Mormon LGBT Group Challenges LDS on Anti-Gay Practices
September 22, 2009
Affirmation Gay and Lesbian Mormons celebrated 30 years of support and advocacy on September 18-20. More than 200 members from across the country convened in Salt Lake City, Utah, to explore next steps toward equality in the Mormon Church and society.
GLAAD staff was on hand to provide media assistance for a press conference where Affirmation launched its “Keep Them and Love Them” website. The site provides accurate information in accessible language to prevent family and church rejection when a loved one comes out. People who are coming out, their families and church leaders need accurate information to reduce homelessness, despair and suicide.
Robert Moore/Photo Courtesy of Salt Lake Tribune
Affirmation’s director of youth work, Robert Moore, shared his story of being a seventh generation Mormon who was thrown out of his family’s home as a teen when they discovered he was gay. He was homeless for many months but worked to support himself. Today, he says, “We cannot keep treating our young people like trash.”
GLAAD staff helped Affirmation with media releases and prepared them for follow-up television interviews. With coverage by the Salt Lake City Tribune, the Deseret News and local Fox TV, hundreds of thousands of Utah residents know that gay Mormons are shining a light on the harm caused by misinformation and discrimination.
The high profile role of Mormons in the Proposition 8 campaign in California mobilized an increasing number of pro-LGBT Mormons and ramped up additional political actions to urge Utah government officials and Mormon leaders to support pro-LGBT legislation and families with gay members. While up-front funding of anti-equality work has diminished, leaders in Iowa recently pointed toward the well-known anti-equality group, National Organization for Marriage, as a conduit for Mormon monies.
Affirmation’s media engagement paves the way for two separate early October meetings with Utah Governor Gary Herbert. One is with the Foundation for Reconciliation and the other is with leaders of Equality Utah. Both meetings were precipitated by earlier media work by the Foundation for Reconciliation as assisted by GLAAD in response to Utah’s Governor comparing legal protections for LGBT people to legal protections for “blue-eyed blonds.”
Related Posts:Utah Transgender Woman Takes Action Against Workplace Discrimination After Losing Job
August 20, 2009
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, a transgender woman in Utah held a community forum last night about workplace discrimination after she was fired because of her gender identity.
Candice Metzler worked for a small home-inspection enterprise in Salt Lake City and when she transitioned to her true self her boss was initially supportive. Three months later, however, she was fired after clients started cutting ties with the company.
Metzler then struggled to find another job, applying to positions in the construction industry, and repeatedly being turned down. She eventually lost her home and lived on the streets for nearly a year, until she finally got a job as a receptionist.
Utah laws do not protect LGBT people from workplace discrimination and Metzler is not alone in her experience.
In 2007 a transgender bus driver was fired from the Utah Transit Authority because she asked to use the women’s restroom.
A gay man was fired from a Utah credit-union job earlier this year after he asked whether or not his employer offered benefits for domestic partners.
Legislators in Utah as well as the U.S. Congress have been working to pass anti-discrimination laws. A measure which would have protected LGBT people from discrimination in employment and housing was dismissed from the Utah legislature, but is expected to return in 2010. A similar bill is set to be presented to the Salt Lake City Council in September by Mayor Ralph Becker.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, The Advocate reports. ENDA would provide federal protections against discrimination in the workplace based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. A version of the bill that excluded protections for transgender people made its way through the House but failed to make it through the Senate in 2008.
If legislation like this had been in place, Meltzer’s home inspection job would have been protected. Her Wednesday forum at the Salt Lake Public Library attracted speakers from the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Utah, Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission, as well as State Representative Christine Johnson (D- Salt Lake) and Troy Justeen, a former Department of Justice civil rights official.
An organization called TJobBank has provided a job list made up of employers who are inclusive of transgender people. Until federal non-discrimination legislation is passed, this is one of the best tools for transgender people looking for an accepting job environment.
