Metro | 20 | Sept 28, 2005

Utah’s Gay and Lesbian Biweekly Newspaper Volume 2 ■ Issue 20 September 28–October 12

Out Gays Being Sent to Combat

Despite ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ and Pentagon Denials

Rocky Signs City Health Benefits City council may water down benefits to unmarried couples

‘Silencing Gay Voices’ Poster Causes Uproar Eagle Forum Collegians bring Evergreen to SLCC

University of Utah to Hold Pride 2005 Theme is ‘Breaking Through’ Kate Kendell Reflects on Progress Made in Utah Ruby in a Dither About ‘Ripples of Hope’ Gay Agenda

News WORLD AND NATIONAL

Military Official Admits Out Gays Sent to Combat

by Michael Aaron

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

michael@slmetro.com

Santa Barbara, Calif.—An official military spokesperson has acknowledged that the Pentagon is sending openly gay service members into combat in Iraq. Kim Waldron, of the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, said that, “The bottom line is some people are using sexual orientation to avoid deployment. So in this case, with the Reserve and Guard forces, if a soldier ‘tells,’ they still have to go to war and the homosexual issue is postponed until they return to the U.S. and the unit is demobilized.” Waldron’s statements were reported in the Sept. 23 edition of the Washington Blade.

Waldron’s comments follow the discovery of a controversial regulation halting the discharge of gay soldiers in units that are about to be mobilized.

That regulation, contained in a 1999 “Reserve Component Unit Commander’s Handbook” and still in effect, states that if a discharge for homosexual conduct is requested “prior to the unit’s receipt of alert notification, discharge isn’t authorized. Member will enter AD [active duty] with the unit.” The 1999 document was obtained by researchers at the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, a think tank at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Although the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy remains in effect, Waldron’s acknowledgement appears to confirm that in some cases, the Pentagon ignores the law by retaining service members who say that they are gay. Statistics confirm that during the present war, as has been the case in every war since World War II, gay discharges have fallen during the conflict and then increased during peacetime.

However, prior to Waldron’s acknowledgement, official spokespersons often denied that the military intentionally sends gays to fight despite the existence of a gay ban.

According to Aaron Belkin, director of the CSSMM, “The military has claimed for years that allowing openly gay and lesbian service members to serve in uniform would undermine unit cohesion. During wartime, however, when cohesion is most important, the Pentagon retains gays and lesbians.”

Gay soldiers and legal groups have reported for years that known gays are sent into combat and then discharged when the conflicts end. Discharge statistics corroborate a pattern of rising expulsions during peacetime and plummeting rates during military conflicts, and Pentagon

statistics confirm that, as has been the case in every war since World War II, gay discharges have declined during the current conflict in the Middle East.

But the Pentagon has consistently denied that it sends gays to fight despite the existence of a gay ban and some observers have insisted there is no evidence of such a practice. During the first Gulf War, Pentagon spokesman, Bill Caldwell, said the military would “absolutely not” send gays to war and discharge them when the conflict ends. “The policy on gays continues that homosexuality is incompatible with military service,” he said.

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a Pentagon spokesman said that the military was not modifying its regulations on gay troops. “There is no policy that would generate a change in the standards or in the administrative due process for [Pentagon] programs,” said James Turner, “including the department’s management of homosexual conduct policies as prescribed in law.”

And a May, 2005 study by the Congressional Research Service says that although gay discharges do decline during wartime, the decrease is the result of “random fluctuations in the data,” not an intentional Pentagon policy of retaining gays during wars. The co-author of that report, David Burrelli, testified before Congress in 1993 that the Congressional Research Service “has been unable to confirm or deny” that known gays were sent to the Persian Gulf, and that the military has “taken the approach of excluding all admitted homosexuals.”

The discovered handbook regulations and Waldron’s acknowledgement contradict all of these pronouncements.

Bridget Wilson, an expert on military law, said the handbook shows “how arbitrary and capricious the law is.” The policy says that if gay troops reveal their sexual orientation, they must be fired.

But these regulations say that if someone comes out as gay, a commander “can discount that statement in one context and not in another.” He can “choose to ignore that statement as being said solely to avoid duty and send that person on.

But he wouldn’t have to make a finding that the statement was false, only that the person said it to avoid duty.” Thus it is fully possible that avowed gays would be sent to active duty.

“If you’re knowingly sending gay people into a war zone,” said Wilson, “doesn’t that vitiate your policy?”

Gay Iranian Escapes Death After Flogging

by Benjamin Cohen A 22 year-old Iranian, known only as Amir, has escaped his home country after being subjected to 100 lashes that left his back covered in huge, bloody welts.

The state’s religious police identified him as being gay following an undercover investigation. Officers posed as gay men on an Internet chatroom and lured Amir to meet for a date. They promptly arrested him and he was summarily convicted of homosexuality and sentenced to 100 lashes, which were carried out privately in prison.

On release, Amir was placed under surveillance and he alleges was threatened with death by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Brett Lock, a spokesperson for OutRage! said, “This is a further example of the violent homophobia of Iran’s Islamic fundamentalist regime. OutRage! is appalled that large sections of liberal and left opinion in the West shows little concern regarding the murderous brutality of the clerical fascist regime in Tehran.” Lock went on to say that OutRage! deplored the gullibility of many gay, left and human rights groups concerning the abuse of LGBT human rights in Iran. “Too many are willing to believe the smears and slurs of the Iranian government and state-approved newspapers like Qods,” he said. “When two young men were executed for same-sex acts in the Iranian city of Mashad in July, some left and human rights organizations accepted at face value claims by the state-controlled media that the youths were hanged for rape. Similar gullibility has been shown by some left-

wingers. They have long swallowed Iran’s homophobic propaganda.”

Iran, led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has executed an estimated 3000 gay men since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Shaq Assists in Arrest of Miami Gay Basher

by Ross von Metzke Miami Beach, Fla.—Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal is getting high praise for an assist off the courts after tracking a suspect which led to the arrest of an alleged gay basher over the weekend.

The 7-foot-1 basketball and film star, who is currently in training to become a Miami Beach reserve officer, was driving through South Beach about 3:00 A.M. Sunday when he saw the suspect, a passenger in a silver Honda, yell anti-gay slurs at a gay couple, said Bobby Hernandez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.

The suspect, 18-year old Michael Gonzalez, then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt.

The man then got back in the car and sped off, but O’Neal followed. “He flagged down the Miami Beach officer on duty there, and the officer was able to apprehend the subject,” Hernandez said.

Gonzalez was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. The Honda’s driver was not charged.

O’Neal, who hopes to be a police chief or county sheriff one day, was already being fitted for his Miami Beach police uniform before the incident.

Oregon High School Forced to New York’s Gay Penguins Cancel Matthew Shepard Play Call it Quits After Six Years Portland, Ore.—A Portland, Ore. high school principal has canceled a community meeting scheduled to discuss her decision to pull the plug on a school production of The Laramie Project, which has been performed at schools across the United States in the years following the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard.

Southridge High School Principal Amy Gordon said Wednesday’s meeting was called off to give herself and the rest of the school’s staff a chance to review the play and its implications.

“We need time to review things in a timely manner,” Gordon said.

The Laramie Project chronicles the true story of Matthew Shepard, the 21-yearold gay college student who was severely beaten, abused and subsequently died in Laramie, Wyoming seven years ago. Gordon said she called off the play last week because of growing concerns over the use of profanity and sexual content.

Wednesday’s meeting was scheduled to allow the community to air their grievances over the play’s cancellation. Gordon said that instead of the meeting, she will form a review committee, comprised of students, teachers and local residents.

The production pieces together the events surrounding the killing through the reactions of numerous residents of Laramie and has been used as an educational tool in high schools and colleges across the country.

Locally, Plan B Theatre Company produced a successful run of The Laramie Project in 2001—RVM

New York, NY—First Brad and Jen, then Renee and Kenny. And now, one of New York City’s best-known gay couples is calling it quits after a six-year union.

Silo and Roy, two male chinstrap penguins who have been living together and have been studied by scientists and scholars from around the world, have ended their six years living together as husband and husband.

Zoologists first took notice of their relationship in 1999 when the pair were attempting to incubate a rock as if it were their own chick. Later, when zookeepers found an egg that had been abandoned by its mother, Silo and Roy were given the egg to look over.

The pair successfully hatched and raised their adopted chick and have since inspired six other gay penguin couples to “come out” at New York’s Central Park Zoo. However, in recent months, Silo’s eye has wandered to Scrappy, a single female who arrived earlier this year from San Diego’s Sea World. Last month, Silo moved out of his and Roy’s nest and moved in with Scrappy.

In 2002, inspired by worldwide news coverage of Silo and Roy’s romance, a zoo in Amsterdam began conducting gay tours where visitors could see all of the zoo’s gay animals up close.

Zookeepers have yet to discuss whether a divorce settlement has been reached.

—RVM

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News LOCAL AND REGIONAL

by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@slmetro.com

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Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an executive order Sept. 21 making the city the first Utah government to extend insurance benefits to city employees’ domestic partners—gay and straight.

“This order is in effect now,” he said at the public signing. “Our staff will now work with the insurance administrator to get benefits in place.”

The insurance administrator in question is the Public Employees Health Program (PEHP), which provides insurance benefits to state and Salt Lake County employees.

One day before the signing, the organization withdrew its support after working closely with the city for months to develop the plan.

According to PEHP representatives, the organization now wants to wait for a judge to rule on the legality of the plan before proceeding.

“We felt like it was a contract issue, it was only a matter of amending our current con-

tract,” Jodi Langford, city benefits administrator, told the Salt Lake Tribune on September 21. But when the mayor’s signing of the bill seemed eminent, Langford said she received a call from PEHP’s attorney. According to her, the attorney said, “Based on articles from the paper, we have received pressures from individuals, so we just think it’s in our best interest to seek this [court] opinion.”

At the signing, Anderson called PEHP’s decision to back out “frustrating.”

“I think they got spooked by some of the news stories from some legislators and Amendment 3 proponents that are seeking to renege on promises they made during the campaign,” he said.

Though Jeffrey Jensen, PEHP’s deputy director, told the Tribune that he did not know of any direct pressure, he said that Rep. LaVar Christensen’s mention of “certain interpretations of certain laws” had “caused us to pause.” The Draper Republican has called the mayor’s plan illegal in several

MICHAEL AARON

Anderson Signs Domestic Partner Benefits Order Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson (seated) surrounded by press and gay and lesbian advocates after signing an executive order extending health care benefits to gay and nongay unmarried city employee couples.

interviews. The state constitution was amended in 2004 to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman and to prohibit the state from recognizing or giving legal effect “to any law creating any legal status, rights, benefits or duties that are substantially equivalent” to those provided to married couples.

“The current law is so clear and sufficient it’s flagrant for [Anderson] to violate known public policy,” Christensen said. In the past, he has also said that the legislature may consider passing legislation to block the benefits if Anderson’s order went through.

Still, Anderson said he is confident the legislature will not make such a move.

“I think our legislators would think twice about passing some kind of legislation that was punitive and discriminatory,” he said.

“I doubt they would want to backtrack to try to deprive cities the opportunity to extend benefits equally to their employees.”

Attorneys from Salt Lake City and County have said that the mayor’s proposal is legal.

In August, Anderson said he wanted to have the benefits program in place by November.

Recent estimates, including those reached by the PEHP, have indicated that extending the benefits may cost as much as $113,000.

Questions about who can access the benefits have also surfaced.

When asked if anyone could add their “best buddy” to the health insurance policy, Anderson said the new benefits would be limited to domestic partners only.

“There are criteria on the forms that you will need to sign,” he said. “One of the criterion is that you must show that you are in a committed, long-term relationship with joint ownership of certain types of property, such as a mortgage.”

“You must have proof that you have been living together for a minimum of six months,” he added.

Utah State Marriage Law 30-1-4.1. MARRIAGE RECOGNITION POLICY. (1) (a) It is the policy of this state to recognize as marriage only the legal union of a man and a woman as provided in this chapter. (b) Except for the relationship of marriage between a man and a woman recognized pursuant to this chapter, this state will not recognize, enforce, or give legal effect to any law creating any legal status, rights, benefits, or duties that are substantially equivalent to those pro-

Anderson also disagreed with criticism that his order would weaken the institution of marriage. “It actually strengthens [it],” he said. “It is interesting that in Vermont, where they have domestic partnerships, most people polled support it. Before the partnerships were offered, most didn’t support them. I think it is a fear of change, but once made and the obstacles overcome, people realize that it doesn’t change their personal relationships. It doesn’t affect their lives in any negative way. It allows us as a society to move forward with greater dignity and awareness.”

Governor Has No Plans to Extend Benefits Statewide In his monthly press conference, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman said he is not considering offering health benefits to the state’s unmarried workers, as Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has done in the capital city.

“I have no plans on issuing an executive order of my own,” he said in the Sept. 22 conference hosted by KUED Television.

