So apparently the Houston GLBT community organizes these monthly "rushes" when a large group get together and "take over" a straight bar in a demonstration of "gay pride". This past week Union Bar in Midtown was targeted. The scuffle is that their group (about 150) was denied entrance based solely on their sexual orientation while straight individuals were admitted and served. Now there's some kind of Texas wide call to have this place shut down by various orgs... the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, the Harris County Impact Houston and Amicus at South Texas College of Law (whom I think spearheaded the event). This is a statement released by Union Bar shortly thereafter regarding the night of Friday 3-10-2009.... I think it is an interesting predicament. No one likes to think about the reality of discrimination, and what it really means. Freedom, in essence, is the ability to discriminate. Certainly we pay the price for the ability to discriminate, because others can discriminate against us... like when I go to clubs with my black friends more often than not they get turned away, or have to pay a huge cover, despite being dressed to the 9s and being complete gentlemen. Sure it is annoying, but instead of legislating that these places get shut down, or mandating admittance policies, I just make a note to not patronize these places and take my dollars elsewhere. I personally don't think the government should be in the business of legislating "niceness". Are we right in trying to take the "private" nature of business and make it into "public" territory? I can't help but think that we're losing more rights than gaining them by taking the rights away from private establishments. I have to sympathize with Union in this case, as a club's lifeblood is its image.... sad enough to say, but if they allowed a throng of gay people to take over the club, it would indeed hurt their bottom line... unless those patrons become regulars... and there are many cases of clubs unintentionally attracting a certain sect of people and eventually adopting them as their "crowd".
117 persons as set forth by the City Of Houston and The Fire Marshal. I'm siding with the bar on this one. If a party of 200 people show up there is no way they could have taken them ALL in. Simple numbers
Exactly. If there had been 50 people (like the RSVP said) in the guy's party, and they didn't let them in, then I'd think it was discrimination. But come on...like KDavis said, it's simple numbers.
Sounds ridiculous. Assuming that statement by the bar is the actual truth... You should probably wait until you have proof of discrimination before you pull out the gay card. This issue with refusing service here had nothing to do with sexual orientation, and that guy should be ashamed of himself.
A couple of my friends from law school were involved in this incident. Their recount of the event sounds nothing like what the owner is saying. They say they were refused because of "ratio" at first (men to women, I guess) and later refused on the basis of the right to refuse someone business. All I know is that if I was a bar owner, and I had 200 people waiting outside in the rain, all of whom were antsy to make a political point of some sort, I would have worked A LOT harder to accommodate them.
The in-your-face approach of the gay community over the last couple of years has really irritated me and has lost them my support. It seems like every other day you hear about a bunch of gays getting together and harassing other groups of people (be it Catholics or Mormons or whomever) who happened to disagree with them on any number of issues. This ugly American approach is only going to farther marginalize them and will only create further backlash against them. Enough of these bush league tactics already. Stop harassing your fellow citizens because you can't (yet) get your way legislatively. Just remember: everyone has the same rights you do to organize and petition government for any number of reasons.
Well, I am guessing you are not the business owner in question and you certainly don't have the same concerns he had. He has a business to run, his bottom line is all that matters. What's next: straight men and women get together and sue the bars for "discrimination" based on looks or age?
Wasn't there, don't really want to side with anybody, but showing up to a bar with 200 people wanting to go in at the same time is messed up.
Maybe the bar rush organizers should do a better job of picking their places and sizing their groups to fit the capacity of the club?
Or maybe they should stop being a bunch of a-holes and stop trying to purposely harass and damage these legitimate business establishments? It is one thing to hold a gay pride parade on public property and quite another to pull off stunts intent on harassing private establishments. Just a thought
WTF EVER. The law is the law and it does not change because a group of people are gay. Second, forcing your "gayness" upon straight people just because you want to fit in with society is ridiculously absurd. Sounds like a group of people just wanting to be little drama queens while expressing their sexual preference in a psychotic way. I think a lot of gay people need to be mentally evaluated. What if we started sending in groups of psychologist to evaluate if gays in gay bars are mentally fit to be social in society. How would they feel about straights forcing their way of thinking on them?
Are there really segregated straight bars like there are segregated gay bars? So other words, you have a group of gays disrupting a private business. If a group of straights went into a gay bar to disrupt, wouldn't the gays scream discrimination? Quite frankly, this whole gay pride thing is getting old quick.
If this is true, then I have to side with the bar on this one. I don't think every incident is discrimination, sexism, or racism because there are two sides to every story. Then again, there might have been a reason this particular bar was targeted that we are all unaware of.
I would hope that most gay people would side with the bar on this. If a bar is fulled beyond capacity and only is taking people in with reservations....How is that discrimination - especicially when 50 gays were already allowed in as per their RSVP. Basically this group is saying the fire code doesn't matter - nor does thier safety. Gays have to keep in mind equal rights is great and I am all for it, but they should not be placed above everyone else and treated like kings just because they have faced discrimination before. It's like Al Sharpton crying wolf. Only will hurt the movement if it pursues yells fouls when there is none.
So, what exactly are they trying to accomplish by "rushing" an establishment like this? I can see absolutely no possible positive outcome from an action like this. None. If I own a bar and a group of 150 guys walk up together there is NO WAY I let them in. I would be concerned for my property and the safety of my current patrons. This is a stupid idea perpetrated by a group looking for trouble.