Meltzer has since returned to school, and plans to get her master’s degree in social work. She eventually wants to work with homeless LGBT youth.
GLAAD applauds Candice Metzler’s courage for taking action on an important issue effecting transgender people across the country. We will continue to watch this issue and bring you coverage on any developments.
Related Posts:Utah Paper Continues to Refuse Gay Couple’s Announcement
August 14, 2009
As we noted here yesterday, the Spectrum, in St. George, Utah received – and refused – a paid wedding announcement from Spencer Jones and Tyler Barrick. The couple was married last June, in California, but they are having a wedding reception and celebration in Southern Utah with their family on August 22, 2009. They wanted to share this moment with their family, friends and community by publishing their announcement in the “Celebrations” section of the Spectrum.
Barrick and Jones
After the publisher, Donnie Welch, refused this announcement, Jones called on GLAAD for help. We reported yesterday that we had reached out to the paper, and encouraged you to reach out to Mr. Welch and ask him to reconsider his position. We would ask you to continue to reach out to Mr. Welch, and respectfully ask him to print Spencer and Tyler’s announcement.
A report last night on Utah’s KUTV evening news broadcast indicated that Mr. Welch had heard from many people, and is reconsidering the paper’s policy and might publish this announcement. Please continue to encourage him to do so:
Donnie Welch
President/Publisher, Spectrum
435-674-6222
GLAAD also reached out to Gannett Co., the owners of the Spectrum. Robin Pence the Vice President of Communications at Gannett reported to us that policies like this exclusionary one at the Spectrum, are, “up to the local publisher.” Most Gannett Co. newspapers are accepting of advertisements from gay couples. It’s time for Gannett to ensure that none of their newspapers have exclusionary policies. We hope you’ll reach out to Gannett and encourage them to reconsider their hands-off approach:
Robin Pence
Vice President of Communications
Gannett Co.
703-854-6049
GLAAD pitched this story and yesterday’s GLAADblog entry to several reporters, and saw widespread media coverage of the story, including in the Spectrum itself:
- The Associated Press – “Paper rejects same-sex wedding announcement”
- The Salt Lake Tribune – “Newspaper rejects same-sex wedding notice”
- KUTV – “Spectrum Wedding Announcement Controversy”
- City Weekly! – “Spectrum doesn’t like gay marriage”
- Spectrum – “Paper refuses same-sex notice”
Yesterday, GLAAD contacted 14 major corporations that advertise with the Spectrum, that also have non-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation (and about half also cover gender identity). We asked those companies to pull their advertising dollars from the paper because of this exclusionary policy.
We will update this blog with any additional information about this story.
Related Posts:Utah Newspaper Refuses Gay Couple’s Wedding Announcement
August 13, 2009
Spencer Jones and Tyler Barrick were married at San Francisco City Hall on June 17, 2008. The couple rushed to get married on the first day California gay couples were legally allowed to do so – and were lucky enough to have their marriage upheld by the California Supreme Court post Proposition 8.
Jones and Barrick planned to return to their hometown in Southern Utah on August 22, 2009 to have their formal wedding reception with their family and friends.
Like any other happy couple, they planned to announce their reception in their local paper – both to celebrate their happiness and to make sure all their friends knew where to celebrate with them.
But, their hometown paper, The Spectrum, in St. George, Utah rejected their ad.
At first, the paper said they could run the announcement in the “celebrations” section of the paper – but only if there was no picture.
Jones and Barrick objected to being told their picture would be excluded, and in response president and publisher Donnie Welch decided that no announcement would run at all. He told the couple, “As our policy is to run marriage announcements recognized by Utah Law, I have made the decision to not run this announcement.”
When Jones and Barrick were first married in June 2008, they received widespread media coverage, from People Magazine to the Bay Area Reporter. They also were mentioned and pictured by USA Today – which, like The Spectrum, is owned by Gannett. Tyler’s mom created a video that shows all the media coverage.