His stated reason, when pressed, was that the state needs to address the escalating costs of existing benefits to state workers before addressing expanding those benefits to unmarried couples. “It really comes down to cost, and what I want to get right are the costs that are now on the table associated with benefits that we’re making available to all of our employees,” Huntsman said. “We’re still working hard on getting that dimension right.”

He said he believes Anderson’s executive order has many “legal hurdles” to clear before it can take effect. He, however, will not be leading any charge to place more of those hurdles in the way. “I’m not going to launch any legal effort of my own,” he said.

He noted that it is the job of the Utah Attorney General to decide what the state will challenge in court.—MA vided under Utah law to a man and a woman because they are married.

(2) Nothing in Subsection (1) impairs any contract or other rights, benefits, or duties that are enforceable independently of this section.

UTAH STATE CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT 3 (1) Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman.

(2) No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.

Quotes ANDERSON SIGNS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER EXTENDING INSURANCE BENEFITS TO PARTNERS OF CITY EMPLOYEES “’K, it’s done.”

—Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson after signing the order.

“Rocky doesn’t have a right to extend those benefits. He is creating domestic partners. He’s used that term. It says in our legislation you can’t do that.”

—Sen. Chris Buttars, Deseret News Sept. 23 “Based on current law what he proposes to do is illegal and therefore has no effect. It’s tantamount to the San Francisco mayor performing same-sex marriages.”

—Rep. LaVar Christensen, Deseret Morning News, Sept. 21 “Philosophically, politically, morally, we are not one way on this thing. The last thing we can do is violate the law when we’re on notice that it might be illegal to do something.”

—Dan Andersen, Public Employee Health Plan’s legal counsel on why PEHP will not administer the benefits until a court rules on the issue. Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 22

“[Anderson is] trying to create his own marriage and divorce laws within the city limits. Just because you’re mayor doesn’t mean you can pick up your pen and ignore state law.”

—Utah State Rep. LaVar Christensen, Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 22 “Why not include the world? What’s wrong with covering the whole neighborhood? The whole ward?” asked Anderson. “Cover everybody you know who can’t get insurance.”

—Anderson on a Salt Lake City Council proposal to include parents, siblings and friends in a similar benefits package.

“Watching Anderson sign the executive order, I was proud to be a resident of Salt Lake City. It’s like being an important part of history.”

Equality Utah Chair Jane Marquardt.

“This is a great and historic day.”

—Gordon Storrs, president of Utah Log Cabin Republicans

“My partner and I have been together for 25 years. The mayor has taken a brave step towards equality in recognizing that the ‘one size fits all’ mentality is set aside for the betterment of the community.”

—Anonymous Salt Lake City worker in a letter delivered to GLBTCCU.

“I hope that this action won’t be something that causes punitive action by others.”

—Salt Lake City Council Member Jill Remington Love, Deseret Morning News, Sept. 21

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News LOCAL AND REGIONAL

‘Silencing Gay Voices’ Poster Causes Uproar

by Jesse Dolcé A poster featuring the slogan “Silencing Gay Voices,” for a September 9 “ex-gay” presentation at Salt Lake Community College and sponsored by the college’s Eagle Forum Collegians, angered many of the college’s students. Dave Pruden, executive director of Evergreen International, was the invited speaker and apologized before and during his speech, saying he did not make the poster or approve of it. “Controversy was not the desired response,” Pruden said.

Collegians placed posters around the different SLCC campuses announcing his speech about how same gender attraction can be overcome “contrary to the myth perpetuated by the radical homosexual movement.”

Collegians representative Corey Seegmiller tried to explain the poster was not meant to be hurtful. He acknowledged there had

been controversy about the message, but pointed out that a “disclaimer” was added to the sign. He said the disclaimer was intended to highlight the lack of a forum for individuals who are seeking therapy for same gender attraction.

“This is a forum for individuals to overcome their unwanted samesex attraction. This is not a place for us to come and try to figure Dave Pruden out how to silence gays or the gay community at large,” Seegmiller said. He said the purpose for his club is to promote family values and constitutional principles and things that are “conservative in nature.”

Members of SLCC’s Coloring Outside

the Lines—a club for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender students and straight allies—were among the majority of people in attendance at the forum.

“The sign was so hurtful and caused lack of ease and fear,” said Gordon Storrs, faculty advisor for Coloring Outside the Lines.

He believed the poster expressing the need to silence a group was in poor taste. He said he felt the Collegians were trying to hurt gay people.

“The apologies and disclaimers didn’t take away from the ugliness,” Storrs said.

He hopes to sit down with the members of both clubs. “It is hard to understand how the two clubs can be on the same campus,” said Storrs.

Terri Busch, who works in the social work department in health and wellness, told Pruden the poster should have been checked. “You as a speaker should have known how you were to be presented. I believe it is offensive and ask that it be taken down,” Busch said. Pruden turned the poster around out of view.

“It didn’t occur to me to check the poster; I am not controversial,” Pruden said. He went on to say that he only represents Evergreen International, that he was invited to speak at the forum and that the Collegians were responsible for the poster.

Pruden expressed that the mission statement at Evergreen International is very simple and not meant to cause controversy.

The mission statement on their website reads, “Evergreen is a nonprofit organization that helps people who want to diminish same-sex attractions and overcome homosexual behavior. It is also a resource to their loved ones, professional counsel-

ors, religious leaders, and friends.”

Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who felt they had samegender attraction feelings formed Evergreen International 15 years ago. The group formed because they wanted to follow the doctrines of the LDS church, which teaches that it is not proper to act on same-sex feelings. “If I get a call I am under the assumption that the caller is LDS and gay. I try to let the caller decide what the individual should do,” said Pruden.

“I am a 23 year-old lesbian and convert to the LDS church. I came out to my church and was accepted,” said Jess Theobald, president of Coloring Outside the Lines.

He urged Pruden to tell his callers there are millions of gays and lesbians living healthy spiritual lives.

“The presentation is highly controversial and considered unethical practice by the American Psychological Association,” said Jackie Farnsworth, director of health and wellness at SLCC. She passed out information before the forum started and said it was important to present information about gay-affirming therapies. “It is very possible to live, as hundreds of thousands of gay people do, as gay people,” she said.

“I have been asked to speak in many different cities in our nation, but I have never been asked to speak in this state,” Pruden said. He believes more dialogue about same gender attraction is needed in our society.

Coloring Outside the Lines meets Wednesday nights at 7p.m. at the Redwood Road campus in the Student Center room 225, 2nd Floor, Presidents Room. Students can also view the club’s website, groups.myspace.com/cotl.

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PhD Speaks About Same-Sex Attraction

by Jesse Dolcé On Sept. 16, the health and wellness division of Salt Lake Community College sponsored a seminar called “Honoring the Gay Voice” where Dr. Lee Beckstead spoke to SLCC students about his personal struggle with integrating spiritual, sexual and social identities. The seminar was to raise awareness for group therapy for same-sex attraction for individuals in conflict and came one week after a seminar held by Eagle Forum Collegians of SLCC entitled “Silencing the Gay Voice.”

Beckstead is a group facilitator who works for Aspen Grove Counseling. He works with individuals to resolve their distress or concerns about their sexual orientation and religious and social conflicts. Beckstead said that discussion allows people to sort out their thoughts and feelings, enhance self-worth, develop relationships, consolidate a positive self-identity, and find comfort within their lives.

“I dealt with same-sex attractions for years,” said Beckstead, who grew up in Murray as a member of the LDS church.

When he was a young man taking part in the passing of the sacrament at church, Beckstead says, he thought to himself how another boy passing the sacrament was cute. He dealt with his feelings and the conflict they created with his religion by suppressing them.

He calls the same-sex attraction only a “piece” of his life. He had a “gay piece” and a “spiritual piece.” As a young man he went on a mission and did everything within his faith to suppress the “gay

piece.” At 21, after returning home, he went to Evergreen International to help him deal with the “gay piece.”

Evergreen is a group that uses conversion therapy for people to overcome same-sex attraction. They provide information and guidance in order to overcome homosexual desires and reduce same-sex attraction. Evergreen sustains the beliefs of the doctrines of the LDS church, but is not affiliated with the church.

From age 21–27, Beckstead tried to live the lifestyle that Evergreen outlined for him. He found that the longer he suppressed his same-sex attraction the harder it became for him to have any type of sexuality. He was not happy but felt like this was the only way for him to deal with the “gay piece” and his “spiritual piece” together.

“I was in a place where sissy boys could learn to play sports,” said Beckstead. At Evergreen, boys were taught how to play sports like basketball and baseball. Women were taught how to apply make-up and to cook.

“Many people feel suicide is their only option,” said Beckstead. He warned that harm can occur from conversion or reparative therapy due to being misinformed about realistic outcomes or being misled with unsubstantiated theories and treatments.

SLCC Students struggling with the process of sexual reorientation can contact Health and Wellness, in the Student Center, at 957-4268 or visit slcc.edu/hw Dr. Beckstead can be reached at Aspen Grove Counseling, 1400 S. Foothill Drive, Suite 24, leebeckst@yahoo.com, or at 581-0422.

Utah Cyber Sluts Ruby Ridge, Sofonda Men and Beverley Heels display one of dozens of Nick & Willy’s pizzas, donated by Salt Lake Metro, at Camp Pinecliff’s annual retreat for people with HIV/AIDS and their care providers, Sept. 24–25.

Community Briefs Poinsettias for PWACU

Trax to Try-Angles & Todd’s

Believe it or not, it’s time to think about ordering your Christmas flowers. The People With AIDS Coalition of Utah has begun their annual poinsettia fundraiser. Plants may be pre-ordered before Oct. 20 for $10 per plant, or $75 for eight. Each plant averages five blooms, is between 15 and 19 inches tall and 15 inches wide in a red satin-covered six-inch pot. The plants are shipped directly from the growers on your choice of one of seven days between Nov. 23 and Dec. 16.

To order, or for more details, call 484-2205 or go to pwacu.org

Customers of two of Salt Lake’s watering holes have a new option to get there. Utah Transit Authority opened a new Trax station at 900 South and 200 West, a mere half block from Club Try-Angles and less than three blocks from Todd’s Bar and Grill.

The station went live Sept. 19, but has been in the planning stages for several years. “We’ve been waiting for it since the day we opened,” said Gene Gieber, owner of Club Try-Angles. “We’ve been placing bets on when it would finally happen. It’s been cause for a lot of celebration since it opened.”

The station will be named simply “900 South,” making it the only station without an alternate moniker. “Yeah, not too creative,” UTA spokesman Justin Jones quipped. “We took years to come up with that.”

Gieber told UTA he’d be happy to take care of painting the station in beautiful rainbow colors if they would call it the “TryAngles Station.” UTA apparently declined the offer.

UAF Golf Tournament The Fourth Annual “Fun on the Fairway” golf tournament to benefit the Utah AIDS Foundation takes place Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Stonebridge Golf Course in West Valley City. Participants may golf for a fee of $100 or gather a team of four golfers for $340. The tournament has a shotgun start of 8:30 A.M. Stonebridge is located at approximately 2100 South and Bangerter Hwy. If interested, contact Teresa Hyatt at 487-2323 or teresa@utahiads.org before Friday, Sept. 30.

Calling All Souper Spelers:

Mon.–Thurs.

Friday, Saturday Sunday

11:43pm 1:49am 9:33pm

11:12pm 12:42am 7:57pm

SALT LAKE METRO GRAPHIC

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 7

How long has it been since you competed in a spelling bee? Queertestants and queertators alike will have a side-splitting good time at the University of Utah LGBT Resource Center’s Queer Spelling Bee. Those who were in attendance last fall have never felt the same about gorgonzola! Salt Lake Metro feature writer and proofreader Nicholas Rupp was last year’s winner, after he successfully spelled “cootchiesnortcher.” This year’s event will be held at the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah’s multipurpose room from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. There is a $5.00 suggested donation at the door for queertators.

Queertestants and students are free with ID. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners and refreshments will be available.

LAST TRAIN LEAVES Southbound Northbound

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News LOCAL

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UofU Pride 2005 Breaks Through

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by Kim Burgess kim@slmetro.com

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In conjunction with National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, the University of Utah Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center will present PRIDE 2005, a series of lectures, activities and performances running from Oct. 11–22.

With the theme “Breaking Through,” the events explore what it means to be queer in today’s world. “Breaking Through” refers to the coming out process, combating stereotypes and recognizing sections of the queer community that are being left out.

In keeping with the theme, PRIDE cochairs Kellie Foreman and Charles Milne made a conscious effort to represent the experiences of queers from across the spectrum. PRIDE’s diverse offerings include a panel discussion titled “Breaking Through the Queer Entity: What it Means to Be Gay,” screenings of films such as Normal and Boys Don’t Cry, a queer spelling bee and queer comedy with Jerry Callum and Alan Walker.

“We’re showing all the varieties of people and identities that are associated with the queer community,” Milne said. “There are all these differences in our community, but because of those differences, we’re so much stronger.”

