disease. In fact, it was known as GRID, for Gay-Related Immune Disorder. No one would take AIDS patients, including the University. And it was their loss. It's also a terribly interesting disease because of all the social and ethical issues that it embodies in terms of care. At first we thought we could cure it. Then we thought we couldn't. Now we're more into long-term care giving, hoping for a cure. I have one patient I've been seeing since 1983 and he's still around and kicking.  Q: Who were the most influential people in your life, both professionally and personally? Why? A: My parents. Even though we were extremely poor, they were good role models and provided a positive value system. They taught me about the value of hard work and doing your best even in trying times. Q: What do you do in your spare time? A: I love to read and get outside here in the great Rocky Mountain west. Maybe some day I'll travel a bit, see Alaska and the Galapagos Islands. Q: If you had anyplace to live besides where you live now, where would you live? Nowhere else. This is home and I love it. Getting up in the morning and breathing in that good, clean, fresh air is really wonderful. Q: What's the best vacation you ever had? A: A trip to Antarctica.

2005 Please join the University of Utah's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center and the Lesbian Gay Student Union at Utah Pride 2005. A float is being prepared and we are seeking as many people to march with the University entry as possible.  If you are planning on being at Utah Pride, please come participate in the parade with us.  We will be providing a FREE t-shirt to all who march (or ride on the float) with us in the parade.    We will also have a limited number of free Pride Festival Entry Tickets for participants in the parade.The parade will begin forming at 9 AM on Sunday June 12th.  We will be lining up along 300 South between State Street and Main Street.  Please arrive at 9:30 so that you may have some time to change into t-shirts. There is plenty of parking in the lot on the North 

Heather Franck

east corner of State Street and 400 south, to enter this lot you must be heading west on 400 south(this parking lot is also very close to where the festival and parade ends).  A special thanks to Heather Franck and Derick Stephensen 

Derick Stephensen

who have decorated and created an incredible float for us to use in the parade. Also a thanks to Anthony Shirley for loaning us his trailer for use. Please also stop by the University of Utah, student lounge on the festival Grounds during the day on Sunday June 12th. We will have a  Tiki lounge set up for your enjoyment at the festival, providing you a space to get shade and enjoy entertainment.  For more information about Utah Pride 2005 please visit www.utahpride.org. I look forward to seeing as many of you at the parade as possible. Thanks for all your support!! Charles Milne

Cleve Jones

2009 Cleve Jones was the Grand Marshal for Utah's Pride Parade and the Dr. Kristen Ries Recipent was Walter Larabee. Utah Pride Festival activist calls for Washington march By Jennifer Dobner Associated Press Writer An activist who worked alongside slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk on Sunday announced plans for an Oct. 11 march on Washington to demand Congress act to establish equal rights for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. Cleve Jones said the march will coincide with National Coming Out Day and kick off a grass-roots campaign for equality in each of the nation's 435 congressional districts and launch a new chapter in the gay rights movement. Jones, 54, made the announcement Sunday during a rally at the annual Utah Pride Festival. The event's grand marshal, Jones stirred up a crowd of thousands just blocks from the Salt Lake City headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was part of the coalition of conservative groups that worked to pass Proposition 8 in California last fall. Mormons were among the campaign's most vigorous volunteers and financial contributors, but Jones said he has had thousands of e-mails from Latter-day Saints who offered apologies and said they were uncomfortable or ashamed by the faith's participation in a political effort to strip people of their rights. "It's unfortunate that a church and a people who experienced persecution in the past could not come to some accommodation that would allow them to maintain their faith without so vociferously seeking to deny other people their rights," Jones said. "I also think it was a terrible miscalculation on their part in terms of alienating their own people." Gay marriage is legal in six states. A handful of others allow civil unions for same-sex couples and about 40 states either bar the