The advertisement that Jones and Barrick submitted looked like this:
Spencer Jones and Tyler Barrick
Tyler Jerome Barrick and Spencer Kent Jones
Tyler Jerome Barrick and Spencer Kent Jones will celebrate their marriage in a ceremony on September 6, 2009, at the Rio Villa Resort on the banks of the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. An open house and reception will be held in their honor on August 22, 2009, at 7PM, at 908 Madison Heights in Washington, Utah.
Spencer is the son of Leon and Cherie Jones, currently of Stansbury Park, Utah, and formerly of St. George, Utah. Tyler is the son of Steven and Linda Stay of Washington, Utah.
The grooms met in St. George, Utah, in 2001, while Spencer was home on winter break from Dartmouth College and Tyler was attending Dixie State College. The couple has subsequently lived together in Washington, DC, Tokyo, Japan, and San Francisco, California. Spencer graduated with a B.A. in government and history from Dartmouth in 2002, subsequently obtained a Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School in 2007, and currently works as a litigation associate for the international law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP in San Francisco. Tyler graduated with a B.S. in nursing from the University of San Francisco in 2007, and he currently works as a cardiac R.N. at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. Tyler and Spencer were among the first dozen same-sex couples to legally obtain their marriage license in San Francisco last year, on June 17, 2008. The couple has made their home in San Francisco, where they reside with their dog Cooper.
GLAAD reached out to Mr. Welch with concerns when we heard this story. We shared with him a few important facts:
- The Spectrum is a Gannett newspaper, and 85% of all Gannett newspapers that run any type of wedding announcement will, under most circumstances, run the ads of same sex couples, like Jones and Barrick.
- GLAAD launched the Announcing Equality campaign in 2002 after working with The New York Times to open its weddings and celebrations pages to same-sex couples.In 2002, there were only 70 daily papers in the U.S. willing to print a wedding/commitment ceremony announcement for a same-sex couple. After The Kansas City Star joined the list of LGBT-inclusive papers in June of this year, this number today stands at 1,052.
- In 2008, another paper in Utah, The Herald Journal, which has an even smaller readership than The Spectrum printed it’s first same sex wedding announcement – and faced relatively little community push back. There were a few very vocal opponents, but overall, the decision had little-to-no business impact.
But Welch still declined to publish Jones and Barrick’s announcement, telling GLAAD he was, “making a business decision.”
The Spectrum boasts advertising from major companies in the circular section of it’s website. Of the 18 companies listed, 15 have non discrimination policies covering sexual orientation, 8 also include gender identity – according to HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.
GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs, Rashad Robinson issued this statement about Welch’s decision:
“We believe all couples should be able to celebrate their weddings with their local communities. What’s more meaningful than a wedding-the joining of a couple in a loving commitment? We believe everyone should have this opportunity and we’ll continue to work so that couples in every locality – including St. George, Utah – can share this rich part of their lives.”
GLAAD encourages you – particularly those who live in Utah – to reach out to The Spectrum’s Donnie Welch, and urge him to publish Spender and Tyler’s announcement.
Contact:
Donnie Welch
President/Publisher, The Spectrum
435-674-6222
Jones has also contacted the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a national LGBT legal organization, to alert them to this incident. Executive Director Kate Kendell made a statement that “NCLR is very disturbed and disappointed to hear about the treatment that Spencer and Tyler experienced. No family or couple should be made to feel like their relationship is somehow of a lesser status simply because of their sexual orientation.” Both GLAAD and NCLR will continue to keep a close eye on the situation as it develops.
Related Posts:Salt Lake City Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Gay Couple
July 31, 2009
As we mentioned here on July 15th, a gay couple was detained and roughed up by Mormon Church Security Guards for kissing on the church-owned Main Street Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City.
The Plaza quite literally used to be one block of Main Street, but the city sold it to the church over a decade ago, and the church turned Main Street into a pedestrian walkway.
