Los Angeles Times:
Todd Camp and some friends had just marked the 40th anniversary of the police raid on New York's Stonewall Inn by screening a documentary on the historic gay riots and then heading for drinks at the Rainbow Lounge.
Camp remembered looking across the bar, packed with gay and some straight couples, and marveling how much times had changed since Stonewall -- the spark that ignited the gay rights movement.
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I wish they'd give Texas back to the Mexicans. We stoled it from them anyway.
*You* didn't steal anything. the Mexican government couldn't settle the Texas territory so allowed Stephen F. Austin to grab whatever American's and immigrants he wanted to settle the Brazos and Guadalupe river areas. The fact that hundreds of Methodists had to forcibly convert to Catholicism made them angry and the state as a whole rose up in Revolution and fought back Mexican control and Santa Anna.
*We* were an independent republic for 10 years who decided to join the United States. Want to talk about taking land from Mexico, look at NM, AZ, CA and the Gadsden Purchase.
Rick Perry needs to join up with Mexico.
Just a couple of things here.
#1. The bar owner KNEW the police were comming so it should not have been a SHOCK to him.
#2. The police had already been to two other bars arresting people and had no problems. When the guy grabbed the officer in the crouch that was a bit much. It seems to me that the people in this bar brought it on themselves.
According to witnesse he NEVER touched the officer.
Police lie ALL THE TIME.
Yeah, it takes 7 officers to do license inspections.
What a load of crap.
This was a planned act of intimidation.
I was wondering that. Maybe it is different with different states but when I bartended in college they never informed anyone of an inspection. They sent in under cover officers and sent underage people (usually who had got busted underage and agreed to help the police for a reduced charge) to see if anyone would sell them drinks, etc. Then they busted places. It seems weird.
I've seen in some places where officers do random checks, asking for ID etc.
They may stick around for an hour or so but then they typically move on.
You are completely correct because you have access to this information and sources to back up your assertion.
So you see no problem with 7 officers being used for these inspections?
A bit of over kill?
It's the police in Fort Worth, for crying out loud. The place just opened, it's the fortieth anniversary of Stonewall, somebody wanted to send a message. Pull your head out of the sand.
"We're red
necks we red
necks we don't know our
a$$ from a hole in the ground
We're red
necks we red
necks we are
keepin' the n*99ers down."
- Randy Newman, "Rednecks" 1974
Austin is nothing like Fort Worth.
Texas, you've disappointed America once again! Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like the police went there looking for trouble. Even if they were taunted, that's no excuse for committing brutality on the patrons there. Police are supposed to be trained to handle angry crowds without reacting based on emotion. But, obviously, that did not happen in this case, and it sounds like they are actually trying to justify their overreaction with talk about feeling threatened. (Pathetic and offensive!) I hope that there is justice for the man who was injured, and that a full-scale investigation results in disciplinary action against the offending police.
I am with you.
Hopefully, the police chief himself will undergo some diversity training. What in the world were they thinking when walking into a very crowded bar at 2am to search for people to arrest. But this is Texas. It still has a long way to go.
Actually, some Texas LE agencies are among the most diverse and innovative in the country with respect to training and staffing (Dallas & Austin, two good examples).
I wouldn't hold the Dallas police dept up as an example. They are on a regular basis accused (and fairly) of police brutality>
who cares
Progressive Americans as well as those that care about the rights of all Americans. Thats who.
Anyone who cares about individuals rights. Anyone who cares about the rampant rise in police brutality in this country. Anyone who cares about justice. Anyone who knows or has a gay member in their family. Anyone with a brain!!!
Apparently a lot of people do! If you don't, I'm sure there's a Sarah blog you can attend to.
Texas....where everything is bigger. (Including the hate)
So curious, did they give those that were cuffed sobriety tests? What causes them to make a decision that cuffs were needed on everyone? Guilty until proven innocent? They did take just 7 of the 20 to jail. And all 20 of them were cuffed and put face down on a sidewalk. Is this standard operating procedure for all of their RAIDS?
And "internal investigation"? Yea, that is a good one. Kinda like Sarah Palin's personnel board.
That's cops being cops. I do hope homosexuals take a look around the nation at how the paramilitary minded ning-nongs treat everyone who isn't wearing a shield before thinking they've been singled out.
