Queerty

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This year’s top 10 queerest moments in politics

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So much happened this year that it’s hard to believe it was all contained within just 12 months, or that we’re finally actually going to get out of 2021. But here we are!

While this list could go on forever, here are the top ten biggest queer moments in news, for both better and worse.

President Biden repeals Trump’s trans military ban 

President Biden wasted no time repealing former President Trump’s transgender military ban, signing an executive order on January 25 that he said would allow all “qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform.”

“It is my conviction as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces that gender identity should not be a bar to military service. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military does not have any meaningful negative impact on the Armed Forces,” the order reads.

Pete Buttigieg sworn-in as first gay Cabinet member confirmed by Senate

Mayor Pete made history this year as the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Buttigieg was selected by Biden to serve as the transportation secretary. He was sworn-in with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, by his side. The two embraced at the completion of the swearing-in, which was conducted by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rachel Levine makes history as first openly transgender federal official confirmed by U.S. Senate

Rachel Levine

Dr. Rachel Levine also made history as the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Levine, who was formerly the secretary of health in Pennsylvania, is now serving as the assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services. She said she was “honored” to be sworn-in and that her “immediate focus” was to help get the pandemic under control, as well as “address the underlying issues it brought to the surface” in regards to inequities in mental health and drug addiction.

HUD withdraws Trump-era proposal to gut equal access

In April, the Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew proposed changes to the Equal Access Rule that had been put forward by the Trump administration, thereby reasserting non-discrimination protections in HUD-funded housing and programs on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity demands urgent enforcement action,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of FHEO, Jeanine M. Worden, in a statement announcing the department’s plans back in February.

“That is why HUD, under the Biden Administration, will fully enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Every person should be able to secure a roof over their head free from discrimination, and the action we are taking today will move us closer to that goal.”

U.S. expands birthright citizenship for babies born abroad to same-sex couples

baby U.S. flag

In another landmark move by the Biden administration, the U.S. State Department expanded birthright citizenship for babies born to same-sex couples living abroad, regardless of whether or not an American parent is biologically related to said child. Under this policy, a child’s U.S. citizenship will be recognized, for babies born of both same-sex and opposite-sex parents, provided at least one of the parents is an American citizen.

Biden administration says Title IX protections apply to LGBTQ students

The Biden administration reversed another of the Trump administration’s stance when the Department of Education issued a notice of interpretation that, in its view, Title IX protects the rights of LGBTQ students against discrimination. The decision could impact the treatment of trans students when it comes to sports as well as the use of bathrooms and locker rooms. The administration cited the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling that set the precedent that pre-existing federal civil rights law protects LGBTQ people under the prohibition of sex discrimination.

Congress votes to make Pulse Nightclub a national memorial 

Pulse Memorial

Congress passed a bill to make the site of the Pulse massacre a national memorial this year, and it was signed into law by President Biden over the summer. Biden was surrounded by survivors and family members of the mass shooting, which took 49 lives at the Pulse Nightclub, an LGBTQ venue.

“Just over five years ago, the Pulse Nightclub – a place of acceptance and joy – became a place of unspeakable pain and loss, and we’ll never fully recover from it, but we’ll remember,” he said.

Creation of new interagency working group for progress on transgender issues

The Biden administration announced at the end of Pride Month that it was forming a new White House-led Interagency Working Group on Safety, Inclusion, and Opportunity for Transgender Americans. The group includes participants from the Departments of Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Homeland Security, Labor, Interior, Veterans Affairs, and Defense.

“The Interagency Working Group will review policies that are upstream drivers of violence and poverty for transgender individuals, including homelessness, employment discrimination, violence and abuse, and bullying and rejection at school. The Department of State and USAID will also participate to strengthen their efforts to protect transgender individuals from violence and discrimination around the world,” a White House fact sheet explained.

Record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQ bills

transgender rights

With progress comes the inevitable backlash, sadly, and 2021 proved that rule to be all too true. This year saw a record-number of anti-LGBTQ bills filed in state legislatures, as well as a record-breaking number of such bills passing. A great number of those were specifically targeted at the transgender community. Before Pride Month could even get underway, there were already more anti-LGBTQ laws passed than in any other year. They include laws against providing transgender youth with healthcare and banning trans kids from playing organized sports.

