QSaltLake Magazine - October 01 2006 by QSaltLake Magazine

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Utah’s Gay and Lesbian Newspaper Pctober 1–15, 2006

Gay Men’s Health Summit Invenio refocuses on the needs of Utah’s gay men

University of Utah Pride Celebration Fiona Apple to fabulous fags mark month-long event

CDC Calls for HIV Testing of all 13- to 64-year-olds

Utah doctors say they’ll comply

American Airlines Says ‘Stop the Kissing’

9-ÊÜ Ì ÊÊÊÊ 1 -

Don’t make us turn this plane around

Pro-Gay Candidates Seek Your Help Ben Williams Comes Out Gay Bar Guide Q Agenda

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Ruby’s Ode to Irwin

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PET & FRIEND STUDY!!

October 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15, 2006

In This Issue Gays with Guns

September 11 affected many different people many different ways. To longtime gay activist David Nelson, it got him rethinking his stance on gun control and self defense.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Health Psychology Study Investigating How Pet & Friend Social Support Affect Your Cardiovascular Responses to Stress We are seeking: â&#x20AC;˘ Dog owners who have had a dog & a same-sex close friend (not romantic partner please) for at least 2 years. Participation involves: â&#x20AC;˘ The study will be conducted in your home â&#x20AC;˘ Performing psychological challenges in the presence of either your dog, friend, or alone while cardiovascular measures are taken. Compensation: â&#x20AC;˘Participants will be compensated for their time $ For info & prescreening questions, please visit www.psych.utah.edu/petstudy Or e-mail rebecca.campo@psych.utah.edu

*AMES (ICKS

*This study is approved by the University of Utahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IRB & supported by NIH.

News & Opinion

World and National News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Local News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Editorial Cartoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Guest Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Arts

Q Agenda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Rox Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Lily Tomlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Ten Minutes with Fergie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Q Buzz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

On The Cover

Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah arms Utah gays Page 16

Columnists

Ben Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ruby Ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 In Search Of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

The Big Q

Q Bar Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Comics â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Kyleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bed & Breakfast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Sudoku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Q Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Get a Nurse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Editor Michael Aaron Arts Editor Tony Hobday Distribution Manuel Hernandez Courtney Moser Shane Sim Ad Sales John Geertsen

801-979-2163 Russ Moss 801-548-4249

JoSelle Vanderhooft

801-232-7748

Office Mgr. Tony Hobday

Contributors Kim Burgess, Anthony Cuesta, TroyÂ Espera, Matthew Gerber, Garth Gullickson, TonyÂ Hobday, Brek Joos, Scott Johnson, ChadÂ Keller, Travis Labrum, DannyÂ McCoy, Laurie Mecham, Jennifer Medvin, RossÂ vonÂ Metzke, Blaine Osborne, DelaneyÂ Pedersen, RubyÂ Ridge, MikeyÂ Rox, Kim Russo, Mark Thrash, Darren Tucker, JoSelleÂ Vanderhooft, Duane Wells, BenÂ Williams

LEGEND LESBIAN LILY

Lily Tomlin makes a rare stop in Salt Lake City Page 21 Copyright ÂŠ 2006 Salt Lick Publishing, LLC. 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. QSaltLake and the QSaltLake logo and the Q bug are trademarks of Salt Lick Publishing, LLC. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or staff.

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QSaltLake is seeking two delivery drivers to work two Thursdays a month delivering one of our routes in Salt Lake or Weber-Davis Counties. Each route takes about 5 hours. You will be paid hourly plus mileage. The holidays are coming! What are you waiting for? Call 856-5655 today.

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Supplement your income with a twice-monthly job.

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WORLD Japanese City Waters Down Rights Protection For Gays By Anthony Cuesta

Tokyo — The Japanese municipal assembly of Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, decided Friday to exclude sexual minorities, including homosexuals, from its ordinance on human rights protection. According to the Japan Times, the 2004 ordinance stipulated that the city respects the human rights of every person “regardless of gender or sexual orientation,” but the assembly approved the new ordinance after deleting the passage on sexual minorities. The Times reports that it is rare to see a passage referring to homosexuals in local government ordinances on human rights protection. “The spirit of the law, its intention, remains although the phrase has been changed,” said Meiko Kawasaki, who is in charge of gender equality affairs at city hall. The international organization Human Rights Watch had written to Miyakonojo Mayor Makoto Nagamine, who introduced the amendment, protesting the change and urging the city to reconsider. Japan’s first openly lesbian politician, Kanako Otsuji, expressed disappointment and anger. “I really want to ask those who made this decision why they made it,” said Otsuji, a local legislator in the western Japanese city of Osaka who had campaigned against the change. “If this doesn’t change anything, why did they have to amend it?” she said. “We can only see this as homophobia.”

South Africa’s Cabinet Warned Not to Defy Gay Marriage Law

By Troy Espera Cape Town, South Africa — The South African Cabinet has warned opponents of samesex marriage legislation to be careful not to behave in a way that suggested they wanted to defy the decision of the Constitutional Court that extends rights to domestic partners. According to South Africa’s Independent Online, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said Sept. 20 that the cabinet had “noted the discourse on the Civil Unions Bill.” “While every individual or group has the right to express their views, the cabinet emphasized the need for everyone to be reminded that the definition of marriage in the Marriage Act was unconstitutional,” he said, Independent Online reports. Maseko said parties should not express themselves in a way that suggested they wanted to defy the decision of the Constitutional Court. He added that the cabinet had not discussed a proposal to change the constitution that was mooted by the African Christian Democratic Party, and that this was a question for parliament to first consider. Maseko said the government was hopeful that parliament, which is holding public hearings on the matter, would resolve the issues in time to meet the November 30 deadline. According to South Africa Press Association, when asked about the possibility of approaching the court to extend the deadline for a law on same-sex marriages, Maseko said the issue had not arisen. The cabinet had noted many stakeholders had already made their views known and parliament was currently conducting public hearings on the bill. “The hope is that by the time the dead-

line arrives, parliament would have found a way of resolving all the outstanding issues,” Maseko said, reports SAPA. Last Saturday, several thousand Christians marched in Cape Town to protest against the Civil Union Bill. The National Assembly’s home affairs committee has begun public hearings on the Civil Union Bill in each province. The National Assembly aims to vote on the Bill by October 20 to allow the National Council of Provinces to process the law ahead of the deadline.

Stars on Hand for Queer Lounge’s First Year in Toronto

Other Queer Lounge highlights included an industry brunch, panel discussions on financing gay films in the Post-Brokeback Mountain era and the making of The Bubble, and a premiere party and concert for The Bubble featuring performances by Israel’s top recording artist, Ivri Lider, glam singersongwriter Hawksley Workman and comedians Scott Thompson and Elvira Kurt. Canadian V.I.P.s made their presence felt at Queer Lounge events, including government officials Steven Davidson, Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture for Ontario, John Tory, Leader of the Ontario Progressive Party and Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae. Top TIFF officials, including TIFF co-director Noah Cowan, managing director Michelle Maheux and brunch Host Committee member Allison Bain were seen at Queer Lounge events, as were cultural luminar-

Toronto — Parker Posey, John Cameron Mitchell, and Lance Bass were among the VIPs who turned out in full force this week to celebrate Queer Lounge’s debut during the Toronto International Film Festival. Ellen Huang, Queer Lounge founder and executive director, said, “The verdict’s in, and we clearly rocked Toronto! Despite fierce competition among parties and events, everyone could not stop talking about Queer Lounge.” With a series of star-studded parties, panel discussions, and a high-powered industry brunch, Queer Lounge helped shine an international spotlight on the Festival’s stellar roster of gay films and filmmakers, including Mitchell’s acclaimed new film Shortbus and Eytan Fox’s The Bubble. Hailed as “one of the most outrageous events of Toronto’s festival” by The Toronto Sun, Queer Lance Bass and Reichen Lehmkuhl at Queer Lounge at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival Lounge’s Shortbus premiere party ies like David Usher, lead singer of Moist, and concert extravaganza was the most producer Robert Lantos, singer/songwriter talked about party of the week. Parker Posey, Carole Pope, Canadian Idol judge Jake Gold, Lance Bass and Reichen Lehmkuhl, Jennifer director Jeremy Podeswa, Much Music VJ Coolidge, Shawn Ashmore (X-Men: The Last contestant Sean Gehon, and Juno-nominee Stand), L Word stars Daniela Sea and Bitch and R&B artist Cory Lee. and celeblogger Perez Hilton were just a few Launched at the Sundance Film Festival of the stars who turned out for an evening in 2004, Queer Lounge is a hot spot with a of go-go dancers and over-the-top live year-round mission: fostering — and buildperformances by the cast of Shortbus joined ing mainstream audiences — for lesbian, by indie bands Hidden Cameras, Gentleman gay, bisexual, and transgender films and Reg, Kids on TV, the acrobatic Wau Wau Sisfilmmakers. The first organization ever to ters and members of the Toronto Symphony be recognized with the distinction of “TIFF Orchestra. The show, produced by James Extra” by the festival’s organizers, Queer Coppola, saw a group finale that had over 40 Lounge creates queer-friendly hubs at major performers on stage at once. The night was mainstream film festivals where up-andalso highlighted by an electrifying perforcoming LGBT filmmakers and artists can mance by Mitchell singing selections from connect with industry leaders, audiences, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and stage diving and each other. into the audience. Over 1,100 revelers were According to Queer Lounge founder in attendance. and Executive Director Ellen Huang, other The cast and crew of Shortbus also parqueer-related films making a splash at TIFF ticipated in a panel hosted by Queer Lounge include: Volver, the latest from auteur Pedro featuring a provocative discussion of the Almodovar and starring Penelope Cruz; This film’s bold embrace of sexuality.

Filthy World, Jeff Garlin’s look at John Waters’ storied career; Infamous, a lighter, New Yorkcentered look at Truman Capote’s period writing In Cold Blood; Twilight Dancers, a disturbing yet humorous look at gay bars and dancers in the Philippines, the acclaimed South Korean film, King and the Clown (see story below) about a medieval king who falls for a male court jester, L’Homme De Sa Vie involving a romantic triangle between a married couple and their gay neighbor, and Love and Other Disasters, the latest project from Truth or Dare director Alex Keshishian. Said Huang, “Queer Lounge is about spreading awareness of gay films and connecting gay artists with industry leaders. There’s still a lot of ghettoization and homophobia resulting in few gay-themed films that have the resources to crossover. Queer Lounge’s mission is to take gay film to a broad audience where it can impact the mainstream.”

in the relatively conservative Asian nation, where Confucian traditions and a strong Catholic church still hold sway. It was only in April 2004 that the South Korean government removed homosexuality from a list of “socially unacceptable sexual acts.” The Korean Film Council said it reviewed the two films and another — Time by internationally renowned director Kim Ki-duk — and decided to pick King and the Clown because it was believed to have a better chance of winning an Oscar nomination. Nominated films are scheduled to be announced in January. A Korean film has never been nominated for an Academy Award. Q

South Korea Sends Gay-Themed Film to the Oscars By Anthony Cuesta Seoul, Korea — South Korea chose a gay-themed movie that became an unexpected box office hit as its candidate for the best foreign film category at the Academy Awards, the country’s state-run film agency told the Associated Press Thursday. King and the Clown, Lee Jun-Ik’s film about an effeminate male clown caught between the affections of a 16th-century tyrannical king and the love of a fellow performer, became the unexpected all-time highest-grossing film in the republic early this year — it was reported that one in four South Koreans saw it in cinemas. The film only lost that position this month to The Host, a thriller about a family’s fight against a mutant monster. According to The Guardian UK, the move is particularly significant because homosexuality has only recently gained acceptance

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NATIONAL CDC Urges HIV Tests for Everyone 13-64 By Troy Espera

Atlanta — An HIV test should be almost as common as a cholesterol check, say federal health officials, who Thursday recommended routine testing for the AIDS virus for most Americans. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people between the ages of 13 and 64 should be tested for the virus when they get other routine medical tests. According to The CDC’s media announcement issued Thursday, the recommendations aim to simplify the HIV testing process in health care settings and increase early HIV diagnosis among the estimated more than 250,000 HIV-positive Americans who are unaware of their infection. The guidelines could help end the stigma of HIV testing, prevent further spread of the disease, and lead to needed care, CDC officials said. “We urgently need new approaches to reach the quarter-million Americans with HIV who do not realize they are infected,” said Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, CDC director, in a media release. “People with HIV have

a right to know that they are infected so they can seek treatment and take steps to protect themselves and their partners.” Nearly half of new HIV infections are discovered when doctors are trying to diagnose a patient who has already grown sick with an HIV-related illness, CDC officials said. “By identifying people earlier through a screening program, we’ll allow them to access life-extending therapy, and also through prevention services, learn how to avoid transmitting HIV infection to others,” Dr. Timothy Mastro, acting director of the CDC’s division of HIV/AIDS prevention, told the Associated Press. But some groups are concerned that the CDC’s recommendations could violate America’s civil rights. In a response to the CDC’s announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union released a statement saying that the new recommendations may harm the health of those newly diagnosed with HIV and compromise the civil rights of anyone seeking medical treatment. “The CDC should be commended for trying to increase the number of people tested for HIV, but eliminating the only safeguards that guarantee that testing is voluntary and informed does little to ensure that people will receive the care they need,” said Rose Saxe, a staff attorney with the ACLU AIDS Project,

in a press statement. “Studies have shown that patients who are tested without consent are less likely to get the follow-up care that is critical to maintaining good health.” Under the new guidelines, patients would be tested for the AIDS virus as part of the standard tests they get when they go for urgent or emergency care, or even during a routine physical. The CDC recommends everyone get tested at least once, but annual testing is urged only for people at high risk. The AP reports that the recommendation, if fully implemented, could mean testing for 100 to 200 million Americans, said Ron Spair, chief financial officer of Pennsylvania-based OraSure Technologies, one of three companies that sell rapid-result HIV tests in the United States. The CDC has been working on the guidelines for about three years, and got input from more than 100 groups, including doctors’ associations and HIV patient support groups.

