Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare has blocked efforts to mark the site of the former Rainbow Lounge, the site of the infamous June 28, 2009, raid by agents with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth Police officers, with an historical marker, according to Fort Worth Report.
The marker had already been approved by the Tarrant County Historic Commission and the state commission. But the state commission rescinded approval after O’Hare demanded it to.
Fort Worth activist and YesterQueer historian Todd Camp, who was celebrating his birthday at Rainbow Lounge the night of the raid, has been leading efforts to secure an historical marker for the site of the bar — which burned down in 2017 — for more than a year. Camp said that O’Hare “shut down the project with a letter to the commission demanding that the application be rescinded, according to documents obtained by the Fort Worth Report.”
In his May 12 letter to the Texas Historical Commission, according to Fort Worth Report, the county judge demanded the application for a Rainbow Lounge marker be rescinded because it did not follow the Tarrant County Historical Commission’s “proper and thorough approval process” before being sent to the state commission.
O’Hare wrote: “Due to (the) nature of Marker 24324, such a deviation from standard protocol is particularly concerning. Allowing the marker to proceed under these circumstances risks generating unnecessary controversy and undermining the credibility of both the local and state historical commissions.”
Coletta Strickland, Tarrant County Historical Commission chair over historical marker applications at the time of the city’s application for the Rainbow Lounge marker, said, “There was nothing untoward or out of the ordinary that was done for this application.”
Strickland told Fort Worth Report that O’Hare had overstepped his authority. She said rescinding the application “is not within his purview. He does not have the authority.”
O’Hare is known for his right-wing extremism, and his chief of staff, Ruth Ray, told Fort Worth Report, “It should come as no surprise Judge O’Hare doesn’t support a historical marker glorifying radical gender ideology and drag performances. People visit public spaces for recreation and relaxation, often with their children. As the vast majority of our nation agrees, transgenderism should not be pushed on our children.”
Rainbow Lounge was located at 615 S. Jennings St. in Fort Worth. The building was destroyed in a fire in June 2017, and the area is not known as a big tourist destination or a public space people visit with their for recreation and relaxation.
— Tammye Nash