Matt Aune and Derek Jones were walking home early in July when they stopped to hug and exchange what they describe as a peck on the cheek on the Main Street Plaza. Church security guards confronted the men and accused them of inappropriate behavior.
Derek Jones and Matt Aune, pictured in The Salt Lake Tribune
When the men didn’t immediately leave, and confronted the security guards on their double standard (straight couples are often seen kissing and being physically intimate on the Main Street Plaza), the security guards forcibly separated the men, forced Derek to the ground and physically detained them while waiting for Salt Lake City Police to arrive at the scene.
Police cited the men for “trespassing.” On Wednesday, Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill dropped the charges against Jones and Aune. “The two individuals believed — albeit mistakenly — that they had the right to be there,” Gill is quoted as saying in The Salt Lake Tribune. “Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that [openness] in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property.”+
The Salt Lake Tribune editorialized in favor of the prosecutor’s decision.
The Mormon Church released video surveillance showing their own security guards forcibly detaining the gay men to the city prosecutor, and The Salt Lake Tribune obtained and posted that video through an open records request.
As for Aune and Jones, they, along with their attorneys, held a press conference held after the charges against them had been dropped. “We never thought we were doing anything wrong,” Aune said Wednesday. “We’re glad the city agreed with us.”
Related Posts:A Young Mormon’s Coming Out Story
July 13, 2009
In a new Current TV segment, 26 year-old Cody Derrick tells his coming out story. According to the video’s synopsis, Derrick grew up in a conservative Mormon home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The viral video has been featured on blogs like Pam’s House Blend and shows the young Mormon and his parents discussing how they came to terms with their faith and Derrick being gay. Derrick mentions that his biggest fear was of losing God’s love and potentially going to hell:
I felt like I was losing the religion. My identity that was the Church and in losing that I was losing God because God wouldn’t love you if you were not obeying the Church’s teachings. My biggest fear was I’ll go to hell…that was the hard part.
Derrick’s father, who is identified as a former Bishop in the Mormon Church, clarifies that there was no doubt for them that they would love and support their child no matter what: ”Some people forget, first thing we are Christians and everything else is added upon that. As a Christian, we are supposed to love.”
Derrick shared that people ask him whether it was hard to come out. He tells them that because of the support of his family, their faith and unconditional love, it was easy and he wants to help others.
Related Posts:I feel like it’s my duty because of how wonderful they’ve been to say, ‘No, it wasn’t hard at all.’ It was hard for me because of aspects outside of my family but not because of them. I would’ve died without them.
Utah State Senator Calls Gay People “Greatest Threat to America”
February 18, 2009
Utah’s ABC4 reports that recently released audio recordings, intended for a documentary related to California’s Proposition 8, include outrageous and offensive statements by a Utah State Senator.
Sen. Chris Buttars: “Homosexuality will always be a sexual perversion. And you say that around here now and everybody goes nuts. But I don’t care.”
Just one year ago, Buttars found himself in hot water locally and nationally for this comment on the senate floor.
“This baby is black…this is a dark, ugly thing.”
And even though Buttars says in the documentary interview,…”the ACLU – bless their black hearts…,” it’s his other comments which may get the strongest reaction.
Like this one which the documentary maker confirms is about gays.
“They’re mean. They want to talk about being nice. They’re the meanest buggers I have ever seen.”
And just seconds later, Buttars draws a comparison between some gays and radical Muslims.
“It’s just like the Muslims. Muslims are good people and their religion is anti-war. But it’s been taken over by the radical side.”
Buttars also claims he’s “killed” every gay rights bill in the legislature for the last 8 years.
He also talks about gay marriage being the beginning of the end.
Buttars: “What is the morals of a gay person? You can’t answer that because anything goes.”
And finally, this is how senator Buttars refers to the “radical gay movement.”
“They’re probably the greatest threat to America going down I know of.”
