RSS
Home
Police mark Stonewall anniversary by raiding gay bar
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Irony is alive and well in the state of Texas. On Sunday, police in Fort Worth conducted a raid on a gay nightclub, arresting several patrons and sending one to the hospital with a head injury. Sunday also happened to be the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a landmark moment in the gay rights movement that began when police conducted a raid on a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, Fort Worth police entered the Rainbow Lounge with Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) agents as part of routine alcoholic beverage code inspections. The officers claim they encountered two drunk people who made "sexually explicit movements" toward them and another who grabbed a TABC agent's groin. Six people were then arrested for public intoxication. One of the men arrested, Chad Gibson, was taken to the hospital with bleeding on the brain.
The police account of events has raised much concern. The fact that the Rainbow Lounge had only been opened a week has raised conjecture that it was specifically targeted because it is a gay bar. Furthermore, eyewitnesses staunchly refute the claims that the police were groped and harassed. Others claim the police used unnecessary force.
"He was yelling at me to stop resisting arrest, but I wasn't doing anything. It was horrible. I really thought he had broken my shoulder," said George Armstrong who was tackled and arrested during the raid. "I've never been so embarrassed and humiliated. I didn't do anything to him."
Members of the Fort Worth City Council are demanding an investigation into the raid. Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks has said she is very concerned about what happened. Councilman Joel Burns has "asked for as thorough a report as possible ... to reassure folks that the police are not singling out any group."
Burns also mentioned that police were unaware that the raid was occurring on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The riots were a pivotal moment in the fight for gay equality as they united the gay and lesbian community around a common cause. The riots are often referred to as the birth of the gay rights movement and June is designated as LGBT Pride month in honor of the start of the riots on June 28, 1969.
Related Articles:
Comments
