Action Alert: Fort Worth Police Raid on the Rainbow Lounge - “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood.”

On June 28, 2009, I was in New York City with approximately one million other people. We were in New York City to mark the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.






The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a New York City Police Department (NYPD) raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village (in New York City). The Stonewall Riots are considered the birth of the modern homosexual and homosexual civil rights movement.






On June 28, 2009, the same day we were marking the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission tried to reenact the failed NYPD raid on the Stonewall Inn. As there is no Stonewall Inn in Fort Worth, Taxes, they raided the Rainbow Lounge, a Fort Worth homosexual bar that had been open for approximately two weeks. They made a series of questionable arrests for public intoxication. More importantly, these law enforcement officials physically attacked bar patrons. It appears they deliberately went looking to beat up and arrest the patrons without cause. One patron, Chad Gibson, has been charged with public intoxication. He is suffering from a head injury after being attacked by five law enforcement officials and he may not survive.






Owing to the wonders of the Internet and cell phone cameras, this incident has been reported and documented. An excellent account of this incident can be found at: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/...t-had-it-coming






Judging from the numerous misleading statements made by the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD), as well as the misleading statements made by the Chief of the FWPD and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), I have little faith that justice will be done in this case. The FWPD and TABC have launched their own “investigations.” Maybe they will conduct complete and through investigations. So far, both the FWPD and TABC seem more interested in public relations and lying about what they did.






The FWPD and TABC now want us to believe that after they went into a homosexual bar and without provocation violently attacked bar patrons, then lied about the attacks; that the very same people who they attacked should go to the very same FWPD and TABC that attacked them and swear out statements against the FWPD and TABC officers. They want the victims to believe that their complaints will be taken seriously, will be fairly investigated, and that FWPD and TABC officers will not retaliate against them after the make charges against FWPD and TABC officers.






I suspect there will not be an investigation by either the FWPD or the TABC. I suspect there will be a whitewashing of the incident and the whitewashing will be called a “complete and thorough investigation.” I suspect that being Fort Worth is run by politicians who will want to be re-elected, the FWPD will find a scapegoat to blame the incident on. The scapegoat will probably be the TABC. I suspect there will not be any criminal prosecutions of the FWPD or TABC officers who attacked the patrons on the grounds that no one was willing to come forward given the situation I described in the preceding paragraph. I suspect that no FWPD or TABC officers will be disciplined. I suspect the FWPD and TABC will prosecute bar patrons in an attempt to publicly justify their outrageous conduct during a ridiculous bar raid, a bar raid that appears to have the sole purpose of intimidation of the homosexual community in Texas, especially Fort Worth, Texas.






This brings me to Leviticus 19:16, which states: “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the L-rd.”

<http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/ai.../showrashi/true>






Rashi the great Torah commentator explains, “I am the L-rd” as follows:

I am the Lord: faithful to pay reward [to those who heed the above warnings], and faithful to exact punishment [upon those who transgress them].

<http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/ai.../showrashi/true>






The question is not if we are supposed to stand by while this blood is shed, but how we are supposed to this outrageous attack. Leviticus 19:16 demands that we do something.






The answer is before the US Congress. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been languishing in the US Senate. Those bigots who hate, including some members of the clergy and some members of Congress, have lied about this proposed law and its consequences. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) went so far as to lie about Matthew Shepard’s death and make cruel insensitive remarks in front of the dead child’s mother, Judy Shepard.






The fact of the matter is that the FWPD and TABC have proven in shed blood that local law enforcement cannot be trusted. If the victims of this attack are to see justice (“Justice, justice shall you pursue” �" Deuteronomy16: 20), it is imperative that federal law enforcement be empowered to launch a complete investigation of this and other incidents. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would give the federal government the authority to investigate incidents such as the one at the Rainbow Lounge. Sadly, this needed legislation is stalled in the US Senate. I call upon you to contact the President, your two Senators and your Representative and demand that they push for immediate passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909). I call upon you to demand that the FBI launch an independent investigation into this unprovoked attack.






An excellent statement in support of this important legislation can be found at: http://forum.themonastery.org/index.php?showtopic=5936.






Your congressional delegation can be reached at 202-224-3121 or at http://www.house.gov/ and http://senate.gov/. The White House can be reached at 202-456-1414 or at http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/.






Forty years after the NYPD raid on the Stonewall Inn, police raids of homosexual bars and attacks by police on bar patrons should be a thing of the past. It is time that we make it a thing of the past. For G-d tells us “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the Lord.” Furthermore, the L-rd is faithful to pay reward to those who do not stand by while their brothers’ blood is shed.

