(photo by Maurício Mascaro via Pexels)
NYC Gay Bar Deaths Ruled Homicides By Medical Examiner
John Umberger; Julio Ramirez (photo credit: Linda Clary/family photo)
Man Charged In Rash Bar Arson In Brooklyn
(screen captures via surveillance footage)
News Round-Up: November 15, 2021
Catching up on some of the day’s headlines: • The Advocate: Target’s Pride Nutcracker is making the yuletide gayer selling out in stores across the country thanks to its popularity on social media. Continue reading “News Round-Up: November 15, 2021”
What To Watch: ‘Through The Windows’ On Revry
I highly recommend the terrific documentary, Through The Windows, currently streaming on the LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry. The film tells the story of San Francisco’s Twin Peaks Tavern, the bar that changed the face of the gay community in the 70’s by opening its windows, and the men who dared to be seen. Continue reading “What To Watch: ‘Through The Windows’ On Revry”
Flashback Friday: My First Visit To A Gay Bar
One of my colleagues at Instinct Magazine began a chat about gay bars and the discussion eventually turned to the first time we ever went to a gay bar. Several of us wrote down our memories of that ever-so-fateful day in our lives when we crossed over into fully-formed gays. Continue reading “Flashback Friday: My First Visit To A Gay Bar”
News Round-Up: March 31, 2021
• AP: As Wisconsin stands on the precipice of another COVID-19 surge, the state Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate on Wednesday, stripping the governor of one of his last remaining tools to curb the spread of the coronavirus. • New York Times: Pfizer and BioNTech report that their coronavirus vaccine is extremely effective in adolescents 12 to 15 years old, perhaps even more so than in adults. No infections were found among children who received the vaccine in a recent clinical trial; they produced strong antibody responses and experienced no serious side effects. • PEOPLE: Former half-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, has announced she has tested positive for the coronavirus and is urging people to wear face masks. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Over at KIT212 the ‘Song of the Day’ is Madonna’s “Live To Tell,” inspired by a Facebook post by one of my favorite LGBTQ journalists, Jeremy Kinser, who declares the tune is Madge’s best ballad. I agree with Jeremy and Kenneth. (Although, ‘Rain’ comes in a close second…)
News Round-Up: September 9, 2020
(image via Instagram)
Joe Exotic and friend (image via Netflix)
Joe Biden accused President Trump of “a life-and-death betrayal of the American people” hours after journalist Bob Woodward revealed ahead of the publication of his new book, “Rage,” that Trump had concealed the true threat posed by coronavirus. https://t.co/UiDbqMI5bW pic.twitter.com/tpI6YCBeps
— CNN (@CNN) September 9, 2020
News Round-Up: July 1, 2020
Craig Ramsay (photo: Nathan Cox)
• Broadway: Want to watch a Broadway legend dazzle on stage for an incredible cause? On July 10, theater fans will be able to watch Bernadette Peters in a never-before-seen-online concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The 2009 performance, Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert. will be free to stream here at 8pm ET. Donations are encouraged but not required for viewing. • CBS News: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that indoor dining won’t be allowed to resume when New York City reaches Phase 3 of reopening next week. It will be delayed “until the facts change and it is prudent to open,” he said. • The Independent: After more than 48K new cases of coronavirus in the US were announced on Tuesday (the highest number since the pandemic began), Donald Trump repeated his belief that the coronavirus is going to “just disappear.” “I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear — I hope,” Mr. Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday.
Unbelievable. He’s still doing it. Trump is still – TODAY – claiming that the virus is going to magically disappear. I cannot believe that a human being could be this obtuse.pic.twitter.com/39lMlr6zGX
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 1, 2020
El Paso Gay Bar Owner Attends Trump Rally
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An owner of a gay bar in El Paso, Texas, has come under fire for attending Donald Trump’s recent rally in his city.
Johnny Alcantar, one of five owners of The Old Plantation (known as the OP), not only took in the event but posted photos on his Instagram with other Trump supporters next to a Trump banner.
The post has since been deleted from Alcantar’s Instagram but not before being screen captured.
Alcantar has since disabled commenting on the post, but left the photo up.
A local drag queen and DJ, Puto Kahlo, noticed the post and shared it via social media saying he was “disgusted.”
In his Facebook post, Kahlo wrote, “Y’all, straight people are the first to try to profit off of our community and our art but won’t hesitate to support a man who has called trans people burdens, hasn’t done shit for community but try to erase us, degraded women, and perpetuated racist and xenophobic rhetoric.”
The post has been shared over 700 times at this writing.
Owner and CEO of the Old Plantation, Mark Adkins, apologized in a statement saying,”The Old Plantation Nightclub does NOT support Trump’s views or opinions especially towards our LGBTQ community.”
Adkins went on to say Alcantar is a minority stakeholder in the club and does not “represent The Old Plantation, its ownership or our community in any way.”
Additionally, the statement noted Alcantar had been spoken to about the Instagram post and “expressed his regret for posting about the rally on social media and his fundamental lack of knowledge about the ways in which Trump’s administration is working to stifle the rights of the LGBTQ community, as well as the rights of others in the greater El Paso community.”
The CEO closed his message saying, “It’s very easy to forget how to express and show love and respect when politicians, including our own president, are spreading division through their words and policies. We have faith, however, that love will always win.”
Local news station KTSM spoke with Alcantar who said he only attended the rally to see a sitting president.
“It was never my intention to hurt anyone,” Alcantar told KTSM. “I didn’t know the stuff that Trump was passing.”
“I don’t agree with everything that Donald Trump says,” he added, “But I have to support our President because he’s our current president; I don’t have any other choice.”
Alcantar also mentioned he “has gay friends and family members.”
Now, there’s a tired old trope…
Some members of the El Paso LGBTQ community are calling for a boycott of the club, which recently reopened after years of being shuttered.
What do you think, readers?
Is it plausible a straight man who invested in a gay bar in Texas had no inkling of Donald Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQ community?
Should the local community hold the bar responsible for a “minority stakeholder” attending a Trump rally?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.