(Note: This series was originally published on June 5, 2010.)
First of two partsFORT WORTH -- Nearly a year after protests erupted over a law enforcement inspection at a gay bar on the near south side, some people think the city has made historic progress in forging ties with the gay community.Communication between the Police Department and gays is stronger than ever despite the pain that the Rainbow Lounge incident might have initially caused, Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead says.The bar had been open only a few weeks when police officers and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission suddenly appeared on the night of June 28 to check for possible alcohol-related violations. They arrested five people on suspicion of public intoxication. One man wound up in a hospital with a serious head injury.Almost immediately, gay advocates were on the Internet and on the streets, angrily questioning why police were at the bar at all and denouncing the force that officers used.After internal investigations, the alcohol commission fired two agents. Halstead suspended three officers for one to three days.Halstead has said he was looking forward to the anniversary because he believes relations between the police and gay community have improved markedly.On Thursday night, Halstead and his wife attended the opening night of Q Cinema, Fort Worth's Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. They watched a preview trailer for a documentary about the Rainbow Lounge uproar.The Dallas documentarian who is making Raid of the Rainbow Lounge is more cautious than Halstead."We will just have to wait and see how much progress sticks," Robert Camina said.Camina wrapped his caution inside his perception of how Fort Worth was, and perhaps still is, perceived by much of the rest of the world: conservative, mostly Republican-voting, where the West begins and the rest blend in.In fact, the gay community is not in hiding. Besides the film festival, Fort Worth has a gay-pride parade and a gay rodeo. There are gay and lesbian bars and gay churches. And openly gay men serve on the Fort Worth City Council (Joel Burns) and Fort Worth school board (Carlos Vasquez).Still, for years, many gay people have adhered to an unwritten compact with the civic establishment that goes something like this: Don't draw attention to yourselves, and you will get along fine in Fort Worth.That all changed, Camina said, after the June 28 bar check at the Rainbow Lounge."I think this was a laid-back community that will never be that way again," Camina said. "People have realized the power of their voice, and they have learned to use it."Reacting quicklySome leaders of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community say the city responded amazingly fast in changing policies related to gay city employees.Employee sensitivity training, an agreement that the city will showcase gay community events in tourism promotion, an expansion of the city's anti-discrimination policy to include transgender employees, and pledges to advocate issues important to the gay community in the city's state and federal legislative policy are all part of the package approved in the past year.Other items, such as including gender assignment surgery and extending employee benefit packages to same-sex couples, are under review for economic feasibility.The city's image was suddenly at stake worldwide, and leaders had to react, said Thomas Anable, an accountant for the Rainbow Lounge. But no one expected things to change so quickly, he said."People are telling me that they have never seen a city work that fast without some outside help," he said. "Fort Worth has gotten some incredibly good press out of this. It's unfortunate that someone had to get fired and someone had to get hurt."Officer Sara Straten, the Police Department's liaison to the gay community, said: "I think that, eventually, these steps would have happened without Rainbow Lounge, but Rainbow Lounge fast-tracked them and put them on everyone's mind. As each one of these steps progresses, it makes us more human in everyone's eyes."Fiscal impactNot everyone is pleased with what Fort Worth has done regarding city employees.Stephanie Klick, Tarrant County Republican Party chairwoman, said the measures taken by the City Council are more symbolic than substantive."We have a city that is likely to have a serious budget crisis," she said. "What Fort Worth has done is way beyond what some other cities have done. It is putting the taxpayers on the hook for new programs and benefits at a time when the city has fiscal problems."Try talking to some of those employees who have been laid off or put on furlough and see if they think it's worth it. Fort Worth already has one of the highest municipal tax rates in Texas, and this just seems like another way for the city to spend money that it does not have."People 'need to know'Gay residents are being surveyed about their opinions and concerns. A 28-question survey can be accessed on the SurveyMonkey website. Results should be complete within a few weeks.Many Fort Worth residents are not even aware of the scope of changes made regarding gay city employees during the past year. Jon Nelson, spokesman for Fairness Fort Worth, a gay advocacy group, said it wasn't until after the Rainbow Lounge incident that the city leaders got a comprehensive picture of concerns facing the gay community."After all this is done and the partner benefits are taken up, especially if that is approved by the City Council, I think the city should publish a full-page ad setting out these accomplishments," Nelson said."I think they are of such significance that the people of Fort Worth need to know."The bottom line is not about gay rights at all. It's about treating people with respect. It's about listening and communicating and finding solutions."People are entitled to be treated with respect and equality regardless of their minority status, and the city is trying to do this."MITCH MITCHELL, 817-390-7752Marketing Cowtown
The Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau is exploring ways to promote the city as a destination for gay tourists. A delegation was scheduled to return Friday from Amsterdam, where the city's outreach to the gay community was one initiative that was to be highlighted, said Kelly Campbell, the bureau's marketing and communications vice president.
Also, the bureau has:
Become a member of the North Texas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Chamber of Commerce.
Attended the Q Cinema film festival opening reception and GLBT mixer in Fort Worth.
Included Fort Worth Destination Guides in the welcome bags for the National Conference on GLBT Equality in Dallas on Feb. 3-7.
Attended the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala on March 26.
Become a member of the International Gay and Lesbian International Travel Association, in April. The main GLBT events in Fort Worth will be listed on the organization's website.
Developed a flier that highlights events, attractions, restaurants and entertainment venues that will appeal to the GLBT market.
Added Fort Worth's GLBT events to the bureau's calendar of events.
Featured GLBT events in the bureau's Destination Guide.
Created a hyperlink to the bureau's booking engine for the North Texas GLBT Chamber's website.
Distributed the new GLBT Guide during a visit to the Netherlands in late May.
Future opportunities
The Cowtown Rodeo, scheduled for March, will be considered for sponsorship.
The bureau will encourage local attractions to include the GLBT market in their promotional material.
The bureau will extend invitations to local media covering the GLBT market to visit Fort Worth, particularly around special events.
GLBT organizations will be solicited to consider Fort Worth as a potential destination for meetings and conventions.
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