I appreciate your impassioned pleas to justice and your advocacy in these things. We must however, use caution that our passions do not result in violence against violence. It is not the way of righteousness. In the 60's I was a member of the hippie movement and helped to organize marches against the Viet Nam war and create a moratorium against all future wars. Unfortunately, some of our own impassioned individuals were inflamed at the abusive treatment tat some of us received at the hands of the police, National Guard and civil authorities. They retaliated in kind and it did nothing to enhance the true nature of our purpose, that of the Peace and Love of God. The movement then was associated with d r u g s and s e x, long-haired rockers, some of which sang about our cause, others that only sang about escapism through mind-altering chemicals. The end result is that when anyone speaks of the "Hippie Movement" today, it has a negative history that has been associated with a bunch of draft dodgers, addicts, sex-crazed communes, and our original purpose has been buried in the muck of the stereotype. The point I am trying to make is this dear brother, righteous indignation is just, and expected. So be angry at the injustice, that's okay. And by all means,write letters to the government leaders! But retaliation is an act of vengeance that will supercede the ultimate purposes of our causes of justice and equality. And the masses we seek and want to hear our cry will be turned away by our unrighteous actions. The means will not justify the end. It is our faith in the Creator and Spirit of the Universe that the world must see. By this they will come to our aid, and justice will be realized. In time brother, in time.....God's Love to you....To`na Wanagi

No where in what I wrote do I advocate anything other than petitioning our elected officials as is our right under the US Constitution. I cite as our moral obligation to do this to Leviticus 19:16 and I ask that we be granted justice ( Deuteronomy16: 20).

Right here. With these words above, your intent could easily be misconstrued as a call to action with force. You must be aware there are many in this world who would love to take justice into their own hands? And it doesn't matter what a person's background, ethnicity, orientation, race, religion, or political affiliation one might belong to. Anyone has the capacity to "play God". And the words imply we would be following the orders and in return would be rewarded "to those who do not stand by while their brothers' blood is shed". There is evidence of these acts of aggression toward others and qualifying it as doing what God has told the perpetrator to do. The recent murder of the abortion Dr. is a perfect example of what I'm trying to explain....But that's just my opinion on how I see your post......God's Peace....To`na wanagi
.

I second To`na Wanagi's caution and thank you for providing a link to the version of the Bible that you are quoting from. However, you have jumped over the important part of the verse you quote.

The full version (as provided by your link) is "You shall not go around as a gossipmonger amidst your people. You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the L0rd."

If you wish to break it down, the first part is "Do not spread rumors" as by doing so you may place your neighbors life in danger.

As you provide a link to a story that is no longer available for us to ascertain it's truth or relevance, your post could be taken, as our sister To`na Wanagi has indicated as a "call to action".

It could also be taken as a rumor as you, yourself, were not present at the time of the event.

We pray that those who may have been injured will recover, but apart from that, this is the internet. If you believe everything you read, then you may find yourself at the wrong end of a law suit for deformation of character.

America is one of the most litigious countries in the world, and as such the very people you have some anger for in this thread may find these posts and decide that you are part of the problem and add you to "their" solution.

Remember, if you are not a "first person participant" in an event, the event is "alleged" to have happened until it goes before a court and comes out as public record, at which case it goes from allegedly occurring to actually occurring.

Peace and Love
DrDoctor.

footnote. I am not a lawyer or legal student and any reference to points of law are personal opinion. Laws change from state to state and country to country and I am not a citizen of the USA.

source: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/...t-had-it-coming
<h3 class="postTitle" id="a1773176">Fort Worth Police Chief: That homosexual Had It Coming </h3> <h4 class="postedBy"> Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 4:18 PM </h4> Most residents of Fort Worth have never even seen the inside of a homosexual bar. Fort Worth's police chief Jeff Halstead is counting on that fact—counting on the average person's ignorance about homosexual bars and certain stereotypes about homosexual men—to get a half a dozen Forth Worth police officers off the hook for conducting a violent raid on a Forth Worth homosexual bar, the Rainbow Lounge, late last Saturday night. Seven men were arrested during the raid, which took place on the 40th anniversary of the raid on the Stonewall Inn that kick-started the modern homosexual rights movement, and one of those men—Chad Gibson—remains in intensive care with a brain injury. Gibson may not survive.

The officers who raided the Rainbow Lounge claim that the men in the bar made "advances" on them—and Forth Worth's police chief is backing them up:

Monday, police chief Jeff Halstead said the officers' actions are being investigated. However, he also said that officers that entered the bar during the scheduled inspection were touched inappropriately. "You're touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that's offensive," he said. "I'm happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that."

Allow me to translate the chief's comments: "Them faggots in that thar bar touched mah officers and now they're complainin' about some rough stuff and one little ol' homosexual with a brain injury? Those perverts should be grateful they're alive."

