The Revolutnary War Hero Who Was Openly Gay | HISTORY

Contents:

• THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
• THE BEST LAFAYETTE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LAFAYETTE
• LAFAYETTE GAY BARS

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

Gay men have always been part of the Amerin ary. In an era before gay marriage or open pri, ary men fell love, formed passnate iendships and had same-sex enunters. But the se of one of the ary’s foundg hero, homosexualy was always part of the story.

Historians also thk he was homosexual—and served as an openly gay man the ary at a time when sex between men was punished as a crime. He also downplayed mors that the baron had been dismissed om the Pssian ary for homosexualy. But he was gay, and homosexualy was viewed as a crimal aberratn by many of his peers.

”After the war, von Stben legally adopted both men—a mon practice among gay men an age before same-sex marriage was legal.

THE BEST LAFAYETTE GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS LAFAYETTE

John Mulligan, who was also gay, served as von Stben’s secretary and is thought to have had a relatnship wh the baron. Durg von Stben’s lifetime, the ncept of gay marriage, gay pri or g out was unthkable and there was no language or open culture of homosexualy. But historil homosexual relatnships were actually don’t mean beg gay was ndoned: Sodomy was a crime lonial Ameri.

Lafayette has a somewhat rocky history when to gay nightlife, jt the sense that bars and clubs have e and gone wh rapidy, and the scene n be equently flux so make sure to check advance to nfirm hours and tails for each bs. Downtown's quirky and gay-iendly Blue Moon Saloon and Gut Hoe is a mt for Zy, Cajun, and Soul. " Loted the downtown sectn of the cy, The Office, is a mastream but gay-iendly hangout wh ol art on the walls, several pool tabl, and an extensive list of cktails, beers, and we.

An attractive and very popular downtown gay bar, Bolt Bar & Pat is a lively and vg spot wh a number of theme nights like a Sunday drag show and hosts tablished DJ's that get the dance floor thumpg. Therefore, even if Lafayette was LGBT+, is likely he was not gay.

LAFAYETTE GAY BARS

Haton’s grandson Allan McLane Haton lled them “the gay tr. What the “gay tr” really seems to reprent is not polyamory but queer kship. “15 Gay Foundg Fathers and Mothers”, Jab Ogl,.

Mike LeBlanc was 19 years old and still closeted when he first set foot si Chez Gisèle, a gay bar out on Abbeville Highway. After a few drag queens performed, Lafayette native and soon-to-be Miss Gay USA, Naomi Sims, took the stage for a rendn of “Killg Me Softly” that, nearly 50 years later, LeBlanc remembers vividly. A llaboratn between Lafayette native Jab Brosard and his Orlando-based lleague, Ee Msner, the show featur mixed-media and figurative artworks spired part by a shuttered Lafayette gay bar that once went by the same name.

When asked about the import of Cheri’s hors, Msner clarifi that as far as she knows, he wasn’t gay. Like the pair of ey and the tw hors tucked about the exhib, gay bars Adiana have historilly been “kda hidn, ” says Keh Flk, a iend of LeBlanc’s who me wh him to the gallery openg on Saturday. Neher Flk and LeBlanc have memori of police raids like the famo one that triggered the Stonewall Uprisg, memorated each June for Pri Month, but LeBlanc adms that gay men wh “more feme” genr prentatns faced ser harassment outsi the sanctuary of the bars.