Episcopal Diocese Passes Up Gay Priest for Bishop Spot

By Troy Esprea Newark, N.J. — In an attempt to avoid further controversy in the worldwide Anglican Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark chose a Massachusetts priest Sept. 23 as its new bishop, rather than a gay candidate on the ballot. The Rev. Mark Beckwith, 54, of Worcester won on the third ballot, taking 253 of the 477 ballots cast by clergy and lay representatives. Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, 51, a gay priest from San Francisco, only Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe had one vote from a lay person in the final round. Even in the first round, he only had 40 votes — 16 from clergy members and 24 from lay people. Beckwith previously served in the Newark diocese in Morristown and Hackensack. The Episcopal News Service reports that, as in all Episcopal elections, Newark’s choice will require the consent of a majority of the church’s diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction. Those consents must be given within 120 days of the electing diocese’s standing committee sending a certificate of election to the Presiding Bishop and the Standing Committees of all the dioceses. There are 126 days before the consecration date. If he gets final approval, Beckwith will replace Bishop John Palmer Croneberger, who is resigning to spend more time with his ill wife, said the Rev. Sandye Wilson, a diocese spokeswoman, to the AP. Barlowe is an officer for congregational development for the Diocese of California in San Francisco. The election in the historically liberal diocese came at a time when divisions over the Bible and sexuality are threatening the denomination and the worldwide Anglican family. A dispute broke out in the Anglican community in 2003, after the Episcopal Church consecrated its first gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson. In June, the Episcopal General Convention, the church’s top policy-making body, voted to ask US bishops to “exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration” of candidates “whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church.” The Episcopal Church is the US branch of the global Anglican Communion.

Reggae Show Cancelled Over Homophobic Performer

By Anthony Cuesta Los Angeles — A club in Hollywood canceled a performance by Buju Banton, a reggae star whose violent lyrics about gays and lesbians have made him a flashpoint figure. Adam Manacker, general manager of the Highland nightclub and restaurant, told The LA Times Sept. 21 that e-mail complaints and concerned callers in recent days had prompted him to research Banton’s past and call off the Oct. 2 show. “We felt it was the right thing to do after doing some research on the matter,” Manacker said. In July, concerts featuring Banton and Beenie Man were nixed in Britain after activists said both artists refused to stop using anti-gay lyrics. Two of Banton’s songs released early in his career, “Batty Rider” and “Boom Bye Bye” glorify the shooting of gay men. The husky-voiced Banton has been a major star in his native Jamaica since the early 1990s with brash dancehall music and, in the last decade, a more traditional reggae sound. The Associated Press reports that his career aspirations in the United States, though, have been stunted and largely defined by the frequent protests against his attitude toward gays. Banton was tried and acquitted on charges that he participated in the beating of six gay men by a Jamaica gang in 2004.

Lesbian Sues Doctors Who Denied Infertility Treatments

By Troy Espera San Diego, Calif. — A San Diego lesbian, whose doctor denied her infertility treatments because of conflicting religious beliefs regarding homosexuality, is seeking to reinstate a trial court decision that doctors must treat their gay patients like the rest of their patients. “Doctors with antigay religious beliefs are not excused from obeying the laws that govern all of us,” said Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal, in a media release isLupita Benitez, Joanne Clark and sued Tuesday. “That their two-year-old son Gabriel our client’s doctors felt that they could defy well-established California law and medical ethics is very worrisome for all of us in a civil society.” Lambda Legal represents Guadalupe “Lupita” Benitez who was denied infertility treatment by her San Diego County health care providers because she is a lesbian. The doctors claim a right not to comply with California’s civil rights law because they are fundamentalist Christians and they object to treating a lesbian patient the same way they treat other patients. The case arose after Benitez and her partner decided to have a child. Because Benitez suffered from a common gynecological condition, the couple sought help from the only OB-GYN provider available through Benitez’s employer-provided health plan: the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group. For nearly a year, the clinic and Dr. Christine Brody prescribed fertility medications and performed various tests on Benitez, but continually delayed performing the simple insemination procedure that Benitez needed. After 11 months of accepting payment for her care and Dr. Brody repeatedly promising to perform the procedure, North Coast’s

medical director, Dr. Douglas Fenton, admitted that Benitez would never receive it because of the personal religious beliefs about gay people held by numerous members of the clinic’s staff. “For nearly a year, my doctors accepted my insurance company’s payments and my co-payments and they strung me along with the promise that they would help me become pregnant,” Benitez said in a media statement. “I was in my doctors’ care for their medical assistance, not for their religious judgments.” Benitez’s lawsuit was thrown out of state court initially, but she won an appeal in 2003 that said patients can sue health care providers who discriminate based on their sexual orientation, and federal law does not exempt health care providers from state civil rights laws.

American Airlines shuts down in-flight gay PDA

By Anthony Cuesta San Diego, Calif. — Three San Diego men who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a series of brutal beatings after a gay pride festival were sentenced Sept. 25 to prison terms. James Allen Carroll, 24, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, assault and a hate crime; Kenneth James Lincoln, 24, admitted being an accessory after the fact; and Lyonn Tatum, 18, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and hate crimes. According to prosecutors, Carroll, Tatum and a boy assaulted six men with a baseball bat and a knife as the men were leaving the annual Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Festival in San Diego on July 29. Judge Frederick Maguire sentenced Carroll to 11 years in prison, Tatum to eight years and Lincoln to 32 months. Paul Mullins, one of the victims, told San Diego’s 10News that he was satisfied with the punishment handed out. He said he didn’t know the other victims, including one who picked up a stick and tried to fend off his attackers, but all tried to do the right thing. “We stood up and fought back, and that’s the message I want the gay people in San Diego to remember,” Mullins said. Q

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By Duane Wells New York — Betrayed by a kiss? That appears to be exactly what happened to one gay couple on a recent American Airlines flight from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport to New York’s JFK. According to a ‘Talk of the Town’ article in the September 25 issue of The New Yorker, George Tsikhiseli, a television journalist, and his writer boyfriend of four months Stephan Varnier, were barely settled into their coach seats aboard American Airlines Flight 45 when a stewardess told the couple that the purser had asked that they stop “the touching and kissing.” Tsikhiseli and Varnier, who acknowledge that they kissed and alternatively rested their heads on each others shoulders during the first leg of the flight, were befuddled by the request and asked to see the purser who had allegedly made it. But, when the purser approached the two men, who were by then joined in their inquiry by another gay couple who happened to be seated nearby at the time of the stewardess’ request, she claimed no knowledge of the incident or of issuing any sort of instruction regarding it. Moreover, when asked to describe the precise nature of their interaction, the purser acknowledged to the couple and witnesses that she found nothing inappropriate in their behavior, according to the story. The purser’s tune had changed, however, about a half hour later when she came back to Tsikhiseli and Varnier and told them that some passengers had complained about their earlier behavior, but declined to answer the couple’s queries about the stewardess’ name or employee number, which passenger(s) had made the supposed complaints or having an American Airlines representative meet them at the gate upon their arrival at JFK. After summarily refusing the couple’s inquiries, the purser then told them to drop the matter or the flight would be diverted. An hour later, the purser approached Tsikhiseli and invited him up to the galley for a talk with the captain. In the course of the chat, the captain told Tsikhiseli to ‘behave’ and to ‘stop arguing’ with the crew or the plane would be diverted, says the ‘Talk of the Town’ article. The behavior of the American Airlines flight crew was supported by a spokesman for the notoriously gay-friendly airline, who described the stewardess’ treatment of the gay couple to The New Yorker as reasonable. The American Airlines spokesman also told the magazine that, “Our passengers need to recognize that they are in an environment with all ages, backgrounds, creeds, and races. We have an obligation to make as many of them feel as comfortable as possible.”

San Diego Trio Sentenced For Brutal Gay Bashing

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LOCAL

Annual Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Summit Returns to its Roots What does a local organization do to trump the previous yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual event when it was host to the national community? Refocus, retool and restart from the ground up. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s INVENIO: Utah Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Summit organizers did just that, taking the planning stages right back to the community it serves for inspiration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit is very different,â&#x20AC;? said David Ferguson, outreach coordinator for

the Utah AIDS Foundation and the summitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organizer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Instead of focusing on the incredible logistics of putting on the summit and then working on the program, we focuses on the program and let the logistics fall into place.â&#x20AC;? Based on the Centers for Disease Controlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful empowerment model, where gay men take control of their own health and well-being, INVENIO went to the commu-

nity for guidance on this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekendlong event. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We went to Pride and the Avenues Street Fair with blank white sheets stretched over PVC with a headline that said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;As a Gay Man, My Greatest Health and Wellness Concerns Areâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? said Ferguson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We offered people Sharpies and by the end of the events, the sheets were full.â&#x20AC;? Though nothing surprising came out of the exercise, it did allow organizers to focus on actual needs as expressed by the community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit will be a journey of self-discovery. Its focus is not â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;top-down,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; but more of a way to look inside yourself and be a better person at the end,â&#x20AC;? continued Ferguson. Organizers were interested to find that much of the feedback from last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national summit, which they hosted, was not liked by the local community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People found last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit to be too slick, too professional,â&#x20AC;? Ferguson said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We think they will appreciate the more grassroots feel of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit.â&#x20AC;?

One of the more controversial topics that will be discussed this year will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sexual Racism.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You see all these ads online that say things like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Prefer White menâ&#x20AC;Ś sorry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a preference,â&#x20AC;? said Ferguson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll talk about how that kind of attitude crosses over to the community at large. It should be quite a discussion.â&#x20AC;? The event takes place October 6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8 at the Radisson Hotel on South Temple. Those who register and pay before Oct. 4 will get in for $25. After that, the rate goes to $45. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The summit, with food, room rental and everything, costs us about $60 per person to produce,â&#x20AC;? said Ferguson. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So the $25 rate is a great deal.â&#x20AC;? For more information and to register, visit ugmh.org.

INVENIO

Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Summit Breakout Sessions* Friday, October 6 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8:45pm The Journey Begins, Clayton Vetter The Wasatch Room

Saturday, October 7 8:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9:30am Sexual Racism, Cleveland Hayes, David Ferguson, Arman Lorz, Kenshi Westover The Wasatch Room

9:45â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11am

Salud Financiera, Roberto GĂłmez

Red Butte Room

The Secrets We Keep with a Wink & a Nod,

David Ferguson

MILLCREEK ROOM

Youth-Related Teen Suicide, Joshua Bytendorp

GLBT Law Enforcement Officials, Tracy Tingey

EMIGRATION ROOM PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROOM 1

Mindful Tools for Living the Full Catastrophe,

Vicki Kennedy

PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ROOM 2

11:15amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;12:30PM Political Activism, T.I.N.T. Red Butte Room

Encontrando Balance en la Vida, Arman Lorz

Healing from Psychosexual Shame, Mark

MILLCREEK ROOM

Malan

EMIGRATION ROOM

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Â&#x2026;iVÂ&#x17D;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x153;iLĂ&#x192;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;i]Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;`iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;VÂ&#x17D;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2021;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;i]Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160; V>Â?Â?Ă&#x160;{Ă&#x17D;xÂ&#x2021;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2C6;Ă¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x201C;{nnĂ&#x160;vÂ&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x201C;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;iĂ&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;vÂ&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x201C;>Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Â° /Â&#x2C6;VÂ&#x17D;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x160;EĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;`}Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;ÂŤ>VÂ&#x17D;>}iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x203A;>Â&#x2C6;Â?>LÂ?iÂ°Ă&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;VÂ&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;vÂ&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2C6;`Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;ÂĂ&#x192;iiĂ&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;VÂ&#x17D;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x160;`iĂ&#x152;>Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x192;ÂŽÂ°

Compulsive Behavior, George Limberakis

Write Your Own Story, Franklin Evans

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3:15PM

An Honest Look at Online Cruising, David

PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROOM 1 PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ROOM 2

Ferguson

Red Butte Room

Instituationalized Discrimination, T.I.N.T.

Aprendiendo co la Cultura, Gerardo Okhuysen

Committed Relationships are Built Not Found, George Limberakis

MILLCREEK ROOM

EMIGRATION ROOM

PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROOM 1

Internalized Homophobia, Valerie Larabee

3:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4:45PM

The Devil Wears Plus Sizes, Clayton Vetter

Servicios para los Hispanos, Edwin Espinel

Depression, T.I.N.T.