Two big Supreme Court rulings

Since we didn’t want to end this on a low note, the Supreme Court issued two big rulings impacting the LGBTQ community this year. In Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington State, where a florist refused to offer services to a same-sex couple for their wedding, the high court denied a review of the case, leaving a ruling in place by the Washington Supreme Court. That lower court decided the flower shop’s objection on faith-based groups did not grant it the right to discriminate.

In Fulton v. Philadelphia, the court considered whether a religiously-affiliated foster care agency could ignore a clause in its contract with the city of Philadelphia that stipulated that it could not discriminate against prospective parents based on religious grounds. The court issued a narrow ruling, similar to the one in the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling, based on what the ACLU described as “a quirk in Philadelphia’s non-discrimination contract that the court interpreted as failing to treat all city contractors equally.” It did not make a ruling on the larger issue of the right to religious freedom versus the right to not be discriminated against.

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The never ending Dave Chappelle Netflix scandal just took another sad turn

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The fallout from Dave Chappelle’s transphobic Netflix special continues…

Terra Field, the transgender Netflix employee that helped organize a company-wide walkout protest last month, just announced she’s resigning from the company. Field joins fellow organizer B. Pagels-Minor in saying they will also withdraw an unfair labor practice charge they filed earlier this month.

Both Pagels-Minor and Field had alleged that Netflix retaliated against them following the walkout, which was organized to protest against the streaming giant carrying the comedian’s stand-up special The Closer, which many felt was bigoted against LGBTQ people.

“My clients have resolved their differences with Netflix and will be voluntarily withdrawing their NLRB charge,” Laurie Burgess, a lawyer representing Pagels-Minor and Field said in a statement, according to Yahoo News.

A spokesperson for Netflix also echoed the resolution, writing that all parties “have resolved our differences in a way that acknowledges the erosion of trust on both sides and, we hope, enables everyone to move on.”

Neither Netflix nor the former employees would discuss if the three parties have reached a settlement.

Netflix fired Pagels-Minor in October following the walkout, claiming that Pagels-Minor had also leaked confidential information within the company–a charge Pagels-Minor denied. Netflix also suspended Field after she attended a high-level meeting to which she was not invited; the company subsequently reinstated her to her job.

Now, Field is leaving Netflix voluntarily.

“This isn’t how I thought things would end, but I’m relieved to have closure,” Field wrote in her letter of resignation. “Shortly after B. was fired for something I did not and do not believe they did, I made a decision: sink or swim, I was going to walk side by side with B. as they had for so many of us while they led the [Netflix transgender employee resource group.]”

The Closer comedy special has attracted ardent criticism and defenders over Dave Chappelle’s remarks about the LGBTQ community.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the special–which includes Chappelle making crude remarks about transgender anatomy and accusing the queer community of constantly attacking African-Americans–before admitting that he “screwed up.” Other celebrities, including Andrew Yang, Caitlyn Jenner, and Jon Stewart, have also voice support for Chappelle.

As for Chappelle, he’s back on the road making anti-LGBTQ jokes again, despite saying he would retire them from his repertoire. At a Monday night screening for his new documentary project, the self-proclaimed “uncancelled comedian” once again let his transphobia and homophobia fly.

In addition to a running gag about pronouns, he used the word “f*g,” joked about claiming to identify as a woman to get a better prison placement, and waved off his previous promise to stop making jokes about LGBTQ people, saying that rule only counts when cameras are rolling.

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School makes 12-year-old take off Pride shirt, then her classmates did something amazing

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There’s been a rainbow-colored rumpus at a Catholic school in northeast Baltimore over the weekend.

The Baltimore Brew reports that a 12-year-old student at St. Francis of Assisi School wore a rainbow Pride shirt on dress-down Friday last week. The girl, who was not named in the report at the request of her mom, thought little of it, having worn the top before.

She and her classmates attended a church service at the school during the day. The service was led by Father John J. “Jack” Lombardi.

According to witnesses, the paper says that at Father Lombardi’s direction, the school principal told the homeroom teacher to speak to the girl. The youngster was pulled over at the end of the service and told to remove the shirt in front of everyone.

A photo of the ‘Pride 365’ shirt she was wearing was included in Baltimore Brew’s story. It looks exactly like this one [top] sold by Target. The girl wore it over a long-sleeve top.

