XPost: alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.states.washington, talk.politics.misc XPost: alt.society.liberalism

On 07 Mar 2022, Trump Is A RUSSIAN ASSET <jthomq@gmail.com> posted some news:t06cmc$28qgl$6@news.freedyn.de:

The Washington state gay child molesters are hereby placed on notice.
You disgusting degenerates are on the radar and you will be kicked
back into the closet.

LGBTQ+ advocates in Washington state are outraged after a string of
inspections over the weekend included LGBTQ+ establishments that were
cited for how patrons were dressed. Two popular gay leather bars in
Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood faced unexpected scrutiny from
authorities on Friday and Saturday evening, leading to a wave of concern
and outrage within the LGBTQ+ community. The Cuff Complex and the
Seattle Eagle were subjected to what owners describe as raids, resulting
in “lewd conduct” violations over patrons’ clothing choices.

The local LGBTQ+ nightlife community has united, demanding transparency
and answers, The Stranger reports.

Reacting to the community outrage, the Washington State Liquor and
Cannabis Board (LCB) addressed concerns in a regularly scheduled Tuesday
board meeting. The board’s chair, David Postman, initiated the
discussion, acknowledging the community’s concern and confirming the inspections.

“We’re also well aware of the history of law enforcement interaction
with patrons of these clubs and understand, I think it was described
yesterday in one of the statements as generational trauma around that,”
Postman said.

Postman explained that the weekend’s events were part of standard
enforcement actions by the Joint Enforcement Team (JET), which includes
Seattle Police, fire, and LCB officials.

“These were not raids,” he said. “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 lewd conduct violations in question were related to clothing that
exposed the buttocks and nipples of patrons, which is prohibited under
state law in liquor establishments, he said, noting that, in his
opinion, the law needed to change to be a reflection of today’s times.

Postman further detailed the extent of the inspections, noting that on
Friday night, the JET visited 10 locations, including two known as
historic gay clubs. On Saturday, LCB officers inspected eight clubs, two
of which were gay clubs. He said these inspections were part of their
routine work to ensure compliance with state liquor laws.

Postman also said that as part of the investigation over the weekend, enforcement officers took some pictures of patrons, which he called “unfortunate.”

Despite the LCB’s assurance, the actions have been interpreted
differently by the affected establishments and the queer patrons. An
Instagram statement from a coalition of nightclub owners and signees
expressed their belief that the citations were based on individuals’
clothing choices. “The absence of violence or liquor-related issues in
the citations indicates a concerning focus on targeting queer
individuals in queer spaces,” the statement read.

The community’s reaction is rooted in a historical incident at Tugs
Belmont, a gay bar known for hosting underwear parties, which faced
similar challenges 30 years ago, the statement noted. During that time, Washington’s first gay lawmaker, Cal Anderson, challenged the
enforcement by declaring he would attend the bar in his underwear,
daring the police to arrest a state senator.

“We are flabbergasted that these draconian enforcement practices are
happening again, 30 years later,” the group wrote.

https://news.yahoo.com/outrage-seattle-raids-several-gay-164047146.html

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