Foreman echoed this sentiment. “We all work as pieces of the puzzle together. We can’t ignore each other. We all need to work together instead of ostracizing and setting apart. We need to open up a dialogue.” She went on to say that the queer community should do a better job of communicating with the straight community. “We have to start seeing ourselves as a cultural group.”

Though PRIDE 2005 is held at the University of Utah and has a more academic approach than June’s downtown festivities, Milne and Foreman stressed that community support and attendance is essential. “The community helps this [event] happen,” Milne said. “And also what’s

Jewish Community 7pm, License to Kill Center, 2 North Medical documentary screening Drive. $65 at 587-7973 in conjunction with the Jessica Lange and Tom YWCA’s Week Without Wilkinson.

OCTOBER 19 Violence and the Salt UofU Post Theater, free 12noon, Lecture—Ending SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Lake Film Center 6pm, ”Boy’s don’t Gender Stereotypes: OCTOBER 11 Salt Lake City Main Cry”starring Hillary A New Path to Full 12:00 noon, PD(q)DI— Library, free Swank Equality, Riki Wilchins, Pseudo Drag queen UofU Post Theater, free executive director of the OCTOBER 21 Dash Invitational.

Gender Public Advocacy 7pm, Queer Comedy 101 OCTOBER 18 Between the Student w/ comedians Jerry Coalition 12:00 noon, Brown Bag Services Building and Marriott Library Gould Callum, Alan Walker. the Marriott Library, free Lunch Series—What’s Rose Wagner Theatre.

Auditorium, free Love Got to Do With It OCTOBER 15 UofU Women’s Resource OCTOBER 20 OCTOBER 22 6pm, Queer Spelling Bee. Center, free The Center Multipurpose 6pm, Breaking Through— 1:30pm, Panel—Breaking 1:30pm, Ma Vie En Rose Through the Queer (My Life in Pink) w/ the Room, 351 N. 300 5th Annual University Salt Lake Film Center Entity: What It Is To Be West, $5 of Utah LGBT Resource Salt Lake City Main Gay Center PRIDE Gala Orson Spencer Hall Library, free Dinner.

Auditorium, free

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LGBT RESOURCE CENTER

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happening at the [University of Utah] flows out into the community and helps create changes in the community.”

In addition to its educational goals, PRIDE also has an important fundraising component for the LGBT Resource Center.

The Oct. 18 Gala Dinner typically generates $25,000 for the office budget. “That dinner helps support us, paying stipends for our interns. It supports buying paper for our printer. Things that are as simple as that,” Milne said. “Our office is primarily funded by individual and corporate contributions.

There’s not very much programmatic funding from the university.” Money from fundraising may also go toward scholarships for queer students, which Milne hopes to create in the future.

This year’s Gala Dinner will feature transgender activist and executive director of Gender PAC Riki Wilchins, with openly queer performing artist Sacha Sacket.

Sacket describes his music as “post-millennial Nick Drake.” Tickets for the dinner are $65 per person or $650 per table of 10.

It will be held at the Jewish Community Center, 2 North Medical Drive. The Jewish Community Center also served as an organizational partner for PRIDE 2005, along with six other organizations including the Center, the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Salt Lake Film Center.

Milne said he felt the partnerships signal that PRIDE’s message is reaching people.

“There are all these organizations that are wanting to do whatever they can to help support affirming identities and celebrating equality. We’re now getting organizations coming to us asking what they can do to help. It’s great.”

PRIDE 2005 will take place Oct. 11–22.

Volunteer opportunities are available.

PRIDE is also seeking corporate sponsors and donors to provide silent auction items.

Cash donations are also welcome. Donors can pay online at www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt.

PRIDE 2005

OCTOBER 16 2pm, Normal, starring

MATT AUNE

Salt Lake City Council candidate Leslie Reynolds-Benns talks with local constituents.

City Council Candidate Supports Hate Crimes Bill, Partner Benefits

by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@slmetro.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 9

Leslie Reynolds-Benns’ bid for a city council seat began after a funeral. While standing at local civil rights leader Alberta Henry’s grave in May, she entered into a conversation with Equality Utah board member Boyer Jarvis. At the time, she was writing a letter to Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson about joining his newly-formed human rights commission.

“I mentioned that to Boyer and he looked me straight in the face and said ‘No! You need to run for city council! Your district needs you and your council needs you!’” laughs Benns, a Democrat. “I started walking [campaigning door to door] that night.”

A therapist, author and political activist, Benns will run against Republican incumbent Carlton Christianson in 2006 for his District 1 seat—the seat representing the city’s northwest quadrant bounded by North Temple and 900 West. While the election is still months away, she’s got plenty of ideas for improving her district, which she loosely terms “Rose Park and beyond.”

These include working to end prejudice against the area’s Spanish-speaking population, revitalizing North Temple (the sprawling businesses of which she terms “an eyesore”) and recruiting more people to join the neighborhood watch.

She also hopes she can make a difference in the lives of District 1’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents. Her campaign website, electlesliebenns.com, reads: “We are a welcoming community, one that is transformed and strengthened by the diversity of its residents. All families, whatever their configurations, need to be connected to the neighborhoods and communities in which they live.” The statement, she says, is aimed partly toward the gay and lesbian community.

“I’m just going to be an advocate for them. I don’t know what else to say,” she continues. “In my book, Confession is Good for More Than the Soul, I talk about a commitment to having a world that works for everyone. That’s what guides my day.”

As part of creating such a world, Benns says she believes “gay partners should have the same rights as non-gay partners.” This position has led her to support two bids for domestic partner benefits in Utah—Salt Lake County’s attempt to offer benefits for

county employees in July and Anderson’s recent executive order. The first failed by one vote while Anderson signed his controversial order on Sept. 21.

“It’s not a problem for me at all,” she says. “I’m strongly in favor of [offering benefits to gay and lesbian partners], particularly because I think we’re punishing the children by not giving them. The thing that comes to mind for me is we’re making innocent children suffer for something that’s not their fault at all.” She also says she’s in favor of the creation of a domestic partner registry—though she says she needs to learn more about what such registries can do for gay and lesbian couples.

In most cities, domestic partner registries merely offer a way for same-sex couples to make a public declaration of their unions. They do not confer the legal status, benefits or rights akin to marriage.

Further, Benns says she’s a “big supporter of the hate crimes bill,” which certain Utah legislators have been pushing for the past nine years. A recent version of the bill sponsored by State Senator Karen Hale (DSalt Lake City), was defeated in a 3-4 vote last February. A second bill, sponsored by Representative David Litvak (D-Salt Lake City) died in committee the same month.

When the bills were still being considered, Benns says she sent “emails like mad” to everyone she knew, encouraging them to write their legislators in support of the legislation. She also said she voted against Amendment 3, the constitutional amendment which defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Utah voters overwhelmingly approved the controversial legislation in November 2004.

Benns says she’d like gays and lesbians to feel at home in her district, despite its reputation as being a rough part of the city.

“I believe Rose Park is very welcoming,” she says. “I’ve been walking the district since May and I haven’t heard a single slur about gays and lesbians.”

Overall, she wants to help the district become known for what she sees as its strength in diversity.

“I want to change the rep of the area. It’s a wonderful neighborhood and I believe we should tout it as the next Sugar House, where young couples will move in to start their families. That’s how it was built initially and that’s how it should be.”

News LOCAL

Man Claims HIV Discrimination

by Provo Surgical Center

by Matthew Gerber matthew@slmetro.com

“People with HIV are not treated here.”

It’s something one would expect to hear in 1984, not 2004, but that is the alleged reason given to Spanish Fork resident Daniel S. Richardson, 42, as to why his routine surgery was cancelled in December of last year.

Richardson’s primary care physician, Dr. Ryan Rushton, referred him to the HealthSouth Provo Surgical Center for surgery on an ulcerated toe. Upon receipt of the referral, a staff member of HealthSouth allegedly called Dr. Rushton’s office at the Parkway Center of the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics in Orem and indicated they would not perform the surgery because Mr. Richardson is HIV-positive.

When Richardson himself phoned HealthSouth to check on the surgery, he was told that one had not been scheduled because a referral had never been received. He then

called Dr. Rushton’s nurse and informed her of what he had been told. Dr. Rushton in turn phoned Dr. Michael D. Taylor of HealthSouth for some clarification. Taylor indicated that it was the policy of HealthSouth Provo Surgical Center not to accept HIV-positive patients and that no scrub techs would assist in the procedure.

On August 26, Richardson filed suit in U.S. District Court against the center, as well as former owner Gary H. Ashby and Dr. Michael D. Taylor, claiming the center violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in canceling his surgery because of his HIV-status. His attorney, Marlin G. Criddle of Salt Lake City, describes the case as “egregious and straightforward” and an obvious violation of the ADA. While Criddle has long provided legal services for people living with HIV, he has never worked on a discrimination case such as this before. He has, however, heard of suits filed in Utah that alleged discrimi-

nation based on one’s HIV-status, including a current case being handled by another attorney.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is very broad in its protections of not just people living with HIV/AIDS, but even those who are merely perceived to have HIV or those who are known to associate with people who are HIV-positive.

The protections of the ADA are extended beyond healthcare and employment to prevent discrimination by public accommodations as well. Public accommodations include restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctor and dentist’s offices, hospitals, retail stores, health clubs, museums, libraries, and schools.

The Department of Justice is very clear that in almost every instance, a public accommodation cannot exclude a person with HIV/AIDS because that person allegedly poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Healthcare providers are required to treat all patients as if they have an infectious disease, such as HIV, through adherence to universal precautions, such as rubber gloves, a mask, goggles, and the proper disposal of needles and other biohazardous waste. A business such as a tattoo parlor cannot turn someone away simply because they are HIV-positive, as the artist should use universal precautions to prevent transmission of HIV, regardless of a customer’s status. Such precautions have long been proven to prevent transmission of HIV and other infectious diseases.

Additional information, including specific examples, on how the ADA protects people living with HIV/AIDS can be found online at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/pubs/hivqanda.txt.

Free HIV Counseling Services Available Cornerstone Counseling Center recently received a grant from the Utah Department of Health to provide HIV prevention case management services. This grant allows licensed therapists at Cornerstone to provide therapy to qualifying clients free of charge.

The purpose of the grant is to provide free service to individuals who are injecting drugs and who are struggling with HIV risk reduction issues, with a special focus on those in the gay male community.

Prevention case management concentrates on preventing HIV and/or delaying the onset of symptoms of HIV by working with clients to explore barriers to condom use and issues of substance dependence, self-esteem, depression/anxiety, unresolved grief, sex and relationships.

The counseling center is working in collaboration with the Interethnic Health Alliance to provide culturally competent ethnic minority service as well.

Cornerstone is a charitable nonprofit agency that provides professional substance abuse, domestic violence and mental health treatment and prevention services that promote long-lasting improvements in individuals and families.

A central part of their mission is to serve a broad diversity of cultural groups and underserved members of the community, regardless of their ability to pay.

More information on Cornerstone can be found at cornerstoneslc.com

Health Department Announces New 2005 Flu Shot Clinics Health officials hope to provide 12,000 vaccinations in three days

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The Salt Lake Valley Health Department has announced a new flu shot clinic schedule for the year. This season, the SLVHD will offer flu vaccinations only during three flu vaccination clinics scheduled for three Saturdays: Oct. 15 and 29, and Nov. 5, all from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Salt Lake County Government Center at 2001 S. State Street. The cost for the flu shot this year is $20 and may be covered by Medicare.

The first clinic on Oct. 15 will be for high-risk individuals, including people with weakened immune systems (such as those with HIV/AIDS), children 6-23 months of age, those 65 or older, residents of long-term care facilities, people with chronic health problems, women who will be pregnant during the flu season, healthcare workers, and household contacts and out-of-home caretakers of infants six months and younger.

“The October 29th and November 5th clinics are for the general public—anyone who wishes to receive the vaccine,” explains Sue Nicodemus, Immunizations Coordinator. “Also this year, residents need to remember that flu shots will not be available in any of the regular SLVHD public health clinics.”

Those people who do not have any contraindications to receiving the live virus vaccine should take advantage of obtaining FluMist—a nasal flu vaccine licensed for healthy people between five and 49 years of age. FluMist is available in SLVHD public health clinics now at a cost of $29.

SLVHD health officials also recommend those clients who are in a high-risk category receive the pneumonia vaccination.

The cost of the pneumonia shot is $29.

For information concerning the flu vaccine or the new 2005 flu clinic schedule, visit the SLVHD website at slvheath.org or call 468-2086. Residents can also call the Utah Immunization Hotline number at 1-800-275-0659 to find other locations where flu vaccines may be available.

