The authorities deny that it was a raid, but bar owners, managers, and patrons are asking what else to call it.
  • yesman@lemmy.world
    2·
    7 months ago

    The lewd conduct violations in question were related to clothing that exposed the buttocks and nipples of patrons, which is prohibited under state law in liquor establishments, he said, noting that, in his opinion, the law needed to change to be a reflection of today’s times.

    Absolute horseshit. According to the Supreme Court, the pigs have no duty to uphold law, enforce court orders, or protect citizens. We’ve seen plenty refuse to enforce gun regulations and COVID restrictions recently. Don’t ever believe them when they say they can’t pick and choose what to enforce.

    Castle Rock v. Gonzales

    Warren v. District of Columbia

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
      1·
      7 months ago

      Don’t ever believe them when they say they can’t pick and choose what to enforce.

      Man the Supreme Court fucked up with that one. If the Executive branch can pick and choose that means it is taking on the duties of the other branches. Which breaks the entire concept of Checks and Balances. Who the hell wants that? Judges issue arrest warrants and cops are like “nah”, legislation changes the law and law enforcement vetos it.

  • Eccitaze@yiffit.net
    1·
    7 months ago

    OKAY, time for some clarification as a Seattle local:

    • This was NOT an isolated incident. The Cuff Complex, which was one of the bars that got raided, had been raided so many times in the past the owner had to put up a sign warning customers not to wear jockstraps because of the heavy enforcement (which ironically caused him to lose even more business because everyone was pissed at the owner for “policing bodies”)

    • Gay bars were being targeted disproportionately to straight bars. Remember, there are a LOT more straight bars than gay bars. Raiding 4 gay bars covers a sizable chunk of all the gay bars in Seattle, but raiding 14 straight barsis a relative drop in the bucket.

    • A gay cabaret club owner crunched the numbers and found his establishment was raided 1,550% more than the average liquor licensee. The owner of the Cuff also owns another gay bar and a regular straight bar. His two gay bars are frequently raided, while the straight bar has NEVER been raided.

    • The board that enforces liquor laws is the LCB. Two funny facts: First, the rule against lewd conduct was created by… The LCB, not the state legislature. Second, the LCB stands for the Liquor and Cannabis board, which means that they are already ignoring a law when it suits their purpose (the federal prohibition against cannabis).

    • Finally, after the gay community collectively tore the LCB a new asshole during a board meeting earlier this week, the LCB reversed course and basically said “ah shit we fucked up” and is suspending enforcement of its lewd conduct rules. I strongly recommend this Mastodon thread from someone who attended the meeting, it’s truly a thing of glory and demonstrates just how close the LCB was to getting slapped with a discrimination lawsuit: https://partyon.xyz/@nullagent/111851872885551640

  • SpiceDealer@lemmy.world
    0·
    7 months ago

    I expect to see this shit go down somewhere like Alabama or my home state of Tennessee or even Utah but Seattle? I thought Seattle was one of these “progressive” cities. What the fuck is going on?

      • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        7 months ago

        Doomerism breeds apathy. Get your bricks ready just in case, but don’t forget to vote

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
          01·
          7 months ago

          Voting’s not going to matter now.

          We elected a Democratic Congress and president and abortion was still criminalized. Their only response to it was to raise money. (A cool $80,000,000 to be precise.)

          The only difference between these two groups of legislators is that one will stab you in the front while the other stabs you in the back. They’re both getting richer no matter who wins.

          • ArxCyberwolf@lemmy.ca
            1·
            7 months ago

            Sorry, but who exactly is in control of the House and stonewalls any sort of progress before it could ever reach the Senate or Biden? Here’s a hint: it’s not the Democrats. Get your voter apathy nonsense outta here, people who think like you do are why the Republicans are able to win and do so much damage.

            • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
              11·
              7 months ago

              No, the Republicans win because we give Democrats power and still get conservative outcomes regardless.

              In half of the states it’s still legal to pay someone seven bucks an hour. A single unexpected $400 expense will drive 30-40 million Americans to take on more debt. An unexpected injury or illness will still put most Americans into bankruptcy.

              And what do Democrats do? Pretend that war is the most important issue, and move heaven and earth to ship more of our tax money overseas for it.

              That is why so many people don’t think voting matters, and they’re not wrong.

              • seejur@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                7 months ago

                Abortion is a product of the supreme Court being stuffed by Conservatives under Trump. So yes, a precise product of letting Conservatives win the elections in 2016. It doesn’t get more direct than this

      • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
        0·
        7 months ago

        So you don’t vote but the Christofascists do vote, that’s your solution? Political apathy is going to somehow save the day? If you don’t like the pool of candidates maybe you should study law and politics for 2 years then run for the position yourself?

  • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
    0·
    7 months ago

    How’s about investigating straight bars where dudes drug girls by sneaking GHB on their drinks or spend the night sexuality harassing and touching girls without their consent?

    No, they gotta go after the assless chaps.

      • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
        0·
        7 months ago

        A bar is a private establishment.

        If they do it in the bushes in a public park, that’s a different story.

        • 52fighters@sopuli.xyz
          11·
          6 months ago

          Some bars are private establishments. Those bars require memberships. The rest are public non-governmental establishments. These are open to the general public. Lewd behavior does not belong in any public establishment. If you want that type of environment, make it a membership only establishment.

  • kemsat@lemmy.world
    0·
    7 months ago

    If it’s consensual between people of appropriate ages, then the government should have absolutely nothing to say or do.

  • Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works
    01·
    7 months ago

    It was more than just gay clubs visited all under enforcing liquor laws which begs the question, is this a top priority for Seattle society as surely those same police personnel could have been working on real issues as surely naked nips and exposed ass pants are doing little society harm. Meanwhile, a few more drunk drivers never got stopped. That is the real crime here. Seattle police are distracted with low priority issues. Is this ok with the people living there?

  • LemmyIsFantastic@lemmy.world
    02·
    7 months ago

    Seems like they were just the ones breaking the rules.

    Postman further detailed the extent of the inspections, noting that on Friday night, the JET visited 10 locations, including two known as historic gay clubs. On Saturday, LCB officers inspected eight clubs, two of which were gay clubs. He said these inspections were part of their routine work to ensure compliance with state liquor laws.

    Annecdotal the gay clubs and festivals I’ve been too are way more sexually charged so tbh this isn’t really shocking to me.