Florida Agenda

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – During the biannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), one of the highest ranked members of the church condemned “nontraditional” family arrangements, including same-sex parenthood, cohabitation, divorce, and single parenthood.

“Children need others to speak for them,” said church apostle Dallin Oaks, “and they need decision makers who put their well-being ahead of selfish adult interests.” Oaks, a member of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was one of several church leaders who spoke to the 20,000 attendees about topics mostly concerning maintaining traditions in a modern context. He called abortion a “great evil,” and condemned child abuse and neglect.

Although he called for the parents of children who experience same-sex attraction to treat them with “loving understanding, not bullying or ostracism,” Oaks warned about the impact to children of same-sex couples or single mothers, saying that, “Children are also victimized by marriages that do not occur.”

His fellow apostle Neil Andersen urged gay and single Mormons to remain chaste, despite external pressures. “The world protests: ‘How can you ask so much?’” said Andersen. “The Lord responds, ‘As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.’”XXX LDS Apostle Quentin Cook said that many Mormon faithful apply the church’s teachings through a prism of modern sensibilities, and “allow intense cultural or political views to weaken their allegiance to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City is taking a pass on one of the network’s new series. An official with KSL-TV, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church, told the likewise church owned Deseret News that “The New Normal”—a comedy series about a gay couple that contracts with a live-in surrogate mother—will not be on the station’s schedule.

“For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,” said Jeff Simpson, CEO of Bonneville International, which owns the station (and is itself a subsidiary of the church). It is the second time in as many years that station officials have opted-out of a network offering: Last year, KSL dropped NBC’s “The Playboy Club,” a show that was soon cancelled by the network.

Responding to the perceived censorship, “Normal” star Ellen Barkin chastised KSL on Twitter. “Anyone in Utah interested in @ NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @ksl5tv feed 4 their blatantly homophic decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots,” she wrote. In July, the conservative group One Million Moms called for a boycott of “The New Normal,” which premieres on September 11, and was co-created by “Glee” executive producer Ryan Murphy.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Utah State Senators passed a controversial bill last week which would allow public schools the option of offering abstinence-only sex education curricula or none at all. The bill passed by a vote of 19-10, split heavily along party lines. If adopted, the policy would be the most restrictive in the U.S.

If signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert, the measure will bar Utah public school teachers from talking with students about homosexuality and other forms of sexuality—excluding abstinence—before marriage. It will also prevent public schools from teaching students about the use of contraceptives as a means of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and infections.

“This just clarifies we’ll have an abstinence- only curriculum or a nothing curriculum,” Sen. Margaret Dayton (R-Orem), the bill’s sponsor told the Deseret News. Herbert, a Republican, has not publically offered support or opposition to the measure. A race for re-election this year might push the governor to support this conservative bill in this ultra-Red state.

Supporters of the “Don’t Gay, Don’t Condom” bill argue that sex-ed is best left to the parents, rather than public schools. The Beehive State presently requires that students enroll in sexual education classes only if their parents choose to allow it.

“To replace the parent in the school setting, among people who we have no idea what their morals are, we have no ideas what their values are, yet we turn our children over to them to instruct them in the most sensitive sexual activities in their lives, I think is wrongheaded,” Sen. Stuart Reid (R-Ogden), told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Across the aisle, Democratic lawmakers said that the restrictive measure will leave students at greater risk for STDs, pregnancy, and abortions. They argued that not all parents have the skills or temperament to keep their children informed about the consequences of sexual activity and its potentially-harmful effects.

“We’ve been discussing this as if every child has the benefit of two loving and caring parents who are ready to have a conversation about appropriate sexual activity, and I’m here to tell you that’s just not the case,” Sen. Ross Romero (D-Salt Lake City) told the Salt Lake Tribune.

A study published recently in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine reported that those states that require comprehensive, all-encompassing sexual education courses have lower teen birth rates. The study also found that the impact of sex-ed programs may be offset by factors including race, religion, income levels, and state abortion regulations.

By PAUL RUBIO

Anchored by protected lands that are teeming with extraordinary natural arches and seemingly-otherworldly dimensions of tiered red rock landscapes, Moab (discovermoab.com) has evolved as the gateway to one of Utah’s most impressive and popular parks, the 73,000-acre Arches National Park (nps.gov/arch). Unlike Capitol Reef and Monument Valley, Arches’ accessibility from Salt Lake City and its thriving airport means unleashing your Utah with a helluva lot of other visitors and tourists, who have also traveled from far and wide to witness the 2,000-plus natural sandstone arches, particularly the world-famous Delicate Arch.

From the Visitor’s Center, the heavily trafficked road climbs at a steep grade to the park entrance, ascending through twists and turns to various sightseeing points and hiking trails. These stops are wonderfully mapped out on the National Park’s pamphlet, but those who were savvy as kids in defining cloud shapes will quickly recognize points like “Park Avenue,” a large rock formation that resembles a long block of city skyscrapers. With such an abundance of arches and sights, you have to pick and choose which you’d like to see. What’s not to miss? First, the Devils Garden Trailhead to Landscape Arch is a three-for-one, also passing through Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Fiery Furnace provides a terrific view of jagged and rough rock that resembles volcanic lava. And of course the three-mile trail to Delicate Arch is easily the highlight of any trip to Utah.

Strutting its beauty over a steep precipice, framing the best of Utah’s landscapes within its perimeter, Delicate Arch has rightfully become the icon of Utah, and a beacon for travel to this scintillating red rock country.