This is a classic example of the homosexual Panic Defense. In the very recent past all a straight man who brutally murdered a homosexual man had to say was, "He made a pass at me!", and the jury would ignore the evidence and let the murderer off. The homosexual Panic Defense doesn't fly in many courts of law these days but it still has currency in the court of public opinion. And the chief of police in Forth Worth, a major U.S. city, is attempting to use the homosexual Panic Defense to convince the citizens of Fort Worth to ignore the evidence—to ignore photographic evidence and credible eyewitness accounts—and let his officers off.

And you'll never guess who the police are accusing of being the groper: Chad Gibson, the one man arrested at the Rainbow Lounge who can't defend himself and may never be able to give his side of the story. But another person at the bar witnessed Gibson's arrest:

"They were hyped up. They were loaded for bear," said Todd Camp, a veteran journalist who was there celebrating his birthday with friends. "They were just randomly grabbing people, telling them they were drunk." Camp told me he has been in bars during TABC/police "checks" before, "and it was never anything like this." Usually, he said, officers discreetly walk through, looking for anybody who has had too much. This was different. "They were shoving patrons," Camp said, "asking, 'How much have you had to drink?'"

...

"[Gibson] was taken down hard," said Camp, with "four or five" officers wrestling him to the floor inside the club. Cellphone photos shot by patrons and posted to blogs show a person being held facedown by officers in a short hallway inside the club, then show a dent in the wall where his head was apparently banged.

The police claim that Gibson wasn't injured when those four or five cops slammed him to the floor of the bar, but after his arrest, when, drunk and handcuffed, Gibson somehow fell and hit his head on the pavement outside the bar.

All of this is poop.

I've been in a million homosexual bars. I've been in homosexual bars on multiple occasions when the police came in to check everyone's IDs and make sure no minors were being served. homosexual men don't grope police officers when they enter homosexual bars. I find it inconceivable that the homosexual men drinking in the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth responded to a raid by attempting to grope the police officers. This "they groped us!" s*** is a lie. As the owner of the bar, J.R. Schrock, put it at the protest the night after the raid:

"The groping of the police officer—really? We're homosexual, but we're not dumb," Schrock said to the crowd that gathered at the bar Sunday afternoon. "That is a lie, and I am appalled by it."

Jeff Halstead can't be allowed to use the homosexual Panic Defense. His officers weren't groped, no one was "touched and advanced." Homophobic cops raided a homosexual bar, roughed up the patrons, and a young man is in the hospital and may die.

Some will say that this was just an ill-timed raid on a homosexual bar in Texas, of all places, one that got out of control. So what's the big deal? But this is exactly the kind of state-sponsored violence that gays and lesbians fought back against at Stonewall 40 years ago. homosexual men all over the country are going to have to speak up and defend the patrons of the Rainbow Lounge. We can't allow the chief of police in Fort Worth to use the homosexual Panic Defense or exploit stereotypes about homosexual men—so sexually reckless that they can't even keep their hands off cops during a raid!—to get away with violating the civil rights of homosexual men in Fort Worth or murdering Chad Gibson.

UPDATE: More on Chad Gibson's condition:

Chad Gibson, the 26-year-old Fort Worth resident who wound up in John Peter Smith Hospital in the intensive care unit after a law enforcement raid on a homosexual bar over the weekend, remains in danger with a blood clot on his brain. Dallas Voice senior editor Tammye Nash reports on the newspaper's blog, Instant Tea, that Gibson's sister, Kristy Morgan, told her a CAT scan had revealed the blood clot has quit growing, but it is still considered a life-threatening situation. Until the clot dissolves, there is a danger that the clot could break off and cause severe brain damage or death. A rupture of the clot could also start bleeding again. The blood clot could take from six months to two years to dissolve, according to the update. Gibson, shown in a picture from facebook.com, will likely remain in the hospital for the rest of the week and will be referred to a neurosurgeon for follow-up treatment. Surgery is reportedly not being considered at this time.

Discussion is under way about the establishment of a medical fund to assist Gibson. His hospital bill will undoubtedly be enormous, and it is unlikely that he will ever recover any of those medical expenses from the City of Fort Worth. Police officers and other government employees are protected by state law from liability in any legal action that arises in connection with the performance of their official duties, unless they are involved in misconduct or broke laws.

UPDATE 2: Someone needs to put this follow-up question to Fort Worth's police chief:

If Chad Gibson—the 160-pound, 26-year-old homosexual man that it took five of your officers to subdue—groped one of your officers, and if it was Gibson's lewd action that caused your officers to go absolutely apeshit, then surely Gibson—who is in an intensive care unit and may not survive his injuries—was charged with assault, right?

