22 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | DECADE IN REVIEW
DECADE IN REVIEW 2010
Utah AIDS Foundation Executive Director STAN PENFOLD is sworn in as a member of the Salt Lake City Council. Rep. JASON CHAFFETZ introduces a bill to prohibit Washington, D.C. from legalizing samesex marriage. Documentary 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION about the LDS Church’s role in passing Proposition 8 is a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. Lesbian Democrat Rep. CHRISTINE JOHNSON announces a compromise to table all pro- and anti-gay bills on the Hill to save Salt Lake City’s ordinances that protect gay and transgender people from housing and employment discrimination. Sen. ORRIN HATCH goes back on his support for repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Salt Lake County DA SIM GILL files felony charges against seven individuals accused of assaulting gay couple David James “DJ” Bell and Dan Fair in 2008, after accusing Bell of abducting two children from a neighborhood party. SALT LAKE CITY’S ordinances that protect LGBTQ residents from employment and housing discrimination go into effect. Sandy and Logan enter into discussions with EQUALITY UTAH. PARK CITY passes anti-discrimination ordinances. Openly lesbian progressive candidate CLAUDIA WRIGHT forces incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson into a primary at the State Democratic Convention. Rep. Christine Johnson announces that she will be leaving Utah for a job as the executive director of Equality South Carolina. WASHINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT changes its school club policy to allow all high schools to form gay-straight alliances. Sandra Bernhard and Martha Wash headline the UTAH PRIDE FESTIVAL which draws 25,000 participants WEST VALLEY CITY passes anti-discrimination ordinances. Utah Sen. ORRIN HATCH says gays and lesbians “don’t pay tithing, their religion is politics” during a campaign stop in Southern Utah. He later says he intended the comment to praise gays and lesbians for their ability to organize and support political causes they found important. SUMMIT COUNTY, LOGAN, AND TAYLORSVILLE pass antidiscrimination ordinances. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California OVERTURNS PROPOSITION 8. That night, Utahns rally in celebration of the decision. SALT LAKE COUNTY bans job discrimination against transgender employees. More than half of Team Utah brings home medals from GAY GAMES VIII in Cologne, Germany. Rally for
Qsaltlake.com |
Equality speaker RICHARD MATTHEWS calls for the resignation of Utah AIDS Foundation Executive Director Stan Penfold for “dismantling” UAF’s HIV prevention program. A sign for CAFÉ MARMALADE, the Utah Pride Center’s in-house bistro, is vandalized with an anti-gay slur. Gov. Gary Herbert hosts the gay-friendly LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS at a reception at the Governor’s Mansion. Students at WEBER, BONNEVILLE, SYRACUSE, WOODS CROSS AND CLEARFIELD high schools receive permission to start gay-straight alliances. Thousands rally around Temple Square and the Ogden Temple in protest of Ogden LDS Apostle BOYD K. PACKER’S remarks during General Conference that homosexuality is immoral, similar to addiction and that gay people can change their sexuality HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN delivers a petition signed by 150,000 people to LDS headquarters, which called Packer’s remarks harmful and potentially deadly to queer youth. INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE announces it will offer health benefits to the unmarried partners of employees. ARLYN BRADSHAW becomes the first openly gay man elected to the Salt Lake County Council. MURRAY CITY and MOAB pass nondiscrimination ordinances. After much debate, the SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT narrowly passes ordinances protecting students, faculty and staff from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity — though not gender expression. Burglars steal computers from the Utah Pride Center’s cyber center. The U.S. House and Senate repeal the military’s anti-gay DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL policy.
2011
Change.org names EQUALITY UTAH as a top 10 “Gay Rights Heroes of 2010” Utah polls dead last in support of gay marriage at 22 percent. However, since 1994, that number nearly doubled. Gov. GARY HERBERT received the annual United Families Utah “Champion of the Family” award for his opposition to civil unions.“Champion of the Family” After a last-ditch effort by Sen. BEN MCADAMS to move a statewide nondiscrimination bill onto the floor for debate failed, all gay-related legislation was killed, including three bills sponsored by Rep. LaVar Christensen which were seen as threatening to Utah queers. OGDEN unanimously passed two anti-bias ordinances to protect against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in housing and the workplace. Health insurance benefits were approved for domestic partners of employees of the SALT
ISSUE 307 | December 19, 2019
LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Four people charged in connection with the beating of DJ Bell and Dan Fair were sentenced after pleading guilty to aggravated assault, aggravated burglary and rioting charges. ROSEANNE BARR was the grand marshal of the 2011 Utah Pride Festival was the largest on record with 28,000 participants and 100 parade entries. Utah’s first openly gay legislator JACKIE BISKUPSKI stepped down from her House District 30 seat after purchasing a home outside her district. JIM DABAKIS was elected to lead Utah’s Democratic Party, making him the first openly gay head of a major party in Utah. BRIAN DOUGHTY was selected to fill the House District 30 seat vacated by Biskupski The number of reported same-sex couples living together in Utah jumped to 5,814, up from 3,360 in the year 2000 according to the U.S. Census. An HRC poll showed 77 percent of Utahns, and 73 percent of Mormon Utahns, want laws protecting against discrimination in the workplace and housing. After nearly a decade of operation, CONNEXION.ORG shut down The murder investigation of a young, black, gay man in 1978 was reopened for investigation. TONY ADAMS was stabbed to death in his Salt Lake City apartment and no arrests were made in the original case. The case is still open. “DON’T ASK DON’T TELL” is repealed. Hundreds gathered at the Spring Mobile Ballpark to form an enormous pink dot. The PINK DOT event, sponsored by the Support. Love. Courage. council, included celebrity ambassadors Kurt Bestor, Hope Woodside and The Anser. Redistricting eliminated House District 30, represented by Utah’s only openly gay representative, Brian Doughty. The first MOAB PRIDE Festival attracted more than 700 people.
2012
HARRISVILLE became the 14th municipality in Utah to pass an anti-bias ordinance. An abstinenceonly bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Wright, R-Holden, would allow schools to opt out of sex education. After extreme public pressure, Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed the bill. Holden lost re-election later that year. In California, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal court ruling declaring California’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. SPRINGDALE, Utah’s Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance protecting against bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace and housing. BARACK OBAMA voiced his support for marriage equality for all Americans. The Utah Pride Parade made national headlines as
