The LGBTQ community of San Antonio, Texas, is boycotting a local gay bar after the Trump-loving owner announced he is running for the Republican nomination for Congress in the county’s district.
Mauro Garza is the openly-gay owner of the Pegasus Nightclub in San Antonio.
He has announced he will be running for the GOP nomination for the state’s 20th Congressional District hoping to face-off against incumbent Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, a longtime LGBTQ ally.
Texas’ 20th District is located in Jefferson County – the state’s only ‘pivot’ county. Pivot counties are those that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but went to Donald Trump in 2016.
Castro, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, easily won reelection in 2018 with more than 80 percent of the vote.
Garza proudly identifies as conservative and is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans.
An enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump, he campaigned in 2018 to be the Republican nominee for Texas’ 21st District but fell woefully short coming in 15th in the Republican primary with less than 1 percent of the vote.
He’s mainly remembered for running around in a red MAGA-type hat with the slogan “Make TX-21 Greater.”
Hardly the stuff of political legend.
If you check out Garza’s Twitter feed, you’ll find a litany of anti-Democratic attacks and retweets from the Donald’s account. He’s also a staunch supporter of virulently anti-LGBTQ Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
The LGBTQ folks in San Antonio aren’t having Mr. Garza’s campaign announcement, and a boycott of his nightclub has been launched.
Local activists have launched a Twitter account, @ProtestThePeg, urging local patrons and performers to ditch the club. The group also demands that Garza “sell Pegasus & the property itself so that LGBTQ money no longer goes to supporting xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ ideologies.”
How can a gay man run as Conservative Republican? The party he’s supporting doesn’t like the fact that he’s a gay father. What traditions is he conserving—a history of no rights, sodomy laws & raids at bars like the one he owns? #ProtestThePeg #TX20 #LGBTQoftwitter #LGBTQIA pic.twitter.com/sT4v26NxBO
— Protest the Peg (@PegProtest) August 13, 2019
We are hoping that RuGirls (& anyone that uses our interests to build wide-reaching platforms & wealth) join us to denounce support for anti-LGBTQIA+ movements. @RuPaul @RuPaulsDragRace @VH1 @Viacom @WorldOfWonder @LatriceRoyale
— Protest the Peg (@PegProtest) August 13, 2019
We demand @Mauro4Texas sell Pegasus & the property itself so that #LGBTQ money no longer goes to supporting xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ ideologies.
We will continue the boycott until he’s out of business or sells it all. #ProtestThePeg #SanAntonio pic.twitter.com/EqsIrRU45d
— Protest the Peg (@PegProtest) August 13, 2019
In their call for a nationwide boycott, Protest The Peg singled out RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Kennedy Davenport who performed at Pegasus in July and has shown no public support for the boycott.
“We understand there are many artists who rely on the entertainment industry as their source of income,” they wrote in a statement. “We are fully aware of the limits systemic oppression can impose on us to secure employment and meet our needs. We recognize that our spaces are the safest for LGBTQIA+ talent to work.”
“However, the LGBTQIA+ entertainment industry provides different platforms that reach large audiences,” the group continued. “We ask that you use those platforms responsibly and refrain from contracting talent to attend or perform at Pegasus Nightclub.”
On his campaign website, Garza promises to “advocate Conservative Reform for the LGBT+ Community,” whatever that might be.
