Remember: Meeting at 5 p.m. at Rainbow Lounge, 615 S. Jennings. Protest at the courthouse downtown at 7 p.m., Weatherford at Main.
Kayla Lane and her sister Kelly were both at Rainbow Lounge last night when police came in and started arresting people. Both sent me e-mails with their accounts of what happened. Kayla has given me permission to reprint her e-mail here. Kelly’s account is ery much the same.
From Kayla Lane:
My name is Kayla Lane. I am a Ph.D. student at UC-Santa Cruz, staying with my sister, Kelly Lane, for the summer. We and a few of our friends went to the new Rainbow Lounge last night to dance and have some fun. I was in the VIP section when police officers started coming up there. The first arrest (that we saw) was right in front of me in that section.
They asked the guy if he had been drinking, and he said some, and they snidely replied, “Well, we’ll see how much!” and plastic handcuffed him as they read him his rights The guy was doing NOTHIG wrong. It was utterly repugnant.
Once I saw this happen, I decided to try and speak with one of the police officers themselves, to go straight to the source and get their side. My sister Kelly and I simply started asking what they were doing here, stating how suspicious it seemed on this date and in this specific club, etc. This was a “State Policeman,” whose name I forgot, who tried to explain their actions by referring to “anonymous tips” and “disgruntled ex-bartenders.” We pointed out the place was open a week, so the disgruntled ex-bartender source seemed a bit unlikely! He wouldn’t really answer my questions. although he did try to grab my hand and flirt with me (which was completely uninvited).
After this, we saw the policemen go into the men’s restroom, pull out at least two guys from handcuffs from there, and pull one onto the ground before forcefully removing him. What were they doing in there? Raucously disposing of their waste?! There was no reason for ANY of those arrests, at all. These people were NOT drunk, or even overly happy or silly. As the last office came by, some patrons were calling out “Homophobes!,” “Fucking Assholes,” etc. – obviously and justifiably upset over the present actions. The officer, whose head was turned the other way, looked back and saw and recognized me as questioning the state policeman earlier, and yanked my arm, forcing me out of the bar in front of him.
After pulling my arm away once we were outside, I calmly told him it was not me that called him these names, but he aggressively insisted it was, no matter what I said. Then he accused me of stirring up trouble by talking to the policeman earlier. I said it was my right to question, as a concerned citizen, these actions. He responded that, “What we do, is right. You can’t question when we are doing something.” I said something about him not understanding a democracy then.
Thankfully at this time, my sister and another friend came out, and vouched for my innocence. After this, he said I could go, after we indugled his ego for a few minutes with some respectful and quiet answers. To the end, he belligerantly and crudely accused me of of the name-calling deed, that he “knew” I said those things and I better got before I get arrested. Apparently, the fact that his head was turned and there was no logical way he could have known who spoke was beyond him.
I will be at the rally this afternoon. I am incensed and horrified by the way everyone at this location was treated. I hope this will get as much publicity as it deserves, and that a myriad of challenges and complaints will be made to the FWPD and other media sources.
After reading the news about the raid on the Rainbow Room in Ft. Worth, I felt compelled to write. How unbelievable it is to hear about such ignorance and bigotry in this day and age. What type of city/state would even hire such horrible people to “protect and serve†their communities!
We are all human beings – all made by the same God – all equal! No one person is better or worse than the next. You may not like the way people live their lives, however, it is NOT up to you to be the judge of someone’s sexuality. Don’t you have actual criminals in your city that your resources would be better served?
From what I can tell, there was absolutely NO reason for this raid. NO reason to treat the people at this place as though they were hardened criminals.
Your police department has just lost the respect of a nation full of people – yes, voters – yes, tax payers! How will you ever earn their trust again?
You owe the citizens of your state and explanation and an apology!
Did GOD make those police officers, too? How about the ones at Stonewall? Funny God, huh?
Religion is the only thing that makes gay wrong and you will never have rights as long as you are wrong. Tell God. Tell those people that believe in God and the 34,000 different religions.
Religion made you wrong and now, it’s your turn to make religion wrong. That’s fair.
Go away troll. This has nothing to do with “God”.
St. Andrew, you and your imaginary friend go run along and play now, K?
Rick –
How exactly does this not involve “God?” Madge made the point of bringing up “God” in one light:
“We are all human beings – all made by the same God – all equal!”
Andrew just exposed “God” for his more traditional (and accurate) opinions. I agree with Andrew, not someone who reads an intelligent challenge to the equal rights movement and its failings, but has nothing more inspired to say than “troll this or that.” How helpful.
