Utah Gay

It was on December 21, 1968 in San Francisco, that John came into this world. He moved out of San Francisco with his parents at the age of seventeen months, to go to Salt Lake City in Utah. It was a terrible place for an adolescent. He completed his schooling from East High School and moved on to University of Utah. Paradoxically, his school was in the vicinity of the Straight High School in Utah Gay. The Student’s Alliance of this Utah Gay School had triggered off a debate which had gone on to become the national news.

John divulged his sexual preference to the world at the age of twenty. This was the turning point in his life and he vowed that he wouldn’t allow anyone to make him feel embarrassed for being Utah gay. Two months later he revealed his sexual inclinations to his family, friends and colleagues. Though it wasn’t simple in the beginning but it was worth the effort. He enlisted with Utah Gay Youth and afterwards was chosen as an officer of the Utah Gay Youth association. In the University of Utah he signed up with the Utah Gay Student Union.

Afterwards, he assumed the post of executive officer with Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD), established by his close pal David Nelson. GLUD worked very effectively for the welfare of the Utah Gay people from January 1990 up to December 1996.

In 1992, he was chosen to serve as the first open Utah Gay representative to a national conference. He assisted in arranging activities for Utah's Gay Pride Day and National Coming Out Day, which made him the most overt gay guy in Utah for the next three years.

After attaining maximum political recognition, which left him psychologically exhausted, he left Utah.

Related sites:

• Q Salt Lake - Utah's gay and lesbian newspaper
• The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Utah