Partners, Kim Bauer and Larry Foster

Getting to Know Your Primary Sex Organs,

PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ROOM 2 Red Butte Room

MILLCREEK ROOM

EMIGRATION ROOM PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROOM 1

Tom Collins

PARLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ROOM 2 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;6PM 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8PM

Caucus Dinner and Entertainment Wasatch Room

Sunday, October 8 9:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;10:45am Sex, Sex and More Sex, Jerry Buie Red Butte Room

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Love Got to Do With It?, Chuck Diviney

Sobreviviendo al VIH, Angelo Amestica

11AMâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1PM

Creating a Voice of Change, Scott McCoy The Journey Continues, Clayton Vetter

MILLCREEK ROOM

EMIGRATION ROOM

Wasatch ROOM

* Subject to change. See ugmh.com for the latest info.

Sundance Film Festival Offers ‘Locals Only’ Packages Gearing up for the star-studded 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institution is offering “Locals-Only” Festival Passes and Ticket Packages, allowing Utahns the earliest available options for access to Festival screenings and screening ticket selections, as well as discounted ticket packages and passes. There are three packages to choose from, ranging from $195-325, which include admission to the Sundance House, Filmmaker Lodge, Film Center and Music Café. Registration is required with proper ID; visit festival.sundance.org or call 435-776-7878 now through September 29.

Gay and Lesbian Mormons’ Conference Weekend Fireside Former NFL player Esera Tualo will speak at the University of Utah on National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11.

UofU LGBT Resource Center to Host Pride 2006 in October by Michael Aaron

michael@qsaltlake.com

The LGBT Resource Center at the University of Utah provides a comprehensive range of education, information and advocacy services and works to create and maintain an open, safe and supportive environment for LGBT students, staff, faculty, alumni and others in the campus community. For more information on the LGBT Resource Center at the University of Utah, call 801-587-7973 or go to www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt

Mountain West Volleyball Begins Oct. 3 Over-hand or under-hand? The Mountain West Volleyball League could care less; teams and solo participants of all skill levels are requested. Beginning October 3, the

QUAC Offers Water Polo Classes Prefer playing with balls in water? Water polo clinics are being offered by the Queer Utah Aquatic Club (QUAC), October 1 through November 24, 2006. Beginners (of water polo, not swimming) and advanced players welcome. Classes will be held Sundays, and the cost per class session is the $4.50 pool admission at Fairmont Aquatic Center, 1044 E. 2225 South. Please contact Douglas at douglaskf@aol.com for more information.

GLBTCUU Celebrates Latino Independence Month Join the members of the GLBT Community Center of Utah celebrate Latino Independence month on September 30, 6pm at the Center, 361 N. 300 West. Bring an ethnic dish of your country of origin and your favorite music to share with the others. Eat, dance, socialize and celebrate the diversity within our community. Call 539-8800 for more information.

Children of GLBT Parents Social, Oct. 13 Have you ever wondered if you were the only one that has a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parent? Well, you are not alone! COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) is a nationally recognized organization that supports and empowers youth that have LGBT parents. Children, age 11-17 years are welcome to attend a COLAGE pizza and soda social. This event will take place October 13th 2006 at 7:00 pm, held in the middle meeting room of the Center, 355 N. 300 West. Gay Bingo is also that night—so your parents can attend Bingo, while you attend the social. For more information, call 487-4649 or 539-8800.

= Organizations that make the world a better place may grow like a flowerbed; some wither, many propagate. One Bloom is glorious, but a bouquet has power. Utah Nonprofits Association (UNA) exists to help nonprofit organizations succeed by providing their leaders with information, resources and training to help them manage their organizations. UNA is the only statewide membership association advocating for the full diversity of the nonprofit sector in Utah.

Join. Help. Grow. 801.595.1800

www.utahnonprofits.org

O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 0 6 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q

“The NFL is a supermacho culture. “It’s a place for gladiators. And gladiators aren’t supposed to be gay. “Now, after a life of living a lie, I am here to tell the truth. My truth. I am Esera Tuaolo, and for nine years I made my living as a gladiator in the NFL. I was a 280-pound nose tackle who could run a 40 in 4.8. I was voted the best defensive lineman in the Pac-10 in 1989 at Oregon State, and I made the NFL all-rookie team two years later with Green Bay. I played in the Super Bowl, played for five different teams, sang the national anthem at the Pro Bowl and earned the respect of players like Brett Favre and John Randle and Jack Del Rio. “I was all that. And I am a gay man.” So starts the coming out story of Esera Tualo in the pages of ESPN Magazine in 2002. His book, “Alone in the Trenches: My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL,” hit the shelves this February and he is the keynote speaker at the University of Utah’s Pride 2006 month beginning Oct. 8. An impoverished Samoan immigrant, Tuaolo attended Oregon State on a football scholarship, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and then spent nine years in the NFL on five different teams. Yet he was “terrified” during the 1999 Super Bowl, when he was playing for the Atlanta Falcons: “not one teammate, coach or sportswriter knew I was gay ... What if one of those billion people watching recognized me as the stranger he had picked up in a gay bar?” Tualo will speak October 11, National Coming Out Day, at the University of Utah Fine Arts Auditorium at 3:00 p.m. as one of several events celebrating Pride at the university. Admission is free and open to the public. Presented by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center of the UofU, Pride 2006 will present a series of lectures, activities and performances from Oct. 8–25. “This year’s programming is centered on the theme ‘Reaching Out’, which explores aspects the aspects of reaching out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and heterosexual communities at the University of Utah,” said Charles Milne,

coordinator of the LGBT Resource Center. “We believe these events will break down barriers and misconceptions that surround gay existence.” Pried 2006 events begin with a benefit performance of “Confessions of a Mormon Boy” Oct. 8, at 2:00 p.m. at the Rose Wagner Black Box Theater. Tickets may be purchased at the LGBT Resource Center in the University Union room 409, or by phone at 587-7973. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for general public. All proceeds will benefit the LGBT Resource Center. “Chronicles of You and Me” will be presented Oct. 9 and 10 by performing arts students at the Marriott Center for Dance, Studio 240. All the performing arts pieces will be themes around sexuality and gender. Tickets will be $5.00 at the door. A discussion entitled “Exploring the Relationship between Gay and Civil Rights” will be presented by the Lesbian and Gay Student Union in the University Union Parlor B room at 7:30 PM. Admission is free. Fiona Apple will close out the Pride series of events with a concert at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah presented by the ASUU Presenter’s Office and the LGBT Resource Center. Tickets will go on sale Monday, October 2 at 10:00 a.m. and will range in price between $11 and $41. From October 11–22, the LGBT Resource Center is teaming up with the Homeless Youth Resource Center of the Volunteers of America to seek people to “Reach Out” and donate extra new or gently-used hats, gloves and socks. They are needed at the HYRC for the upcoming winter months to clothe youth drop-ins. Organizers are asking people to pick up an extra hat, pair of socks or gloves in your size and bring them to the box located at the LGBT Resource Center in the Union Building.

The Salt Lake Chapter of Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive space for GLBTI people from Mormon backgrounds who live along the Wasatch Front, hosts an After Conference Sunday Fireside & Mission Reunion. Scheduled October 1 at the Metropolitan Community Church, 823 S. 600 East. Musical entertainment by Steven Fales (Confessions of a Mormon Boy) and Kris Evans, and guest speaker Jeffrey Nielsen, former BYU professor are scheduled. A potluck dinner begins at 5pm, followed by a fireside discussion. Call 486-6977 or visit affirmation.org. And on Sunday, October 15 at 5:00 pm: “Sex, Spirituality and Residual Guilt”, a workshop and discussion presented by husband/wife team Mark Malan (PhD, MPH,ACS) and Collette Malan (MSW, LCSW) held at Metropolitan Community Church.

LGBT league will play weekly on Tuesday nights at IVA, 2595 W. 1700 South. Interested parties, please call Ralph Ingersoll at 4076183 or by email at rogue_squadron60640@ yahoo.com. Or visit slcgaa.org for more information.

1 0 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 0 6

LOCAL

Gay Ruling to be Used In Utah Polygamy Case Denver, Colo. — A Utah couple and a woman who wants to become the second wife in their family are asking a Denver-based federal appeals court to overturn Utah’s ban on polygamy, saying it violates their rights to religion, association and privacy. A Salt Lake County clerk refused to issue a marriage license in December 2003 when G. Lee Cook and the second woman — accompanied by Cook’s wife — applied. About a year later, a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit, saying the clerk properly followed state law and rejecting arguments that those laws violate the rights of people who believe in plural marriage. On Sept. 25, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals accepted written arguments submitted earlier this year. There was no indication when they might rule. The case is being watched by adherents of plural marriage, who hope it will be eventually taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which last considered the issue in 1878, said Mary Batchelor, of Sandy, executive director of the group Principle Voices. “It’s time for it to be readdressed,” she said in an interview. “We live in a society of family arrangements that simply are, no matter how people want to define them. They are not labeled criminal and we don’t believe our family arrangements should be labeled criminal either.” Attorney Brian Barnard, who represents the Cooks and the other woman, identified only as J. Bronson, wrote that Utah’s ban on polygamy is unconstitutional despite numerous court rulings, including an 1878 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the polygamy conviction of George Reynolds, personal secretary to LDS leader Brigham Young. “The sincere and deeply held religious

beliefs of J. Bronson, D. Cook and G. Lee Cook are that the doctrine of plural marriage, i.e., a man having more than one wife, is ordained of God and is to be encouraged and practiced,” Barnard wrote. He argued that the state’s ban unconstitutionally targets one religion, and that under a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking Texas laws banning sodomy, polygamy is a private interest that should not be prosecuted. “The (Supreme Court) found no compelling state interest in criminalizing homosexual sodomy based on a long history of states and/or a majority of society finding the practice immoral. Similarly, the state of Utah can offer no compelling justification for criminalizing polygamy,” Barnard wrote. “Utah’s criminalization of religious polygamy, even if the crime is rarely prosecuted, brands plaintiffs as criminals and sanctions public and private discrimination based on plaintiffs’ religious based choice of marital relationship,” he wrote. In her brief, Assistant Utah Attorney General Nancy Kemp said the state’s antibigamy law affects all residents, not just members of fundamentalist Mormon sects who continue to hold those beliefs despite a decision by the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to abandon the practice more than 100 years ago. “Nothing in the statute suggests that it is to be applied only in the context of religiously motivated plural marriage, and, in fact, it has been applied outside the context of religion,” Kemp wrote. Polygamy has been practiced in Utah since the 1800s, when early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled the Salt Lake valley. The faith officially abandoned the practice in 1890, although it continued among members.

Fired BYU Teacher Finds Two New Jobs Jeffrey Nielsen, whose contract at Brigham Young University was not renewed after he published an editorial opposing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ stance on gay marriage, has landed two teaching positions. Nielsen will split his time between teaching ethics courses at Utah Valley State College and critical thinking and philosophy courses at Westminster College. Nielsen has said he did not know any gay or lesbian people when he penned an opinion piece for the Salt Lake Tribune June 4. “Since that time, I’ve met hundreds,” he told a Deseret News reporter after a UVSC lecture about his theories on leadership. “I’ve been completely blown away by their decency.” In his op-ed article, Nielsen wrote that, as a member of the LDS Church, he sustained the authority of its leaders, but he rejects “the premise that they are thereby immune from thoughtful questioning or benevolent criticism. A perfect God does not require blind obedience, nor does He need unthinking loyalty.” He wrote that “ the preponderance of scientific research strongly suggests that same-sex attraction is biologically based. Therefore, it is as natural as a heterosexual orientation, even if rare.” “Truly, God would be unjust if He were the creator of a biological process that produced such uncommon, yet perfectly natural

results, and then condemned the innocent person to a life of guilt, while denying him or her the ordinary privileges and fulfillment of the deep longing in all of us for family and a committed, loving relationship,” the article continued. Nielsen also challenged the notion that gay marriage would destroy traditional marriage and the family, calling it a “fallacy of appealing to fear.” “God is not the author of incoherence or injustice, but we humans often are,” he wrote. BYU Department of Philosophy Chairman Daniel Graham wrote a letter to Nielsen four days after the publication of the article. “In accordance with the order of the church, we do not consider it our responsibility to correct, contradict or dismiss official pronouncements of the church,” the letter read. “Since you have chosen to contradict and oppose the church in an area of great concern to church leaders, and to do so in a public forum, we will not rehire you after the current term is over.” Nielsen said he has been “blown away” by the support he has received from family, friends and strangers. He said such support has strengthened his belief and position on gay marriage. “If people could sit down and have mutual respect for each opinion, I think we could better understand each other,” he said.

Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives Bob Brister at this year’s Utah Pride Parade.