Look, the “God” we’ve all learned to tolerate isn’t a nice guy. The people he told to ghostwrite his instruction manual told us that he hates gay people (or gay people who have gay sex, if you want to get technical), that we homos are abominations, unnatural, and that the world would be better off if queers were just stoned to death.
And anyone who just wants to ignore distasteful parts of the Old and New Testaments and go on happily believing the rest… how do you figure out where to draw the line? Which parts of the story are true, and which are just a made up fantasy only relevant in as far as its historical context? Jesus.
If you can’t see the connection between a book that has established a country’s moral standards, and the people in that country who base their actions on that book and it’s “God,” well then I just can’t help you. And neither can St. Andrew.
It didn’t take America’s answer to the Taliban very long to find out about the raid, did it?
David is thinking. What’s wrong with the rest of you.
Are any of your make-believe Gods Gay? Where is the gay-god for people like me? Not “gay-friendly,” but full blown Gay. I want to worship someone or something gay. Cher is getting really old now and we’ll need a replacement of sorts. How about a gay God? Get to work on this – everyone knows we’re the most creative people on God’s “gay” earth.
I’m here, i’m queer and I’m acting up, again.
I am startled, are these raids that call back to the stories of old in the 70’s and farther back common? What was the justification as I have yet to hear why, was there illegal drug use? Is it a crime to be drunk at a bar? My partner and I were looking ot possibly move to the Dallas area if he bought a car dealership. I am seriously rethinking this move at this point and would cost the loss of 200+ new jobs to the area. Please let me know the why’s to this story as it hails back to the 90’s (for some reason when there’s a Dem president the nut bags go wild shooting,bombing, and in general furthering their terrorist goals) of all the garbage hapening donw there with anti gay hate crimes etc. I realize Tx is conservative as a whole but I would have thought that the laws on the books would keep the religious right in check especially with the anti terroism laws in place due to the lovely new resident of Dallas.
Nobody knows if it was a gay-motivated raid or something else. A new bar in the area getting raided isn’t very unusual – the older, established bars make the complaints. TABC was there, so it may just be the owner or liquor license they are after. Maybe someone knows about the owner and can post some info.
Crews Inn in Dallas was raided many times (for good reason).
Let’s find out what the cops say before associating this with gays.
Police calling it “routine.”
Star Telgram
FORT WORTH — Some upset residents plan to hold a rally at 7 p.m. today at the Tarrant County Courthouse to protest a police raid early this morning at a gay night club.
Witnesses say that police arrived at about 1 a.m. at the Rainbow Lounge on South Jennings Street and arrested seven people. They said one of those arrested fractured his skull during the takedown and is at a Fort Worth hospital
About 75 to 100 people were at the Rainbow Lounge this afternoon, making signs for the rally. Some of the signs read: “Give us Answers Now” and “We Have Rights Too.”
The raid happened to be on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York which began on the night of June 28, 1969, as a protest by gays against police harassment and helped trigger the modern U.S. gay rights movement.
Fort Worth police released a statement Sunday that the Rainbow Lounge was one of three bars targeted by six Fort Worth police officers and two agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and a supervisor. The group first went to the Rosedale Saloon and Cowboy Palace on Rosedale Street. Nine people were arrested, police report.
The investigators then proceeded to the Rainbow Lounge, where seven arrests were made, the police statement said. While walking through the Rainbow Lounge, an “extremely intoxicated patron made sexually explicit movements toward the police supervisor,” the statement said. This individual was arrested for public intoxication.
Another intoxicated individual also made sexually explicit movements toward another officer, and he was arrested for public intoxication, the statement said. A third individual inside the lounge assaulted a TABC agent by grabbing the agent’s groin, according to the statement. He was escorted outside and arrested for public intoxication. He was released to paramedics because of his extreme intoxication as he was repeatedly vomiting, police reported.
While dealing with this suspect, another officer requested assistance from inside the club with an intoxicated patron who was resisting arrest. This person was placed on the ground to control and apprehend him, police reported.
Alcohol beverage code inspections are conducted frequently in Fort Worth to ensure safety, police reported. A thorough investigation into the allegations made is being conducted as all allegations against officers are investigated, police reported.
I am upset about the raid because it doesn’t seem to be legit. The actions and responses to queries (no pun intended) seem to be uncalled for. I would like to hear more before passing final judgement. As for the God talk all I can say is that the Bible does condemn men lying with men as if the were women, yet right BEFORE that he calls out adulterers, fornicators, and those who drink until they are drunk (not sots, mind you) how odd homosexuals are at the end of the list of abominations. did the religous right skim over those sins.
