In Seattle over the weekend, two gay bars were raided by a task force looking for “lewd conduct” by patrons and staff.
Investigators discovered a bartender’s exposed nipple at one venue. Patrons wearing jock straps were observed at another.
The raids – conducted by Seattle’s Joint Enforcement Team (JET), a coalition of Police and Fire departments, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) – and others, saw ten task force members enter The Cuff wielding flashlights at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, according to owner Joey Burgess. Several patrons left the bar, where the nipple was sighted, as the raid unfolded.
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The next night, two JET members entered the Eagle at around 11:30 p.m., owner Keith Christensen told The Stranger. Their inspection turned up the jock straps.
Seattle created the JET task force several years ago to address nuisance businesses and criminal activity. Neither The Cuff nor The Eagle has a history of alcohol or violence-related offenses.
In Washington, nudity is barred in venues where alcohol is served.
The owners and a coalition of LGBTQ+ advocates, including writer Dan Savage, issued a joint statement condemning the raids.
“The absence of violence or liquor-related issues in the citations indicates a concerning focus on targeting queer individuals in queer spaces,” the statement read.
“The community recalls the generational trauma and the homophobia-driven policies of the not-so-distant past, making the recent actions particularly distressing.”
Cuff owner Burgess said he’s dealt with this same problem since Pride celebrations in 2022 when the Liquor and Cannabis Board cited his bar for a customer wearing a jockstrap.
Since then, Cuff staff have been forced to “hall-monitor” patrons’ fashion choices: jock straps are banned at the venue and exposed cracks are prohibited.
Burgess blames a decline in business on the outdated regulations and points to nearby Cal Anderson Park, where people can play kickball in their jockstraps.
“You’re allowed to be who you are in Seattle as long as you don’t go into a gay bar,” Burgess said. “They’re not going into the other bars the same way as this.”
It’s discrimination, according to Burgess. “There is no other answer.”
Eagle owner Keith Christensen said that he’s still waiting to hear back from JET about a potential citation. He said that he lost 70% of his business due to citations in February 2008.
“These regulations that are so paternalistic, that control people’s bodies and sexualities, pretty much only affect marginalized communities and non-conforming people,” said Madison Zack-Wu, who directs the worker-led group Strippers Are Workers (SAW).
“I do see the thread here of queer venues being raided and strip clubs being prevented from having a sustainable business model as ultimately authoritarian judgment on how queer people and sex workers are trying to move through the world… Both of our communities should have the right to speak up against this.”