LOVE'S MYSTERY: RELATIONSHIP AS A SPIRITUAL PATH

MICHAEL AARON

A Workshop with Dawn Menken, Ph.D., author of

Speak Out!: Talking About Love, Sex, and Eternity October 15 & 16, 2005 in Salt Lake City

Mike Thompson addressing the Equality Utah Allies Dinner

Mike Thompson Works to Put Equality Utah on the Offensive (OutStanding People is a new Salt Lake Metro column profiling interesting and prominent people in Utah’s GLBT community)

by Joel Shoemaker joel@slmetro.com

For more information, contact: Martha Hales at 532-3567 or radical_healing@xmission.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 11

Standing at a podium with his own image projected on three giant monitors in front of about 800 people, Mike Thompson told attendees of Equality Utah’s Sept. 21 Allies Dinner that each person can make “a ripple” of change. Referencing a local conservative radio talk show host and others who stood up for equality, Thompson encouraged the crowd to make their own ripples of change in their lives.

Thompson is hoping to make a few ripples of his own in Utah. Less than two months on the job as the new executive director for Utah’s preeminent political action committee, Thompson says he wants to help EU grow from a reactive organization to being more proactive. He says for the first four years of its existence, EU found itself mainly reacting and responding to the latest political firestorms. Now, the organization needs to work more aggressively to promote its own agenda.

“Behind the scenes right now, we’re focused on examining the organization and asking, ‘How can we be more focused on our approach to state, county and city government, instead of promoting a broad message of equality?’” Thompson says in an interview a few days before the event.

EU has been good at getting some gay and gay-friendly people into office, he says, but they could be better at continuing an open line of communication with the officeholder after he or she is elected. In addition, he says the organization needs to be better at communicating with the gay and lesbian community about what EU is and how people can get involved.

Thompson brings to the task a breadth

of experience, ranging from non-profit management and fundraising to corporate marketing. He’s worked for major oil companies, a special needs school and numerous non-profits, including the Don’t Amend Alliance during 2004’s campaign against Amendment 3. “What I hope to bring is strategic thinking on how to build this organization’s infrastructure, which will help further their activities,” he says.

But it’s his personal attributes, particularly his spirituality, which may help Thompson the most as he maneuvers through the murky political waters of Utah, where religion and politics bleed together. Thompson grew up in a Southern Baptist environment and says he spent a long time reconciling religion with his sexuality. At about age 30, Thompson left his corporate marketing job to attend a bible study school, immersing himself in a period of inner reflection. “I thought my calling was to serve people as a minister. What I learned was that my calling was to serve people, just not religiously,” he says. He sees his job at EU as part of that mission of service.

Thompson hopes to reach out to all parts of the queer community, helping make the fight for equality a collaborative effort between organizations. “For the Allies Dinner, I’ve tried to contact as many organizations as I can—sWerve, Utah Bear Alliance, Utah Progressive Network, others—and invite them personally to the dinner.”

He counts building bridges within the community as one of the major challenges facing EU. “What I want most from my life is meaning. What I invest my time in is going to impact someone’s life,” he says. “I remember hearing in cub scouts ‘you leave the campground better than you found it.’ That’s what Equality Utah is doing—saying to the community, ‘Hey, you are valuable and have something to contribute in this effort.’”

Together we’ll explore ways to grow from our relationships— whether with lovers, family, friends, community, or the divine.

Executive Editor Michael Aaron Arts Editor Eric J. Tierney Proofreader Nicholas Rupp

Opinion

Contributing David Harris Photographers William H. Munk Kim Russo Joel Shoemaker

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Copyright © 2005 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, including electronic retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher. One copy of this publication is free of charge to any individual. Additional copies may be purchased for $1. Anyone taking or destroying multiple copies may be prosecuted for theft at the sole discretion of the publisher. Reward offered for information that leads to the arrest of any individual willfully stealing, destroying or trashing multiple copies. Salt Lake Metro and Utah’s Best for 2005 are trademarks of Metro Publishing, Inc. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or staff.

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(801) 323-9500 Fax: (801) 323-9986 President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer:

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Seasons of Life

by Michael Aaron michael@slmetro.com

Contributing Kim Burgess Writers Vanessa Chang Jason Clark Benjamin Cohen Jesse Dolce Matthew Gerber Sharon Hadrian Beau Jarvis Kate Kendell Laurie Mecham Nicholas Rupp Mandy Q. Racer Ruby Ridge Kim Russo David Samsel Joel Shoemaker Brendan Shumway Eric J. Tierney Darren Tucker JoSelle Vanderhooft Ross von Metzke Ben Williams

Sales Director Steven Peterson

From the Editor

Anderson on Tack. Council Is Not. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson made a bold move Wednesday, Sept. 21 by signing an executive order extending health benefits to gay and nongay domestic partners of city employees.

Salt Lake City Council members are looking to provide similar benefits but, as is their style, they are trying to water down the notion of extending rights to gay men and lesbians.

The city council of 1997, a much more leftleaning council, passed an ordinance that protected employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Months later, the first item of business after the election of a much more conservative group of council members was to repeal the ordinance and replace it with an emasculated version that required hiring and firing be made solely on “job-based criteria.”

One of the first actions Anderson made upon his election was to, in effect, replace the nondiscrimination ordinance with an order that specifically enumerated “sexual orientation” as one of the protected classes.

Conservative lawmakers love to pretend that they are being inclusive and fair and come up with creative ways to make it look like they are doing just that.

Take the Utah hate crime law as an example. To show their compassion for all citizens, state lawmakers passed what they called a hate crime law that made it a felony to “intimidate or terrorize another person.”

This approach allowed them to claim they passed a hate crime law without having to

say the loath words “sexual orientation.”

The law, however, is unenforceable. It has no teeth, is overly broad and has yet to be successfully used. Worse, it has been used for the last seven years to quell any attempt at passage of a real hate crime law.

It makes one wonder if that was the intent all along.

The day before Anderson was to sign the health benefits order, conservative Council Member Dave Buhler floated in the press the idea of extending health benefits to parents, siblings and friends, saying, “we should be more inclusive than exclusive.”

That sounds all warm and fuzzy, but we all know such benefits would be too expensive and a huge burden on an already-shrinking employee benefits package. The benefits will ultimately have to be repealed.

It makes one wonder if that was the intent all along.

Salt Lake Metro feels that the council’s effort to overshadow Anderson’s order is either misguided or an outright attempt to thwart the progress of gay and lesbian Utahns in our efforts to obtain equal civil rights.

We encourage our readers to call their city council members and ask them to abandon their attempts to over-extend health benefits and to work instead on extending equal bereavement- and dependent-leave benefits to the city’s unmarried couples.

Mayor Anderson’s tack was right five years ago and is right again today.

I love summer. I live in Utah largely because of the summer, simply existing through winter as I wait for summer to come back.

I hate when summer begins to fade. It’s like being on vacation and realizing it’s only a day or so before you have to go back home.

It means it’s gonna start getting cold.

No more driving in a topless Jeep. No more outdoor festivals. No more tooling around in Utah’s mountains and deserts. No more lying around on a Sunday morning, naked on the deck with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.

It strikes me that my life is mirroring the change in the seasons.

As you read in a single paragraph story last issue, Jere Keys has left his role as editor of Salt Lake Metro for the glamour and fame ... and money ... of the Sundance Film Festival.

So ends another ‘season’ in our offices.

And so begins a new one.

I’d known we were likely to lose Jere for several weeks before his announcement. I then had to decide how we were to move on.

I decided that I would become editor.

This isn’t anything too new to me. I’ve been editor of a couple earlier gay Utah publications.

What is new to me is that this one has legs and appears to be on track for being a permanent part of Utah’s fabric.

I decided to reorganize my life. Pull out the dusty old Palm Pilot, clean the office, file things where they are supposed to be, and make promises to myself and those in my life that I will allocate personal time. Work smarter, not harder.

(Ugh—those ‘You Can Be All That You Can Be and Much Much More But Your Boss Won’t Have to Pay You More’ seminars I was forced to attend in the 90s appear to have wormed their way permanently into my brain after all.)

It also means I get to take a small paycheck.

Yaay!

I was happiest in my life when I was Mr. Organization. I woke up at a set time. I got into the office at a set time. My first half hour was spent organizing my day. I managed the day of 14 people, a $3.2 million project and the friction of relationships between computer programmers and creative folks. I marveled that it was even possible. I more marveled that it was me that was doing it.

I’m giddy at the thought of returning to what those days were to me. I won’t be making the six figures of back then, but I really don’t think that was what made me happy. It was me doing what I thought impossible of myself.

I look forward to the next several months— the next season—of my life. I’ll get to see what I can do.

And, it’s time to pull out the long sleeve shirts, the cute sweaters, and the layered look.

It’s time to drive through the canyons to see the leaves. It’s time to abandon the outdoor projects that never had a prayer of being finished to work on the indoor projects that don’t have a prayer of being finished. It’s time to see the new arts season and rehearse for a fall concert with the Salt Lake Men’s Choir. It’s time to dust out the fireplace for those ‘stay at home and cuddle with a movie’ nights.

I love fall.

Letters Viva La Radicals Editor, You put your finger on something I have felt for a while. Thank God we now have lots of homo institutions that are (more or less) accepted and even respected by the larger community. The decline of individual self-appointed spokespersons and the rise of the gay institution to represent the community has been the big story of the last ten years. We are better off for it.

On the other hand, why do we need to ALL be quiet and respectful, full of deference and duly concerned with our image in the larger community? Wouldn’t it be great if there were a balancing group or two in our community that was unafraid to confront the powers that be? A group whose first inclination at hatred was to throw a noisy, ugly demonstration instead of a new legislative proposal?

While Equality Utah and the Center have brought respect and continuity to the community, let’s hope these organizations never forget they stand on holy ground prepared for them by courageous Utah activists who ripped down closet doors—often at great personal sacrifice—while others in the community suggested persuasion would eventually cause the doors to quietly crumble. Had the activists not been there, I fear we would still be waiting for the closet doors to fall.

Viva la radicals! Where do we sign up?

Jim Dabakis Salt Lake City

GOP Must Include, Defend Gays Editor, The great conservative icon Ronald Reagan understood that gay people deserve to be treated with basic fairness and common de-

Guns and Rape cency. In 1978, Calif. State Sen. John Briggs proposed a statewide ballot initiative to prevent gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools. His vicious campaign to “defend your children from homosexual teachers” seemed headed for victory until [then California Governor] Reagan announced his opposition and helped defeat the initiative. From this pivotal campaign, Log Cabin Republicans were born. Log Cabin is the nation’s largest organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans.

The misleading rhetoric used in California 27 years ago is eerily reminiscent to the voices of some leaders in today’s Republican Party.

In the United States, some Republicans have consistently fought against basic fairness for gays and lesbians. They are trying to make sure gay and lesbian families are denied health care benefits and other basic protections. Although voters last year approved several constitutional amendments to ban civil marriage equality, most Americans didn’t intend for their votes to marginalize gay and lesbian families.

In the 19th century, the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, built our party on a foundation of equality. In the 20th century, President Ronald Reagan strengthened that foundation with a hopeful vision of freedom for all people, and liberated hundreds of millions of people— including gay people—across the globe.

Now at the dawn of the 21st century, GOP leaders must either embrace those values and create a stronger and more inclusive Republican Party or choose the politics of division and fear.

Matthew Veritas Tsien Florida Log Cabin Republicans South Florida

Guest Editorial Change in the Wind

West Virginia Supreme Court awarded custody of a child to a lesbian, ruling that a “psychological parent” can intervene in custody battles and defining “psychological parent” as a person who fulfills a child’s psychological and physical needs and provides emotional and financial support.

These rulings combined are a tremendous victory for children, for parental responsibility, and for common sense.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights, along with colleagues at the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, are bringing cases, one by one, on behalf of LGBT-headed families in courts throughout the country. In one sense the fact that we are winning so many of these challenges is a small miracle. Our adversaries are so much better funded: the largest antigay group in the country has an annual budget of $130 million, while the combined annual budgets of the leading 12 national LGBT organizations, including NCLR, barely break $50 million.

We have our work cut out for us. In California, two proposed constitutional amendments would not only forbid lesbian and gay couples any right to legally marry but would also repeal our hard-won and expansive domestic-partner protections.

But in yet another miracle, first the California state senate last week, and then

David Nelson Salt Lake City the assembly this week, in historic votes, became the first legislative bodies in the country to vote in favor of the basic right of lesbian and gay couples to marry.

Actually, this miracle, like the court victories, was the result of much hard work and commitment. Mark Leno, the assemblyman who authored the bill, never gave up believing that such a vote was possible, and California’s statewide LGBT lobbying group, Equality California, worked tirelessly to make the vote happen.

But against this very encouraging backdrop several states are considering legislation to bar LGBT people from adopting, and there are more anti–gay marriage constitutional amendments on the way in other states. But make no mistake—the tide is turning. Between legal cases, talks with legislators, and conversations at the water cooler, we are moving hearts and opening minds. The only way to win full equality is to engage in the hard work of making our lives real to everyone we know.

The faces of LGBT families are the faces of every family. In the days and weeks ahead, many of us will be called upon to tell the stories of our own families. This is the time to show courage. There’s no turning us back.