Hold on a second…
I don’t care where you come from or what you were raised to believe, enough with the bashing. I happen to believe in a higher power (we’ll call it God), and the one I happen to abide by says its wrong to disrespect ANYONE, regardless of their beliefs or sexual preference just because you disagree with them. Just because some fools take a book and butcher its meaning shouldn’t mean everyone has to fall into the same category as they do just because they buy into the same literature. I was taught that God has no color, no sex, and no care about who someone falls in love with – as long as they have love. Don’t blame him/her for what these police did (and don’t blame all cops either, please), and please don’t bash ANY higher power as though they are responsible for what their followers do; otherwise you become just as vile and hateful as the people who persecuted the good souls at the club. Its a shame that these things happened, but its even more of a shame that the actions of a few lost fools can make other good people doubt that someone (or something) on high loves them and wants the best for EVERYONE, gay, straight, or indifferent.
Blame idiocy. Blame disrespect. Blame poor education or intolerance. Don’t blame God.
Blame hate… then erase it.
James –
Sure, religious extremists are hypocritical: they read the “most important book ever written” pretty selectively – condemning gays for one of those sins but happily ignoring or outright committing the rest of the sins. But that doesn’t mean that religious moderates or liberals are any better. They take the holiest book and simply cross out the parts they don’t like with a red pen. There is only one form of evidence to support religious beliefs – the book itself. Any miracles, voices of God, or deities on burnt toast are only given any credence because of the sacred text.
So think about the moderates and liberals, the ones who just casually take out the slavery passages, blot out the female oppression sections, pretend those shellfish and cheeseburger things aren’t that important, and turn a blind eye to those parts that condemn gays, lesbians, and cross dressers. They’re saying, “Oh. Well this was just written by some guys, and they didn’t know any better.” But this is still the book that you’re telling me gives you ALL THE ANSWERS OF THE UNIVERSE. How can anyone consider it a reliable source on the nature of God, the identity of his Son, and the morality that should be guiding our lives? Especially when the only reason you’re a Christian and not a Muslim, Buddhist, or Raelian is because the people you loved and trusted told you what to think before you were able to figure it out for yourself? Wouldn’t we all be better off if everyone could admit that no one knows for sure what the answers are, and the best we have are some interesting ideas?
I notice your top ad is for an AIDS fund raiser in the lone star state in September. Preemptive strike maybe?
Not gay but fine –
I don’t know where you’re getting this stuff. No one in here, as far as I can tell, is blaming any God, or higher power. No one in here is blaming “all cops.” In fact, no one was bashing anyone at all.
Now go to that protest tonight in Fort Worth and tell me if you can say the same. You won’t be able to. The organizers very quickly tried to dam that tide by telling marchers not to have offensive signs like “screw you pigs.” That would be bashing. Tell me when anyone in here has been bashing, because I would be fascinated.
Our conflict is not with God. That would be silly. I don’t know if he exists (neither do you, by the way, unless you’ve got some secret you’ve been keeping from the rest of the planet). And I’m certainly not going to go fighting a potentially real god on things that I don’t know if He/She/it believes or not. That would be an astonishing waste of my time.
Our conflict is also not with the believers or followers. You see, this is where you and I are different. While you call them “vile, hateful,” and “fools,” I prefer to borrow that phrase: “They know not what they do.”
See, my issue is with the belief itself. They have been brainwashed into a belief system that convinces them it is the right thing to do to treat other people as inferior. They have been tricked into thinking that any question or doubt of that faith is a guaranteed ticket to Eternal Hell. These beliefs, these certainties, these absolute knowledges of the unknowable, need to evaporate before anything will change. We will have no true rights as long as faith persists. We will still be wrong and inferior. There will still be hate as long as people “know” that they are “right.” You want to end the hate? End the faith. Understanding is much better.
I moved from “Cow-Town” 10 years ago and now live in Dallas. This situation does not surprise me at all due to the redneck mentallity that the police and sherriff’s department has. It is sad that we are living in 2009 but it seems as though many are still living in ignorance and in the 1960’s. Does this mean that Fort Worth is living in the days of Stonewall? Even my own mother saw the news program on Channel 8 and thought it sounded like a set up! (Go Mom)
I’m too many 100 miles from FW to follow this first-hand, so I hope you folks there will keep us all posted. This all does sound very suspicious – date-wise and the excuse of “some kind of disturbance, or assault, or drunks, or fags we just don’t like”!!!