Bob Brister Says ‘Vote Your Self Respect’ in 2nd District Race by Michael Aaron

michael@qsaltlake.com

Democratic Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson is asking every Democrat in Utah’s Second Congressional District to throw their support to Green Party of Utah’s Bob Brister. Republicans are crying “conspiracy” between Anderson and Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson — since when Anderson speaks, non-Salt Lakers turn about-face and go the other way. But what about gay and lesbian Utahns? Should we look at Brister’s campaign and give some thought to throwing our votes, and our time and cash, to him? In 2004, gay and lesbian delegates at the Utah State Democratic Convention rose and turned their backs to Matheson as he addressed the crowd. The delegates were protesting Matheson’s decision to be first out of the gate in support of the Federal Marriage Protection Act, which has twice failed to get through Congress. “Three cheers to the Stonewall Democrats who had the intestinal fortitude to literally stand against Jim Matheson,” said Shane Young in a letter to the editor. “He punched this community in the gut and then had the gall to ask for our money, our support and our time.” But is a vote for Brister a throw-away vote? No, says Bristor for Congress campaign manager and long-time environmental activist Diana Lee Hirschi. “We are asking people to take a chance and vote for a third party candidate this election,” she said. Brister says that Matheson’s stand on gay marriage should offend the gay community to the point they can’t just “vote for the lesser of two evils.” “That’s a downward spiral. If you vote for the lesser of two evils, you end up getting evil,” he said. “People fall for it and the only thing that comes out of it is a continual downward spiral.” Brister and Hirschi clearly get the message of gay and lesbian equality. “Gay marriage isn’t about marriage at all,” said Hirschi. “It’s about rights and equal access to societal institutions.” Brister was heartened by his warm reception at the Utah Pride Parade and his booth at the Festival. “People were so happy to hear a positive pro-gay message. Not just of tolerance, but

a full positive message,” Brister said. “I think the fact that Matheson had no presence at Gay Pride speaks volumes.” “I can’t imagine that he [Matheson] would want any out gay person on his campaign. The Brister campaign welcomes gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people,” he continued. “No one has to be in the closet about who they are in this campaign.” Indeed, queer equality is one of the key values spelled out on the Brister for Congress website. “Equal rights for GLBT people should not even be questioned. Our larger society needs to go beyond tolerance to acceptance and celebration of our GLBT family, friends, and neighbors. Gay/Straight Alliances should be encouraged in schools. Religious organizations should be free to practice whatever they think is appropriate regarding marriage, but governmental institutions should not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation,” the campaign’s platform states. Brister came to Utah five years ago to accept the position of outreach coordinator for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Prior to that, he lived in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he was the director of the American Friends Services Committee. He went to his first Gay Pride in 1985 after supporting a lesbian to head a committee of peace activists. He has participated in Pride events since then. Huge amounts of money are expected to be thrown into the Second Congressional District campaign. Republicans have been after Matheson’s seat in the largelyconservative district since he was elected. Matheson has handily beaten-down all challengers. But on the other side of the ballot this year is anti-gay and ultra-conservative LaVar Christensen — co-author of Utah’s own Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and ardent proponent of any and all anti-gay legislation that passed his desk. Brister shrugs off the potential outcome of a Christensen win. “You need to vote your interest and vote your self respect,” he said. “The most radical thing a person can do is be who you are — openly, honestly and without apology.” For more information on the Bristor for Congress campaign, email info@bristerforcongress.org or go to bristerforcongress.org

Murray School Board candidate Xander Gordon

Delaney Pedersen

Xander Gordon Wants to Represent â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in School Board Race by Michael Aaron

michael@qsaltlake.com

To get involved in the campaign, call 599-3663 or email xandergordon@yahoo.com. District 2 of the Murray School Board roughly goes from 4300 to 5400 South, 200 West to 900 East.

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O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 0 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q S A LT L A K E â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Q â&#x20AC;&#x201A;1 1

Xander Gordon surprised a lot of people, likely including his opponent, when he beat out all candidates for the Murray School Board in the June 27 primary election. Gordon received 42 percent of the vote and eight-year incumbent Lloyd Naylor received just 32 percent in the three-way race. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We worked very hard,â&#x20AC;? said Gordon when asked how he did so well as an unknown candidate against the incumbent Naylor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had a well-thought-out campaign plan and targeted a specific audience.â&#x20AC;? Gordon, 31, had been following politics for years and was looking for ways to get involved. He joined the Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Amend campaign as a volunteer in 2004 and was then approached by friends in the Democratic Party that said there was a seat coming up for reelection that he was well qualified for. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My job right now is the protection of children. I work closely with schools in my role at the DCFS,â&#x20AC;? Gordon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I found out this seat was coming up, I was excited to find a way that I could get involved with my community, to have an influence in it.â&#x20AC;?

The differences between Naylor and Gordon couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be more clear. Naylor calls himself the â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditional valuesâ&#x20AC;? candidate. Gordon is gay and is concerned about students left out of the traditional values rhetoric. Naylor is a retired former principal. Gordon is a 31-year-old social worker for the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. Naylor has said little about his approach to the job of school board commissioner. He has told the press he is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditional values candidate,â&#x20AC;? but hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t elaborated on what that means. Gordon says that many children in Murray have been let down by rhetoric such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditional valuesâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;family values.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a lot of nontraditional families in Murray, single-family homes,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to serve all of the children.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;It disturbed me to hear [Naylor] talk about how he had just gone to a conference on education that promoted â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;traditional family values,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Gordon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He came across as a narrow-minded person. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just talking about gay people. Murray is full of those kids â&#x20AC;&#x201D; motivated and bright children. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t choose their families. When people like Naylor talk about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;family values,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; it is

the child that becomes the victim.â&#x20AC;? Naylor likely brought out the â&#x20AC;&#x153;family valuesâ&#x20AC;? rhetoric because of Gordonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sexuality. Gordon bristles at the suggestion that he lacks such values. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I come from a traditional LDS family of seven children. I have 26 foster kids that are my responsibility. He has no right to say that a gay candidate has no family values.â&#x20AC;? Family values isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only topic Gordon is trying to raise. In fact, he told the Deseret News that being gay had no factor in his decision to run for the seat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not an agenda. If I were a board member I would advocate for equal treatment for all students,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Statistically, the kids who suffer are those in the middle. B students get lots of attention. Kids with lower grades get a lot of resources. The middle and the bright kids are overlooked,â&#x20AC;? said Gordon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to be more equitable in serving the needs of all children.â&#x20AC;? Naylor won his seat in 1998 with 53 percent of the vote and in 2002 ran unopposed. Gordon says that over the past eight years since Naylorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s election, the board has basically become a â&#x20AC;&#x153;good-old-boys clubâ&#x20AC;? with almost no dissension. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Almost all of the votes of the school board are unanimous,â&#x20AC;? Gordon says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The makeup of the school board is basically all the same â&#x20AC;&#x201D; people in their mid-sixties. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for a fresh voice. Someone who can remember being in school. The demographics of this area are changing rapidly. The population will skyrocket in the next five to ten years. We need to look to the future and address those needs. The children of Murray deserve better than the status-quo.â&#x20AC;? Gordon welcomes support from the gay community and others who want to get involved. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will be walking all of the neighborhoods in the district and volunteers would be appreciated. We also need people in the district who would be willing to put a lawn sign in their yard,â&#x20AC;? he said. Gordonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key need at the moment, however, is fundraising. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been difficult for us. [The primary loss] scared him. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s come up with more money than I have,â&#x20AC;? said Gordon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a plan and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all waiting on money.â&#x20AC;?

1 2 Q Q S A LT L A K E Q O C T O B E R 1 , 2 0 0 6

Coming Out is an Act of Love

Living the Lie by Michael Aaron

michael@qsaltlake.com

What’s the difference between growing up gay and growing up black? You never have to tell your parents you’re black. Have I been ‘out’ so long that I have lost touch of ‘reality?’ In my role as editor, I often run across people who, because they are not ‘out,’ don’t want their photo printed, their name in the paper, and in extreme instances, any possible revealing detail about themselves to grace these pages. “I have a high position at my bank.” “I have neighbors who would trash my yard.” “My partner’s parents would cut her out of the will.” We see it every day. Online profiles that demand that you be “discrete.” The longing glance from a guy with his arm wrapped around … who? His sister? The woman in the office down the hall who has absolutely no personal photos on her desk and leaves the room when people begin to talk about their weekend. I just can’t imagine going back there. I can’t imagine anything being worth living my life as a lie. How many lies does it take to live in the closet? The answer to “have any girlfriends yet?” at any one of dozens of family gatherings is a lie of omission. The answer to “are you married” asked by a co-worker is a lie of omission. The answer to “I see you have a ring on your finger. What’s your wife’s name?” is a lie that denies your relationship. The answers to locker room-type talk in the office are lies. Is it worth having that six-figure

salaried job when you have to deny an integral part of your being and constantly lie? Is it worth looking in the mirror each morning and seeing a stranger looking back at you? Congressional candidate Bob Brister is quoted in this issue as saying, “The most radical thing a person can do is be who you are — openly, honestly and without apology.” Survey after survey have shown that when people know someone who is gay or lesbian, they are much more likely to believe in queer rights. It’s often (and I mean often) been said that if every gay person were to come out, gay rights would happen in an instant. Imagine waking up one morning to find that you, and every other gay person in the world, woke up with a fabulous pink triangle on your forehead. Sure, many of those not out of the closet can stay home and call in sick for a while, but eventually people will notice your absence or the caked-on makeup. Right-wingers like Karl Rove could no longer hide their gay fathers, mothers, sisters, sons, daughters, staffers — or their own hypocrisy. Conservative companies would know that many of their best and brightest are gays and lesbians. Guys would suddenly realize their locker room talk isn’t appreciated by its entire audience. Husbands and wives would know the lie of their relationships. Gay children would know who they can ask for guidance. So, no, I don’t get it. Living a lie hurts all of us. Isn’t it just time to look at yourself and say, “this is the day I no longer live the lie”?

By John Emery After my gay roommate at Brigham Young University had his first same-sex experience, his new “sisters” gave him a coming out party that included decorating his car with toilet paper and shoe polish-painted letters declaring “Just Mary’ed.” This was a time when BYU used electro-shock and aversion therapy to “RE-convert” gays, so any exposure to BYU security was dangerous. The risks of coming out were high, but paled in comparison to the rewards. Besides, I worked at a carwash. My own first coming out experience occurred a few months earlier in the summer after high school graduation in ’73. I spent that summer in Washington, D.C. after a close friend had moved there after his dad was appointed by Nixon to head up a national post. My coming out summer was spent with a gang of kids, whose parents straightened deck-chairs aboard Nixon’s Titanic. This summer was also the height of the Watergate scandal, after John Dean testified in June. Amongst the backdrop of the Watergate debacle, the Nixon spin-doctors trotted out the proud fresh faces of Republican Youth, to counter the thousands of young protestors across the street. It was at a hyped White House reception for Soviet Premier Brezhnev (what a toad) and his little potatodumpling wife, that I met a fiery, handsome son of a powerful Under-Secretary. I began a clandestine summer affair and a lifetime of homosexual practicing (I seek progress, not perfection). In an air of political intrigue and suspense, we led a double life of sexual intrigue and suspense. For the parents, denial became a powerful tool when dealing with a political career aboard Nixon’s Loveboat and a son who is spending nights with that farm boy from Alaska. To us, the public knowledge of being gay was unthinkably dangerous. Coming out, therefore, was to act on what naturally felt right — in secrecy. Whether you were a Nixon spin-doctor or a homosexual, the public truth was an instant casualty when the private truths were realized. A few years later in ’79, I was back in D.C. for the biggest coming out party in America’s history. 250,000 lesbians and gays proudly came out and marched openly at the first

The Days They Are A Changin’ Editor, I remember one day back in the early 90s when the most successful political organization in our community, Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats, held a dinner to raise funds for pro-gay candidates. It was held on the stage of the Gallivan Center and about 35 people showed, each paying about $35. Subtract out the comps and the event probably grossed $1000. Here we are 15 or so years later; I went to the Equality Utah dinner where 1000 people filled the Grand Ballroom at the Salt Palace to raise funds for pro-gay candidates. Subtract out the comps, the event probably grossed $80,000.

National March on Washington in October. Years later I was knee-deep with a non-profit called The Experience, producing “coming out” workshops. The Experience co-founder Rob Eichberg and NGRA director Jean O’Leary proposed a national gay holiday that would commemorate our collective coming out at the national marches. The ’87 march was our second national march and first display of the AIDS quilt. Oct 11, 1988 became the first National Coming Out Day, honoring those who came out at those first marches, and those who have since died. Since college, I have learned that “coming out” is a process, not an event. More accurately, it is a series of events, with successive degrees of openness and honesty. In The Experience workshops, we taught that coming out is an act of love; that the greatest act of love possible, is simply to tell the truth about your experiences — all of them. We often fear that telling the truth about ourselves will hurt others. Ironically, the reality is that we hurt others by our secrecy and denial. We harm ourselves even more when we allow our fears to keep our closet doors nailed shut. Our personal and community obligation is to come out and take pride in our courage and own uniqueness. I volunteered nearly 20 years to The Experience, whose goal was “By the year 2000, it will be absolutely okay to be lesbian and gay.” My motivation was a belief that if every lesbian and gay in the US came out tomorrow, everywhere in their lives, we would no longer need a gay rights movement. Survey after survey show that straight people who personally know gay people are far more apt to support basic civil rights for gays. Conversely, straights who oppose our rights claim ignorance of our existence in their own personal lives. The obvious truth is, that if every lesbian and gay did come out tomorrow, we wouldn’t need to vote. That is to say; the collective impact of the nation learning of all its lesbian and gay relatives, friends and neighbors would cause a paradigm shift that would undermine any political attempts by the Christianazis, for the rest of this century. Additionally, it is easier and much cheaper to come out at family and high school reunions, than it is to buy-off another round of politicians every four years. So this National Coming Out Day, come out, vote, come or vote out, (or do all, in different variations) and commit yourself to the greatest act of love, of all. John Emery was a national steering committee delegate for the First March on Washington & Northern California Director of The Experience.