Kendell is executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. For more information go to http://www.nclrights.org.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 13

by Kate Kendell I grew up in Utah as a Mormon and received my law degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1988.

It was in Utah that I began my life as a lesbian advocate. For all sorts of reasons, I’ve returned to Utah often since I left for San Francisco nearly 12 years ago. But I found myself there last week for a reason I had never anticipated: I am arguing before the Utah Supreme Court.

It’s an out-of-body experience. It feels like a dream. I am in a courtroom filled to standing-room-only capacity. I am arguing an important parenting case. My client is a lesbian mother. Her former partner, who no longer identifies as a lesbian, is refusing to let her see their little girl. A lawyer affiliated with the ardently antigay Alliance Defense Fund is representing my client’s former partner.

I look up and see the faces of the justices seated on the court and begin my argument. I am not dreaming.

I was also not dreaming when the California Supreme Court issued opinions in three lesbian parenting cases in mid-August. In one of those opinions the court wrote, “We perceive no reason why both parents of a child cannot be women.” The court added, “A person who actively participates in bringing children into the world, takes the children into her home and holds them out as her own, and receives and enjoys the benefits of parenthood should be responsible for the support of those children—regardless of her gender or sexual orientation.”

In all three cases the court ruled that the co-parents were legal parents and entitled to all the rights and subjected to all the obligations that legal parenthood demands.

All across the country, the battle for family recognition is going our way. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a gay father, holding that he must be given an opportunity to challenge a custody restriction that prohibits him from living with his partner. The Virginia Supreme Court held that the Department of Vital Records must comply with a state law requiring that new birth certificates be issued to all adopted children—after the department had refused to issue birth certificates listing two same-sex parents. A divided

Editor, I’m confused. If Burt Angel believes that “statistics can prove nearly anything” (“Stats Can Prove Anything You Wish,” Letters, Salt Lake Metro, Sept. 15), I wonder whether he considered my statistics about the self-defense use of firearms as valid as his rebuttal statistics, or that both sets were equally flawed. I’ll presume he meant the former.

Angel’s statement that “[W]omen were [in 1998] 101 times more likely to be murdered with a handgun” than to use firearms in self defense was first published by the Washington-based gun-control lobby Violence Policy Center when its staff analyzed some evidence published in the 1998 FBI Supplementary Homicide Report.

Their analysis included the violent attacks of 1,221 women victims, 1,209 of whom didn’t use firearms and were killed by their attackers. The other 12 possessed and used firearms when they were attacked, and survived. Simple, but not a valid comparison; at least not for the reasons he appears to believe.

Angel’s statement fails to include the contextual part of the VPC analysis that was first published by the Washington-based gun-control lobby Police Foundation and shows that 6.6 percent of women (80 of the 1,221 victims) owned firearms in 1996. This context is paramount in understanding the validity of the extraordinary suggestion that self-defense use of firearms is “101 times” more deadly than no such use.

Since the analysis sought to determine the efficacy of such use, it’s false to include the 1,209 of the 1,221 attacks where the victims didn’t use firearms when they were attacked. So let’s examine the remaining 12 attacks where the victims did possess and use firearms when they were attacked: • All 12 victims possessed and used firearms for self-defense when they were attacked.

• All 12 victims survived their attacks.

• All 12 victims’ attackers were killed.

As cited earlier, 80 of the victims probably owned firearms. The exact number of these victims with concealed-firearm permits is difficult to know, but if the 2.5 percent of Utahns with CFPs is an accurate average (it’s probably higher), we can estimate that two of these victims had CFPs. Probably fewer still actually possessed their firearms when they were attacked.

But wait—something else occurred. Angel and the VPC claim that “only” 12 victims possessed and used firearms for self-defense when they were attacked, and subsequently survived their attacks, when only two would be expected. The idea that people who are attacked violently are more likely to survive with firearms than without them seems to be confirmed and validated by the very people who spill a glass and call it half-full.

Furthermore, Angel states correctly that 2.4 percent of Utah rapists possess firearms at the time of their attacks. This also confirms and validates the idea that potential rape victims who possess and use firearms when their attackers don’t are at an advantage not only to survive, but to prevent the attack from continuing past the point where the rapist knows he or she is outgunned.

Angel’s fear that victims might possess “a gun that can be turned against them” is silly. I wonder if Angel would agree to a test of this myth: I’ll aim my firearm at him and he can try to take it away from me.

And finally, Angel states that 86.2 percent of rape victims are legally too young to own or possess firearms, making their self-defense use something he “fails to see [regarding] Utah’s rape problem.” I have an inkling that some of the other 13.2 percent disagree with him.

AberRant Mental Porn Erects Only Barriers

by Laurie Mecham laurie@slmetro.com

Editor’s Note: Laurie was in her U-Haul with her wife this week. Does that sound like a lesbian? Enjoy a reprint of an earlier article.

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Do you remember when you were about 11 or 12 years old and you first learned about sex? I was eleven; I was at a slumber party.

After the repugnant revelation sunk in, one of the girls broke the stunned silence by cheerfully asking all the other girls how many children they wanted. I mustered enough calm to mask my revulsion and sagely replied, in my best world-weary 40 year-old semi-British voice, “I’m planning to adopt.”

I know something like this happened to you. Maybe you were lucky enough to inherit a dirty magazine and didn’t have to hear it from some self-satisfied, obnoxious cousin from California, but at a certain point, you experienced the shock of that first carnal knowledge.

Then, as if learning about how Tab A goes into Slot B wasn’t disturbing enough, you realized with horror that your parents must have done it. And without any conscious intent, a picture—one that you never asked for, never wanted to see— formed in your mind.

“Aaaaauugghhh!” you’d scream, grinding your fists into your temples. “It burns!”

Thank God that maturity brings deeper understanding—or at least that familiarity breeds indifference—because most of us manage to move on with our lives, to somehow get past that moment of unwanted discovery, to make the bad pictures go away.

Growing up allows us to put those vivid and disturbing images aside so that we can once again look at adults as simply the goofy, poorly dressed, un-hip people that they are—unless we don’t. There is a lot of hateful, fearful, right-wing, Bible-totin’ vitriol being slung around us faggots these days, and I think I’ve realized why: It’s those pictures.

A friend of mine (okay, he’s my therapist, but we’re on a mutual first-name basis) told me that people are very good porn directors. When the word “gay” first pops up on a person’s radar, the movie starts to take shape. Now, if you are gay, this can be a very fun and cool phenomenon. But when it hits you in the middle of a white-bread, Ozzie and Harriet (or Cliff and Clair Huxtable) heterosexual moment, it yanks you back through time, developmentally speaking.

Like the phenomenon that occurs when you go back for a visit with the parents and your Dad starts in on your career choice, the awareness of different sexual orientations seems to make people turn 10 years old again.

And that’s OK, for a minute. But when adults hang onto that 10 year-old developmental age along with the drama and the revulsion and the excitement and the dirty movies, they might feel ashamed. They might be ashamed of the nasty shit they can think up.

When they meet you and your partner and realize that you’re gay, they don’t picture you at the breakfast table or at Fred Meyer or even walking your two adorable

pugs in fabulous his-and-his Diesel jeans.

They’ve got you in a poorly-lit room with shag carpets and fake wood paneling, and there might be close-ups.

No wonder they’re all shook up. I mean, what if we did it to them? Picture George Bush whispering to Laura, “Wanna play Find the Weapon of Mass Destruction?” Or how about a wheezing Dick Cheney putting his pacemaker through its paces, pumping away at Lynne?

We’d be pretty disturbed, too.

It would be so perfect if we could get the panties-in-a-knot Christian Right to do a little guided imagery: “I want you to think about your pastor, or your favorite teacher, or maybe your parents. Picture that person with their lawfully-wedded spouse. Everyone got that? Now get them naked and throw them on the bed. Picture his semi-erect penis go-

ing in and out of her semi-moist vagina, over and over, faster and faster …”

I think they’d be shocked all over again.

Would they get it? Would they want to grow up? Would they be willing to give up a fabulously rich fantasy life as a porn director?

It might take something really drastic to level the playing field. It might be something like The Little Constitutional Amendment that Couldn’t. But I want to see the tables turned, to somehow illuminate the source of this incredibly huge wave of American homophobia.

I want to tell George and Mitt and that turncoat Jim Matheson that if you’re going to direct porno films, at least be an equalopportunity employer. Have roles for some straight folks. Cast a few of your friends and family. And hey, we still have a few privacy laws on the books—I didn’t audition for your porn movie, so keep me out of it.

Laurie Mecham says, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful; hate me because I’m stupid.”

Lambda Lore This Week in Lambda History

B. Cline tells a Utah Youth Protector Committee that pornography contributed to a psychological aberration experienced by a 14 year-old Southern Utah boy.

crime against nature for raping a fellow hobo in the Rio Grande Depot train yards.

He is only sentenced to one year in prison because the prosecuting attorney argued that the state was broke, saying, “All the interest that the state has in this case, or could have, is just a technical theory of a violation of the law … in view of the fact that in the time of this depression, when the county and the city and all of us need money for the relief of our citizens … the expense required to keep this defendant there [prison] for from three to 20 years would be a whole lot more than what would benefit the state.”

1958—A 28 year-old Salt Lake City man is sentenced in police court to 90 days in jail on charges of being a disorderly person.

He was arrested by vice squad officers who alleged the defendant attempted indecent liberties on an officer at the Salt Lake Public Library at 15 S. State.

16 SEPTEMBER 1967—Salt Lake City’s vice officers lead a

26 SEPTEMBER 1942—Robert E. Little of Salt Lake City is sen-

morals drive along the 500 block of West 200 South with a massive roundup of prostitutes. Salt Lake City was ranked in the top third of cities its size for prostitution in a survey conducted by national social-health organizations.

tenced in Third District Court to serve three to 20 years in Utah state prison for sodomy.

by Ben Williams, ben@slmetro.com

After last issue’s trip down memory lane, I decided that perhaps a column on gay chronology better suits the purpose of this space rather than waxing nostalgic about love’s labor lost. Well, maybe until something prompts me to go down that lane again. Anyway, enjoy “This Week in Lambda History.”

15 SEPTEMBER 1967—University of Utah professor Victor

27 SEPTEMBER 1958—Salt Lake City Judge Arthur J. Mays,

sex with a 13 year-old youth, is found guilty in Salt Lake County Third District Court.

He is sentenced to Utah State Prison for 10 years. Billings claimed the youth made up the story after he had whipped him for breaking a bed.

in dealing with cases involving homosexuals, states: “If a man who has been convicted of a crime involving homosexuality wants treatment, the court will consent and periodically check on the defendant’s progress. And if the man cooperates with psychiatrists, and medical reports indicate we can expect no further trouble from the man, the court is inclined to suspend the jail sentences if it is a first offense.”

21 SEPTEMBER 1955—“Three Boise Men Admit Sex Charg-

29 SEPTEMBER 1954—A 33 year-old Bountiful, man pleads

19 SEPTEMBER 1900—Frank Billings, charged with having

es” was the headline of the Idaho Daily Statesman. This begins the public disclosure of sexual relationships in Boise between men and boys and male prostitution.

guilty to disorderly conduct (homosexuality) charges and is fined $73 and sentenced to 60 days in jail. The judge suspended jail on payment of fine and good behavior.

22 SEPTEMBER 1969—Brigham Young University’s admin-

30 SEPTEMBER 1958—The Salt Lake Tribune’s editor op-

istration privately agree to curtail electric shock aversion therapy for homosexualoriented BYU students. The program, however, continues for decades.

poses prison sentences for men arrested for homosexual activities and urges local courts to give suspended sentences and professional counseling to all those convicted of homosexual conduct.

24 SEPTEMBER 1932—Transient Charles Brown is tried in Utah Third District Court for the infamous

Ben Williams is the founder and president of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society.

Ruby Ridge Living Ripple For Everyone!

So darlings, four hours ago I was stressed out of my gourd. I was scheduled to go to the Equality Utah “Ripples of Hope” shindig at the Salt Palace and the invitation said “Dress: Sharp.”

What the hell does “Dress Sharp” mean?

The first thing that came to my stylistically-challenged mind was my pointy Madonna bustier with the velvet cones and tassels, but then I thought, “Hmmm …. that can’t be right.” These folks are trying to go mainstream so my REALLY little black dress just wasn’t going to cut it in a room full of overcompensating straight Democrats and check-writing power fags. Oh I kid, I kid— God bless their well-meaning quixotic little liberal hearts! So anyway, kittens, I’ll tell you what “Dress Sharp” meant for this fashion-backward Glamazon. It meant that I wore underwear and trimmed my nose hair and that’s about as much thought and effort as I put into it.

But I must say the annual Equality Utah Allies Dinner was delightful. With over 750 people, the evening was a resounding and highly motivating success. It was especially poignant considering Mayor Anderson had just signed an executive order bestowing health insurance benefits for the domestic partners of gay and lesbian city employees about five hours earlier that day. Between you and me, petals, Rocky Anderson just cracks me up. Half the time I can’t tell if he is divinely inspired or just off his medication. It’s like he’s the Courtney Love of local politics: one part incredibly talented and one part a complete train wreck. You know what I mean?

