Source: Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Daily Herald

Mormon anti-gay activist Stephen Graham tells a small audience in American Fork, Utah that gay people are dangerous  photo: Daily Herald

That didn't stop it from taking a presentation to the American Fork Library Monday night, however - nor did the presence of two representatives from the Utah Pride Center, who listened quietly in preparation for an April 9 response meeting they will host in the same library room.

Even with the steam of controversy generated by American Fork High School's decision to cancel the group's presentation last week, only a small audience attended Monday.

The same couldn't be said for the media, who had outnumbered the public at the library before a few curious onlookers entered to even the balance. The result was a polite gathering of opposing sides in the debate over gay and lesbian rights, even if the small public crowd seemed tense in the middle of media attention that included several television cameras, photographers and reporters.

About two dozen people attended Monday night's meeting according to a count by the local paper, the Daily Herald. It wasn't clear if the Herald's count included reporters.

Representatives of the Utah Pride Center, a group that advocates protection of gay rights, were also at the meeting.

Yana Walton, director of communications for the Utah Pride Center, said she was glad the Alpine School District and American Fork High School took action and did not hold the meeting. Walton attended the meeting Monday in order to determine what kind of misinformation was presented so she can help her clients better, she said.

"We're not trying to crash their meeting at all," Walton said. "When there's medically inaccurate information about HIV and how it's transmitted, we need to be there to clear that up."

Standard of Liberty, a Pleasant Grove-based organization billing itself as "an LDS-oriented educational corporation" ringing the warning bell against "sexual activist movements overrunning America's Christian-moral-cultural life," planned to bring its message to American Fork parents as long ago as last November after an invitation by American Fork PTSA president Belinda Jensen.

Principal Carolyn Merrill canceled the group's presentation last Thursday when she learned the group would speak about gays and lesbians without her knowing the context of the discussion.

Following a short lecture against pornography by John Gunter Jr., of Citizens for Families, Standard of Liberty co-founder Stephen Graham began with an account of how his son "overcame" what he called "gay tendencies" after counseling, then screened individual film segments detailing the "gay agenda," "gay demands" and "gay agenda in schools."

Laced with comments from American conservative pundits, the video segments juxtaposed footage of gay rights marches and activists with images of young children.

Gunter and Graham complained that they were being silenced by school administrators so they organized Monday's event on their own.

"We said, 'This is essential information and it is being silenced because of misinformation and intimidation,"' Graham said. "So we said, 'Let's just hold the meeting ourselves."'

While Gunter spoke for nearly 20 minutes, the majority of the meeting was dedicated to the issues surrounding what Graham refers to as the "homosexual agenda."

He feels that through special-interest groups and school curriculum, society generally and children specifically are becoming accepting of homosexuality and tried to convince his small audience that such tolerance is a bad thing.

"We put warning labels on cigarettes," said Graham, who told the audience young gays and lesbians do not exist. "But we won't let people warn our children about out-of-bounds sexual behavior that could endanger their lives."

Graham claimed that children are being taught "the gay agenda" in schools where textbooks are "gay-affirming." He warned parents to watch what their children are reading from school, and then find out what their teachers, principal and school board believe.

If parents and teachers do not agree, parents may need to run for the school board.

"You've got to remember," Graham admonished, "your children are at risk, and you can't sit back anymore and think someone else is going to take care of it."

After listening to Graham's presentation, Utah Pride Center's Walton said she was disturbed by Standard of Liberty's "fear-based tactics" casting gays and lesbian as sexual predators and "recruiters" of the young, noting that the majority of child sexual predators are heterosexual.

Graham, who shook hands with Walton before his presentation, said he wasn't offended by her presence. "They came to hear what I had to say."

Several inaccuracies were presented at the meeting, Walton said, including the idea of special rights for gays. Gays do not ask for special rights, but equal rights. The way gays allegedly try to affect children and society is also untrue, she said.

"One of the biggest pieces of misinformation, I think, is that there is a gay agenda," she said.

"We don't have an agenda," Walton said. "We have a goal that every child has a family that loves and values them."

Marina Gomberg, director of development and marketing for the Utah Pride Center, said she worries about how the meeting could affect gay youth. Children who are harassed because of their race or religion have support at home, while gays may not. Gomberg formerly worked with youth at the center, and many reported horrific stories of harassment from their peers, she said.

"We see higher rates of suicide, higher rates of drug use. Dropouts are higher," Gomberg said.

Walton said sexually transmitted diseases are societal problems that affect all couples, and methods of prevention should be discussed, not someone's sexual orientation. A lot of education occurs in the home, she said, and parents need accurate information to help their children.

"What he's really trying to do is talk about disease in a way to scare parents," she said.

Walton said the Utah Pride Center has also reserved a room in the American Fork library for gay youth and their families. A meeting will be held April 9 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss risks to youth and to teach families where to find support.

Full article: Group called anti-gay gets its time | Salt Lake Tribune
Gay 'agenda' targeted — Speakers in American Fork warn of dangers | Deseret News
Activist: Gays one generation away from 'winning' | Daily Herald