Oh, they’re going to come up with all sorts of excuses… we know it.. they always do.
They were arresting people for being gay and not cowering in the closet. Their real crime was being out… not being gay. I mean please… the majority of Republicans are gay, they’re just married to women and going on a lot of fishing trips.
That big tent they’re talking about? It’s in their pants.
This is what happens when the Talibangelicals gain too much power!
Its time for EQUAL RIGHTS NOW!
Just one more example of why our President needs to send a message that this kind of disriminatory behavior will not be tolerated in our country. Its time for movement on repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, the Employment Non Discrimination Act and ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. The very least the Obama Admin could do at this point is a STOP LOSS ORDER for the patriotic gays and lesbians currently serving our country to implement his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan!
The STOP LOSS ORDER should have been done THE FIRST WEEK he was in office! Congress needs to take up our issues, and our LGBT community needs to stop taking this kind of thing laying down! We need to BUILD on the protests that occurred today, and we need to implement civil disobedience. As Harvey Milk famously said, “We’ve got to give them (our future generations) HOPE!”
Al;l this holy discussion makes me happy to be Buddhist. Gay or straight no matter.
I do remember that in the same book of the Bible that condemns men lying with men, also condemns the wearing of mixed fibers. So u can throuw out your polyster blend shirts or face the wrath of God himself. It also says to stone your disobedeint kids. You simply can’t have it both ways.
Do you really believe that a loving God would have created me and my sexuality only to condemn me? Come on. God is love and all is God if I remember correctly. So cheer up and love on another, brother&sister.
Paul
No, Kayla, doesn’t sound like people were being belligerent at all! When you have a hostile crowd of drunks, you should expect the cops to be less than polite. Contrary to what you may believe being from California, you do not have a “right” to interfere with the duties of a police officer. You certainly have recourse after the fact. If you feel one of your friends was inappropriately arrested, then show up at his trial. You can also file an internal affairs complaint. But what you can’t do is get the crowd worked up to hostility.
Go to law school if you want to learn about the law. You’re lucky you weren’t arrested yourself.
Actually, Pedro, federal law (not California law) requires that police officers respond to requests by citizens to identify themselves by name and badge number, except in cases where doing so would present an immediate danger to the officer (i.e. a SWAT raid). And no, California law does not give you the ‘right’ to interfere with the duties of a police officer. But observation and polite requests for information are well within the boundaries, until a cop tells you to desist. And even then you can observe from a distance. Again, federal law, not California law.
Your characterizations of the crowd and the behavior of the cops show that either you didn’t bother to read this account carefully, or you simply have a knee-jerk response to support the cops in any case whatsoever. I won’t speculate as to the reasons for your attitude, but you really should learn to read for factual content instead of emotional cues for your myopic view of the world.
To anyone who was hurt during the raid on the Rainbow lounge on saturday the 27th. please contact Julya Billhymer Attornt at law. she will take your case FREE of charge….. Lets show them we will not stand for this anymore….. The only way this will happen is if we ALL stand together!!!!!! Joshua
Law Office of Julya Billhymer
Attorneys – Criminal Defense
608 8th Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Phone: 817-732-5297
Fax: 817-732-5292
Email: julya@billhymerlawfirm.com
https://www.billhymerlawfirm.com
Ever met or heard of a gay police officer?
I am a criminal defense attorney in Fort Worth, Texas. I will represent any person arrested on the night in question, at the Rainbow Lounge for FREE…pro bono.
Call my office to set up an appointment: 817-732-5297
I remember a case in Dallas in 1988 where Dallas County Judge Jack Hampton gave lenient 30 year sentence to Richard Le Benarski for the premeditated murder of two gay men in a park in Dallas. His explanation was essentially that homosexuals were deviants and deserved what they got.
Now with the police beating customers at the Rainbow Room it seems that every gain from the past twenty years can be taken away with by a bully with a badge.
Another reason for me to leave Fort Worth.
The neighborhood is somewhat dangerous. Cars have been stolen from one of the bars across the street. Several years ago, one of the bar owners in the neighborhood was clubbed to death…Where are the cops then? I am beginning to believe the Ft. Worth cops are no better than the car jackers and robbers in the neighborhood.
Hi. I`m Daniel from the Netherlands. I heard this news this last weekend. It`s so painful to watch these things in the news. Just when you think the one place where you can be with people in the same situation as you it gets crashed by the local laws. If the Police wont protect those people then WHO WILL?
Police is that one bit that should protect them from abusing but yet what happened here is they CREATED the abusing!!
Totally disrespectful. I hope they get the world news for this.