I am always fascinated by who attends these big political fundraisers and who doesn’t, especially for the big mega-advocacy groups like HRC that sweep into town. Many of the local grassroots folks and community volunteers that are working on gay issues everyday are nowhere to be seen, meanwhile the room is full of well-heeled, professional types that can afford to shell out $100 a plate for dinner (not that the overdressed, anorexic little bastards ever eat anything … oops, that was supposed to be my inner voice—my bad!). Now pumpkins, in my earlier days, the very inequality and snobbishness of such fundraising events would simply gall me, but now it really doesn’t and here’s why: The big semi-corporate national organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and so on, can

do things at a federal policy level that local grassroots programs simply can’t. Developing relationships with national legislators, impacting federal law, educating the national public and garnering votes takes infrastructure, strategy, and leadership.

Remember Civics 101, and the tension between federalism vs. states rights? That’s right, cherubs—brace yourselves … I’m going to get historical on your ass!

The architects of our democracy understood the need for a strong centralized government that could address international concerns and defense, etc., while relying on a diffused local government to address the daily issues of its citizens.

They were not mutually exclusive! And so it is with the gay community and our push toward equal rights. Let HRC and the big boys and gals in New York and Washington do their national thing because they are really good at it. Support their fundraisers where you can, but take the time to support our local advocacy groups like Equality Utah and the GLBT Community Center as well—both financially and with your time. They make positive changes in our local community everyday! Ciao, peaches!

Between you and me, petals, Rocky Anderson just cracks me up.

Half the time I can’t tell if he is divinely inspired or just off his medication.

Editors Note: Despite what Ruby would have you believe, he looked stunning in a blue pinstripe suit, blue and purple striped shirt, and silk tie. For those of us who know him in character, it was quite a disturbing transformation.

Ruby Ridge is a well-known camp drag performer who has raised mucho dinero for local charities. Half the time we can’t tell if she is divinely inspired or just off her medication.

Your Old Shoes are Needed SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 15

The Campaign 2 End AIDS needs 8500 old shoes for “Pair Up 2 End AIDS.” The shoes will be displayed in SLC Library Square to honor the 8500 people a day who die of AIDS globally, and to ask our Utah legislators to fund HIV treatment.

The shoes will be on display in Salt Lake Library Square Saturday, Oct. 22 from noon to 7pm. There will also be a rally from 6:30– 7pm to welcome the San Francisco/Oakland and Portland C2EA caravans that will be stopping in Salt Lake on their way to Washington, DC, to lobby our national leaders.

If you can afford it, we are also asking you donate one dollar for each pair of old shoes to help fund Utahns joining the caravan to Washington, DC. Please drop your old shoes and your dollars off at the GLBTCCU, 355 N. 300 West or the Salt Lake Metro offices at 352 S. Denver Street (440 East). All shoes will be donated to various charities after the event.

Rafe Judkins, right, with boyfriend Stephen Busken

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

by Sharon Hadrian, AfterElton.com

he premise is simple: outwit, outplay and outlast, but America’s most famous reality show delivers much more than a simple strategy and adventure game. Entering its 11th season this fall, Survivor is well known for placing strange casts of conflicting characters into remote settings, then providing twists and turns worthy of a Laurie R. King novel.

But this season, set in the Guatemalan rainforest, may provide the most intriguing juxtaposition yet: a gay Mormon cast member.

Rafe Judkins, a native of Salt Lake City, grew up in a large, eclectic Mormon family. He spent his early years traveling around the United States in a seventeen-passenger van, and it was this experience that he credits with getting him interested in travel and nature. His family eventually settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended an esteemed prep school, and upon graduation was selected as the senior class member “Most Likely To Be On Survivor.” Four years later, that prediction has come true.

Judkins is being promoted by CBS as “the gay Mormon Ivy Leaguer,” but the network seems content to

leave the burning questions surrounding this label a secret—for now. However, his family is (at least superficially) very supportive of him, as evidenced by their jubilations on their family homepage, LandonJudkins.net.

Judkins is the fifth out gay male to appear on Survivor in the show’s history. Richard Hatch won the premier season in Pulau Tiga by making alliances—a concept that is now universal to nearly every contestant in every Survivor season—and flaunting himself as a “fat, naked gay man.” Subsequent seasons saw Brandon Quinton and John Carroll saddled with every gay stereotype in the book, and the latter was considered one of the most deceiving contestants on the show.

Carroll later defended his actions, saying, “When you are gay, you learn to have façades. So, I think manipulation is inherently a defense mechanism for many gay people.” However, neither contestant was particularly memorable once their season ended.

Last season saw a small break in the mold for gay contestants, as Coby Archa, a conniving Texan hairdresser, surprised those around him with his physical presence in the challenges. However, he ultimately couldn’t handle the social, schoolyard-like aspects of the game, and he was eliminated halfway through the season.

Combining successful aspects from previous Survivor winners, Judkins is portraying himself as having both powerful physical skills as well as great interpersonal skills, not to mention—you guessed it—that famed Ivy League education.

In an interview with CBS.com, Judkins, who graduated from prestigious Brown University earlier this year, confidently said, “They won’t expect that I will probably be the smartest person out there.” But in spite of his cockiness, that statement might turn out to be wrong, as he will be marooned on the island with tribe mate Brian Corridan, a graduate of the equally well-known Columbia University. (Corridan is also rumored to be gay, though CBS has not confirmed that.)

Both competitors have studied the game and believe their knowledge, along with their Ivy League book smarts, will help them become the sole Survivor. Unfortunately, history is not on their side: some of the best students of the game (including Survivor: Amazon’s Rob Cesternino) have never won.

One thing Judkins will have on his side is extensive travel and outdoor experience. While at Brown, he became a wilderness guide in a program called BOLT, designed to place students in “intense wilderness

situations.” Judkins has also traveled around the world, visiting all 50 states and 14 countries, including a 7-month school backpacking trip in Australia.

He is also an accomplished swimmer, which should help him during Survivor’s many water-themed challenges.

Physicality and brains are two characteristics that can both help and hinder a Survivor contestant. Depending on the other 15 contestants with whom he is competing, Judkins’ skills may be seen as helpful or as a threat. Survivor: Palau’s Tom Westman, who was arguably the hardest worker in camp, won last season; however, six months earlier in Survivor: Vanuatu, all of the strong, younger males were voted out first because they were perceived to be a threat to some of the weaker, older players.

In Survivor, who you know and how you interact is often more important than what you can do.

To further this social challenge, Judkins will likely find himself stuck on the island with a disparate tribemate.

People underestimate me.

They’re going to look at me and see that I’m friendly and that I’m this gay guy ... what damage can he do to anyone?

Survivor: Guatemala is shown locally on KUTV, Channel 2 at 7pm Thursdays.

IN HIS WORDS: Rafe talks about himself and his chances on his introductory video: I’m a gay Mormon Ivy League grad wilderness guide. Mormons are so focused on family and caring about other people, and there are so many things about the Mormon religion that I want to bring to my life. If I have a husband and kids, I want us to have family evening on Monday nights and all get together and play board games and do whatever. I think that the Mormon Church has so much good that you can take from it.

I can interact really well with people and be emotional and understanding and not have this macho thing that I can stand up for, not that all straight guys do, but, you know. A lot do have that kind of chip on their shoulder. I don’t have anything to prove out there.

I can also compete well in the challenges. I can do a lot of work around camp. You can take the best of both worlds and use it well in the game.

I won’t humiliate someone else in front of their family and the nation.

I won’t ... I’m only going to do anything bad if I absolutely have to...to stay alive in the game. I’m not going to go out there to be the bad [guy] and to do cruel things to people just because I can. I’m going to try to play as clean as I can.

I think what bothers me most are the people who aren’t open to listening to me caring about others who have their opinion and they’re going in there and not changing it no matter what you say or do to prove them wrong. I think those kind of people can be really, really frustrating to deal with. I really hope there aren’t any. I’m sure there will be.

People underestimate me. They’re going to look at me and see that I’m friendly and that I’m this gay guy ... what damage can he do to anyone?

They won’t expect that I will probably be the smartest person out there, that I have a ton of outdoors experience, that I really know how to play this game.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 17

In the past, each gay male contestant was placed in the game alongside a stereotypical redneck or seemingly bigoted person, a casting ploy designed to make both personalities seem more over-the-top to viewers. Hatch’s foil in Pulau Tiga was Rudy Bosch (whom he surprisingly befriended, despite their differing opinions on homosexuality) and in Palau, Archa went up against James Miller, a southerner whose most memorable line last season was his comment that “It feels terrible to have my butt whipped by a homosexual.”

(Pause for chuckles.) The early favorite for the Redneck Award this season is Brandon Bellinger, a 22-year-old farmer from Kansas resident whose hobbies include fishing and mudding.

Although being gay is rarely described as an asset in society, Judkins believes that he can use his sexuality to his advantage, even amongst his diverse Survivor tribe mates. “I can interact really well with people and be emotional and understanding and not have this macho thing, not that all

straight guys do, but you know. People underestimate me. They’re going to look at me and see that I’m friendly and that I’m this gay guy. What damage can he do to anyone?”

Judkins believes he can play a subtle game, using his wilderness skills to succeed while not being perceived by other contestants as the eventual winner. But if he can make timely interpersonal connections, Judkins may very well prove that his social skills (and not his wilderness background) will make him the sole Survivor on Survivor: Guatemala.

SACHA SACKET See Sat. Oct. 1

THE GAY AGENDA

by Eric Tierney, eric@slmetro.com

29THURSDAY Not all comedy troupes are the stuff of family-hour television. The Mixed Comedy Company, for example, is downright risqué—they perform all over the city in bars. Which is a pretty solid strategy for an improv company, because the risk of bombing is exponentially smaller when performing in front of an audience tanked up on Stoli.

7:30pm, The Tavernacle, a private club for members, 201 E 300 South. 519-8900.

30FRIDAY It doesn’t take much of an excuse for the Agenda to don its feathered hats and lederhosen, but we tend to blend into the crowd a bit better when we do it at Oktoberfest. Come and enjoy the foliage at Snowbird’s annual celebration of beer and a culture so incredibly rich that it managed to give us both the cuckoo clock and megalomaniacal fascism. And strudel.

12pm-6pm,Snowbird Resort, Highway 210, Little Cottonwood Canyon. Admission is free, information at 742-2222.

1SATURDAY Out singer/songwriter Sacha Sacket returns once again to Salt Lake tonight in a free show at Nostalgia, the best kept secret in Salt Lake coffeehouses.

7pm, Nostalgia Café, 248 E 100 South. Free.

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

If you missed Thursday’s comedy troupe, give JoKyR and Jesster a try over

at SugarBeats in Sugarhouse. Two of Utah’s most prolific improvisers perform high stake, character driven improv with, according to their website, “a combined experience of over 22 years and a combined weight of over 315 lbs.” The duo has toured from coast to coast in the U.S. and Canada.

7:30pm, SugarBeats, 2106 S. Highland Dr. $5

2SUNDAY Sebastio Salgado spent six years traveling to forty countries to compile the three hundred photographs that make up his exhibit Exodus. The pictures tell the stories of thousands of men and women living in city slums and refugee camps all over the world. The exhibit has been seen by three million people as well as in Rolling Stone and The New Yorker.

The Leonardo, the art and science center located at Library Square has brought the show to Salt Lake.

1pm-5pm today, 10am-6pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 10am to 9pm Wednesdays and Fridays, 1pm-5pm Sundays through December 17, the Leonardo at Library Square, 209 E 500 South. Tickets $7-$10 at the door. theleonardo.org.

4TUESDAY In an age when eight year old children are on antidepressants and our culture has become constitutionally incapable of feeling genuine emotion, it’s nice to see that Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails remains resolutely gloomy and infuriated.

If you ask me, what he needs is either a nice soy chai and a pedicure or the love of a good woman, but he seems to be en-

joying the music thing. As an aside, Tori Amos once made fried chicken for Trent in the kitchen of the Sharon Tate murder house. Pleasant dreams!

7:30pm, E Center, 3200 S. Decker Lake Drive. Tickets $32 and $42 at 467-TIXX or smithstix.com.

5WEDNESDAY My Chemical Romance—boys with floppy hair, tight t-shirts and agony.

Boys whom Trent Reznor could eat as an appetizer. Boys who make pretty decent emo music. That just about covers it.

7:30pm, McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. Tickets $14 and $17 at 467-TIXX or smithstix.com.

7FRIDAY Wonder of the World, Pygmalion Production’s season opener, is a firecracker of a play about a woman who experiences an epiphany and travels to Niagara Falls to find herself, encountering a Laugh-In sketch’s worth of zany characters along the way. Good for her—sometimes I feel like going out to find myself, but it’s usually just about when The Simpsons is about to come on.

And a boy’s gotta have priorities.

