Monday, August 5, 1996

The Washington Blade
1408 U Street, NW, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20009

Dear Editor:

At present I will not speak to the legal merits of the ABC Board's "Show Cause" notices against five liquor establishments (including the gay establishments The Edge and The Green Lantern), at least until GLAA has had a chance to discuss the matter with the affected parties. However, I would like to know who, if anyone — besides the ABC Board itself — is complaining about the establishments in question. Let them come forward.

Concerning the cited laws themselves, however, if there is anything indecent here it is the spectacle of liquor licensing being used to impose one group's moral code upon another: in this case, a sexphobic moral code being imposed on consenting adults. One excuse that we often hear is the fear of property values being driven down by the proximity of such establishments — as if somehow the goings-on inside a nightclub were responsible for the boarded-up buildings one encounters all over town. At least these establishments attract paying customers, as opposed to the D.C. government whose failure to provide even basic services is driving more and more people away.

It is never a pretty sight when government attempts to legislate morality, but this election-year pandering is particularly unsavory given the exhibitionistic level of the District government's incompetence. One has to question the priorities governing the District's allocation of scarce resources when it can afford to go after the "weenie wag" but cannot pay AIDS service providers on time or ensure that our drinking water is safe.

I am sorry to have to lay this at the doorstep of Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who has otherwise been such a strong ally of the gay community. But Jack is the one who championed the banning of new liquor licenses for nude dancing establishments over GLAA's objections, and now his legislative chickens have come home to roost. Shamefully, this must also be placed at the doorstep of openly gay Logan Circle ANC commissioner Jim Brandon, who angrily insisted to me, "We have a right to defend our own neighborhood" — as if a downtown nightclub could credibly be described as being in his neighborhood simply because it lies within the boundaries of his Single Member District.

Once again our tax dollars are subsidizing the self-righteous posturing of people who simply cannot stand the thought that, somewhere in town, someone else is having a good time.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Rosendall
President, GLAA