How far we have come and how far we still have to go. I’d like to take the time to thank those who started us down this path and had the courage to hold a dinner for 35 people — David Nelson, Michael Aaron, Dale Sorenson, Dave Thometz and the others I didn’t even know. I’d also like to take the time to thank those who continue that courage and hold a dinner for 1000 — Missy Larsen, Mike Thompson, Jane Marquardt, Michael Mitchell, and the others I don’t even know.

Bob Perry, Salt Lake City QSaltLake welcomes letters from its readers. Please email them to letters@qsaltlake.com. Please keep them under 400 words and inlude contact information for verification.

Coming Out by Ben Williams

ben@qsaltlake.com

I recently learned that the Wasatch Chapter of Affirmation is no more. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know why I should care since I have not attended Affirmation on a regular basis in fifteen years. However, I was there at the beginning â&#x20AC;&#x201D; well not the actual beginning, but pretty damn close. In early February 1986, a 30-year-old man arrived in Salt Lake City from San Jose with a suitcase and a mission. This tall, lanky, red-headed Iowa native had an epiphany in California. It was revealed that the Utah Gay Saints were in a quandary and the Lord thus said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Go east, young man,â&#x20AC;? and so he did. His name was and is Russ Lane. In early February 1986 I also had my own epiphany while lying in bed with two young men who had picked me up while cruising the old downtown library. My epiphany was that I should get the hell out of the closet. And I did after realizing it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sex I craved but the gay companionship which I had experienced with these men as we laid in bed naked talking about our fathers, our fears and our friends. From that moment on I decided I had to stop living a lie, living a life afraid of being me. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to be easy. Back then, I was 34 years old and a temple-married Mormon. Talk about carrying heavy-duty baggage. But what to do? (Hint: I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become a highpriced male escort). Well, by chance, while at work, I stumbled across KRCLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Radio Free Utah and while listening to some great tunes, a program came on announcing â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you are, know or love someone gay or lesbian, yadda yadda ya â&#x20AC;Ś stay tuned!â&#x20AC;? Holy crap! I swiveled around in my work cubicle to make sure no one had overheard

the queer radio and then I cranked it as low as I could audibly, to hear â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mickey Mossâ&#x20AC;? from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Concerning Gays and Lesbiansâ&#x20AC;? announcing that on the program there would be missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter Day Saints, who arrived in Salt Lake City from Southern California to proclaim good tidings of great joy and piss off Mormon copyright lawyers. Well, something like that. The premise of the proselytizers was that the Lord had raised up a restoration Church for the despised and rejected of the world. Well, that message hit bullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye with me since I was on the verge of being despised and rejected as I was kicking the closet door open. At the end of the program, I also heard â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mickeyâ&#x20AC;? ramble off phone numbers for various gay organizations in Salt Lake City. I recognized the name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Affirmationâ&#x20AC;? from some gay Californian Mormons I knew in the early 80s. So, I had the fateful number in my nasty hand â&#x20AC;Ś drum roll â&#x20AC;Ś boom! I called! Yahoo! it was only a recorded message and not someone live! Oh Shit! Now what do I do? Well, I tell my wife I am going to the library. What a liar I was. (Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel bad for her, she loves fags). With fear and trembling I sat in my blue â&#x20AC;&#x2122;81 Datsun outside the Crossroad Urban Center, summing up the courage to enter a brave new world. I finally went in because I reasoned that anyone in there would have to be gay and so how could they possibly diss me? Well, whatever works. So I attended my first meeting of Affirmation, the Salt Lake Chapter. I soon learned that the chapter director was a 42-year-old man named John Cooper. He was so pleasant and warm I thought this might not be so bad. Here I am in a room with six other gay men. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most openly-gay space I had ever been in. Wow! My â&#x20AC;&#x153;Romanâ&#x20AC;? eyes were everywhere! Talk about your candy store stage! Yowsirr! Rwoof! Well, attending Affirmation was neat but, since they only met twice a month, if I was

to get my new â&#x20AC;&#x153;gay fixâ&#x20AC;? I had to find another meeting. Listening again to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mickey,â&#x20AC;? she said that the gay Mormon Church people were back in town and â&#x20AC;&#x153;were gonna have a meeting!â&#x20AC;? Well this was a pickle. It was one thing to be going to a gay support group but going to an apostate gay church was a whole bigger bowl of Jell-O. I screwed up my religious convictions, dug deep for my well-spring of support, and with West Texas pioneer fortitude (hey â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not everybody rode in on a fucking handcart) I gained the courage to attend an organizational meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter Day Saints, also at the Crossroads Urban Center. Who do you suppose I met at this meeting? No, not Orrin Hatch, Russ Lane, by golly. Those with short attention spans â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reread the first paragraph. Russ was at the meeting to sing LDS hymns with a queer slant and to recruit people for the new and improved Wasatch Affirmation. He informed everyone at church that a new chapter of Affirmation was being organized and was meeting that very night at â&#x20AC;&#x201D; you guessed it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Crossroads Urban Center! Well, I huffed to myself, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong with the old Affirmation? But because I was smitten by Russ Laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charm and buoyant enthusiasm, I went. Did I mention that he had a bushy red mustache? My first meeting at Wasatch Affirmation was its third, but its first planning and organizational meeting. While only about six people attended the Salt Lake chapter, nearly 20 were at the Wasatch Meeting, all due to Russâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; canvassing and beating the bushes. (Apologies to the lesbians and trannies). Russ Laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wasatch meetings were like an old-time-religion revival with the spirit pouring out. It was contagious, campy and fun. Each week the meeting grew until people were sitting on the floor or overflowing and flaming out into the hallway. By summer the meetings were moved to the First Unitarian Church. Now is the part where it all fits together. Thank you for your patience. In early March, Russ heard that the job he thought he had fell through. Out of money and out of luck, he was returning to San Jose. I immediately was

struck with the feelings of gloom, despair, and agony on me â&#x20AC;Ś deep, dark depression, excessive misery (apologies to Buck Owens). I could not allow Russ to leave! (No, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go all psycho on him). I could see what a blessing his being in Salt Lake City was and how, if he stayed, he could help hundreds of gays find a place where healing and acceptance could take place. So I put my shoulder to the wheel, resolved to keep Russ Lane in Salt Lake City. Back then I was in the title business. So I went to my boss and told him that, if he would hire Russ as a trainee, I would train him personally and make sure that his production would be high and accurate. So my boss did and I kept my word. Russ Lane went to work at Utah Title, moved in with my wife and me from Duane Dawsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s couch, and went on to build a strong gay-affirming organization. In 1988 Russ Lane was even elected director of the National Affirmation Organization. Russ once told me that it was all because of my wife and I that Wasatch Affirmation survived. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true. By the way â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this is queer â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one of the guys in bed with me that February (keep up) turned out to be Randy Holladay, a cousin of Russ Lane and who hosted the first meeting of Wasatch Affirmation at his own home. Singalong with me â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a small world after all.â&#x20AC;? As for old Ben (me), well I reckoned heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d later go on to become the last director of the old Salt Lake Chapter of Affirmation, which in 1987 metamorphosed into Unconditional Support for Gays and Lesbians. The old coot also became a co-host for seven years on Concerning Gays and Lesbians with Becky â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mickeyâ&#x20AC;? Moss. The old fool even started Beyond Stonewall a weekend retreat, organized the Sacred Faeries, helped found the Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah, the Utah Stonewall Center, the Stonewall Gay and Lesbian Archives, the Utah Stonewall Historical Society, and became a columnist for Triangle Magazine, The Bridge, The Pillar, Salt Lake Metro and now QSaltLake. Yep Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d say it was worth knocking that door down. I hope you do too! Q

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ruby@qsaltlake.com

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Bienvenue Darlings! I hope you are all well as summer winds down and blurs into fall. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about you, cherubs, but this is my favorite time of year. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something so wonderful about temperatures in the mid-sixties and that bright afternoon sunshine that just makes me giddy with happiness. No, not dizzy, I said giddy. As a semi-natural blonde, I know from experience that there is a huge difference. Anyway â&#x20AC;Ś On Sunday afternoon I was driving through Summit County in the Slutmobile after spending a delightful weekend at Camp Pinecliff. I had the windows down, the sun was shining, Etta James was singing the blues and I had a three-pound bag of rice cracker trail mix to snack on. Life simply doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get much better, petals! Which reminds me, have you tried those green wasabi-flavored rice crackers? Oh my God, they are really spicy and amazing â&#x20AC;Ś but I digress. Besides the gorgeous scenery, lovely company and terrific food at Camp Pinecliff, the annual retreat from my hectic semi-fabulous life gave me some quiet time for contemplation and introspection. After superficially searching my soul (because you know damn well I

wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be fasting, or attempting anything too spiritually challenging), I came away with two fundamental kernels of truth: 1) I have a pretty dang blessed life, and 2) I really hate Jean-Michel Cousteau. Before I left for the weekend, I read an article about how derisive Cousteau was about the death of Steve Irwin, a.k.a. the Crocodile Hunter. When asked to comment, Cousteau railed against Irwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Who else championed the environment so passionately, and more importantly, who else looked so good in those little khaki shorts? habit of getting up close and holding animals. What a dick! Now, I will be the first to say that poking and provoking animals for entertainmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sake is kinda tacky. But even as inappropriate and tawdry as I can be, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not going to say it while the guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family, Australia and

Ruby Ridge is one of the more opinionated members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a camp drag group of performers who raise funds and support local charities. Her opinions are her own and fluctuate wildly due to irritability and having dozens of election signs tacked onto the streetlight in front of her house. Democracy can suck at times.

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every adventurous kid under the age of twelve with access to a television set is grieving. Irwin died doing what he loved, and like Cousteau Juniorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legendary father Jacques-Yves Cousteau, he introduced millions of people (especially children) to the wonders of nature through entertainment; and he made a persuasive case for the need for conservation. That is one hell of a legacy. So his methods may have been a tad unorthodox and politically incorrect but screw it. Who else championed the environment so passionately, and more importantly, who else looked so good in those little khaki shorts? He was a great personality that was larger than life and he will definitely be missed. So if I get stung by a stingray or die in a freak aqua net explosion, I hope I would be remembered for doing what I loved and not how I did it. My Zen-like weekend retreat at Camp Pinecliff has taught me about peace, calm and the futility of being overly judgmental, negative and name-calling. Which reminds me â&#x20AC;Ś Jean-Michel Cousteau, your dad invented the SCUBA, so what the hell have you done lately, you disparaging French piece of crap? Ciao, muffins!

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Self Expression by Chad Keller and Mark Thrash

insearch0f@qsaltlake.com

It seems that our schedules have finally aligned. Either the planets are about to fuck you up, or the world as we know it is coming to an end. In our last installment, our editor didn’t get the point. We were actually “In Search of” a compromise and came to the realization that we can all hold others hostage through our own inability to have some flexibility. As the holiday season quickly approaches, just remember, dear readers, to take time and enjoy the company of others no matter how hectic your daily schedule becomes as you juggle commitments. October 11 is “National Coming Out Day” and some people are trying with their last gay breath to turn it into a national holiday. How 1980s! Do we really believe it is going to be earth-shattering news any more when anyone “comes out of the closet?” HELLO … they already have you on film at Pride Day… YOU’RE OUT! Lance Bass finally admitted it … DUH! Clay Aiken - the GAYiken … oh no, not yet. It doesn’t matter how much you want or try to assimilate with society, few people are surprised when you finally utter the words, “I’m gay!” So, instead of searching for coming out stories we’re going to go In Search of Self-Expression… CHAD: Oh good lord, I’ve got to go In Search of that one more time? I’m the queen of self-expression — drag, leather,

cowboy, preppie, pagan and political — you name it, I’ve read the manual. No matter where I looked, it all left me wanting more, and I always explored every other horizon. Isn’t “self-expression” the evolution of one’s self? MARK: Yes, and that is what makes it so unique. When we try to fit into a group, it doesn’t allow for the individuality we each desire deep down. The way each of us chooses to express ourselves takes on varied forms even within each social clique. No one drag queen, leather enthusiast, Wrangler-wearing, Banana Republic-bagtoting person is an exact replica of the next. CHAD: Haven’t you seen the movie “Revenge of the Clones?” It plays every Friday at Club Sound and Saturdays at Trapp Door. It seems that people don’t want to be themselves. I wonder if they’ve ever woken up and wanted to be themselves instead of what someone else expected them to be. MARK: Oh… I think they have. Even the Stepford wives finally had a revolt, but it takes a lot of inner strength to step outside the group and be an individual. Some of the most individualistic expressionists that I believe exist in our community are the drag queens. CHAD: Oh, God … drag queens. We’re not going to talk about the Royal Court again? Can’t we have National Shove It Back in the Closet Day? I mean … buy a real makeup brush. If this is going to be your form of self-expression, please take some time and do it right … in whatever drag persona you take. It seems to be the starting point

of the coming out process. Even straight men are fascinated by wearing a dress on Halloween.

ment simultaneously in the shower, but we don’t put that on-stage. Although I wish we would.

