New Gay Bar Gets Raided on Community Anniversary

Reminiscent of Stonewall, the Rainbow Lounge, a newly opened gay establishment in Fort Worth, Texas was raided June 27 on the 40th anniversary of the defining moment of the rights movement which took place in New York.

The local police staged the raid and arrested several customers and a large paddy wagon or van to hold detainees had been parked near the business as the raid started, according to witnesses. Some of those witnesses took refuge in a nearby house for fear of getting arrested if they got in their cars to leave.

"This is horrible news," wrote Paul Whitley, a Fort Worth resident.

As a result of last night's raid, a 3 p.m. protest was scheduled at Crossroads Bar for June 28 followed by a 5 p.m. one at Rainbow Lounge. A 7 p.m. rally was added at the Tarrant County Courthouse at Weatherford and Throckmorton.

Photos of the raid taken by Chuck Potter showed police officers had one customer on the floor handcuffing him and others stood outside the bar while some could be seen in the pictures handcuffed as well.

Jay Narey, vice-president of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, sent the following letter to Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief regarding the raid:

"While I am a current resident of Dallas, I am an alumnus of Nolan Catholic High School and my parents still reside in the city so I have many Fort Worth ties. Council member Burns and J.D. Angle are long-time friends.

I received disturbing news last night that apparently the Fort Worth Police Department raided a newly open gay bar, the Rainbow Lounge, on South Jennings last night. What is most disturbing is that this raid happened on the same night as the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots in New York City which began the civil rights movement for GLBT Americans. I urge you to contact Chief Halsted to investigate the reason for this organized raid. I don't have all the details, but if city licenses and TABC permits were in order, there was simply no call for this action by the Police Department of Fort Worth.

I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding this matter."

The Dallas Voice reported that they received an email from a "Robert H" who said he was at the Rainbow Lounge last night when "police arrived with a paddy wagon looking for trouble."

As another result of the raid, a new Facebook group was formed by Todd Camp called "Rainbow Lounge Raid" to give people a chance to discuss the incident and share pictures; etc. The raid happened on Camp's birthday. Camp is the founder and artistic director of Q Cinema, Fort Worth's Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival which was created in 1998.

Camp posted that he was "furious" about the raid on his Facebook page.

"I feel a protest coming on," said David Plunkett, upon hearing of the raid.

The annual Million Gay March took place in Dallas at 2:00 June 28, presented by the Dallas Stonewall Young Democrats.