Though they may have animosity toward gay men, that event could have happened in any bar, in any state. It certainly isn't, 'Stonewall all over again'.
US law enforcement... is out of control.
Um ok. No generalizations there. Who will you call if your family is threatened or your home is burglarized? A social worker?
W i l l is correct, US law enforcement has been out of control for a long time now. Yes, we have to call them but that doesn't mean they don't suck sometimes, cop. Law enforcement in general needs better psychological screening on the front end and better pay on the back end. Nobody drafts cops. They aren't conscripts. People choose to be cops. If certain cops don't want to do the job right they should quit being cops. There is nothing worse than a dirty cop and they get protected by the system all the time. I believe a police department is only as good as it's I.A. is allowed to be. Better leadership and tougher I.A.standards lead to better policing.
To me the problem is that to many cops confuse their town with Baghdad and their department with the Marine Corp. Police are supposed to be part of a communities solution rather than an occupieing force. Somehow it seems to many officers forget their mission. Wearing camo, laced combat boots, heavy weapons all seems to be the style. If someone wants to join the military, god bless them. We need an effective military in todays world.
What we don't need is a military occupation of our cities by police departments. That seems to be where to many departments go wrong. It also explains why many fear their local police department. Why would anyone want to cooperate when the prevailing police attitude tends to be "kicking *ss and taking names". Police generaly are not there to help a community, they are there to arrest someone who commited a crime. There is a big differance.
When is the last time you heard of them raiding a female strip club and had to smash heads because of sexual gestures?
I thought all gay guys in Texas were big, burly Ennis Del Mar types. You know, the kind that wouldn't get scared if the cops showed up and start crying and screaming like Chita Rivera. Apparently I was wrong.
You know for sure every patron in the bar was made up of big, burly gay guys? Did you even read the article? Thanks for re-verifying the extreme ignorance Gays and Lesbians still face in this country. What a pity- this is what happens when we let fundamentalist whacko neanderthals steal elections and hold democracy, common sense, and even education hostage.
Sounds like a big burly stereotype to me.
For some reason I am attracted to you. Are you gay?
The cops were threatened because they were' taunted"What are they? Schoolchildren?When i sent my kids to school, we told them to ignore taunts.And of course we know never has a gay been taunted.
That was my thought when I read it as well. They where taunted, what are they five? They are adult law enforcement they should get over it, if they can't handle some taunting they picked the wrong job.
Its called the gay panic defense.
Heteros freaking out if a gay guy so much as looks at you.
Some hetero men really freak out in the presence of gay men. Note I said some not all.....
Don't just write about your outrage, voice it. Call the following offices and express your deep disgust and anger about this incident:
Ft. Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief: 817-392-6118
Ft. Worth Police Administration: 817-392-4200
Ft. Worth Police Media Office: 817-392-4214
Ft. Worth Police Internal Affairs (Officer Complaint): 817-392-4270.
Where are the numbers for the state agency (TABC) that participated in this bar raid right along with the FWPD? The TABC officers are the ones who are alledged to have been the aggressors, so why direct all the outrage only at the FWPD?
I would think it would be tough enough being gay without having to be gay in Texas.
We know a few, my family and I here in the Lone Star State. Several of them are veterans. Yes, they have a fair share of guts...
Leland R. Erickson
Citizen
The biggest gay church in the country is in Dallas, Texas. It's called the Cathedral of Hope. In fact, Dallas and Houston both have very large and very active gay communities. Both cities also have had openly gay elected officials. So obviously it is not any worse being to be gay in Texas than it is to be gay anywhere else. But don't let facts get in the way of yer lame attempts at being cute or funny.
But adult law enforcement officers who can't put up with a little taunting? When I was working my way through college I bartended several years, and I was able to handle it, and I'm wasn't trained to deal with those situations, so why can't cops who should have much better training for those situations?
I used to live in San Antonio, so I'm more familiar with Texas than you might think.
We have a large gay population in Columbus, Ohio and they generally don't run into much trouble.
But we're talking Ft. Worth!
Well, that's Texas.
Loading comments…
Los Angeles Times | P.J. Huffstutter
First Posted: 07- 6-09 08:33 AM | Updated: 07- 6-09 09:40 AM