Now, in the interview, senator Buttars also talks about a certain type of reported gay sexual activity which he claims is taking place.
But ABC 4 does not consider that appropriate for its news content.
ABC 4 and The Salt Lake Tribune should be commended for highlighting the defamatory nature of his remarks, which are now being picked up on LGBT blogs including Towleroad.
Jacob Whipple, a local advocate (who we have highlighted previously on this blog) is calling on Buttars to resign – and calling on leaders in the State Senate to publicly decry the comments made in this recording. Whipple says, “He is a disgrace to his position of Senator and should not just be removed from his Committees (as he was [temporarily] last year) but should be removed completely from office.”
Buttars has thus far declined public comment, but has indicated he will respond via the Utah State Senate Republican Caucus blog at some point in the future.
GLAAD is closely watching this story unfold, and is working with local advocates and media outlets to ensure that coverage of his outrageous remarks does not go unchallenged.
Share Your Story: Utah’s “All For One Initiative” Founder Jacob Whipple
January 21, 2009
Like in California, activists in Utah rose up after the election to rally against Proposition 8 and against the heavy involvement of the Mormon Church in Prop 8’s passage. Jacob Whipple, one of the leaders of the grassroots efforts in Utah, helped organize events and rallies and brought national attention to the state.
Jacob continues to lead a new grass roots organization in Utah, the “All for One Initiative,” partnering with other Utah groups to promote the “Common Ground” bills aimed at gaining some level of equality for Utah’s LGBT population. They hope this will be achieved by focusing on areas in which the LGBT community and the Mormon Church agree on issues. Additionally, Jacob is leading efforts to better organize the community through town hall meetings, community service projects, and other forms of grassroots organizing.
Below Jacob shares his story and some insight on his involvement on the local level.
You really stepped up and took a leadership role in the Utah LGBT community immediately after the election. Tell us how that went? How’d you go from being a citizen upset over the California Proposition 8 election to leader of a new movement in your local community?
It was nothing that I had expected or had hoped for. The true reason for my involvement comes down to having met the man of my dreams and asking him to marry me. Because the wedding plans that I had with my fiancé, when Proposition 8 was passed it was a very personal and very debilitating blow.
Once rallies started to take place in California, the realization dawned on me that our community was not going to lie down and take it like we have when so many other amendments and laws had passed against us. That is when I decided that Utah, too, should be part of these demonstrations and rallies. I thought that being in Utah, we had the responsibility to directly reprimand the Mormon church for their heavy-handed influence in passing Prop 8 and let them know that we would not tolerate their interference in our personal lives again.
Due to the success and turn out of that first rally around Temple Square I was incredibly encouraged. I saw that not just dozens or hundreds, but thousands of people were willing to brave the cold and march with us. I didn’t want that energy or fervor to end. I didn’t want to see that wave of rallies be the end of what could become our renewed Gay Rights Movement. And I, personally, didn’t want to stand by idly, as I had before, while legislators and the general population vote on my rights, protections and freedoms. I had resolved to make a difference.
Through brainstorming and a coalition that includes other grassroots activists in Utah we’ve been able to come up with ideas and events to keep our momentum going. We have a set of 6 bills, called the Common Ground Initiative, that would guarantee our LGBT community protections such as fair housing, fair employment, along with health care and wrongful death rights. I only hope that our community can keep up with the pace and determination that we’re setting for them.
Your Salt Lake City Mormon Temple rally gained widespread media coverage. Your efforts were highlighted in national and international media stories. You were profiled on the cover of Q Salt Lake, the state’s LGBT newspaper. How do you feel about all this media attention? What do you hope to gain from the coverage?
Honestly, I’m very glad for all of the media attention. Whether it’s me that they’re focusing on or other grassroots activists here in Utah, and around the country, I think it’s necessary that we change public opinion about our community. I think that the majority of the country forms their opinions about us based upon Will & Grace, Pride Parades, and scandals that usually include drug abuse or elected officials being caught in sex-stings.