“I think it was really awful what happened. The way they asked her to take it off was really embarrassing,” said a 7th grader, Liam Hines, to the newspaper.

Related: Gay graduate from racist Catholic school says he’s “not surprised” by Native American elder video

After the service, the girl was summoned to the principal’s office and told she’d violated the school’s dress code.

“She said it was because it was a Catholic school,” the student said. “I thought it was a poor excuse.”

On Sunday, to show support for the student, several of her classmates and other members of the congregation turned up to Father Lombardi’s church service wearing rainbow facemasks.

Baltimore Brew attended with photographer J.M Giordano to capture the dignified show of solidarity. Some congregants carried rainbow bags and others wore rainbow T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, “I am a child of God.”

One of the church’s own officiants, Lauren Voos, also wore a Pride mask. Voos led part of the call-and-response section of the mass and pointedly slipped in a reference to the incident.

“For marginalized populations and gender identities. . .” she said, and the congregation answered extra loudly: “Lord, hear our prayer.”

Afterward, Lombardi declined to comment on the matter, telling the Brew’s reporter as he left the church, “I’m going to remain peaceful today.”

Instead, yesterday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement.

Christian Kendzierski, executive director of communications for the Archdiocese, said: “The attire contained imagery and language with a message that could be determined to oppose teachings of the Catholic Church. St. Francis of Assisi is a Catholic parish. and school that upholds the tenets and teachings of the Catholic faith.”

Kendzierski disputed that the shirt removal was at the priest’s request, saying, “It was the school administration that initiated the request.”

The mother of the student concerned says she’s made a complaint to the Archdiocese’s superintendent of Catholic Schools and awaits a response.

Kendzierski says the church believes in treating people with respect and is “working on plans to bring together the community to discuss this in an open, honest and listening way.”

Related: “SWAT” team raids the Baltimore Eagle

Yesterday, a leading voice within the Catholic church weighed in on the matter. Father James Martin is a New York Times best-selling author, and one of the leading advocates for LGBTQ acceptance within the Catholic church. In 2017, In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Martin as a consultant to the Vatican’s press office.

On his Facebook page, Martin said, “As I see it, wearing a Pride shirt is not against any church teaching. Pride shirts and rainbow images are one way for members of a group that has been harassed, persecuted and marginalized (and that is still the target of physical violence) to see themselves as beloved children of God.”

He added, “Church authorities also have to be particularly attentive to the real-life effects of such stigmatizing words and gestures … not only on the mental health of LGBTQ youth, but also on their families and friends, as well as the community.”

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Gay Trump insurrectionist complains he can’t get a date. Go figure.

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Meet Brandon Straka, a 44-year-old New York-based hairstylist and Trump lover that just plead guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge for his role in the January 6 Capitol Insurrection. In addition to begging his “followers” for money, Straka complains that he can’t seem to get a date.

Gee, we wonder why.

Straka first waded into politics in 2018 by launching the #WalkAway campaign, an online push to convince queer Americans to not support Democratic politicians. Straka claimed that Democrats have never been friends to the LGBTQ community, despite Barack Obama and Joe Biden being the first sitting US President and Vice President to endorse marriage equality. Straka also ignores that the Republican party continues to show open hostility toward queer Americans.

Earlier this month, Straka entered his guilty plea with a federal court. He will face sentencing in December. LGBTQ Nation reports that just two days later, he emailed his #WalkAway mailing list asking them to send him money for his legal bills.

“Start posting positive things that you believe about me,” he wrote. “Push back against the one sided hate attacks that are happening right now. I still have nothing to say about my case, other than this- as it’s being widely (and likely INTENTIONALLY) misreported: I did NOT enter the Capitol building… Almost every story I’ve read so far says or implies that I went inside. I did NOT. The amount of hatred being leveled at me this week is unlike anything I’ve experienced the past 4 years. I feel like I’m being attacked by an army.”

“Tell your husbands, boyfriends, sons, and fathers to sign up for my emails,” he then added. “I only get about 1 out of 100 emails from men. lol. I love my women followers, but also want to hear from the guys that we’re all going to get through this in one piece.”

Once again: gee, we wonder why.

Straka goes on to claim that he’s been banned from most online vending platforms, including PayPal Venmo, and Stripe. He further says he has set up an account with a “conservative” processing company.

