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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

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

Wow, 60 years on and they're still raiding gay bars. Can't express how profoundly depressing that is.

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.

i feel like this has happened more than a few times in seattle in recent years.

Yall good?

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?

Stonewall season?

Is this enough motivation to get people out to vote this election? Wtf Seattle!

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

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.

Also

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.

Sounds like pretty standard, as opposed to directed, harrassment. Well, if they had information about how many tickets were given out at each club they "visited". And I happen to agree with the guy (shudder), the law needs to be changed.

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?