Gay-rights activist hails today's openness

When Kate Kendell graduated from a Utah high school in 1978, she says there was not one gay-straight alliance at any high school in the country.

Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Tuesday that "it would not have even occurred to me to talk to anyone."

Today, she says, "14-, 15-, 16-, 17-year olds are coming out and living their lives . . . with an authenticity we could only have dreamed of."

Kendell spoke at a "National Coming Out Day" breakfast at the downtown Sheraton, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Utah.

She told about 250 audience members they are in the middle of a movement in a state where voters last November passed a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and other domestic unions.

Kendell said she does see encouraging signs, such as news that Provo High School soon will be added to a list of some 3,000 schools nationwide with gay-straight alliances.

Like in past civil rights struggles, Kendell said there is a backlash from those who are "completely overrun by fear and fanaticism."

However, Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, which supported the marriage amendment, said it's "absolutely appalling" that gays and lesbians would equate themselves to the civil rights movement.

"I think it's an insult to try and compare what they're doing to the struggles minorities have gone through," she said. "What they're talking about is a sexual choice. They choose who they sleep with. . . . It has nothing to do with civil rights."

Kendell said those striving for gay and lesbian rights can learn a lesson from past civil rights struggles: "Fairness always wins out."

She said gays and lesbians should come out "over and over again," to spread awareness. She noted that people of color face reactions to their skin color every single day.

"We are not unique and we are not alone," Kendell said. "There's a reason why this is called a struggle. What it demands is uncommon courage and integrity."

Kendell told her own story of coming out to her mother in her early 20s. She didn't know what to expect, but her mother responded by saying: "I don't care about that; all I care about is that you're happy."

Kendell said: "I want everyone else to have that experience with someone important in their life."

At the University of Utah, a handful of students carried trays of fruit juice while dressed in "drag" to raise awareness before Pride Week, which officially starts Saturday.

---

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com