During the January 6 Insurrection, Straka live-tweeted from the riots, writing “Patriots at the Capitol – HOLD. THE. LINE!!!!” Later that same day, he added “So congress moves forward, Patriots storm the Capitol- now everybody is virtual signaling their embarrassment that this happened.”

Two days later, Straka deleted his social media accounts. Facebook also deleted his #WalkAway page, saying it violated the company’s ban on obscene or violent content. Later in January, the FBI arrested Straka after several videos of him surfaced at the Captiol shouting “We’re going in!” and “Go! Go!” Another video also apparently shows him encouraging an attack on a police officer, with Straka encouraging other insurrectionists to steal the officer’s riot shield.

In addition to his role in the Capitol insurrection and the #WalkAway campaign, Straka also became a viral story in 2020 when American Airlines banned him following his refusal to wear a mask on a flight.

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Ruby Rose reveals shocking working conditions, toxic behavior on ‘Batwoman’ set

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Actress Ruby Rose has publicly slammed producers of the series Batwoman, alleging reckless endangerment of cast and crew and vindictive behavior. She also alleges that contrary to official statements, she was fired from the show.

Rose took to Instagram Stories to share her words, much to the shock of fans. “Enough is Enough. I will come for you so what happened to me never happens to another person again,” Rose wrote, tagging Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter and The CW. “And so I can finally take back my life and the truth. Shame on you.”

Rose then goes on to accuse Warner Bros. TV Chairman Peter Roth of sexually harassing women on set, and of hiring a private investigator to have Rose tailed. “There’s already an army waiting for you,” Rose writes.

The actress then shares video images of injuries she suffered from a stunt on the show gone wrong, which nearly left her paralyzed. In a more shocking twist, Rose now alleges that she also suffered a fractured rib, a broken neck and that doctors had also diagnosed her with a tumor. She further claims that Roth forced her to return to work just 10 days after major surgery, “or the whole crew and cast would be fired and I’d let everyone down because [then WB Television Group head] Peter Roth said he wouldn’t recast and I just lost the studio millions (by getting injured on his set).”

Rose then goes on to claim that Warner Bros. pressured her to make the announcement she was leaving the show and also forced her to cancel a planned appearance at Comic-Con. Executives told her to “cover your scar, we don’t want to see that scar,” referring to her surgical scars resulting from her on-set injuries.

In sum, Rose declares “To my dear, dear fans still asking if I will return to that awful show, I wouldn’t return for any amount of money nor if a gun were to my head … NOR DID I QUIT. I DID NOT QUIT, they ruined Kate Kane and they destroyed Batwoman, not me. I followed orders, and if I wanted to stay I was going to have to sign my rights away. Any threats, any bullying tactics or blackmail would not make me stand down.”

In the same statement, she also claims to have witnessed a crew member get 3rd-degree burns on set, a PA get paralyzed, two stunt doubles suffer serious injury, and that she also received a previously unreported cut that almost left her blind. Rose also claims that showrunner Caroline Dries refused to shut down the show due to COVID-19 despite other CW shows already shutting down, and that Dries seldom visited the set during filming. The government of Canada eventually ordered the show to shut down production.

Rose also doesn’t hold back against former castmate Dougray Scott, whom she labels “unprofessional,” claims “abused women,” and in one disturbing incident injured a stuntwoman. Rose also claims Scott regularly was late to set, left without warning, and verbally abused the crew and his castmates.

Ruby Rose departed Batwoman between its first and second seasons amid reports of on set tensions and her extreme injuries. The show recast the role with actress Javica Leslie as a new Batwoman, Ryan Wilder, and recast the part of Kate Kane with actress Wallis Day. Day’s casting raised suspicions as to the bad blood between Rose and the producers of the show, as her character had undergone “extensive plastic surgery” to appear unrecognizable. The move essentially signaled that Rose would never be allowed back on the program.

Rose’s allegations also follow another superhero-related scandal at Warner Bros. earlier this year, with cast members of the film Justice League accusing replacement director Joss Whedon of harassment and racism on the set of the film, and further alleging that upper level executives for the studio tried to cover Whedon’s behavior up.

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Man arrested for beating couple, police dog in apparent hate crime

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Police in Palo Alto, California have arrested a man in connection with a brutal attack on a woman and a gay man as well as a police dog in a crime apparently motivated by hate.