Moab
In close proximity to Arches National Park, Moab is Utah’s equivalent to Jackson Hole, Wyoming – an upscale but homey town with plenty of places to stay, from the high-end to the mediocre, a variety of choices of food establishments, and booking facilities for all outdoor activities whether in summer or winter. One of the superlative lodge experiences is to be found at Sorrel River Ranch (sorrelriver.com), north and east of Moab along Highway 128, running contiguously to the Colorado River. Sorrel is a top-notch luxury resort that provides the full throttle “glamping” experience, with swimming pools, rustic-meets-modern-luxe cabins, and haute amenities, nestled among picturesque canyon walls along the path of the Colorado River. The Sorrel River Ranch offers horseback riding from its own stables in addition to providing bookings for river rafting, Hummer drive/rides, ATV rental, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.

Salt Lake City
No matter what the middle chapters of your “Choose Your Own Adventure/ Utah” look like, your story will nearly always begin and end in the state’s capital, Salt Lake City.

Fear not, SLC is not nearly as scary in person as it seems on TV. In fact, the city surprises with its pockets of big-city sophistication, including the Sugar House gayborhood, with lots of fab real estate, a 24-hour fitness center that comes equipped with plenty of eye candy, and LGBT-friendly restaurants and shops like Diva’s Cupcakes & Coffee, and the 50-year old Finn’s Café.
While residential Sugar House merits a visit for getting your food and drink on, the city’s best accommodations are to be found downtown. Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City (monaco-saltlakecity.com) is hands-down the best place to start and end your Utah sojourn. Ironically located just blocks away from Temple Square and the spires of the LDS Temple and Mormon Tabernacle (the home of its world-renown Choir), the Hotel Monaco SLC embraces the LGBT community with open arms: It hosts the annual LGBT “Red Party” fundraiser, a benefit for the Utah AIDS Foundation (utahaids.org), which turns into the dance party of the year on the Thursday before World AIDS Day. In summer, the Monaco also hosts the annual “Pink Party” to kick off Salt Lake City’s gay pride, which rounded up 35,000 supporters in 2011. And in any season, the hotel celebrates eccentricity and individuality through its gregarious staff and patrons, whimsical and funky guest rooms, and its see-and-be-seen restaurant, Bambara. An über-cool adaptive reuse of the former First Continental Bank, the Hotel Monaco SLC has retained some of the bank’s original elements including the vault, and the circa-early 20th century gold elevators, while completely re-inventing the interiors. In keeping with the freebie heavy traditions of the Kimpton brand, complimentary WiFi, coffee, and nightly wine hours are an added bonus. Almost every restaurant and coffee house near the hotel distributes Q Salt Lake, the city’s gay rag. If you want to know what’s up in SLC before heading west, check out their website qsaltlake.com. Most gay nightlife options like Jam, Pure, and Metro will require a 10-15 minute taxi, but it’s well worth it.

Finally, in the spirit of open-mindedness and learning about other cultures, take the time to stroll down a few blocks from the hotel to visit Temple Square, the headquarters of the LDS (Mormon) Church. Here, you’ll be approached by young women on mission, eager to show you around the square and tell you about life in the church and the doctrine of continuing revelation. You’ll be staring at larger-than-life photos of the church’s current president, Thomas S. Monson, whom they consider to be a modern-day “prophet, seer, and revelator,” as you listen to “recordings” of Jesus Christ. Honestly, it’s fascinating. They might even try to convert you, as they did me. When the girls asked me to join the LDS church, I told them, “Sorry girls, I can’t join. I am gay.” To this they replied: “That’s ok. We can get you help. And it’s okay to be gay. You just can’t practice it.” Luckily for me, I’ve had plenty of practice, much of it in Utah, unleashed.

To learn more about southern Utah, Monument Valley and Utah in general, visit utahscanyoncountry.com,
navajonationparks.org, and utah.travel

Utah Unleashed Part I: Capitol Reef & Torrey

Utah Unleashed Part II: Monument Valley and the Byways Beyond

By Rory Barbarossa

The Advocate.com has published its third annual rankings of the gayest places in America. The authors utilized a self-described “subjective criteria,” based in no part on official U.S. Census Bureau data, to arrive at the “per capita queerness” of some of the America’s cities and towns.

Fort Lauderdale made the rankings, coming in at “Number 4,” in an equation that included such categories as the number of LGBT elected officials within the community, the density-per-area of LGBT bookstores–and nude yoga classes, whether a locality offers protections to transgendered persons, and the

number of International Mr. Leather competition semifinalists who live there, among other criteria, which was then “divided by population within city limits.”

The Advocate.com editors distinguished “Fort Lauderdale” from surrounding communities, specifically citing “Wilton Manors” by name, although the number of gay-centric activities and events would be sparer, indeed, if the Island City and neighbors like Oakland Park are excluded from any accounting.

Making the Top Ten were some surprise entries: Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan (at “Numbers 6” and “10,” respectively), and Knoxville, Tennessee (“Number 8”), although the authors explain the logic behind their selections, including whether or not a city includes a WNBA franchise.

Orlando also made the list, arriving at “Number 2” through a combination of being host city for Gay Days at Disney World on the first Saturday in June, offering more gay softball teams than any other locality, and the city’s recent domestic-partnership protections ordinance, among other things “queer.”

Rounding out the rankings was a perhaps surprising grand prize winner, Salt Lake City, Utah, which finished at “Number 1.” While citing such cultural icons of the Beehive State as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the listings also point out SLC’s over “half-dozen hot spots for men and women, including the eco-friendly nightclub Jam (JamSLC.com),” as well as the internationally-renowned Sundance Film Festival, which offers many annual LGBT film selections. The authors also note this often-overlooked fact about the city-that-polygamy-built: contrary to popular wives tales about Utah, Mormons, and a state that by law doesn’t permit happy hours, “you can get a drink in this town.”