David Nelson papers, 1983-2012

David Keith Nelson was born in Salt Lake City in 1962. He attended the University of Utah from 1982 through 1984, majoring in political science. Nelson's decades long career as an activist and spokesperson for the rights of the gay and lesbian communities began during this time when he founded the Military Law Task Force of Salt Lake City and served as vice president of the Lesbian and Gay Student Union. Among other activities, many of which are documented in the collection, he ran in 1985 as a nonpartisan candidate for the 3rd District seat of the Salt Lake City Council. In 1990 he founded the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD), an organization that lobbied for the rights of, and promoted participation within, the gay community in local and national politics. Nelson was actively involved in the Clinton and Gore campaigns of 1996 and 2000, and he served as Utah Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions during these years. He founded Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah in 2002 to promote awareness of Second Amendment rights among the LGBT communities. Nelson has also played an active role as publisher, editor, and regular contributor to local publications including Triangle Magazine, Salt Lake Metro and QSaltLake.