Sep 16
Salt Lake City LGBTQ bar increases security after Kirk killing
Ed Walsh READ TIME: 4 MIN.
A landmark LGBTQ bar in Salt Lake City says it has increased security in light of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, about a half hour south of the city.
The SunTrapp wrote on its Facebook page hours after the shooting on Wednesday, September 10, “The safety and security of our community is our no. 1 priority. In light of today’s events, we’ve decided to escalate our security presence and increase onsite security. We also plan to bring in a specialized armed security team. @slcmayor and SLCPD have been contacted about our concerns.” The bar was referring to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Mary Peterson, the owner of the SunTrapp bar, told the Bay Area Reporter on Tuesday, September 16, that following the Kirk shooting, the bar had received a couple calls from nervous people who had safety concerns. Peterson said in response she added three additional security staff members to the bar on weekends and one additional person during the week.
The SunTrapp added in a Facebook post the day after the shooting on Thursday, September 11, “We want to address a false rumor circulating that SunTrapp has received death threats since yesterday’s events at UVU. This is untrue and there is no immediate cause for concern. Our team is operating safely and securely as usual. All scheduled programs and events will continue as planned.”
Kaitlyn Mahoney, the owner of Salt Lake City's Under the Umbrella, which bills itself as a "queer little bookstore," told the B.A.R. on Friday evening, September 12, that she received no threats but was concerned that the shooting in some way could negatively impact the community. She added that she hadn't increased security other than additional staff training.
A person who answered the phone at the popular LGBTQ+ Try Angles bar declined to comment, saying that he wasn't authorized to speak to the press. A call and text to the Milk+ nightclub, named for gay assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, was not returned by press time.
Salt Lake City has long been very LGBTQ+ friendly. The city elected a lesbian mayor in 2016. Before becoming mayor, Jackie Biskupski was first elected to the Utah State House of Representatives in 1998 representing District 30 in Salt Lake County. The city currently has an LGBTQ+ majority on the city council. Salt Lake City scored 96 out of 100 last year in the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index Scorecard.
Mendenhall, the city’s current mayor, is a strong LGBTQ+ ally. She posted on X shortly after the shooting, “The horrific act of violence against Charlie Kirk at UVU this afternoon is abhorrent and un-American. There is no place for political violence in our society.”
In the aftermath of Kirk’s killing, Tyler Robinson, 22, surrendered to authorities after his father helped persuade him to turn himself in, according to reports. Kirk was speaking at an outdoor event on the UVU campus as part of Turning Point USA, the conservative organization he co-founded.
Kirk, 31, had a history of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ comments over the years. It was Kirk whom California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) had on his “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast earlier this year as his first guest. On that program, Newsom agreed with Kirk on the issue of trans women and girls participating on female sports teams.
On the show, Kirk challenged Newsom to come out against trans women participating in women’s sports. “Would you say no men in female sports?” Kirk asked.
“Well, it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that,” Newsom said. “I totally agree with you. By the way, as someone with four kids ... two daughters and a wife that went, God forbid, to Stanford, played on a junior national soccer team ... . So, the issue of fairness is completely legit.”
Kirk opposed transgender rights, and his organization sponsored rallies against transgender medical care. In April 2024, he likened doctors who perform gender-affirming care to Nazis committing atrocities, according to Reuters.
"One issue I think that is so against our senses, so against the natural law and dare I say a throbbing middle finger to God, is the transgender thing happening in America right now,” Kirk said during a speech posted in 2023 by Right Wing Watch.
Salt Lake City is home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ world headquarters, but the church’s more conservative members tend to live outside the city limits. The church’s position has evolved on LGBTQ rights. While it opposes same-sex marriage, in 2015, the church endorsed Utah’s law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2019, the church also formally issued a statement condemning conversion therapy. Such therapy, widely debunked by medical professionals, attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Its use on minors is banned in California and several other states.
