3 attacks on gay men in the past three weeks. And now vandalism of three bars in one night. Dallas, what is going on down there?
Watch NBC- DFW's coverage of last Thursday night's vandalism.
The NBC affiliate did follow-up with the owners of the bars and the police and reported:
Dallas police are investigating vandalism at three gay bars. It comes at a time when the Cedar Springs community is on edge after three gay men were attacked in separate incidents.
The doors were smashed overnight at The Mining Club, Woody's and JR's Bar and Grill. All three bars are managed by Caven Enterprises.
A spokesperson for the company told NBC 5 that surveillance video confirms one person is responsible for the vandalism at all three bars. That video has been turned over to Dallas police investigators.
Caven Enterprises officials said, at this point, they believe this is likely the work of a disgruntled bar patron who has been banned from several of the bars along Cedar Springs Road. – nbcdfw.com
If the vandalism was done by a disgruntled patron, it may lessen the sting of the violence, but it still did occur. Is this why we can't have nice things? It seems that we do a great job of hurting our community ourselves. Shame on the patron for causing such a scene, especially when the spotlight is on Dallas for the 3 attacks in just as many weeks.
In a separate incident, shortly after 1 a.m. as he was leaving a bar on Cedar Springs. He was hit on the back of his head, knocked unconscious and stabbed multiple times.
"This wasn't some back alley, some dark side street. This was on the strip. Hundreds of people walk that strip. It literally could happen to anybody," Dominguez said.
NBC 5 is also learning of a third attack in the area of Cedar Springs that happened Oct. 2.
Several bar managers on Cedar Springs Road said Friday afternoon they are adding security patrols this weekend. Some of those patrols, however, coincide with the added crowds expected for the Texas-Oklahoma football game.
People living at The Illume apartment complex, located on Cedar Springs, say Dallas police held a safety meeting there Thursday night listening to concerns of residents. DPD confirms it will hold similar meetings in the neighborhood in the coming days.
"The level of violence, the homophobic language that's been used in some of them, that's giving our community cause for concern," said local LGBT activist Daniel Cates.
Cates is spearheading an event Sunday night titled, "We are not afraid: LGBTQ Response to hate." It's scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Legacy of Love monument at Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs.
"We think these attackers are trying to send a message, and we want them to know that message has been received. The LBGT community of Dallas and of the United States are not weak, and we will stand up for ourselves and make sure our community is safe," Cates said. – nbcdfw.com
We reported on September 23rd of this year about the violent-hate-crime-occurs-after-dallas-pride. Here is the story as well as the video below.
With images and stories like these something needs to occur. There has to be awareness, resolution, and solidarity. Hopefully the rally this past Sunday will be the catalyst Dallas needs to become a safe place for LGBTers.
About 100 people gathered at the Legacy of Love Monument Sunday night to stand in solidarity with Dallas’ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The rally, billed on Facebook as “We Are Not Afraid: LGBTQ Response to Hate,” highlighted three attacks in recent weeks in and around the Oak Lawn neighborhood. It coincided with National Coming Out Day.
“There are those out there that want to send a message whether they intend to or not that there’s no place to be safe, to be the beautiful creatures we were intended to be,” organizer Daniel Cates said to the crowd, some waving rainbow flags. “There are those out there who want to send a message and they want to send it so badly that they’re willing to cause us physical harm, to scare us back into our closets and to make us afraid.”
“As a community we have a history of minding our own business. If something happens [we say] it comes with the territory, it comes with being gay, that’s what we’re risking,” [said Michael Dominguez, recovering from an attack on October 2.] “I don’t think that should be the case.”
Community activist Olinka Green spoke to the crowd of Shade Schuler, a transgender woman who went by the name Ms. Shade. Schuler’s body was found severely decomposed in a field near Stemmons Freeway on July 29. Police said she had been shot to death.
Stephanie Andrus went to the rally to support her friends in the LGBT community.
“It just crushes me that anybody would do something like that,” she said. “It’s ridiculous, this is their home.” – thescoopblog.dallasnews.com
Will Cedar Springs be safe this weekend?
If you are in Dallas, how did you feel the rally went this past Sunday night?
Are you rethinking how safe your community is?
This is why if you’re gay in
This is why if you're gay in texas, you need to buy and carry a gun.