MARK: Careful Chadley … don’t make generalizations. Just because you knew it right after wearing your mother’s pumps, doesn’t mean it takes a cross-dressing moment for others to embrace their desire to suck cock. Though I’ll agree that a man wearing a dress seems to be most widely accepted only under specific circumstances. As long as it is a joke at Halloween, no one raises an eyebrow, but once someone is plucking brows every weekend or even shaving them off completely then there is reason for concern.

MARK: Folsom Street Fair was last weekend. Salt Lake City can’t be San Francisco, but we do have drag competitions. Although many of us like to pick fun at the Court as the ugly stepsisters of drag, they have several drag competitions for those who desire an outlet for that form of expression.

CHAD: What do you mean? Stand in the middle of the club and take a look around. They’re all plucked and primped. Eyeliner has become the new “manly accessory.” That, coupled with a complete bikini wax. Can I blame drag queens for metrosexual expressionism? Halloween just seems the time for people to explore their next evolution. MARK: Okay, but what’s wrong with a man getting on stage, wearing a dress and attempting to entertain an audience. Some of them should practice at home a bit more, but still it should be acceptable for them to do it more than once a year. Let the audience who paid to see them decide who is worthy — or even better, the panel of judges at a drag competition. CHAD: Competition … I love competition. It weeds out those still trying to find their expressive voice and shows us how expressive some of those bitches really can be. There is a great deal of difference between self-expression and entertaining. One can experience self-expression and entertain-

CHAD: Utah’s drag universe doesn’t revolve around the RCGSE. There is also the Gay Youth Pageant and even preliminaries for the National Miss Gay USofA and USofA At-Large. Now that’s hardcore drag queen expressionism. As for ugly, that’s another “In Search of” because ugly is more about the verbal attitude than the physical appearance. MARK: Well, it still takes more than the right foundation to be pretty. Remember what Auntie Noxie says in Too Wong Foo, “there is a difference between a boy in a dress and a true drag queen.” Some of the boys in the RCGSE have what it takes to compete with the caliber of queens you find at the Rocky Mountain USofA competition, but it definitely takes a level of talent that I’m not sure many give its due respect. No matter what form of self-expression you choose, someone will find a flaw in your choice. That doesn’t make your choice wrong. Don’t try to be like everyone else and don’t try to muffle those who have found their own creative voice just because it isn’t a form of expression you chose. We agree that our own inner community must be more accepting of personal self-expression. Whatever it may be… Q

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by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@qsaltlake.com

t first glance, David Nelson may seem like an unusual candidate for president of the world’s largest gay gun organization. A familiar face on Capitol Hill from his days as a lobbyist, Nelson is a fairly recent Second Amendment supporter; as he tells it, the events of 9/11 converted him.

“I began thinking especially with stories coming out about Mark Bingham and the other gay and lesbian people who were on board the various flights, what would I have done?” said Nelson. “What would I have wanted to do? I immediately came to the conclusion that given my temperament I would be one of the first people to run to the cockpit and fight back. I would hope to be armed doing that, whether it was with a plastic airline knife or with a firearm.” A member of the Democratic Party for twenty-six years — a party better known for gun control than gun-loving — Nelson said he started researching the Democrats’ history with the Second Amendment, the controversial constitutional amendment that gives each American citizen the right to keep and bear firearms. He said he was surprised to learn that historically Democrats had largely supported this amend-

ment. Even today, he says the anti-gun stance of a few Democratic leaders does not reflect the opinions of the party at large. “There aren’t very many Democrats who are progun who find it necessary to speak out,” he said. “Well, that’s changing. Myself included, there are a lot of us in Utah especially, but nationally as well that are finally saying ‘Look; we’re not saying that it’s an absolute, we’re not saying there isn’t room for more responsibility to be had on the part of gun owners, but we can’t anymore let the anti-gun crowd speak for us, for our party, and for what it means to be for or against the Second Amendment in the Democratic party.” Nelson’s dedication to the right to bear arms extends to his leadership of Stonewall Shooting Sports, the Utah-based, queer gun group he founded four years ago. And he’s also serious about teaching anyone — gay, straight, living in Utah or abroad – how to use guns safely and responsibly for self defense and for recreation. “This is really just a public service,” he said. “I’m not trying to lead gay gun owners in Utah as much as trying to give them an outlet, a voice and a chance to get together and shoot and learn together.” Stonewall Shooting Sports actually began its life in November, 2002 as the Pink Pistols of Utah, a chapter of a well-known, international gay gun organization which promotes the use of firearms for self-defense in the queer community. But according to Nelson, the fledgling group soon started going in a different direction. “The Pink Pistols is just about firearms, but we include anything that shoots,” he explained. “It’s not one of our major issues, but we do include archery, we include paint ball, we include the recreational aspect as well as self-defense.” Another key difference is in Stonewall Shooting Sports’ membership. While many queer gun groups are made up only of local members who get together to practice shooting, Nelson’s organization is truly international. It also has a membership of approximately 430, making it the largest such group in the world, according to him. Although many members live in-state, others are Utahns who joined the military and relocated. Some are even citizens of other countries who found out about the group through the internet and international gay news outlets. According to Nelson, these members hail from countries as diverse as Israel, Iraq, India, France and Germany. These members participate by receiving the Stonewall Shooting Sports’ monthly newsletter and by communicating with Nelson through email. “In some of those countries obviously, [such as] Iraq, Israel and France, they have what I would call Draconian anti-gun laws,” said Nelson. “Whether they own and /or shoot on their own is irrelevant. They are living the Second Amendment vicariously through us. They understand the importance of gay people at least being prepared to fight back. They support our mission and they understand the recreational aspect of it as well.” But Stonewall Shooting Sports membership isn’t just culturally and internationally diverse. Its more than 400 members from all walks of life, including military personnel, law officers, sports figures, even a few celebrities. Its ranks also include straight people who are trying to overcome anti-gay prejudice. For these members, Nelson sees a shared love of firearms as a way to foster understanding. “They see the linkage between having to be denied access to a restaurant because it bans concealed fire arms and being denied at a restaurant because you might be gay,” he explained. “They see that, they get it viscerally. We do find that kind of support. They’re

To learn more about Stonewall Shooting Sports, visit them on the web at stonewallshootingsportsutah.org. Membership is free and open to anyone, regardless of firearms ownership. Nelson can also be reached at owner@stonewallshootingsportsutah.org.

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taking their time and learning about our issues as well. [The organization] is a forum where we can share the commonality between the second amendment and all the other amendments gay people generally want. It’s bridging a gap.” Nelson also thinks that his group may help bridge another gap — that between Utah’s queer citizens and the Republican lawmakers who have drafted anti-gay legislation. “I was a lobbyist for decades at the Utah legislature, and nothing has opened the door to the Republican side of the aisle [like the issue of firearms],” said Nelson. “They know that [I’m a Democrat], and they know that I’m a lobbyist and that I’m openly gay. But because of the second amendment issue that I embrace blindly, there are a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill who suddenly want my endorsement, who suddenly want my work with them, who involve me on the ground level for second amendment legislation for the state.” “That’s important, I think, not only for my group and myself but for gay and lesbian Utahns generally,” he continued. “For the first time these Republicans who still unfortunately vote against us are beginning to see cracks in their argument for doing so.” Eventually, Nelson thinks that gun legislation will serve as a wedge issue between Utah’s queer citizens and members of the state Republican Party. “I think over time [this issue] will allow those who vote against us in the state legislature to turn around and at least…if they can’t vote for us than at least take a walk, don’t vote at all. I think that tide is turning.” But one thing that isn’t turning fast enough for Nelson is empowering gay gun groups to stop hate crimes against queer people in their own communities. In the future he said he would like to see a neighborhood watch program for Utah’s gay communities like Cease Fear, one such program that has been implemented in Seattle, Washington. Though not all members of Cease Fear are armed, members with concealed weapons permits are permitted to carry them while on watch. “It’s almost like their own antiviolence project,” Nelson explained. “I wonder if that’s something that could happen in Utah. I wonder if the time is right for our members and members of the anti-violence community to come together and understand we need to do something to teach people how to prevent crime and how to report it after the fact and how to defend themselves while it’s happening. That’s the missing link in everything we’ve been doing with hate crimes and anti-violence so far.” Q

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1984

See Oct. 13

By Tony Hobday

tony@qsaltlake.com

I recently met this cute, short, feisty woman at the Trapp who hails from the east coast. She emphatically claimed she’d “sock” anyone—boy or girl—who messes with her. (I haven’t heard that term used in ages, I love it.) Well, where was this emissary of protection the other night at the Trapp when a model-like giantess decided a couple of patrons were her personal rag dolls, flinging them to the floor like they were wet blankets? Thank god the Jagermeistershooting tyrant was 86ed. Love ya, Sarah. Good luck in France.

1SUNDAY

Q Emperor XXXI Kim Russo of RCGSE (the Yogi Berra of Pride softball — any number of fingers spread between her thighs leave any batter swinging for the heavens), hosts AIDS Awareness Week, which opens today with a BBQ and Match Game. Michael “Spam” Canham and Michelle “From Hell” Vreeken co-host tonight’s event. 6:30pm, Paper Moon, 3737 S. State St., a private club for members. $5 at the door benefits the Monarch’s AIDS Fund.

Queer (apparently this is the politicallycorrect term, not: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, fag, homo, dyke, etc. — sure, take all the fun out of it) LDS missionaries are invited to a Mission Reunion and Fireside hosted by Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons, Salt Lake Chapter. Oops, should have changed more than just the chapter name. Steven Fales, the Mormon Boy who’s in a run for his money against James McGreevey for the most confessions, performs. I foresee a confessional “lock-down” in the midst. 5pm, Metropolitan Community Church, 823 S. 600 East. Guest Speaker, Jeffrey Nielsen, former BYU professor. Free except for a food dish for the potluck. Visit affirmation.org.

4WEDNESDAY Q For my 30th birthday, eons ago, friends took me to Seattle. We celebrated New Year’s Eve bar hopping in handmade masquerade masks; it was a hoot. The point being, the Women’s Art Center is calling for masquerade ball mask entries for exhibit at the

October 20th Gallery Stroll. Entries will be part of the Go Wild Masquerade Ball and Fashion Show on October 28. Entries may be submitted to the Women’s Art Center, 345 Pierpont Avenue, today and Thursday from 1-5pm, or Saturday from Noon-3pm. Entry fee is $10. Call 577-8367 or visit womensartcenter.org for more information.

5THURDAY

Q Repertory Dance Theatre opens the 2006-2007 season with Moving Heaven & Earth, which is comprised of six dance pieces: Ryoanji, a movement “ritual” inspired by the famous Japanese rock garden at Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto; Icarus, a piece based upon the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus; Exit from Eden explores the duality of right and wrong, black and white, as well as falling from grace and leaving paradise behind; Desert Sea takes inspiration from the art and geography of the Four Corners region; Fever Sleep probes the landscape of the mind, particularly the mind on the verge of dementia; and In the Valley of the Sun and Moon, a solo piece choreographed by Bill Evans. 7:30pm pre-concert discussion, 8pm show time, Jeanne Wagner Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $30, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org.

Q My bowling score fluctuates like my heart rate on a hit of LSD. Totally sober, I bowl around 120; with two to four beers in me, I bowl about 180; five or more beers, I’m a total gutter whore, in all senses of the phrase. Be that as it may, RCGSE’s AIDS Awareness Week continues with Twilight Bowling, co-hosted by Pepper Prespentt and Austyn Riley. I’ll be there in what friends have dubbed my “drag queen bowling shoes”. They are absolutely fabulous. 9pm, Bonwood Bowl, 2500 S. Main St. $5 donation benefits the Monarch’s AIDS Fund.

Q I fondly remember the premiere of Steven Fales’ one-man autobiographical play Confessions of a Mormon Boy five years ago. I laughed, my eyes occasionally teared up, I ogled Fales’ smooth bare chest and I cheered at the final act. Fales expertly recounts the events that encompassed coming to terms with his sexual-identity: marriage & divorce, excommunication by the LDS church, reparative therapy, male prostitution and drug abuse. It’s been a smash hit across the country, and this will be the final Salt Lake City engagement; one worth seeing. 7pm Mondays, 8pm Thursday–Saturday, 3pm Sunday matinees. Through Saturday, Nov. 11, Studio Theatre, Rose Wagner Center. Tickets $10–25, call 355-ARTS arttix.org.

6FRIDAY

Q Keith Lockhart conducts the Utah Symphony through three diverse tales of Great Britain’s finest composers in the British Masters concert. First, the orchestra performs energetic scenes from Britten’s opera Gloriana. Next, Elgar said that his friends were affectionately “pictured within” his Enigma Variations. Then, Satan will wager against the piety of Job: A Masque for Dancing in Vaughan Williams’ musical portrayal. 8pm, Tonight and Saturday, Abravanel Hall, 123 S. Temple. Tickets $12-48, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org.

Q University of Utah’s Youth Theatre, a unique limb of the Department of Theatre strives to teach children and young adults, ages 5-18, valuable life-skills through the medium of theatre; to help them access complex emotions and social issues through acting. You can get a taste of this innovative approach to developing young minds with Once on this Island, a new production based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy. 7pm, tonight and 11am, Saturday, Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. President’s Circle, UofU. Tickets $5/students (under18), $10/adults. Call 5817100 or visit kingtix.com.

