Fort Worth Rally - Rainbow Lounge Raid Protest

The rally in Fort Worth yesterday to protest the treatment of patrons at the Rainbow Lounge was a success. About 300 people showed up on the steps of the Tarrant County Court House for the event.

Dozens of rainbow flags, leather flags and hundreds fo signs gave the protest a festive feel, even if the message was one of outrage. The organizers, Queer Liberaction did a great job of pulling together the event and the line up of speakers was well paced.

The event culminated by Blake Wilkinson attaching a list of demands to the courthouse doors and the a spontaneous march to City Hall where the same list was taped to the doors there as well.

Even though the weather was oppressively hot, attendees seemed ready to face the sweat in order to get their point across. News media was also there in abundance and that was what the event was rally about. Keeping this incodent in the eye of the press will get action from city hall and the police.

Eagle Closure Update

Meanwhile the many Dallasites in attendance were still upset about the TABC action at the Dallas Eagle bar on Friday night. Though the timing seems suspicious and their anger is understandable, these were two very different events.

The TABC action at the Dallas Eagle was a result of the liquor license being issued for the old address, a few yards away from the new loaction on the same property. It was a picky technicality that should have ended when the TABC entered the bar and ordered liquor sales to cease. Unfortunately, sales resumed once the agents left and that prompted an undercover officer to call in another enforcement action which resulted in closing the bar completely.

The alleged "ninja masks" spoken of in several emails following the closure were to protect the identities of the undercover officers who called in the enforcement. In court their identities are revealed, but they wear masks when returning to a venue to protect their undercover status.

Now that said, I am not casting any dispersions on the Eagle or the TABC in this case. It just looks like the kind of thing that could have been avoided.

I do feel that gay bars get far more scrutiny from the TABC than other establishments and that should be investigated. Perhaps the ACLU or Lambda Legal could look into that, because I get the feeling if the records were tabulated, gay bar enforcement would be higher than straight bars. Just my hunch. I have seen several of these "raids" in the gay bars and have never seen anything remotely similar in a straight br or restaurant. I have seen my share of both establishments.

I have seen sloppy fall down drunks in straight bars and never seen anyone arrested for Public Intoxication. Just visit any of the watering holes in Deep Elum or Lower Greenville and see if you have your evening disturbed by the TABC. It doesn't happen very often.

So, am I upset about the TABC actions. Yup, sure am. Do I think the Fort Worth riad and the Dallas Eagle closure are related? Only in the fact that they are part of a larger picture of discrimination against LGBT establishments that needs to be addressed.