Toronto police Chief Mark Snrs ma a historic apology today for raids on four gay bathho the cy that took place 35 years ago.
Contents:
- 30 INFAMO POLICE RAIDS OF GAY BARS AND BATHHO
- TORONTO BATHHOE RAIDS: HOW THE ARRTS GALVANIZED THE GAY MUNY
- A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
- TORONTO POLICE CHIEF MARK SNRS APOLOGIZ FOR 1981 GAY BATHHOE RAIDS
- MOSW’S GAY-BASHG RUAL
- INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA
- MOSW GAY SNAS
- MOSW GAY BARS
30 INFAMO POLICE RAIDS OF GAY BARS AND BATHHO
For Pri Month and the anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, Karen digs to our archive to disver an earlier raid agast NYC's gay muny 1903 at the Ariston Baths, and Print Roosevelt's nnectn to the story. * gay bath raids *
Fifty years after the Black Cat protts Los Angel, which directly led to the lnch of The Advote, we take a look at some of the most nsequential strik on gay bars and bathho datg back more than a century. The rmatn gathered actually led to a wir vtigatn of homosexualy nearby ci, which rulted 20 arrts, cludg two ps on the Baker Street beat, acrdg to Allan Bebe’s A History of Bathho.
Moral reformers New York Cy raised polil prsure on police the 1920s to shut down the Lafayette Brothers’ Turkish Baths, a popular spot for gay men livg and visg the cy. A German gay magaze 1929 published an acunt of a 26-year-old European visor that said eight tectiv went unrver the bathhoe, then round all patrons the ont room and beat the guts. Loted between Los Angel gay bars Harold’s and the Waldorf, Cooper’s Donuts at night beme a hub of social activy for drag queens, gays, trans people, and htlers the 1950s.
While one of the first known phbacks agast police raids, likely would have been fotten if not for the fact gay lerature pneer John Rechy happened to be there as the time. A New Year’s police raid on the Black Cat, a gay bay the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angel, rulted the beatgs of more than a dozen people; two men were arrted for the crime of kissg and a bartenr suffered a ptured spleen.
TORONTO BATHHOE RAIDS: HOW THE ARRTS GALVANIZED THE GAY MUNY
On Feb. 4, 1981, the Toronto gay muny was somewhat actured, wh many disparate voic and factns offerg opns on how to advance their issu. But the next night — when police raid four bathho — marked a pivotal moment galvanizg the muny. * gay bath raids *
It also led Richard Mch and Bill M to lnch lol gay rights newsletter PRIDE (Personal Rights Defense and Edutn), which would later bee The Advote.
The raid would prompt a monstratn by the Gay Liberatn Front and other anizatns that moved through the day om Sheridan Square to St. California lawmakers 1976 passed a nsentg adults law part to stop persecutn of gays through bathhoe raids, but that didn’t stop San Francis ps om raidg Liberty Baths an apparent tt of that law, acrdg to A History of Bathho.
The owner of the Streatham tablishment would end up fed 5, 000 pounds and sentenced to six months jail, somethg Gay News at the time would label a “dranian sentence. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office nducted jot raids of Florida gay bars Club 21 and Copa on May 3, 1991, and the cints would play a role Sheriff Nick Navarro eventually losg reelectn, ironilly after nductg such raids an apparent publicy stunt.
A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
* gay bath raids *
Byron Jon, who led a group om the Gay and Lbian Youth Group Club 21 the eveng of the raid, wrote later The Advote that hundreds were taed by police though only six were arrted. Three years after Cha crimalized homosexualy, police Guangzhou July 2000 raid the Junjie men’s health and bety center and arrted 37 men on charg of prostutn.
Montreal police raid gay strip bar Taboo on May 10, 2003, then publicly suggted they were specifilly raidg the tablishment bee of the potential for olr men preyg on young dancers.
TORONTO POLICE CHIEF MARK SNRS APOLOGIZ FOR 1981 GAY BATHHOE RAIDS
L.G.B.T. activists show up to prott, some are beaten by gay-bashers, and the next year they show up aga – jt to prove that they will keep showg up. * gay bath raids *
Unr the guise of dog public health spectns, thori Haton, Canada, on Augt 4, 2004, arrted two patrons for cency and sparked outrage the Canadian gay muny. Police later admted learng gay activi happened at the tablishment thanks to spottg ments on a gay cisg webse, spe ially suggtg they had no ia the bs was a bathhoe. Durg what AIDS activist Wan Yahai suggted was a crackdown on gays Beijg, the Dtatn got closed March 9, 2008, by police supposedly for playg mic too loud and hostg too large a crowd, acrdg to an article the Shangaiist.
Later that month, 10 police rs rolled to Oasis, the most popular gay bathhoe Beijg, and ps round up more than 70 people, cludg staff and patrons, durg a March 20 raid. When the Atlanta Police’s “Red Dog” un raid gay bar the Eagle September 2009, patrons reported beg forced onto the ground while officers ed homophobic slurs and nducted background checks on everybody there.