Wrong:

Officers then went to the Rainbow Lounge, which had opened about a week ago. They encountered two drunk people who made "sexually explicit movements" toward officers and another who grabbed a TABC agent's groin, according to the police report. No one was arrested for assault but about half a dozen people were arrested on charges of public intoxication, according to police records. Police Chief Jeff Halstead said Gibson was the patron who grabbed at the agent's groin.

So... Chad Gibson sexually assaulted a Fort Worth police officer and, according to the Fort Worth's chief of police, Gibson's assault not only prompted but justified the actions of his officers at the Rainbow Room, but... Gibson wasn't charged with assault.

Can someone please ask the chief of police to explain how that works?

UPDATE 3: Via Slog commenter jasonzenobia: The Fort Worth Police Department's email address is fwpdweb@fortworthpd.com and the number for FWPD's internal affairs office is 817.392.4270. That's the number to call to report officer misconduct. Joel Burns is the openly homosexual member of the Fort Worth city council and he's been all over this. You can reach him at his email is Joel.Burns@fortworthgov.org.

UPDATE 4: I've heard from folks in Fort Worth that Joel Burns' office is being slammed with furious phone calls and emails about the raid on the Rainbow Lounge and the assault on Chad Gibson. Burns, however, has taken action on this and has called for an investigation and is doing everything an openly-homosexual elected official is supposed to do in a circumstance like this. If you're itching to send an outraged emails, Sloggers, I'd urge you to send emails to the six Fort Worth councilmembers who haven't joined with Burns and two of his colleagues in calling for a full and independent investigation into the appalling raid on the Rainbow Lounge.

Councilmember W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman
817-392-8803
District3@fortworthgov.org

Councilmember Danny Scarth
817-392-8804
District4@fortworthgov.org

Councilmember Frank Moss
817-392-8805
District5@fortworthgov.org

Councilmember Jungus Jordan
817-392-8806
District6@fortworthgov.org

Councilmember Carter Burdette
817-392-8807
District7@fortworthgov.org

And send an email to the mayor, Mike Moncreif, who has yet to make a statement:

Mayor Mike Moncrief
817-392-6118
mike.moncrief@fortworthgov.org

Tell them the whole country is shocked and outraged and that you're appalled by their failure to join their colleagues Joel Burns, Sal Espino, and Kathleen Hicks in calling for an investigation into the raid on the Rainbow Lounge and the assault on Chad Gibson.

Source: http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/ai.../showrashi/true

You shall not go around as a gossipmonger: Heb. לֹאתֵלֵ רָכִיל. I say that, since all those who instigate quarrels and speak evil talk go (הוֹלְכִים) into their friends’ houses in order to spy out (לְרַגֵּל) what evil they can see there, or what evil they can hear, to tell in the market-place, they are called הוֹלְכֵי רָכִיל, [which is the same as] הוֹלְכֵי רְגִילָה, - “those who go about spying” ; espiement in Old French, spying. A proof for my words is that we do not find [anywhere in Scripture] where the term רְכִילוּת is used without expressing it in terms of הֲלִיכָה, “going”; [for instance here,] לֹאתֵלֵ רָכִיל, “You shall not go around as a gossipmonger,” and, “going tale bearing (הוֹלְכֵי רָכִיל) (Jer. 6:28); [like] copper and iron.” With any other expression for evil talk, however, Scripture does not mention the term הֲלִיכָה, “going”; [for instance,], “He who slanders his fellow in secret” (Ps. 101: 5), and, “you deceitful tongue” (Ps. 120:3), and, “the tongue that speaks great things” (Ps. 12:4). Therefore, I say that the expression רָכִיל is an expression of “going around and spying מְרַגֵּל,” whereby [the letter] כ [of the word רָכִיל] is interchanged with [the letter] ג \'82 [so that the word רָכִיל is equivalent to רָגִיל]. For all letters which stem from the same source are interchangeable with one another [i.e., letters by the same speech organs, namely, the lips, tongue, teeth, palate, or throat]. [For example], [the letter] ב [is interchangeable] with פ or ו [as they are all labials; the letter] ג \'82 [is interchangeable] with כ as is [the letter] ק [since they are all palatals; the letter] נ [is interchangeable] with ל [because they are both linguals, and [the letters] ר and ז [are interchangeable] with צ [as they are all dentals]. Similarly, [the following verses illustrate how רָגַל is employed in connection with slander, just as is רָכִיל in our verse:], “And he slandered (וַיְרַגֵּל) your servant” (II Sam. 19:28), [lit.,] he spied deceitfully to say evil about me, and [likewise], “He did not slander (רָגַל) with his tongue” (Ps. 15:3). And likewise, [the term] רוֹכֵל means a merchant who goes around spying out (מְרַגֵּל) merchandise; [similarly,] one who sells perfumes with which women beautify themselves, since he constantly goes around in the towns, he is called a רוֹכֵל, equivalent to the term רוֹגֵל -one who spies. And the Targum renders [the phrase in our verse, לֹאתֵלֵ רָכִיל, as]: לָא תֵיכוּל קוּרְצִין, [lit., “You shall not eat the food of winking,” a figurative expression for slandering], as, יְהוּדָיֵא וַאֲכַלוּ קַרְצֵיהוֹן דִּי [lit., “and they ate their food of winking concerning the Jews” (Dan. 3:8), i.e., they informed against the Jews], and, אֲכַל בֵּהּ קֻרְצָא בֵּי מַלְכָּא [lit., “he ate the food of winking, concerning him, to the king’s palace” (Ber. 58a), i.e., he informed against him to the king. And why is the expression “eating the food of winking” used to signify slander?] It appears to me that it was the practice of these [informers and slanderers] to eat some sort of small snack at the house of those who listened to their words, for this [eating] acted as a [gesture of] final reinforcement, that the slanderer’s words were indeed well-founded and that he maintained them as the truth. This snack, then, is referred to as אֲכִילַת קוּרְצִין, [where the term קוּרְצִין is] denoted by [Scripture’s description of a faithless man], “He winks (קוֹרֵץ) with his eyes” (Prov. 6:13), for so is the way of all those who go around speaking evil talk, to wink with their eyes, thereby alluding to their slanderous words by innuendo, so that any other people listening will not understand.

