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.
Contents:
- 30 INFAMO POLICE RAIDS OF GAY BARS AND BATHHO
- EGYPT ARRTS 25 MEN GAY BATHHOE RAID
- TORONTO BATHHOE RAIDS: HOW THE ARRTS GALVANIZED THE GAY MUNY
- CALGARY POLICE OFFER RENCILIATN FOR 2002 GAY BATHHOE RAID
- A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY BATHHO
- GAY BATH HOE OWNER, THREE OTHERS ARRTED
- CALGARY BATHHOE RAID ANGERS GAYS
30 INFAMO POLICE RAIDS OF GAY BARS AND BATHHO
The first vlent policg of gay spac happened 1903 at the Ariston bathhoe New York Cy and is an often-fotten moment queer history. * gay bathhouse raid *
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.
EGYPT ARRTS 25 MEN GAY BATHHOE RAID
The Pisc Spa was a bathhoe ed by gay men. On May 30, 1981, 56 men were arrted after nearly 50 officers stormed the spa. * gay bathhouse raid *
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.
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.
TORONTO BATHHOE RAIDS: HOW THE ARRTS GALVANIZED THE GAY MUNY
After the Pisc Health Spa opened Edmonton 1978, word spread quickly that was the bt-kept gay bathhoe on the prairi — and perhaps beyond. The Pisc was not the first bathhoe Edmonton, nor would be the last. The notor Geia Baths had been bs for s, and although not… * gay bathhouse raid *
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. 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.
CALGARY POLICE OFFER RENCILIATN FOR 2002 GAY BATHHOE RAID
* gay bathhouse raid *
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. 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.
A PEEK UNR THE TOWEL: INSI THE 500-YEAR HISTORY OF GAY 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 bathhouse raid *
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.
GAY BATH HOE OWNER, THREE OTHERS ARRTED
That eveng two police agents vertly entered the Ariston bathhoe to set the stage for the first documented anti-gay police raid on an Amerin tablishment. 12 of the 16 men went to trial, and the transcripts portray a vivid portra of homophobia, but also reveal the il absurdy of a society so eply unfortable wh homosexualy yet wantg such exact, specific tails of what occurred.
CALGARY BATHHOE RAID ANGERS GAYS
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. 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.
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.