Fundraiser Held for National Gay-Rights Organization (in Utah)

[AlGore-08.com]

http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=210045

OREM, Utah (AP) -- A fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights organization, drew 620 guests and a number of protesters to the Orem home of WordPerfect co-founder Bruce Bastian.

(snip)

"Walking by the hecklers, then seeing how wonderful everything is, I thought, 'You guys are missing out,"' said Millie Watts, who with her husband Gary Watts, received the HRC Equality Award for their advocacy in Family Fellowship, a Provo-based organization that focuses on strengthening relationships and educating families with homosexual members.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, state Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, and state Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, received standing ovations when they were announced. They were among about a dozen Utah politicians who purchased seats for the event.

Tipper Gore, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, was the keynote speaker.

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[freeplessinseattle]

1. wow, never thought I'd see the day

spent my formative years in SLC and am glad to see how Utah is becoming a little less uptight.

[AlGore-08.com]

3. What I thought was interesting was the number of Utah Dem officeholders

Who went to the event. That they are not afraid of the political backlash says a lot about the changed political climate in the SLC area.

[David Dunham]

2. This group will be declared illegal tomorrow.

[AlGore-08.com]

4. More from the SL Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2781609

Guests were escorted to dinner by the University of Utah marching band and were greeted by dinner co-chairs Rich Ith and Kathleen Gardner, who said the "impromptu" party took 18 months to plan and is the first ever to be held in a tent.
"At national they thought we would be lucky to get 300 people. We sold out with 600," Ith told a cheering audience, most of whom paid $150 a ticket.
(snip)
Bastian offered a $1 million challenge, offering to match pledges of $100 per month, or $5,000 per year.