From DallasVoice.com
Texas
What they saw at the Rainbow Lounge
By Tammye Nash Senior Editor
Jun 29, 2009 - 5:11:09 PM



Eyewitness accounts contradict statements from police on what happened at Rainbow Lounge Sunday morning



Todd Camp A number of eyewitnesses have given their descriptions of what happened at the Rainbow Lounge around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, June 28.

Most of these accounts are very consistent, even though they come from different people who do not know each other.

Here are a few of the eyewitness reports of the incident, as reported to Dallas Voice.

Todd Camp

Todd Camp, founder of Fort Worth’s LGBT film festival Q Cinema, had gone to Rainbow Lounge Saturday night with friends to celebrate his birthday. He said he was standing in line at the bar when “seven or eight cops,” some wearing Fort Worth Police uniforms, others wearing clothing identifying them as “state police.”

Camp said an officer “shoved me out of the way to grab the guy in front of me” in line at the bar. The officer “told the man, ‘You’re drunk,’” and took him out of the bar, Camp said.

He said there were “about six police cars” and a “paddy wagon” waiting outside the bar, and that officers had several people in zip-tie handcuffs lined up on the sidewalk.

“No one I saw appeared to be highly intoxicated, and the way they were choosing people just appeared to be random harassment,” Camp said. “They were pretty violent in grabbing people, and one guy was shoved to the ground and handcuffed.

“I was absolutely stunned. They are saying this was a routine check by TABC. I have been in plenty of bars before when TABC checks happened, and this was not like anything I have ever seen before,” Camp added. “People were just grabbed randomly, told they were drunk, spun around, put in handcuffs and taken out.”

Camp said straight friends who were there with him were frightened to the point of tears by what they saw.

Justin McCarty

Justin McCarty said he was working security for the Rainbow Lounge at the time of the raid early Sunday morning. He said an officer approached him and asked how much he had had to drink.

“I told him I was working and hadn’t had anything to drink, and that’s when he told me, ‘Then you need to make yourself scarce.’ So I did. I went to the back out of the way. I took that as a threat that if I didn’t, I would be arrested, too,” McCarty said.

McCarty said that he saw officers throw Chad Gibson to the floor, adding that, “There were people standing there watching it happen and crying. They were scared. It was just brutal.”

Brandon Addicks Brandon Addicks

Brandon Addicks said he had brought his girlfriend and “some of her friends” to the Rainbow Lounge on Saturday night to dance. At first, he said, they noticed “a small trickling of cops” coming into the bar, one of which “was wearing a shirt that said ‘Vice’ on it.” Then the trickle grew.

“I saw a cop walk up behind a guy who was sitting at a table. The cop told him to stand up, and when the guy asked what for, the cop said, ‘You’re intoxicated,’ Addicks said. “Then there was that guy getting the crap beat out of him there in the back.

“I have been in bars before when police have come in, and I have never seen anything like this,” he added. “It all just had a really nasty vibe to it. They seemed to be specifically singling out certain people to arrest. It was really unnerving.”

Randy Norman

Randy Norman is general manager for the Rainbow Lounge. He said he saw a man on the dance floor, dancing, who was approached by police officers.

