Are Seattle Gay Bars Being Raided?

Are Seattle Gay Bars Being Raided?

Last weekend two major gay leather bars in Seattle, The Cuff Complex and Seattle Eagle, were visited by local authorities and given citations over the clothing of their patrons. The citations? Lewd conduct. Pictures were even take by authorities of the patrons in question. Now the LGBTQ community wants answers.

The lewd conduct citations were given due to the exposed buttocks and nipples of clubgoers, which is currently prohibited under state law in liquor establishments. Several community members, remembering legal attacks on gay bars from the past, are calling last week's actions raids. Before anti-discrimination laws and lewd conduct law restrictions were put into place, gay bars throughout the nation would often face regular police raids, in order to dissuade the gay community from congregating together. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) states that these were not raids, just part of business as usual.

 

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The LCB stated at this week's scheduled board meeting that the bar citations were part of the regular activity conducted by their Joint Enforcement Team (JET), which includes Seattle Police, fire, and LCB officials. An official for the LCB was quoted, "These were not raids. I’ll tell you the LCB, at times, does participate and conduct raids where we get warrants, seize evidence, and come in with large groups of people. That’s not what these were.” The official went on to report that of Friday's ten clubs visited, two were classified as gay, and of Saturday's eight clubs visited, two were also gay venues. The LCB acknowledged that visits such as these to gay clubs can trigger traumatic events from the past and that the laws should be revised to reflect current times. Ok, then, if they acknowledge it, then why continue such visits?

 

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A coalition of business owners and community members has formed to challenge what happened, stating, "“The absence of violence or liquor-related issues in the citations indicates a concerning focus on targeting queer individuals in queer spaces."

Activist Dan Savage reported on his Instagram:

"The last time the LCB took photos of gay men being “lewd” in a bar in Seattle — much more than a decade ago — the photos, which were ultimately made public, were full body shots that included faces. Men I spoke to who were in the bar on the night of the raid told me they immediately left when they realized what was happening and that they do not feel safe coming back to the bar for fear the LCB will return."

 

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Thirty years ago, the same board threatened to shut down Seattle's Tugs Belmont gay bar for their underwear parties. Washington’s first gay lawmaker, Cal Anderson, challenged the action, saying he would attend the club in his underwear and challenged anyone to arrest him for doing so. Again...this was THIRTY years ago!