Willy Marshall became, in 2001, the first openly gay

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

 man to be elected mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of a Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 town.

Marshall is a Libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 and his town of Big Water

Big Water, Utah

Big Water is a town in Kane County, Utah, United States. The population was 417 at the 2000 census, a modest increase over the 1990 figure of 326. It is located 17 miles north of Page, Arizona on US-89 near Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. It was originally called Glen Canyon City and housed...

 was the first town in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to have a Libertarian

Libertarian Party (United States)

The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...

 mayor when a previous mayor

Alex Joseph

Alex Joseph was an outspoken polygamist and founder of the Confederate Nations of Israel, Mormon fundamentalist sect...

 switched to the party in 1986. In keeping with his Libertarian principles, Marshall repealed his salary as mayor. He also cut municipal taxes by 50% and attempted to decriminalize marijuana (the county

Kane County, Utah

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,046 people, 2,237 households, and 1,628 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 3,767 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...

prevented full implementation).