Randy Norman “They threw him down, put the zip ties on him and took him out,” Norman said. “He told them he was not drunk, and asked that they do breathalyzer on him. But they refused.”

Norman said that after the bar had closed Sunday morning, an officer came back in and gathered the club’s employees on the dance floor. The officer told them police and TABC had been there for a routine check and that they club was not being targeted because it caters to the LGBT community.

“He said, ‘I don’t partake in being homosexual, but I don’t care if you do,’” Norman said. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t see why someone would say something like that.”

Alison Egert

Alison Egert said several members of her family have been in law enforcement, and that she has learned over the years that if you treat a police officer with respect, that officer will treat you with the same respect in return. But that’s not what she saw Sunday morning at Rainbow Lounge.

Todd Camp Egert said when she first noticed an officer in the club she “made a point of going up to him to tell thanks for coming out to make sure we’re safe. ‘This is kind of a rough neighborhood, and we appreciate you.’ But he told me, ‘That’s not why we’re here.’”

When Egert asked why the officers were in the club, she said he told her they had received a tip from “a disgruntled former employee” who claimed the club’s bartenders were over-serving customers.

At that point, Egert said, she told the officer that she had had several drinks herself, but that she had a designated driver. The officer, in return, told her she had nothing to worry about.

It was shortly after that conversation, Egert said, that she saw a patron in the bar “thrown against the wall” and then pushed to the floor. (That man was later identified as Chad Gibson.)

“Here you had this homosexual man who looked like he weighed about 100 pounds thrown to the floor with six cops on top of him,” she said. “That’s when I started noticing that they were only arresting men, and they seemed to be targeting the smaller men.”

Egert said her experience that night was proof the officers in the bar were there specifically to harass homosexual men.

“They said they were arresting people for public intoxication. I told them I was intoxicated, but they left me alone,” she said. “It was disgusting.”

Egert also said she didn’t see anyone make sexual advances toward any of the officers and that she didn’t see anyone grope any of the officers.

“The people in there were scared. They were all getting out of their [police officers’] way,” she said. “No one resisted arrest. They were singling out specific people, the men who seemed more effeminate. It just seems like it was a deliberate jab at the community.”

A half truth is worse than a lie.

Instead of selective quoting and clever editing, please show me the respect of quoting exactly what I wrote. Here is the piece you left out in your haste to accuse me of possibly advocating violence:

The answer is before the US Congress. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been languishing in the US Senate. Those bigots who hate, including some members of the clergy and some members of Congress, have lied about this proposed law and its consequences. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) went so far as to lie about Matthew Shepard’s death and make cruel insensitive remarks in front of the dead child’s mother, Judy Shepard.



The fact of the matter is that the FWPD and TABC have proven in shed blood that local law enforcement cannot be trusted. If the victims of this attack are to see justice (“Justice, justice shall you pursue” – Deuteronomy16: 20), it is imperative that federal law enforcement be empowered to launch a complete investigation of this and other incidents. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would give the federal government the authority to investigate incidents such as the one at the Rainbow Lounge. Sadly, this needed legislation is stalled in the US Senate. I call upon you to contact the President, your two Senators and your Representative and demand that they push for immediate passage of the Matthew
Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909). I call upon you to demand that the FBI launch an independent investigation into this unprovoked attack.



An excellent statement in support of this important legislation can be found at: http://forum.themonastery.org/index.php?showtopic=5936.



Your congressional delegation can be reached at 202-224-3121 or at http://www.house.gov/ and http://senate.gov/. The White House can be reached at 202-456-1414 or at http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/.

The hate crime bill will not solve the mater as it too will likely become a means to committing hate and will only be enforced at the will of those we pay to enforce all laws.

If the laws that are already present are enforced no new law would be needed. In fact we could remove many many redundant laws that were written because of the absence of enforcement people believed incorrectly that laws were not already in existence.

As much as I despise the actions of those that commit crimes such as these there is already federal law that has the authority to punish these officers (if guilty) with penalties and even death.

I suggest you push to have the laws enforced that exist and not try to create more redundancies with lessor penalties that will likely never be upheld or enforced.

Look up title 18 section 242 and then tell me if any more laws are needed for dealing with what they are accused of so doing. Have the judges enforce the law and if you don't like the law you can always vote to change it or even just get rid of it. But if you look at the supreme law of the land called the constitution you have not the right to tell another what not to say and if you attempt to do so you too may be subject to title 18 section 242 penalties.

Our elected representatives (we are supposed to be the government they represent) should enforce Constitutional Law and quit writing codes that violate it; only this has the hope of ending hate crimes and any other crimes in our country.

