THIS IS NOT HOW WE INTENDED TO REMEMBER STONEWALL As of press time, the story of this weekend’s perversely timed raid of a Fort Worth gay bar is still unfolding. According to the Dallas Voice, seven people were arrested on the eve of the Stonewall anniversary in a police raid that some eyewitnesses are calling “brutal.” One of the men taken in the Fort Worth police/TABC raid was sent to intensive care with head trauma serious enough that it may require surgery. Dallas Voice Senior Editor Tammye Nash has been diligently posting extensive updates on the newspaper’s blog Instant Tea (www.dallasvoice.com/instant-tea). By Tuesday, the story of the raid on the Rainbow Lounge had reached the CNN website and had been featured on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. While the timing of the raid is disturbing enough, the violent nature of the incident sparked outrage and protest in Fort Worth. Two Fort Worth City Council members, Joel Burns, District 9, and Kathleen Hicks, District 8 (the district in which the Rainbow Lounge is located), have called for an investigation. Human Rights Campaign (the largest LGBT advocacy group in the U.S.) and Texas state lobbyists Equality Texas are likewise calling for a full investigation. Furthermore, ET has launched a page to encourage supporters to get active and send letters to Fort Worth’s mayor and council. We have provided a direct link on our Gay Place Blog to the ET Take Action page, featuring sample letters and easy ways for you to make your voice heard. (See www.equalitytexas.org and austinchronicle.com/gayplaceblog.)
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This article appears in July 3 • 2009.