Q There’s more to being healthy than always packaging the meat or battling age with Botox injections and pectoral implants. Granted sex and beauty defines whether we have healthy individual lifestyles, and if our personal definition sucks, we’re prone to suicide, obesity and depression; all of which are just a few of the workshop topics at this year’s Invenio Gay Men’s Health Summit. Hosted in conjunction with the Utah AIDS Foundation, the three-day annual event focuses on transforming, strengthening, reviving and drawing more attention to so many aspects of the health and wellness of the gay man, of any age and race. Tonight through Sunday, Radisson Hotel, 215 W. South Temple. Registration $25, visit ugmh.com to register and for the schedule.

Q AIDS Awareness Week continues with the RCGSE Red Party, a benefit show co-hosted by reigning Empress Kyra Prespentt, and former Empresses Sheneka Christie and Tasha Montiel. To do my part, I will now strongly encourage everyone who hasn’t had an HIV test within the last year to do it now, please. It’s so easy — a little swab of your spit and bam!, you’ll celebrate the fruits of your

responsible nature within approximately 20 minutes. 8pm (if we’re lucky), Trapp Door, 615 W. 100 S., a private club for members. $5 donation.

7SATURDAY

Q Lily Tomlin has more aliases than Jennifer Garner, and probably a better sex life. Remember Madame Lupe, the world’s oldest living beauty expert … the bratty Edith Ann … the lollipop-sucking, chemically-induced Tina … or how about Ernestine, the silver-tongued phone operator. If not, too freakin’ bad because tonight’s show is sold out. 7:30pm, Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. President’s Circle, UofU. Tickets can probably be purchased through “street vendors” outside the venue, but you didn’t hear it from me.

Q If you don’t want your Harry Connick, Jr. hair scalped for the Lily Tomlin performance, but you still have an uncontrollable itch to see her, or at least someone who looks like her, then join the celebration at sWerve’s Oktoberfest 2006. There will be beer, bratwurst, polka and a Lily Tomlin look-a-like contest. 7pm, Cactus & Tropicals, 2735 S. 2000 East. Tickets $15 each or 3 for $40 at the event.

Q The Homestead Resort in Midway invites the general public to go up and “enjoy the fall colors, food, fun and children’s activities” at the Harvest Festival. Now, with the extreme shifts in Utah’s weather pattern, the only color likely to be seen is white, and we all know white is taboo after Labor Day. Oh, pshaw … I’m wearing white panties right now … oops, nope, going commando. Yes, I’m not being taboo. Call 435-654-1102 ext. 7406 for times. Homestead Resort, 700 Homestead Dr, Midway.

Q Yet another event hosted in the Wasatch Mountain range, boasts beautiful fall colors to entice patrons to attend. Yeah, I’ll slap snow chains on my tires and be right up; please I’m a gay man, the only chains I own are … well, on me. But, I digress … Alta Lodge offers a Vivaldi & Wine Pairing Weekend package, which includes a moving performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by the Appassinado String Quartet, an elegant dinner reception, wine pairings with Sommelier Ericka Story, lodging and Sunday Brunch. This is a posh affair — wine pairings — not a pair of winos, Michael. 4pm, Today and Sunday, Alta Lodge, approximately 9 miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Reservations $125 per person plus $30 per person wine pairing (optional). Call 800-707ALTA or 322-4631.

8SUNDAY

Q If you buy your wine by the box or if you drink it as a meal in itself, and if you love Bears, then you may want to join theUtah Bear Alliance for Bears in Fruita. That’s right folks, the Spanish slang word fruita meaning gay male is an actual location in Colorado. I think I’ll click my heels three times and say, “There’s no place like home,” and see what happens. Anyhoo, activities over the weekend include a BBQ, wine tasting, mountain biking and a trip to Colorado National Monument. 10am, Today and Monday. Visit utahbears. com to receive additional information.

Q AIDS Awareness Week ends today with a fabulous show, Live for Life, the final benefit show of this year’s RCGSE event, which hopefully, with your support, will have been a huge success. There will be a social hour before the show, which is co-hosted by Peter Christie and Charles Black.

lous decade of artists including Thompson Twins, Howard Jones, The Go-Go’s, Erasure, English Beat, Ah-ha and When In Rome. Granted, pop trio When In Rome wasn’t one of the more popular groups, but The Promise alone is a phenomenal ballad. Come on you fruit loops, get with the program. 9pm, The Depot, Gateway, 400 S. West Temple. Tickets $15/advance-$17/day of show, call 888-TIXX or visit smithstix.com.

Q The highly anticipated production of George Orwell’s powerful classic novel, 1984 finally hits the stage fittingly on Friday the 13th. The haunting depiction of a “negative utopia” as proclaimed some

35 years earlier will leave chills running down your spine. The story is fiction but undeniably real. Directed by Oscar-winner Tim Robbins, this is surely a show you won’t want to miss. And I recommend the book even more. 7:30pm, Tonight and Saturday, Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. President’s Circle, UofU. Tickets $24.50–29.50, call 581-7100 or kingtix.com.

15SUNDAY

Q The Music and Theater Departments of Westminster College offer a free concert tonight. Join these talented students as they feature original works in radical styles of woodwind chamber music in

Four Utah Symphony Winds. A featured rare performance of Eight Etudes is included. 3pm, Westminster College, 1840 S. 1300 East. Free. Visit westminstercollege.edu for more information.

Upcoming Events

LGBT & Allies Community Potluck, October 22, Holladay United Church of Christ David Sedaris, October 24, Capitol Theatre Fiona Apple, October 25, Huntsman Center Pet Shop Boys, November 3, E Center Howard Jones, November 18, Kingsbury Hall

6pm, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 261 S. 900 East. Donations $5 at the door.

11WEDNESDAY

Q I’m not much of a rap music fan unless it’s Kevin Federline. Ok, if you know me it all, you know I’m yanking your swollen pull toy. The hip hop/rap trio Swollen Members are in concert tonight. Although I don’t know their music, I like their name because I’m plain and simply, a pig. 7pm, In The Venue, 219 S. 600 West. Tickets $15, call 888-TIXX or visit smithstix.com.

12THURSDAY

Q Ballet West — those sweet little dickens — are putting on a free pre-season concert, Music of the Ballet accompanied by the Utah Chamber Orchestra. It’s for all those probies to the most elegant dance style; really this is just my interpretation. Get it? Interpretational dance, interpretational interpretations. Oh god, next! 7:30pm, Abravanel Hall, 123 S. West Temple. Free.

Q The Utah Symphony proudly brings Esa-Pekka Salonen’s (the eminent conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) stunningly imaginative setting to Five Images After Sappho’s one remaining ode. Also included in Out of the West is John Adams’ Chamber Symphony and ShiHui Chen’s Plum Blossoms. It will be an evening of intense, yet shimmering music sensations conducted by Edwin Outwater. 8pm, Jeanne Wagner Theatre, Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $25–35, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org.

7:30pm, Tonight through Sunday, October 22, Capitol Theatre, 200 S. 50 West. Tickets $10–55, call 355-ARTS or visit arttix.org.

13FRIDAY

Q It amazes me that so many gays in their mid to late 20s don’t have a clue about the pop music of the 80s. I found it a fantabu-

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Q The highly popular La Traviata (The Woman Who Strayed) by Giuseppe Verdi makes its way to our babbling brook of a culture thanks to the Utah Opera. It’s the story of a cold-hearted bitch who’d rather have her tonsils ripped out and never sing opera again than fall in love. But, dammit, love conquers all, even the singing fat lady. Sung in Italian with English supertitles. Buon viaggo, arrivederci!

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The Rox Box by Mikey Rox On her debut album, Undiscovered, Brooke Hogan steps out of the vast shadow cast by her pro-wrestler papa, Hulk Hogan, to strike her own chord. A star of the family’s reality program, VH1’s top-rated “Hogan Knows Best,” 18-year-old Brooke takes a bold initiative with the release of her debut single, “About Us,” featuring rapper Paul Wall, who has helmed projects for Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Mario and 50 Cent. A sly and semi-informed comeback to the perils of celebrity conjecture, “About Us” is reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan’s “Rumors,” sans the tabloid tales to merit such a narcissistic song. Also lacking the bite and the beat of Lohan’s premier offering as a musical artist – which is unfortunate considering that Brooke seems like a down-to-earth and driven professional who deserves more than Miss Fire Crotch (blame Brandon Davis) – Brooke’s first foray is down for the count.

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But don’t throw her out of the ring just yet – the rest of Undiscovered shows promise. Thanks mostly to the enormous amount of buzz built through everyone’s favorite social-networking site, MySpace. Ever had an itch? Sure ya have – you were 15, and he said he was a virgin, too. That bastard! But that’s not the itch Basement Jaxx wants you to scratch. It was only last year that Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe moved more than 800,000 units of their double-platinum album, The Singles. Now the boys are back with their super-fresh follow-up, Crazy Itch Radio. “We’ve all got the crazy itch,” says Buxton. “It’s the crazy, colorful itch of life.” And Basement Jaxx’s new album taps as much as it can from those terrific tingles of everyday existence. Swerving from all-out drama on the operatic intro straight into the jet-packed kaleidoscopic pop of “Hush Boy,” this record screams out of the starting line with the warm splendor that’s suggestive of the duo’s early EPs. There’s also a Balkan folk tune woven into vocals from Swedish pop sensation Robyn on “Hey U”; a hyper grime track cussing vain boys from East London’s Lady Marga, titled “Run 4 Cover”; and “Lights Go Down,” a Wil Malone-scored masterpiece featuring legendary British singer Linda Lewis. Strap in – you’re about to embark on an audio adventure. “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” may be the first single from Scissor Sisters’ sophomore release, Ta-dah, but don’t let it fool you: This mostly queer quintet – featuring frontman Jake Shears, bassist Babydaddy, vocalist Ana Matronic, guitarist Del Marquis and drummer Paddy Boom – is ready to rock. Their latest album is a wildly eclectic, brilliant slice of life-affirming glam-pop full of that melancholic mayhem that had you hooked from the band’s self-titled debut. A contradiction in itself, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” – co-written with Sir Elton John – is possibly the happiest-sounding song ever composed about staying in and feeling miserable. But the fun doesn’t stop there! If you think that sneak peek will have you up and at ’em in your DT Jocks, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet. Other highfalutin tracks include “I Can’t Decide”; “Hybrid Man”; “Paul McCartney”; and “Hairbaby,” possibly the world’s only song about the phenomenon of tumors containing partially formed fetuses. Don’t think about it; just listen.

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Yes, Nicole Richie has a father, and his name is Lionel. Though you mostly hear about his socialite daughter and her misadventures in Hollywood, the elder Richie has been churning out hits since the 1970s. In fact, the man is a living, breathing legend: Over 100 million albums sold worldwide, five Grammy Awards, 22 Top 10 hits, an Academy Award… the list goes on. And it shows no signs of stopping. His latest record, Coming Home, is an all-star collaboration with today’s most prolific hit makers, including Jermaine Dupri, Raphael Saadiq, Dallas Austin, Sean Garrett, Chuckii Booker and more. Preceded by first single “I Call It Love” – the video for which features none other than the much-discussed Nicole (Shh! It’s not shameless promotion when she’s your kid) – Coming Home is the culmination of a definitive career. Lionel had his hand in most of the nine tracks, including “I’m Coming Home,” “Outta My Head” and “I Love You,” all of which he wrote and co-produced. While it’s unlikely that any of these tracks will compete with today’s pop contenders – such as Paris Hilton – Lionel’s voice still has the power to move body and soul. Which is much more than one can say about this summer’s radio vomit, “Stars are Blind.” Singers like outand-proud Neil Cohen are hard to come by. On his debut disc, Day Off, the artist dives into the depths of thoroughly modernized classics from the late ’60s and early ’70s. Blessed with a voice that can scale the loftiest heights only to swoop down to plumb a song’s soulful profundities, he inspires awe with his audible agility. When he’s not swingin’ from the scales, Cohen spends his time tending to a successful fashion business he started 8 years ago with his life-partner, Claude –the reason why he’s just now releasing his aptly titled album. A year ago, on his birthday, the crooner decided to give himself one day a week to work on his music – a passion that he’s held in his heart since a boy at summer camp. The result is a heaping of classic covers and three original songs: the breezy, upbeat title track that pays joyous homage to the precious Tuesdays he devoted to Day Off; “High Rise,” a tribute to his late mother and her dream of living in Manhattan; and “Hurry Home,” a love letter to Claude. You can guarantee he got laid for that last one. Who is Mikey Rox? Who gives a fuck! But he can be reached at whoismikeyrox@aim.com

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Lily: Laughable, Legend and Lesbian By Tony Hobday

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Illustration: Traci O’Very Covey

tony@qsaltlake.com

life sucks.

involved in many gay-friendly film productions like And The Band Played On (1993), a riveting drama about the discovery of AIDS, The Celluloid Closet (1995), a documentary film about Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuality, and Superstar in a Housedress (2004), another documentary about Andy Warhol’s transvestite “diva” Jackie Curtis. Though Tomlin was never completely secretive about her life with Wagner, she did finally voice her homosexuality to the press and general public in 2000, at the age of 60. The multiple Grammy and Emmy awardwinning couple met in 1971 and have been inseparable ever since. Their personal and professional bond for more than thirty years, along with their dedicated work with GLAAD and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, is an inspirational tribute to the gay community. Q

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By Giuseppe Verdi

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savor the agony of love . or wallow in it . tickets $10 and up. call 355-arts (2787).