I stand by my words of caution. And I am a l e s b i a n myself, as well as a Native American, so I know how you are feeling. I have also been abused for who I am. But we cannot let our impassioned responses become detrimental to the just cause we represent. If you are so adamant about justice in this situation, (rightfully so)then I would suggest you form a coalition of citizens in the community where this all took place and take it to the city council and state legislature and file official warrants against the offending parties. Either charge them with their offenses, or leave it alone. I think we are all aware of the abuses of power that exist in this country. I have made my appeal to charge Sarah Palin with human rights violations too, but so far, no one will bring the charges to her. It is the grease tjhat is missing as the wheels of justice grind slowly. But at the same time, change will not occur without sacrifice. In your editorials, there have been several sacrifices indicated. And unfortuantely for our country, there will be many more before prejudice, bigotry and hatred will be remedied. If you want something done, then take control and go through the channels provided to you by our system, the same as others in this nation must do when they have a grievance....Through our Creator, I hope you will find a peaceful resolution to your grievances.....To`na Wanagi

The homosexual and homosexual community in Fort Worth cannot handle this matter alone because it is not just in Fort Worth, but it is a problem throughout the country. Therefore federal legislation, legislation that is before Congress is need. All I asked is that people contact Congress and ask for that the proposed legislation be passed.

Dear Gary Konecky,


I have been following this thread since the beginning, but until now have not felt the need to add my opinion to the mix. I really try to refrain from giving my opinion on serious matters for the sake of conversation. But as I continue to read your statements, I see that you are not presenting this information just to have a chat, and is why I have chosen to speak to you now.
I too believe that the treatment and persecution of those with alternative lifestyles should never have been tolerated in the first place. In my faith, our duties toward our fellow beings are to love and only love, as judgment is the sole domain of our Creator. Whatever one chooses as a lifestyle must be respected unless that choice infringes on the rights of another. I do not have an alternative lifestyle, but I will love and support everyone regardless of theirs.
This being said, I must also tell you that I believe that people can say whatever they wish to say, but it is the actions of the individual that speaks true of their heart and soul. It is obvious to me that this issue is of great importance to you and that the result of hate crimes is the very fuel that consumes your passion. While this is understandable, it is far from action, and any fuel that is based on passion, like all passion, becomes consumed and inevitably dies. Fuel that is based on righteousness is impervious to time or scrutiny, and therefore is eternal.
If you truly wish to see change, then you must ask yourself if your need for change is based on passion or righteousness. If you know it is righteousness, then you also know you have enough fuel to see things through to the end. Next thing you need to know is people are full of talk. We, in general, are lazy and are self-consumed. Our personal matters of life usually take priority to outside matters, and for some of us, those personal matters can be too numerous and/or overwhelming to even consider working on outside matters. Should you find yourself blessed with the freedom to devote most or all of your time to the destruction of hate crimes, then it is my opinion that you are a perfect candidate to begin the changes needed. Peaceful protests, lead prayer groups, or organize a world synchronized prayer, petitions, travelling information seminars and websites, posters, organizations, initiating benefit events for victims for their care and/or legal defense, are all actions within your ability. Do the work you wish others to support, and you will find that support. Let people to seek their own action in their own time and I am afraid you may have a long and disappointing wait. Remember that you are not the only one who feels the way you do. Fighting on the side of righteousness is never easy and often requires a great amount of personal sacrifice, but it also means you are never alone as God will be right there with you, blessing you with all His strength and love.

God’s blessings,

Rev. Campbell.

Seconded; and may God bless in this matter and may our actions bring us to obtaining a better solution.

People may have the right to be stupid and even chew off their own foot when shoved too far in their own mouth; but when the right is abused by an action or regulation that infringes on the rights of another it is a crime.

If it is true that the Fort Worth PD and others violated the rights of the people they should be held accountable for their actions no matter the reason it was done. This is the simple side of the law as it should be enforced though perhaps seldom done. I hope that a jury is presented with a clear picture and act on righteous convictions in the matter.

Bro. Joseph and I agree, enforce the laws on the books, writting new laws do no good if written with emotions and not substance. My best wishes for Chad Gibson and his family.....

Dear Rev. Konecky,

I would like to extend many thinks for your coverage of the Ft. Worth police. We know that their actions were both arbitrary and capricious. Your efforts to encourage others to take action is admirable; caution and consequences aside it was the right thing to do.

Although I would like to hope that congressional acts to limit Hate Crime are unnecessary, living near and knowing many LGBT friends and family; It is a necessary step that is long overdue. Hate is learned, and more importantly can be unlearned.

In a nation where most of the public associates with some form of Christianity, and where most of the Bible belt is restrained by its Dogma, such acts to protect the freedom, liberty and livelihood of minorities ARE NEEDED. Peaceful, forward thinking people should call their Senators and Representatives and; as To' Na Wanagi mentioned, perhaps you should form a non-profit community organization in your region to promote both civil and religious tolerance.