Walt Larabee

 recognition of same-sex marriage or have explicitly defined marriage -- through legislation or constitutional amendments -- as being between a man and a woman. Last month, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop. 8, preserving the Nov. 4 decision of voters to overturn an earlier court ruling that legalized gay marriage. The court's decision did not invalidate the roughly 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place last year.  A protege of Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay elected official who was shot and killed by a fellow member of the Board of Supervisors in 1978, Jones has spent most of his adult life working for gay rights and speaks nationwide about HIV/AID prevention. In the mid-80s he founded the NAMES Project, the AIDS memorial quilt that recognizes the more than 80,000 Americans who have died from HIV/AIDS.  In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Jones said a confluence of events -- a new president, the success of the movie "Milk" and Prop. 8 -- make this the right time to intensify the fight for equality. "The election of (Barack) Obama showed us change is possible. The film 'Milk' reminded us of our history and of what we can accomplish. Proposition 8 shows us that everything that we have can be taken away in a blink of an eye," said Jones, who lives in Palm Springs, Calif. "All of this working together has opened this new chapter. I intend to make the most of it" 

2009 Gay rights activist calls for march on Washington  Sunday  An activist who worked alongside slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk is calling for an October march on Washington to demand that Congress establish equal rights for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. Cleve Jones said Sunday in Salt Lake City that the march will launch a nationwide grass roots campaign. He says a confluence of events — the election of Barack Obama as president, the success of the movie "Milk," and California's ban on gay marriage — make this the right time to intensify the fight. Jones announced the campaign during the Utah Pride Festival. Jones was an intern to Milk, the first openly gay elected official who was killed by another member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978. Deseret News

2010 Drag WOW! Gorgeous Jared, Coko at Studio 27In Section: A&E Blog » Posted 

• 

  Gorgeous Jared

  By: Jesse Fruhwirth Salt Lake City weekly You may have missed the greatest drag show in the city's history Saturday night at Studio 27, because Gorgeous Jared and Coko brought their best to the newly adorned stage at what was once the Trapp Door. If you weren't there, you missed a fire.  "Personality" isn't even close to describing Jared and Coko's stage presence; attitude 

  

  Coko

  explosion, is more like it. Hostess Princess Kennedy lit a fire under the crowd as well, closing out the performances. Everyone's backup dancers had sharp command of the choreography and beautiful costumes. Also, Studio 27 has a new stage along the south wall--where Trapp Door's stage was--but added a proscenium (that's the wall/arch surrounding the curtain) so the whole place now feels like bona fide performance space. And that's hopefully what Studio 27 will be: a first-rate stage for Utah drag, burlesque and other performers.  Gorgeous Jared started the night with Lady Gaga's "Teeth."  Unable to be upstaged, Jared was so obviously front and center of five backup dancers, each of whom were hot body shakers themselves. And as my friend Guy Branum said, while defying drag conventions--as typified by hometown-tranny-done-good Jer Ber Jones--is often just as fun as busting open female/male gender roles, there's still something amazing about pure, unadulterated female beauty. Not every drag queen needs a beard, right? Enter Coko.  Coko performed "Single Ladies," by, who else, Beyonce. Gotta say, I paused for a minute in the opening bars. Who hasn't seen a "Single Ladies" performance on YouTube--like 80 times. There was still something amazing and fresh about seeing a true artist do it live on stage, however. Beautiful, right? And rounding out the night was the one, the only, Princess Kennedy, one of the few local drag talents who is brave, tough and smart enough to actually sing, not always lip-sync. I've been encouraging queens to actually vocalize since I was a teenager, but they all seem universally convinced that they can't sing (I've got a secret for you ladies: Madonna can hardly sing, but she makes it work--and so can you!).  What was your favorite event of the Pride Weekend? Have you got fabulous pictures of it? Send them my way with a description.