8pm tonight, then 8pm Thursdays through Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm through Oct. 29, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W Broadway. Tickets $18 at 355-2787 or arttix.org.

Remember when the Fishers had a birthday party for David right after his horrible attack? The same day Claire and her friends took drugs and fingerpainted on the walls? The really beautiful song they all sing along to is by Death Cab for Cutie, who were also featured in an episode of the O.C. where Cohen…. but I digress. Suffice it to say that Six Feet Under and The O.C. have pretty rigorous musical standards, which is a ringing endorsement of the band. Where Clair Fisher and Seth Cohen go, the Agenda will always follow.

6pm, In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West. Tickets $18 at 467-TIXX or smithstix.com.

8SATURDAY The plaza of the beautiful Ogden Union Station on Wall Ave. is the setting for the second annual Ogden Arts Festival. Two stages with live music, artist booths and a beer and wine garden will line Washington Blvd. A Plein Air Paint Out begins at 9am and finishes at 3pm, and winners will split over $1000 in prizes. A silent auction goes from 3:30 to 5pm. If it rains, the event moves into the station.

10am to dusk, 100 block of Washington Blvd. Free. www.OgdenArtsFestival.com

The Drepung Loseling Monks will bring their Mystical Arts of Tibet to Park City tonight, conveying a message of peace to the world through ancient and sacred music and dance. The performance features elaborate Tibetan costumes and instruments. Sure beats going to whatever clap trap opened at the megaplex, eh?

7:30pm, Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Boulevard, Park City. Tickets $15-$50 at 355-2787 or arttix.org.

10MONDAY Those crazy rascals at Desert Star Playhouse have done it again, this time sending up one of television’s character-less procedural dramas with the hilarious CSI: Provo. The show gently pokes fun at two inordinately deserving topics: bad television and Utah. What more need we say other than that the cast features Aaron Swenson, Plan B Theatre Company’s Hedwig and a Metro Arts Award winner.

Here’s your chance to see what he looks like in pants!

7pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 7pm and 9:30pm Fridays, 12pm, 3pm, 7pm and 9:30pm Saturdays through November 5, Desert Star Playhouse, Desert Star Playhouse, 4861 S. State Street. Tickets $10$29.99 with dinner option at 266-2600.

11TUESDAY Can you remember your life before you came out? Isn’t it so much better now?

If you’re reading this and haven’t made the grand leap with a flourish, here’s the

day especially made for you. Today is National Coming Out Day across the nation. To celebrate, The Center is hosting Talk About It!—a ‘friendraising’ and fundraising breakfast. Kate Kendall of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (who penned this issue’s guest editorial) will be the special guest. Breakfast is free, but a donation would be appreciated and an RSVP is required.

7:30am, Sheraton City Centre Hotel, 150 W. 500 South. Free. Call 539-8800 ext. 20 or email thecenter@glbtccu.org to RSVP.

12WEDNESDAY The game show just too gay for prime time continues its tour of the gay watering holes of the city. The Royal Court’s How Gay is That?! makes its way to Todd’s Bar and Grill. Hosted by Lucky Charms and Patrick, contestants will have to decide such things as what’s

“A

more gay: Bert and Ernie, Spongebob Squarepants or Tinkie Winkie?

9:30pm, Todd’s Bar and Grill, a private club for members, 1051 S. 300 West. $5 donation benefits the Royal Court’s ADIS Fund

UPCOMING

Emmy® Award Winning • Tony® Award Nominated

SUNDAY, OCT. 16, Salt Lake Men’s Choir performs Frost in Autumn, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. saltlakemenschoir.org OCTOBER 19–23, National Gay Men’s Health Summit, Salt Lake City Center Hilton. ngmhs2005.org OCTOBER 22, Pair Up to End AIDS, Salt Lake Library Square from noon to 7pm, Rally at 6:30pm NOVEMBER 17–27, Plan B Theatre Company brings back Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. planbtheatrecompany.org

SCREWY LITTLE JEWEL OF A PLAY

On Sale Now!

SEPTEMBER 27-OCTOBER 2 • CAPITOL THEATRE

”

OCTOBER 12 KINGSBURY HALL Tickets at 581-7100 or www.KingsburyHall.org

Q: How in the world did you come up with the idea of a gay shark for “Swimming in the Shallows?”

Adam Bock is a wild and wonderful new voice in American theatre and in his improbable and freshly comic world anything is possible.

Adam Bock: After writing a skit about two drag queens being attacked by a shark, I thought, “what if somone fell in love with a shark?”

SEPT20OCT16 Age 30 and Under Tickets $18 For Tickets call 363-SLAC or 355-ARTS

SLAC

The Salt Lake Acting Company 1 6 8 We s t 5 0 0 N o r t h w w w. s a l t l a k e a c t i n g c o m p a n y. o r g

OCTOBER 25-30 • CAPITOL THEATRE www.LittleWomenOnBroadway.com

“A GUARANTEED, DANCING-INTHE-AISLES, GET-HAPPY HIT!” UPN-9

November 15-27 • Capitol Theatre www.mamma-mia.com

CALL 355-ARTS OR ONLINE AT WWW.ARTTIX.ORG. GROUPS OF 20+ CALL 355-2200

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 19

An offbeat romantic comedy about 4 friends (and a shark) addicted to love, smoking, and unnecessary stuff.

© Littlestar

k c o B

By Adam

Original Broadway Cast: Photos: Joan Marcus and Paul Kolnik

AN ASTONISHING NEW AMERICAN MUSICAL

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

SLAC’s ‘Swimming’ Funniest Play in Years If a Buddhist monk in Thailand can own only eight things, does a pair of shoes count as one or two? And if clothing counts toward the total, why would they require a bag to carry anything in?

Inane questions perhaps, but they are of life and death importance to Barb, a middle- aged woman suffering through an existential crisis in Salt Lake Acting Company’s latest offering, Swimming in the Shallows. Barb, played with expert precision and enormous heart by Joyce Cohen, is not the only one confronting pivotal issues: Carla and Donna, in the midst of planning their commitment ceremony, must cope with trust issues revolving around Donna’s inability to quit smoking, which the overwrought Carla fears to be evidence of Donna’s self-hatred, moral failing, or general deceitfulness. Nick, played with jovial, open-faced sincerity by audience favorite Robert Scott Smith, must deal with the far more confounding question of how to court the mako shark who lives at the local aquarium, and to whom he finds himself incredibly attracted.

The beauty of Adam Bock’s tightly constructed and immensely funny play is that Nick’s friends aren’t concerned as much with the fact that he’s smitten with a shark as they are whether or not the shark is attractive and if, given Nick’s long string of over-before-they-started love affairs, he can make a real relationship last. In this offkilter world we’re invited inside character’s dreams, treated to lyrical soliloquies about the imagined beauty of the city dump, and can listen in on the thoughts of the captive shark in his watery prison (“Swim. Swim.

Swim. Glass. Watch out for the glass.”)

Bock’s script is hilarious (when asked how he likes living in the aquarium, the shark drolly replies, “It’s ok. It’s a job.”), and his multi-faceted storytelling is inspired, but what makes the play remarkable is its brevity and total lack of earnestness. While he deals with hot-button social issues like consumerism and gay marriage, the playwright resists moralizing or manipulating his characters into making his Very Important Point. He’d rather make us laugh, and the matter-of-fact simplicity with which

his people negotiate these tough questions makes for not only refreshingly concise writing, but creates uniquely identifiable, human characters as well.

David Mong directs with admirable style and skill. The evening clips along at a determined pace, and he allows quieter scenes enough space to breathe without destroying the sense of near-manic tension that drives the piece. His careful choices in staging and fine touches like costuming help to flesh out what could have been, in the hands of a lesser director, callow, two dimensional characters.

His job is made much easier by the fact that he’s directing one of the best casts assembled in recent memory. In addition to the fine work of Cohen and Smith, Jeannette Puhich, who starred in last season’s SLAC production of Bad Dates, and SLAC veteran Brenda Sue Cowley shine as the neurotic lesbian couple who are, while doubtlessly in love, utterly bewildered by one another. Both actresses are well known to Salt Lake theatergoers for their comic skill, and both are at their best here.

The cast is rounded out by the charming Don Glover as Barb’s husband, Bob, and Chris Glade as the shark. Glade comes as close as anyone to stealing the show. From the hilarious slinky walk he uses to “swim” in his tank to the razor-sharp, East Coast accented delivery of his lines, his well-crafted performance is a delight throughout.

SLAC, it seems, has become something of a champion of Adam Bock’s work. On October 10, the company will give a free reading of his new play The Thugs, which the author himself will attend. In addition, he has been commissioned to write a piece for the company’s Water Project show, which will bow in April.

Bock is deserving of the attention. Swimming in the Shallows is easily the funniest play staged in Salt Lake in several seasons, and SLAC, true to form, has given it a first rate production.

Continues Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm through Oct. 16.

Tickets are $18 to $31.50, $13 for students, at 363-SLAC or saltlakeactingcompany.org.

Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill

by Vanessa Chang, vanessa@slmetro.com

191 S. Rio Grande Street, SLC, (801) 456-0450 Monday-Thursday 11am to 10pm Friday-Saturday 11am to 11pm, Sunday Noon-9pm

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 21

By the time my dining buddy and I worked through the three mini cast iron skillets on the table, we didn’t know what else to expect.

Seated in an oversized booth at Z’Tejas, we weren’t wild about the bland cornbread, the salty chile con queso, or the mysterious placing of shrimp and pork dumplings with ginger chile dipping sauce on this Southwestern menu. The table next to us seemed to have no problem eating the food. In fact, I’ve never seen gay men eat so much. In between conversations about work and what they were going to do this weekend at The Trapp Door, they each snarfed down their own appetizer, abundant entrées, and even ordered dessert, washing it all down with frozen margaritas. So what gives?

I’m not going to pull the “corporate eateries suck card” because, quite frankly, some can be quite good. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I love the Cheesecake Factory for utterly gluttonous reasons. I’m a firm believer that good food can be found anywhere. Some of the best eateries in the country inhabit strip mall territory, where you can shop for discount electronics and pawn off your ex’s jewelry. They’re in the suburban retail netherworlds. And serving fine food, thank you very much. So I’m perplexed when mega malls with a lot of glitz are low on solid dining options.

One surprisingly good thing about Z’Tejas was the service. On my visits there, the hosts never pulled any attitude, the servers were incredibly quick, and my parties and I never felt neglected. In such a cavernous space, roughly equivalent to that of a small country, it would be easy to fall into the bad service trap. Thankfully, it didn’t.

The space itself is admittedly part of a bigger company’s picture. There’s plenty of paraphernalia from Arizona, New Mexico, etc. There’s a “polished roadhouse” sort of feel to it all. But it isn’t by any means as contrived or intrusive as some other unfortunate eateries I’ve visited.

I wish I could be so positive about the food.

It’s a plentiful menu, sure to placate anyone

in your dining group. But as I said before, it lacked a zest, the spark I associate with the foods of the region. In short, the enchiladas were bland. As were the visually-promising black beans and rice that come with the entrée, with most of the flavor coming from the cheese. Meat entrées have been hit or miss.

Pork was too dry, fish under seasoned, etc.

The one exception was the house burger; with jalapeno mayo, tortilla strips, black beans, and a juicy patty, the concept seems almost grotesque. But the crunchy, beefy, beany goodness really worked.

You’re best bet is to have fun with a table full of appetizers and rounds and rounds of drinks. Grilled shrimp and guacamole tostada bites with a Z’Top Shelf margarita on the rocks is a much better option than inconsistent entrées. Ditto for the pork and black bean nachos and the catfish beignets.

Check out the margaritas—aside from the Top Shelf, there are plenty of options to choose from. There are also classics and fruity drinks for my fruity men. The Tuaca Rita was a favorite; I have a soft spot for this Italian liqueur. Combined with tequila and lime juice on the rocks, it’s one reason I like the idea of “fusion drinks.”

When the checks came ’round, the table next to us left a ghost town of smeared plates and margarita glasses. So had my friend and I missed something about the place? Were we crazy not to enjoy it? Who knows. The only thing we could do was leave a generous tip for the quality service and politely ask for to-go boxes to be stashed in the fridge and forgotten.

Red,White Bubbly Wine Anatomy 101

by Beau Jarvis beau@slmetro.com

BANGKOK THAI 1400 FOOTHILL DRIVE •SLC 582-8424

Utah’s Best Seafood -Citysearch 2005

Purchase one Entree from our Extensive Seafood Menu and Get One FREE Pad Thai (Our most popular dish) Not Valid with any other offer Limit One offer per party - Dine in only Prices Rolled Back 10-20% on Our Vegetarian Menu Meatless Mondays™ Lunch $5.99 Dinner $7.99 For All Vegetarian Entrees

It’s that time of year: leaves are a-changing and new textbooks are a-cracking. You see, I never thought I would admit this, but I miss school. I long to purchase several hundred dollars’ worth of textbooks in September, spread them out on a table, and peruse their pages. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a geek. But wait—I get geekier.