I believe that one of the most important things that we can do is to come out to our families, neighbors and co-workers so that they know that they know one of us. I want the world to see us as normal people, as family members, as contributors to our local communities, and as people deserving to have the same rights and benefits that they do. I hope that our stories are told to show that we have the same hopes and desires. When they know us personally, instead of as “the gays,” they are less likely to vote against us, as they know that it will directly and personally affect someone that they know in a very real way.
And I think that national and even international coverage is necessary. We need to keep these issues out and in the public mind constantly. We can’t let our losses be swept under the rug any more. We must decry every instance of discrimination: being fired, beatings and murders, tyranny of the masses in voting to limit our rights. I think these issues need to become as prevalent in the everyday lives of the straights as it is for us. Only then, I think, will they realize what our community has been suffering and will stand with us.
You are engaged to be married to your partner Drew, and were planning a California wedding. With the passage of Proposition 8, what are your plans? How has your activism impacted that?
We’re still going ahead with out plans. We want to get married on the beach in California on April 11th, and we’re not going to let the misguided popular vote of Californians ruin our plans. We will still say our vows before God, our family and friends. The State is welcome as well, so we’re crossing our fingers that the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8 before our wedding day. If it takes longer than that, or, God forbid, Proposition 8 remains on the books, then we will see about making a trip somewhere just to make it official: Toronto, Boston, Spain, Copenhagen, etc… There are a lot of options.
I don’t think that my activism has impacted our wedding plans that much. Though, I must admit that it can be pretty crazy trying to plan a wedding, a rally, the Queer Lounge at Sundance, as well as attend press conferences and meet with the Mayor all at the same time. If anything, Drew is worried that my activism would affect our relationship and would keep me away from him. Fortunately, that hasn’t been the case yet. And I hope and pray that those two important aspects of my life never conflict with each other.
As an advocate on the ground in Utah, what do you think about local mainstream media coverage of LGBT stories?
We have our allies and we have our skeptics and enemies. The Mormon church does own media here in Utah, so the likes of KSL or the Deseret News paint our events as annoyances, if they’re mentioned at all. I also read through the comments for the stories posted online by those media outlets, so that I know what the arguments are of the right-wing conservative traditionalists here in Utah.
On the other hand the local FOX affiliate, incredibly, has been one of our strongest advocates, as well as the state’s major paper, the Salt Lake Tribune. They’ve covered every event and tell personal stories as well. Q Salt Lake, our local gay magazine, is also very cooperative in every aspect, including helping me network, locate door prizes for events, etc.
All in all, it’s what I expect, just like any audience. You have those that will agree with you and those that won’t. Some will put you in the best light possible, and some in the worst. But again, I’m a strong believer that by repetition, by keeping our stories and our issues out there, we will continue to gain traction, to gain sympathy, and in the end gain equality.
How do you think LGBT people and allies in Utah can help get media there to tell more fair, accurate, and inclusive LGBT stories?
I think that the only thing that we can do is to continuously tell our stories and hold events, hoping that through time and repetition that the media and their viewership and readership are softened to our cause. And those that do have contact with the media should know that they are, perhaps unfairly, being used to represent the whole of our community and they should remember that and act accordingly.
What’s the most important way LGBT people and allies in your community can help change hearts and minds?
That’s something that I’ve pondered over for months now. I’m sure that it’s personal interaction that can change hearts and minds. I know I’m repeating myself, but I really do believe that this is the key. We need to come out to everyone we know. We already have relationships and the trust of our family and neighbors and co-workers. Therefore, I believe it’s important to show those with whom we interact that we are still the same people that they’ve known for years, and we still deserve the respect, trust and love that they’ve had in us before they knew. They need to know how LGBT bills would affect you, for good or for bad, so that they know how to vote or in which way they should support those measures. We need to initiate that dialogue and convince them through our personal lives and stories to stand with us.