2015 Utah Pride Festival leaders announced the theme for the 2015 festival: “Pride is ____.” “With all that has happened in the last year and all that still remains to be done, we know that Pride means many things to many people,” said Jen Parsons-Soran, co-director of the festival. “It can be about fun, love, rainbows and so many other things. We want to celebrate and embrace that diversity, because it is a huge part of what makes the Utah Pride Festival such a great event.” The Utah Pride Festival steering committee chooses a theme each year based on community suggestions, relevant current events and what most resonates with what the Utah Pride Festival wants to bring to the community. The 2015 Utah Pride Festival will be held Thursday, June 4 through Sunday, June 7 primarily at Washington and Library Squares in downtown Salt Lake City. The Interfaith Service, on June 4, will be held at Community of Christ Church, with the Utah Pride Parade happening the morning of Sunday, June 7. The Festival is the second-largest outdoor festival in Salt Lake City, with nearly 35,000 attendees, 896 volunteers covering 1,400 shifts, 230 vendor booths and 16 food vendors. Over 10,000 people participated 143 parade entries in the 2014 Utah Pride Parade, with 25,000 spectators, according to Salt Lake City Police Department estimates. The first Utah Pride was loosely organized by Joe Redburn and the staff of the Sun Tavern in 1974 at City Creek Park. The plans for the 2015 festival include changes to the schedule and a massive revamping of the festival grounds. The new schedule of events includes moving the rallies and marches to Friday night along with a kick-off party and opening ceremonies to follow the Grand Marshal Reception, and holding the Pride Day 5K Fun Run on the parade route on Sunday morning. A new “East Village” will utilize more space on Library Square including a stage, the art zone and kid’s area. Leadership positions are being interviewed the next two weeks. Festival zones include:

SAGE Utah is for everyone. We are focusing on awareness, growth and meeting the needs of all elder queers within the state. Embrace the SAGE within, become involved, connect, learn, laugh, create meaning and most importantly, share what only YOU have to give to others.

Youth Zone  This safe space is for youth 21 and under. Meet other queer youth and learn more about Utah Pride’s youth drop in center and other youth oriented programming.

Gender Zone  Celebrate the “T” in our community. Meet new friends, learn about local resources and discover the support groups and services available for children, youth, adults and families from Utah Pride’s Transgender Program.

Health Zone  The Festival happens just once a year, but the knowledge you’ll gain about your health will last a lifetime! Visit our Health & Wellness Zone for fun, interactive booths featuring information and programs that will keep you healthy, happy, safe and satisfied. Your body, your health!

Pet Zone  Drop by with your dog for a wade in the pool, a bowl of water or a treat. Please remember that all dogs must be leashed and if your dog poops, you scoop, because pet waste can transmit disease.

Bingo & Games Zone  Think you’re smarter than a Cyber Slut? Love a good game of bingo? Then stop by and play a round of bingo or other games with the Utah Cyber Sluts!

Karaoke Zone  Grab the microphone, put on your blue suede shoes and strike a pose–it’s time for karaoke! Even if you’re a little bit shy, have a seat and cheer on these must-see performances.

History Zone  The History Zone premiered in 2011 with “Windows To The Past,” highlighting the LGBTQ history of the United States and Utah from the 1700’s through the 1940’s and 2012 featured the 1950s. This year’s exhibit will explore 1965.

Art Zone  Enjoy seeing emerging local artists at the Art Zone. Local artists are given the chance to exhibit their art each year within this zone, giving the individuals a chance to share their craft in a supportive and appreciative environment.

Grass Roots Zone Always wanting to support our emerging organizations, the Grass Roots Zone highlights new local groups with a cause. Drop by and learn about various organizations and see what’s growing.

Kids Zone  Bounce rooms, activities and treats are available for kiddies 12 and under. Located Southwest of City Hall you will find this area where only children and their parents are allowed for a safe and fun family environment.

Family Zone  This zone is a highlight of support groups for families. If you are seeking to meet others like yourself who appreciate and value all different kinds of families, this is your home away from home.

A tentative schedule for the event is:

Thursday, June 4  7pm Utah Pride Interfaith Service

Friday, June 5  6:30pm Grand Marshal Reception
8pm Dyke, Trans* and Bi Rallies and Marches
9pm Kick-off Party and Opening Ceremonies

Saturday, June 6  3pm Festival Gates Open
3-6pm Family Hours
7:30pm Headliner (to be announced)
9pm Dance Party
11pm Festival Gates Close

Sunday, June 7  9am Pride Day 5K Fun Run
10am Utah Pride Parade
11am Festival Gates Open
12pm Entertainment Begins
7pm Festival Gates Close

2020 COVID-19 restrictions forced the Utah Pride Center to cancel the annual Pride Festival and Parade scheduled for this date. Instead Pride Day was pushed back to September but was abandoned as the epidemic surged. The idea for the Pride Road Rally was announced for October. As the pandemic continued to be a health risk, the Center wanted to provide the community with this COVID-safe event.