Lambda Legal On the Case
Back in September the Atlanta police raided a local gay bar, The Eagle. Patrons and owners screamed harassment, and the community uproar turned into a public shit storm. There was allegedly no evidence of illegal sex or drug use or any other provocation for action by the police.
Diana wrote a brief description of the raid for Shewired back in September:
Cops raided a gay bar in Atlanta. Thirty cops stormed the bar, made 60 gay men lie face-down on the floor, screamed obscenities at them, said sweet things like “This was more fun than busting n***** on crack” and “This was fun, we should bust faggot bars more often.” They held them all for an hour, searched them, took their wallets and cell phones and when they couldn’t find anything illegal, arrested the bar owners and some go-go dancers for having the wrong kind of license.
Yesterday the national gay rights group Lambda Legal filed a suit on behalf of the 19 people who said they were illegally searched and detained. The lawsuit, titled Calhoun v. Pennington and filed against the city, its chief of police, and 48 individual officers of the Atlanta Police Department, alleges violations of the United States Constitution, as well as the Georgia Constitution and Official Code of Georgia.
In a new development, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington and Assistant Chief Alan Dreher have resigned merely a few weeks before their administration's term was to be up.
There was a time haters could get away with harassing gays and raiding bars... Might the times be a-changin'?
Comments [8]
I hope some of the patrons
I hope some of the patrons physically resisted. In my state, a person with a gun approaching you, forcing you to the ground, and handcuffing you would constitute a threat to your life or a threat of "grave bodily injury," and you would have the legal right to use force, even lethal, to defend yourself. And ultimately it doesn't really matter what the law says. People have a right to defend themselves, whether the law says it or not.
Just sayin'
The resignation of the Police chief and the Assistant Chief is because the mayor's term is about to expire (and I say not soon enough...such ineptitude...). Either Mary Norwood or Kasim Reed (whoever wins the Mayoral run-off next week) would have picked a new Chief anyhow. I am hoping Norwood wins the election as she is a friend of the gays and supports gay marriage (Reed does not...he likes the old civil union stand-by). Hopefully the ATL is about to make a turn for the better.
It is what it is.
Palin Syndrome!
Leaving for the greater good?!?!
Hey, B-Cat, have a nice holiday!
@kdhales
Giving Thanks
I give thanks for NOT having to hang out with family this Thanksgiving...ready to chill out in my PJs and watch some football!
Hope you have a nice holiday as well.
It is what it is.
Yet another reason why I'm a
Yet another reason why I'm a gun owner. I take personal responsibility for my own safety, rather than leaving it to police or military.
Big smooch and thanks to Diana
and those who brought this to national attention - I remember Diana tweeting during the city meeting. It's appearing there were no local or state laws broken by the bar owners or patrons and the raid was a 'gayhunt'! You were right, Grace! Times they are a'changin in the South...who would've ever thought?
Positive throughts to those who went through the ordeal...
@kdhales
Let's hope so.
This is the kind of stuff I would miss without VP. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the innuendo, but this is what I really appreciate about what you have created here.
Thanks
I'll second that.
I'll second that.