Gay SLC Council members pen letter to legislators

2-MINUTE READ

Three gay members of the Salt Lake City Council wrote an open letter to state legislators about their “concern and disappointment” that several Utah House lawmakers complained that a Utah Transit Authority bus wrapped with Pride colors and messages would appear in the Utah Pride Parade.

Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman; Rep. Kay J. Christofferson, R-Lehi; House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper; and Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George notified UTA officials that they objected to the bus appearing in the parade.

UTA promoted the pride-wrapped bus in a tweet days before the parade, which prompted the House members to demand UTA take care of the “problem.”

“Honestly this is the last thing I want to deal with right now,” Schultz said in a text made public by The Salt Lake Tribune. “It seriously would be best if you made the change on your own. Let me know what you guys come up with.”

The wrap was paid for by private funds, according to UTA.

To all who represent Utahns in the Utah State Legislature:

We are writing to express our deep concern and disappointment about the complaints made by Legislators that led to the removal of the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) pridewrapped bus from the Utah Pride Parade.

UTA provides an essential service for all members of our community, regardless of sexual preference, gender identity, income, age, or race. The Pride Rainbow stands as a welcome sign to all, especially the most marginalized, that we are safe to ride. The pressure to exclude the bus from the parade sends a disheartening message to the LGBTQIA+ community and undermines progress toward inclusivity, belonging, and acceptance.

Lawmakers asking for an apology from UTA reinforce the message that government systems can decide that some people do not belong; it reminds us of Rosa Parks being expected to give up her seat for a white passenger.

As lawmakers who represent all Utahns, your opportunity is to invest taxpayer funds responsibly and create an environment where all individuals feel safe and valued. And that includes transit.

Rather than being considered a political statement, we applaud UTA’s display of inclusion and use of the bus with pride wrapping — which was privately funded — that would have served as a powerful symbol of support, demonstrating that Utah embraces diversity and stands against intentional exclusion and discrimination of all kinds.

We must remember the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face unique challenges and often encounters prejudice right here in the Utah cities they love dearly.

In the spirit of unity and compassion, we wish the Pride Parade could have been used as a time to focus on the well-being of our fellow citizens and to uphold the values of inclusivity, respect, and love.

By always keeping that in mind, we, as lawmakers in our great state, can effectively embrace our communities’ differences and celebrate our shared humanity.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We have the power to build a community that cherishes the goodness in every individual and helps them feel safe, supported, and valued.

With hope for a more inclusive future,

Darin Mano, Chair

Alejandro Puy

Chris Wharton Q

2-MINUTE READ

The Harvey Milk Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to former Salt Lake City mayor and representative Jackie Biskupski for breaking barriers as the first openly gay elected official in Utah and then as the first, and still only, lesbian to be elected as mayor of a capital city in this country.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center holds an annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast where people from across the country are recognized for their roles in furthering LGBTQ+ civil rights. Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California in 1977 as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He became known as “The Mayor of Castro Street” and became a statewide figure in anti-gay campaigns, including a California initiative to fire openly gay teachers.

Event organizers said Biskupski’s greatest success was “building the record of discrimination in Utah’s legislation that would later be used to help win the Kitchen v. Herbert marriage equality case.”

They also honored her longstanding fight for human rights and advocacy for equality for over 20 years.

“It was quite an honor,” Biskupski said. “Past recipients included our very own, Kate Kendell.”

“To be honored in Harvey Milk’s name, a man whose life and leadership became the symbol of human rights and LGBTQ+ equality, created a moment of pause and reflection on the meaning of my work,” Biskupski said. “Breaking barriers, especially as a woman, someone that is still not equal under the Constitution of the United States, is, unfortunately, still remarkable today.”

“Back then, attorneys, like Laura Gray, Terry Kogan, and Doug Fadel, who worked with me for over a decade in the 2000s, had hoped the legislative record would help our cause one day,” she continued. “But I was surprised it happened so quickly with the help of attorney Peggy Tomsic in the 2014 Kitchen v. Herbert case. Pretty damn remarkable.”

Biskupski said that she and Milk led for the same reasons — because they knew they had to get involved, and had to fight for justice, liberty, and the lives of so many who were being cast aside by family and friends.

“We knew our community needed a voice, a seat at the table, and had the courage in us to rise to the challenge,” Biskupski said. “I am truly grateful for the role I played here and that it has been recognized at this level. My Harvey Milk award is a bust of Harvey and sits on my living room mantle with a bust of RBG. A reminder that someone always comes before you, and leads you to a path where you can blaze your own trail.”

The award was presented to Biskupski by California State Sen. Steve Padilla, who represents San Diego.

“What a privilege to present Jackie Biskupski with the Harvey Milk Lifetime Achievement Award,” Padilla tweeted. “It felt so good for our community to be together for the first time in four years and finally get the opportunity to acknowledge her achievements. America needs leaders like Mayor Biskupski now more than ever.”

Today, Biskupski continues her service as chair of the Global Leaders Scholarship Fund that she helped create with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy to enable Utah’s outstanding young leaders to participate in critical global conversations with peers from around the world.

She also serves on the Path to Positive Executive Committee for ecoAmerica, a national organization that builds leadership, public support, and political will to address climate change.

“I am also home raising our son, Archie, who is heading into 8th grade, helping our oldest transition into adulthood, hiking every day in these glorious mountains, and enjoying traveling the world with my lovely wife and kids,” she said. Q