MOSW’S GAY-BASHG RUAL
On the eve of the Sochi Wter Olympics, we go to hidg wh the newly persecuted gay men and women of Vladimir Put's eedom-ee Rsia * gay bath raids *
Police arrted 40 people standg outsi popular Mosw gay bar Central Statn December 2013, shortly after a number of disput between the bar owner and buildg landlords, acrdg to The Mosw Tim. After a July 6, 2014, raid which around 65 gay people were round up and taken to the police statn, Nairobi news outlet Ghafla reported that the arrts were ma simply bee the patrons were homosexual. Police apparently regularly me to mand the IDs of guts, then end up arrtg Mlims to charge them not wh any homosexualy-related crime but wh the illegal nsumptn of alhol, a vlatn of Sharia law largely unenforced straight nightclubs.
The rmatn gathered actually led to a wir vtigatn of homosexualy nearby ci, which rulted 20 arrts, cludg two ps on the Baker Street beat, acrdg to Allan Bebe's A History of Bathho. Turkish Baths (1929)Moral reformers New York Cy raised polil prsure on police the 1920s to shut down the Lafayette Brothers' Turkish Baths, a popular spot for gay men livg and visg the cy. Cooper's Donuts (1959)Loted between Los Angel gay bars Harold's and the Waldorf, Cooper's Donuts at night beme a hub of social activy for drag queens, gays, trans people, and htlers the 1950s.
21st Street Baths (1966)San Francis police 1966 announced a crackdown on gay bathho and March of that year raid the 21st Street Baths. Black Cat (1967)A New Year's police raid on the Black Cat, a gay bay the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angel, rulted the beatgs of more than a dozen people; two men were arrted for the crime of kissg and a bartenr suffered a ptured spleen.
INSI THE IRON CLOSET: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE GAY PUT'S RSIA
Mosw Gay Sna Gui. Fd the bt gay snas Mosw, Rsia. Exclive reviews, photos, addrs, gay map and rmatn. Updated for 2023. * gay bath raids *
Dover Hotel (1969)The Dover Hotel Los Angel operated practilly as a gay bathhoe, and as such drew the attentn of police, who nducted equent raids. Liberty Baths (1978)California lawmakers 1976 passed a nsentg adults law part to stop persecutn of gays through bathhoe raids, but that didn't stop San Francis ps om raidg Liberty Baths an apparent tt of that law, acrdg to A History of Bathho. The owner of the Streatham tablishment would end up fed 5, 000 pounds and sentenced to six months jail, somethg Gay News at the time would label a "dranian sentence.
Copa and Club 21 (1991)The Broward County Sheriff's Office nducted jot raids of Florida gay bars Club 21 and Copa on May 3, 1991, and the cints would play a role Sheriff Nick Navarro eventually losg reelectn, ironilly after nductg such raids an apparent publicy stunt. Junjie (2000)Three years after Cha crimalized homosexualy, police Guangzhou July 2000 raid the Junjie men's health and bety center and arrted 37 men on charg of prostutn. Goliath's Sna (2002)Police Calgary, Canada, drew cricism after a 2002 raid of Goliath's Sna & Texas Lounge, the only gay bathhoe town.
Taboo (2003)Montreal police raid gay strip bar Taboo on May 10, 2003, then publicly suggted they were specifilly raidg the tablishment bee of the potential for olr men preyg on young dancers. Haton's Warehoe Spa and Bath (2004)Unr the guise of dog public health spectns, thori Haton, Canada, on Augt 4, 2004, arrted two patrons for cency and sparked outrage the Canadian gay muny. Dtatn and Oasis (2008)Durg what AIDS activist Wan Yahai suggted was a crackdown on gays Beijg, the Dtatn got closed March 9, 2008, by police supposedly for playg mic too loud and hostg too large a crowd, acrdg to an article the Shangaiist.
MOSW GAY SNAS
The Eagle (2009)When the Atlanta Police's "Red Dog" un raid gay bar the Eagle September 2009, patrons reported beg forced onto the ground while officers ed homophobic slurs and nducted background checks on everybody there.
La Bata Boate (2013)Gay Pri Barcelona closed vlent fashn 2013 when police on June 29 broke down the door to La Bata Boate around 3 a.
MOSW GAY BARS
Central Statn (2013)Police arrted 40 people standg outsi popular Mosw gay bar Central Statn December 2013, shortly after a number of disput between the bar owner and buildg landlords, acrdg to The Mosw Tim. If stunts learn anythg about gay history, they learn about the Stonewall Rts, a monstratn by members of the queer muny rponse to a vlent raid agast patrons of the Stonewall Inn 52 years ago on this day.
The event is often seen as the impet for the larger LGBT rights and gay pri movement the Uned Stat, which is why Pri Month is celebrated annually June. Most Amerins’ awarens of gay history beyond Stonewall is mimal though, spe the fact that evince of gay culture has been rerd sce Ameri was a Brish lony.
For this week’s short blog post to close out Pri Month, I wanted to explore a lser-known moment the gay rights movement om Theodore Roosevelt’s first term as print — the Ariston Baths Raid of 1903.