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“I’ve always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.” A wry and grossly inadequate quote from one of the wittiest personalities on stage, in film and television; Lily Tomlin created an iconic reputation for herself early in her career and has maintained it during the last forty years. Many of you may remember her best from the pro-feminism flick 9 to 5 (1980) as the level-headed conspirator who kidnaps her sexist egotistical male boss with the help of gal pals Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, and prove that women are just as business-minded—if not more so—than any man. Tomlin’s career did not start or even come close to ending there as she has reaped the rewards of an idealistic profession; even now, as Tomlin recently turned 67, her funny-lady personae remains undisturbed and widely received. Her age and sexual orientation, though usually spurn by Hollywood standards, has not yet failed her, and with her shear talent, fans will remain entertained for at least another twenty years. Born 1939 in Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression to a factory worker and housewife, Mary Jean Tomlin (her given name) realized a dream in performance arts while attending Wayne State University. Her standup comedy routines in Detroit and New York landed her a spot on the Merv Griffin Show in 1965. Her comic popularity rocketed and she garnered a recurring role on the variety comedy show Laugh-In from 1969–73. Her comic popularity subsequently rocketed. She co-wrote and produced several of her own television specials featuring a number of wacky alter egos like Edith Ann and Ernestine. Then in 1977, Tomlin appeared on the acclaimed late night comedy skit show Saturday Night Live, which was in the midst of a new found popularity. Over the next thirty years, Tomlin’s big screen ventures included many audienceand critically-acclaimed films such as Jane Wagner’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), All of Me (1984) with Steve Martin, Short Cuts (1993), a film version of the television classic The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), Flirting with Disaster (1996), and Tea with Mussolini (1999 — wherein Tomlin portrays a lesbian archeologist). Her more recent films consist of I Heart Huckabees and A Prairie Home Companion, and an additional four films scheduled for release in 2007-08. Tomlin’s memorable television credits include a two-season stint as the quirky, tough-minded and stubborn news exec on Murphy Brown, a bitter mischievous ghost on The X-Files, a SAG award-winning role on the political drama The West Wing, and the short recurring role of Margot, a bullying senior law partner, on Will & Grace. Tomlin also won a Tony award in 1985 for her performance in the one-woman Broadway hit The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, penned specifically for Tomlin by her life partner, Jane Wagner. For many years, Tomlin kept her sexuality under the radar, though she was actively

Yes, we’ve missed a few issues of the QScene. Contrary to rumor and speculation, it isn’t because we hate the Court. Yes, a few of the thinner-skinned members are off our Christmas card list, but the truth is much more mundane and free of drama and has to do with time restraints, space and logistics. Photographer Kim Russo and an unnamed sWerve cameraperson found us all out and about over the past several weeks enjoying the last of the summer, a great dinner and some fun at the Ogden Union Station.

The Allies Dinner sponsored by and for Equality Utah drew 1000 people to raise funds for pro-gay political candidates. The most raucous table belonged to sWerve. The left picture shows the sWerve gang along with EU executive director Mike Thompson. At right is Jeri, Shannon and Deb.

The Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire threw a carnival on the Trapp patio. From left to right: Michael “Spam” Canham awaiting a pie in the face; Tori, Paris, Vanessa Vaughn, Nick Constantino and Emperor X Scott Stites take time out from gabbing to pose for a picture; Wee and Parker Hare mug it up.

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Austyn Riley sits ready to sell you a crotch-drop of raffle tickets; August Court Members of the Month Ray Duncan and Alan Stephensen; Nick and Tori get ready to taste some pie; Michelle “From Hell” with pie; Thom and Tom; and, somehow Kim didn’t have this picture selected for this issue. But here it is!

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And, below, photographer Brek Joos catches the action at Gossip! from Friday, Sept. 22.

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Get the Nurse Smoking Gays By Jennifer Medvin, RN jennifer@qsaltlake.com

For more information, go to gaysmokeout.com. Jennifer Medvin is a perioperative registered nurse.

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Mark Twain is quoted as saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quitting smoking is easy. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done it a thousand times.â&#x20AC;? Cigarette smoking is the greatest cause of preventable deaths in the US and on the average, people who smoke die five to eight years earlier than people who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t smoke. Cigarettes are, unfortunately, a part of gay and lesbian culture. I remember a billboard in West Hollywood that stated the most common pick-up line in the gay community is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you have a light?â&#x20AC;? Marlboro and Camel send young, good-looking surveyors out to the bars to gather the patronsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; information and then present them with a free Zippo lighter. A trap that bombards the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mailbox with brochures and coupons for cigarettes. In 2001, an article in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;evidence suggests that since the 1980s, the tobacco industry has targeted the gay market through direct advertisement, sponsorship, and promotional events.â&#x20AC;? Tobacco companies created an advertising campaign titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Project SCUMâ&#x20AC;? which stood for â&#x20AC;&#x153;subculture urban marketing.â&#x20AC;? The consumer subcultures included â&#x20AC;&#x153;alternative lifestyleâ&#x20AC;? along with â&#x20AC;&#x153;street people.â&#x20AC;? Some theories why LGBT adults have increased smoking rates include: bars and dance clubs as the prime social outlet, reduced access to health care, stress related to identity issues and less support from family and society. Even though the national percentage of people who smoke has decreased, the numbers still remain high in the gay community. In 2004, a survey in California showed more than 30 percent of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people were smokers. Lesbians have been shown to smoke twice as much as heterosexual women according to the Institute of Medicine. Smokers have a higher chance of developing a list of many life threatening illnesses including: throat, mouth, esophageal, pancreatic, kidney, bladder, and cervical cancer, increased blood pressure, and peptic ulcers. Also, those who smoke are at twice the risk for developing fatal heart disease. Furthermore, smoking is the major cause of emphysema, a debilitating lung disease which slowly destroys a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to breathe normally. In addition, smokers tend to get colds and other respiratory tract infections more often than nonsmokers. According to the American Cancer Society, â&#x20AC;&#x153;cigarette smoking accelerates the start of AIDS among people with HIVâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;HIV accelerates smoking induced emphysema.â&#x20AC;? Other studies have found an association between smoking and an increased risk for certain opportunistic infections associated with HIV such as Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia. For those that would like to quit smoking and rid themselves of the stinky clothes and bad breath, there are nicotine inhalers, patches, lozenges, gums and nasal sprays. Alternative therapies such as hypnosis and acupuncture are also available. On the market today, there are two medications that require a prescription to help in smoking cessation; Zyban (bupropion HCL) and Chantix (varenicline). Chantix attempts to block the nicotine receptors in the brain, helping people overcome nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms including: irritability, shakiness, trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping and increased appetite. All the studies showed primarily mild side effects from any of the drugs. Some people on Chantix complained of nausea and unusual dreams, while those on Zyban had more insomnia. None of these treatments are a miracle cure. You still need to learn to live without cigarettes in your daily life. It is more helpful to join an organized quit-smoking program while you are using nicotine replacements to help you quit. There are many things you can do to help yourself quit smoking: Set a quit date and make sure to throw your remaining cigarettes away. Join a nicotine-anonymous class or support group. Ask your family and friends for support. Start an exercise program. Think about using nicotine gum or patches. Think about asking your doctor for a prescription medicine that can help you quit. Within the first 24 hours of quitting, your chances of a heart attack begin to decrease and by one year the likelihood of a heart attack is cut in half. Quitting smoking helps your circulation, your stamina, your skin, and your overall health. Quitting smoking also reduces the likelihood of your getting respiratory problems and lung cancer. Q

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by Ross Von Metzke buzz@qsaltlake.com

Will wonders never cease. One of those over-exposed Hollywood harlots â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who seem to spend their waking hours clamoring for any sort of press they can get while swinging their thousand dollar purses and launching into nasty, diva fuel tirades â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has admitted to being a spoiled bitch. OK, so maybe she put it a bit more tactfully than that, but MISCHA BARTON, who moved out of The OC last spring amid rumors sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d focus on her film career full time, admitted to reporters she was turning into a self-obsessed brat. The 20-year-old actress, part of that PARIS HILTON-LINDSAY LOHAN-NICOLE RICHIE-KIMBERLEY STEWART (insert name of 15-minute celeb here) monstrosity, has admitted that what we saw in the press was indeed true â&#x20AC;&#x201D; her ego was spiraling out of control as she rose to fame on the popular Fox hit. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was becoming too high maintenance,â&#x20AC;? she told reporters in Great Britain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Actors start talking about themselves as if they are the most important people on Earth â&#x20AC;&#x201D; I was no different. We have to have a big belief in ourselves. For most of us all itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Me, me, me.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mad business.â&#x20AC;? She capped this moment of self realization with the poignant: â&#x20AC;&#x153;At times Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve thought to myself, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deserve this.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deserve anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 20, for goodness sake.â&#x20AC;? Well now Mischa, finally something we can both agree on. Considering theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve renamed your period romp with HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN Virgin Territory (donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even get me started on the many things I could do with that title) and

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opted to release it in that oh-so-congratulatory â&#x20AC;&#x153;all the pics weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping will win us Oscars are out so now we can dump the rest of the shit collecting dust on our shelvesâ&#x20AC;? January slot, nothing might just be what you get. But seriously, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a step in the right direction for Mischa, and though Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not quite sold enough to consider myself a fan, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and lay off for ... awhile. Unfortunately, I wish I could be so kind to LINDSAY LOHAN, but no matter who says what about this unprofessional divette (I mean, good lord, when ROSIE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;DONNELL, JANE FONDA, WILLIAM H. MACY and the head of the production company funding your new flick all say youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spun out of control, chances are they make a good point), she seems to keep landing her ass back in trouble. Not two months after Lindsay wound up in the hospital for self-proclaimed exhaustion (we got the translation the following morning when a Hollywood club owner provided proof she had actually been partying into the wee hours of the morning even though she was due on set to shoot at the butt-crack of dawn), she checked herself back inâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;this time for a broken wrist. Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not completely unsympathetic. I broke my nose in sixth gradeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I know how painful bone breaks can be. And I know that when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Lindsay Lohan and you show up at the emergency room, especially when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s you 173rd trip there this year, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really control which reporters are going to be following you in. But it all seems suspect to me when you consider now is the perfect time for Lindsay to be rallying sympathy for her corner. I mean, last week, we pretty much established that everyone in Hollywood hates her. We know what

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Paris and friend/asshole BRANDON DAVIS think about her â&#x20AC;&#x153;firecrotch.â&#x20AC;? Careful when you click. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nasty! And now that she may be planning to sue a studio, well â&#x20AC;Ś Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll keep you posted on the world against Lindsay Lohanâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I, for one, have my money on the world. In news Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure is bound to shock the hell out of you â&#x20AC;&#x201D; WILLIE NELSON arrested for drug possession. No shit! Marijuana and magic mushrooms were found on Nelsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tour bus during a routine police inspection in Louisiana. The cop made it a point to say that while 0.7kg of marijuana and 91grams of mushrooms were confiscated, everyone on the tour bus was â&#x20AC;&#x153;really nice and cooperative.â&#x20AC;? Which further goes to support my claim that pot heads are of no danger to anyone. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear about physically abusive pot-head hubbies or the guy who plowed over a crosswalk full of kids â&#x20AC;&#x2122;cuz he had the munchies. The 73-year-old singer and four tour crew members, including Willieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 75-year-old sister Bobbie, were issued citations for the drugs and released. Nelson has long been a supporter for the legalization of pot, which is why the fact this is even a story cracks me up. I mean, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like being shocked when you find crack in ANNA NICOLE SMITHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nightstand. And finally, in an announcement that made me equal parts sick to my stomach and chomping at the bit to watch this train wreck implode, KATIE HOLMES is reportedly set to play VICTORIA BECKHAM in a film about hubby DAVID BECKHAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. So, as legend has it, TOM CRUISE suggested the story of the football starâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rise to fame to Paramount film studios before they ended his contract, and they quickly optioned the film. Now, in a random twist of events, Victoria has

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allegedly given her blessing for Katie to play her in the film after the two bonded during Katieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;pregnancyâ&#x20AC;? (in quotes because I still ponder that the kid may have been purchased). A close friend of the Becks told Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daily Mirror: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Katie is perfect to play a young Posh and has been working on her accent.â&#x20AC;? Hmmm. Am I the only one noticing about a 20-lbs weight different? And no, I am not saying Katie is fat. But Victoria Beckham is, as the Brits might say, 2 stone soaking wetâ&#x20AC;Ś and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s after theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve force-fed her a turkey dinner will all the fixings and confiscated the Trimspa. I know what more I want. After talk about fire-crotches, cold sores and bad actresses turned allegedly good, I want a bonafide hottie. And after watching a couple of weeks of Dancing With the Stars (and getting past Mario Lopez â&#x20AC;Ś yum), I started to notice how damn good Joey (Joseph) Lawrence looks. Even though the bald head does seem a bit Yul Brenner-ish, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s certainly a huge step in the right direction from that mullet he sported on Blossom in the early â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s. But truth be told,

Joey has been a hottie since day oneâ&#x20AC;Ś hell, I bought his CD in the 1991 just cuz he was hot. And he just keeps getting better with age. As proof, a tribute to Joey, then and now! And there you have it folks. Until next time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; stop and smell the gossip.

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