My favorite classes in college were entomology and herpetology. I liked learning about bugs and frogs—where they lived, how they behaved, what they ate. I really enjoyed studying insect anatomy. Let’s see … you’ve got the head, thorax, and abdomen ….

Seeing as how I’m supposed to be writing a wine column, I’ll move along to wine anatomy. For today’s lesson, we’ll be dissecting (and wine is much more fun to dissect than some poor critter) two wines: Salmon Run Chardonnay, 2003 ($12) from upstate New York and Peter Lehman Barossa Chardonnay, 2003 ($11) from South Australia.

Your assignment is to identify the three anatomical components in a glass of wine: fruit character, acidity, and body.

FRUIT CHARACTER The fruit scents in a glass of wine often depend on the climate from which a wine originates. Just as fruit from cooler climates is tart and tangy, fruit from warmer areas is sweet and luscious. The same can be said for many wines. For example, sniff the glass of cooler-climate New York Chardonnay.

It is redolent of apple and Bartlett pear. By contrast, the warmer climate Australian Chardonnay offers up scents of ripe peach and citrus. Now take a sip of each wine.

Our NY Chardonnay possesses tart, delicate, crisp fruit flavors. The Aussie Chardonnay tastes more lush and intense. Same grape, different fruit character.

ACIDITY Wine acidity is simple to understand and identify. Wine grapes, just like any other fruit, contain a certain amount of acid (the zing in your glass of OJ) and a certain amount of sugar (that sticky stuff on your

chin after eating a gooey mango slice). As grapes ripen, acid is converted to sugar. So, all things being equal, less-ripe grapes yield more acidic, crisp wine. Riper grapes yield less acidic, lush wine. Take a sip of the New York wine. Does your mouth water? Now have a sip of the Aussie. Do you experience more or less mouth-watering action? Both glasses possess acidity. However, the Salmon Run Chardonnay has more; it causes your mouth to pucker up just a bit more. Peter Lehman Chardonnay is much less puckerinducing. In fact, it might even seem slightly sweet next to the New York Chardonnay. As a general rule, wines with more acidity are food-friendlier, or more food-flexible. What would you rather have with a plate of Coq au vin—a glass of crisp sparkling wine or a sugar-laden late harvest Riesling?

BODY A wine’s body is a function of three things: alcohol content, residual sugar and tannins (more common in red wine). Simply put, body is a wine’s weight in your mouth. You can even see body. Take a look at the color of both glasses of Chardonnay. Salmon Run is light gold in color, while the Lehman Chardonnay is deeper yellow-gold. Which one is the biggest-bodied? Now, swirl both glasses. Observe how the wine clings to the sides and moves back down toward the bottom. Our full-bodied Aussie Chardonnay is slightly slower and appears to be more viscous. This wine has more alcohol (13.5% vs. 12% for Salmon Run), and likely a higher amount of residual sugar. Both sugar and alcohol give a wine its legs—or tears that cling to the sides of a glass. One body type isn’t necessarily best. It’s all about your preference and/or mood.

So tonight what will it be? You can use a wine’s origin and its alcohol content to hypothesize at the anatomy specifics. Are you in the mood for wine with exotic fruit character, lusciousness, and a full-body?

Then look toward warm, sunny California, eastern Washington, or Australia. Perhaps you would prefer to sip a delicate, subtly flavored wisp of a wine? Check into cooler climate wine from Germany, New Zealand, or Oregon. In fact, try wine from many different regions and discover wine in all its anatomical forms. Do it for science.

Cheers.

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Di ing Guide Dining de Bangkok Thai

Fiddler’s Elbow

Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza

1400 Foothill Dr. / 582-8424 HOURS: MO-TH 11:30-2, 5-9:30PM F 11:30AM-2PM, 5-10PM SA NOON-10PM, SU 5-9PM CUISINE: THAI PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

1063 E. 2100 S. / 463-9393

4538 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 273-8282

fiddlerselbowslc.com

nicknwillyspizza.com

M-TH 11AM-11PM F-SA 11AM-12AM SU 9AM-10PM CUISINE: AMERICAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-12PM CUISINE: PIZZA PRICE: $ CARDS: AE D MC V

Rated “Best Thai” 1992–2005 by local and national press.

Café Med 420 E. 3300 S. / 493-0100 HOURS: SU-TH 11AM-9PM F-SA 11AM-10PM CUISINE: MEDITERRANEAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

Persian, Greek, Italian, Turkish and Vegetarian in a warm, relaxing atmosphere.

Coffee Garden 898 S 900 E / 355-3425 HOURS: SU-TH 6AM-11PM F-SA 6AM-12AM CUISINE: COFFEEHOUSE PRICE: ¢ CARDS: AE D MC V

SLC’s buzzing java shop with a diverse crowd.

HOURS:

Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta 1063 E. 2100 S. / 484-1804

saltlakepizzaandpasta.com HOURS:

HOURS:

CUISINE: PRICE:

M-SA 11AM-11PM SU 11AM-10PM ITALIAN $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

Voted as Utah’s Best Pizza two years in a row! Great beer selection. Sugarhouse.

32 beers, including Utah’s best selection of microbrews.

Dine in or take-out. Call Original ahead and we’ll have it ready. The 1751 S 1100 EAST / 483-2971 Albertsons Shopping Ctr. HOURS: M-SA 11AM–7PM

Michelangelo Ristorante

Orbit Cafe

2156 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 466-0961 TU-SA 11:30AM-1:30PM 5:45-9PM CUISINE: ITALIAN PRICE: $$ CARDS: AE D MC V

540 W. 200 S. / 322-3808 orbitslc.com HOURS: SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-3AM CUISINE: AMERICAN ECLECTIC PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

Begun by childhood friends Paulo Celeste and Marco Gabrielli of Tuscany.

Open late nights on Fridays and Saturdays with DJs and a special menu.

michelangeloristorante.com HOURS:

CUISINE: SANDWICHES PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D DC MC V

Now scoopin’ Spotted Dog Creamery Ice Cream.

TC–TRAVELERS CHECKS, AE– AMERICAN EXPRESS, D–DISCOVER, DC–DINER’S CLUB, MC–MASTERCARD, V–VISA ¢=0-$10, $=$11-$20, $$=$21-30, $$$=31-40.

Restaurant Owners: Get Your Ad in the Dining Guide. Call 323-9500.

Service Guide ATTORNEYS

RESOURCES

A COUPLE OF GUYS by Dave Brousseau

BI MEN of Utah groups. yahoo.com/group/BiGay-Men-Utah. Social and support group for bi/gay men of Utah.

GAY RM’S–SOCIAL group for return missionaries of the LDS Church. Regular parties and group activities more info at gayRMs.com UTAH MALE Naturists meets through the summer for naked lunches, clothing optional outings and overnight camping trips in a sex-free environment. groups.yahoo. com/group/ utahmalenaurists ROYAL COURT of the Golden Spike Empire. rcgse.org Membership meetings held twice monthly. Help support your community!

BITTER GIRL by Joan Hilty

GAY MENS HEALTH SUMMIT. Gay men’s health is more than just HIV. visit us at utahgaymenshealth.com CODE PINK. A women-initiated peace and social justice movement by positive social change via creative protest and non-violent direct action. www.codepinkalert.com SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE is a Feminist Issue: NOW’s mission is to promote equality for ALL women. NOW has fought for gay and lesbian rights, and we won’t stop until we achieve equality for all.

Join us utahnow.org AFFIRMATION: GAY and Lesbian Mormons. members.aol.com/wasatchweb/: Sunday meetings 534-8693 NEW IN TOWN or interested in meeting new friends? Come to sWerve Monthlies, 3rd Saturday of each month, GLBT Center.

Info 539-8800 ext. 25 or swerveutah.com (join email list!)

ADAM AND ANDY by James Asal

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 23

DO YOU Work at CONVERGYS? Would you like to meet with some of your GLBT co-workers? Join the GLBT Convergys Yahoo Group! Go to: http:// groups.yahoo.com/ group/cvg-glbt/ and sign up. If you have questions,you may EMPLOYMENT any email the group owner APPLE ONE Employat: cvg-glbt-owner@ ment is seeking qualyahoogroups.com ified people in many CAMP PINECLIFF skills. Apply and begin Weekend, Annual reyour qualification totreat for people with day. Employers, let us HIV/AIDS and their care fill your staffing needs. providers c/o Dick DotCall Steven Whittaker at son, Coordinator P. O. 801-463-4828.

Box 608, Magna, Utah 84044-0608 or call ESTATE (801) 518-8733 PLANNING JANE MARQUARDT & ARE YOU a single lesbiDOUG FADEL Attorneys an? Wondering how to at Law, providing com- meet other single lesprehensive estate plan- bians for friendship and social events? If so, you ning services, custom designed to your unique are invited to sign up family situation. Trusts, for the Lesbian Singles wills, partnership agree- Social Group at groups. yahoo.com/group/lesbiments, estate admin. an_singles/ 294-7777 UTAH GAY Rodeo AssoJEWELERS ciation ugra.net PO Box CUSTOM DESIGN Jew- 511255 SLC, UT 841511255 A social & Rodeo elry. Relaxed atmoSport Organization sphere. All types of stone settings. ComWANT A HOT summitment rings, wedmer body? Queer Utah ding rings, earrings, Aquatic Club (QUAC) inpendants. Repairs wel- vites swimmers and come. Charley Hafen water polo players of Jewelers. 1411 S. 900 ANY skill level, including E. 521-7711 beginners, to join the team. Visit QuacQuac.

MASSAGE org for more info.

UNBELIEVABLE MASTHE SALT Lake County SAGE Athletic Male Division of Youth ServicTherapists, 440-5851 es provides youth and Contact 641-4009 families in crisis with BEST THERAPISTS, immediate and safe inbest price, best place, tervention, including best hours, call 48624-hour 7-day a week 5500 Pride Massage crisis counseling. Most 1800 S. West Temple services are provided # A224 free of charge. Please call 269-7500.

DENNIS MASSAGE Dennis is Utah’s only GAY WINE group. qViphysique print model & num.com is a fabulous massage therapist...see group of wine lovers why he is so well liked who hold winetastings at www.dennismassage. at members’ homes, com, www.dennismotravel to wineries and deling.com. (801) 598hold special fund rais8344 LMT#98212332470 ers for the community. qVinum.com STIMULATE YOUR SENSES or feel deep ENGENDERED SPEpeace with a relaxing CIES 801.320.0551. A full body massage. Call social/support group reTherron at 879-3583 sources for transgender for $5 off mention this people. www.engenad. LMT #5608006 deredspecies.com MARLIN G. CRIDDLE, P.C. Serving Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender communities. Estate Planning, Probate, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Corporations/Business.

474-2299. marlincriddle.com

AMERICAN CIVIL Liberties Union. Fighting for individual freedoms since 1958. www. acluutah.org

Comics

Classifieds HELP WANTED APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified call center experienced in sales.

Can earn $12+/hr plus commission. Apply today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs.

Call Steven Whittaker at 463-4828 for an appt.

ROOMMATES WANTED

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ SEPTEMBER 29, 2005

ROOMMATE AD SPECIAL— Advertise in the “Roommates Wanted” secCOMMERCIAL tion for just $5 PROPERTIES per issue. See PERFECT ALTERNATIVE Office Building! Af- slmetro.com/ fordable Space Availclassifieds or able!(100 to 1200 sq. ft.) 801-466-5285, ask call 323-9500 for Belinda. 1800 S today.

West Temple Ste. 216

FOR RENT

MISC.

FREE RENT. Pay no rent, deposit or utilities in Phoenix, AZ if you watch the house when I’m away and help part time with some easy household tasks.

Chance to earn extra money working extra hours. Plus, if you are eager to learn, I’ll help you start a new life as a well-paid computer professional. Friendly, congenial, trustworthy, single male seeking similar person compatible with my LDS values; no smoking, drinking, drugs. Will help you relocate. Email azhomedog@yahoo. com or call 602-3481379.

ARE YOU HIV+?

Pride Counseling has restarted a Therapy/Support Group for men who are HIV infected and seeking support from others in similar situations. For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801595-0666

TIRED OF THE BAR LIFE? Pride Counseling is offering a Gay Men’s Therapy/ Support Group.

Gay men often find that their options to socialize limited to clubs and bars. Most insurance companies billed, sliding fee scale.

For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801-595-0666.

RESOURCE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS believe and aspire to 7 principles, the first of which is “the inherent worth and dignity of every person”.

This Autumn, our church is offering a class called The Welcoming Congregation which is designed specifically to reach out to GLBT people who often have been hurt by organized religion. We hope to provide a different experience. This workshop series is an introspective and interactive educational journey into the issues surrounding the lives of individuals of all sexual orientation in our congregation and among our friends. It

begins October 4th and continues for 8 consecutive Tuesday evenings at the First Unitarian Church, 569 S. 1300

E. Please contact Richard Teerlink to register and obtain more information.