Great Work and God Bless

Rev. Morrison,

Thank you so much for the kind words and message of support.

Gary

Hi Gary

I did not know rather or not to pipe in here but I decided to put in my two cents.

I live in Garland Texas; I have been watching this injustice on the news. Although the majority of Police Officers are decent people like any profession, you find those corrupted with hate/prejudice and or greed. Like you have dealt with prejudice as a Woman I have dealt with some of that.

Do you remember the Cherry Pit? I have not been involved with that. I got out of swinging before that. Initially the police coming down to that party in had been justified because people at the party got loud in other words disturbing the peace and took up the parking spaces in the street. (For those of you that do not know the case they held the party at a home so it was residential not a bar.)

However, sense it turned out to be a sex club party it easily turned into a completely new ballgame. It’s one thing To arrest them for disturbing the peace but suddenly Duncanville Texas felt the need to pass laws against Sex Clubs. They made a bigger deal about that than the actual crime that had been committed.

“The Cherry Pit” kept throwing there parties to make there point and continue to damage their cause more than to help it. Honestly, I never did find out the result of that. If you know, I would appreciate it.

I have always felt that they could have found a more suitable way to approach that than the way they went about it. If one chooses the Swing Life here in Texas it can get very risky. I know of someone who had there picture on the swing sight and someone where they worked at saw that picture that person lost their job. I always wondered what the person who saw that picture had been doing on the sight to begin with.

Anyway, you can find injustices just about everywhere you turn. Several aimed at any homosexual or Sexual community that others compare to their viewpoint of the norm. Who’s to say what the norm is.

As a woman, I loathe calling 911 here in Texas and usually do it as a last resort. The police usually take their good old time arriving and sometimes after they finally arrive they jump all over me. One time they got upset with me, because by the time they arrived, the offenders had gone the incident was over they blamed me for the event that I tried so desperately to stop.

However, whenever my husband called the police they came right away and they took him seriously. To my surprise in one case, the police told my Husband, he should have pointed a gun at the offenders. That happen when someone we did not know showed up at the house accusing my husband of attacking his sister in front of the house during a time my husband and I had been out. This guy and his buddy’s had a base ball bat.

You can find a battle everywhere you go. I have learned that I do not have time or energy to fight all the battles so I choose my battles wisely. Once I have chosen them I take time too clearly think through my next move. I am not out to win I am out to make an improved difference.

Obviously, you’re passionate about this and rightfully so. Therefore, I will keep you in prayer for guidance into the most effective move to make. My advice to you as you inter into your next exciting challenge in life use compassion, and not hate. Although its so easy to feel hate during a time of injustice. You can rise above that by focusing on improving the situation and not revenge. Don’t give into the hate that created the problem to begin with.

Your better than that I believe in you I know you can do this, I know you can make a difference. I know you can show them a better way. Good Luck God Bless. Oh yes I am also Bi-sexual. Sincerely Reverend Penny

Greetings!

I want to thank all of you who took the time to read this discussion, especially those who took the time to contribute to it.

I want to clarify a few points and then hopefully put this to rest. For those who have the impression I am from or have ever set foot in Texas; I am a not from Texas and have never been off the east coast.

We as a country have several problems. One of these problems was the focus of this thread. A violent attack was made on the homosexual and homosexual community in Fort Worth, TX. This attack is part of a national trend where these type of attacks are made across the country. The attack in Fort Worth was especially egregious as the attack was made by armed law enforcement officers on unarmed civilians.

The homosexual and homosexual community in Fort Worth has mobilized and done all they can to see that there justice in this case. They are fighting an awful lot of prejudice to do that. Much of that prejudice is the result of religious teachings.

No matter how hard they try, the homosexual and homosexual community in Fort Worth does not have the resources to see justice done unless they get help form others. Nor is the problem Fort Worth alone. Shortly after the Fort Worth incident, there was a similar incident in El Paso, TX again involving law enforcement. Nor is the problem isolated to just Texas. I have heard of problems in NJ, in NYC, and countless other places. This is a national problem that requires a national solution.

The religious right has massive amounts of resources to fight the homosexual and homosexual community and in fact they have made demonization of the homosexual and homosexual community into their primary fund raising tool. There is no way the homosexual and homosexual community can match the resources of the religious right.

Therefore, I turned to you in the face of a grievous injustice and asked you to make three phone calls to your representatives in the US Congress. All I asked for was that you call Congress and ask them to pass the pending hate crimes legislation.

If you feel the legislation is important, please call. If you do not feel the legislation is important or you feel it is not needed, than please do not call. Honestly, that is all I asked for, and I honestly feel that it is all that is needed.

Once again, my thanks to all of you.

Nor