Alexander Joseph Furrier, 26, faces charges of felony battery, felony hate crime, felony assault on a police dog, and resisting arrest, reports CBS News. 

According to law enforcement, Furrier attended a house party with a female friend on Saturday night (October 9). The woman later left the party with two gay men, prompting Furrier to follow them while shouting homophobic slurs. The two men eventually parted company with the woman, which Furrier continued to pursue. When one of the men returned, the encounter turned violent.

The male victim confronted Furrier over his harassment, prompting Furrier to punch him several times while yelling homophobic epithets. The women then tried to intervene, at which point Furrier grabbed her and threw her to the ground.

The male victim–described as being in his 60s–lost consciousness and suffered cuts and bruises in the attack. The woman did not sustain serious injuries.

When police arrived on the scene, Furrier fled on foot, eventually hiding in a stairwell. Officers first tried to negotiate for Furrier to turn himself in before releasing a police dog on him. Furrier kicked and beat the animal, as well as choked it with his bare hands. The dog bit Furrier on the leg, finally getting him to relent. The dog later saw a veterinarian for a cut above its eyes and an injured paw, while Furrier’s male victim received treatment at a nearby hospital.

At the time of this writing, authorities are holding Furrier at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas without bail.

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Texas just quietly launched a campaign to delete the existence of LGBTQ people

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The State of Texas has just been busted for deleting the existence of LGBTQ people from its official website.

The New York Times reports that the state scrubbed a resources page for LGBTQ youth from its site after one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Republican primary challengers called it “offensive” and not in line with good ol’ fashioned “Texas values.”

Candidate Don Huffines voiced his outrage over the page in a homophobic video posted to Twitter on August 31.

“They are promoting transgender sexual policies to Texas youth!” he raged. “I mean, really?! This is Texas! These are not Texas values. These are not Republican Party values. But these are obviously Greg Abbott’s values.”

Hours after Huffines posted the video, the page vanished.

To add insult to injury, the page, which provided information for LGBTQ youth who were feeling depressed, bullied, or suicidal, was removed at the start of Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month.

Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, claims it was taken down “as part of a review,” but leaked internal emails suggest officials took it down in response to Huffines’s comments.

“FYI. This is starting to blow up on Twitter,” department official, Marissa Gonzales, wrote shortly after the homophobic video went live.

A follow up email sent from Crimmins reads, “Please note we may need to take that page down, or somehow revise content.” One day later, an email was sent to the webmaster explaining that “the Texas Youth Connection (TYC) website has been temporarily disabled for a comprehensive review of its content.”

“This is being done to ensure that its information, resources and referrals are current,” it claimed.

Six weeks later, the “comprehensive review” still is not complete and Gov. Abbott’s office is refusing to comment on the matter.

In a statement, Ricardo Martinez, chief executive of Equality Texas, blasted the state for removing the page.

“State agencies know that LGBTQ+ kids are overrepresented in foster care and they know they face truly staggering discrimination and abuse,” Martinez said. “The state is responsible for these kids’ lives, yet it actively took away a resource for them when they are in crisis.”

As for Huffines, he appears to have moved on from attacking LGBTQ youth and is now on a crusade against mask mandates as the state continues to report some of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the nation.

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A teen was beaten for carrying the pride flag at school

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A 17-year-old student continues to recover following a brutal beating by a classmate. The reason for the attack: The bully saw his victim carrying the pride flag.

The incident happened at Southwestern High School in the southern community of Piasa, Illinois. School administrators had promoted a “red, white, and blue,” day encouraging students to bring their favorite flags to school. The Jacksonville Journal-Courier reports that when a classmate noticed the student’s pride flag, he asked him to throw it away. When the student refused, his classmate attacked him, punching him in the head.

At the time of this writing, the extent of the victim’s injuries remains unclear.

Police later detained the assailant and charged him with excessive battery. He remains at a juvenile detention center and could face hate crime charges in the future.

Related: Transgender high school wrestler slams anti-trans sports bills, shares story of survival

Fellow students at Southwestern High, meanwhile, have sided with the bully.

“You wear a gay Pride flag to school and you don’t expect people to do anything? You go to Southern (sic) High, where we support the Confederate flag and you wonder why you get beat up?” one student posted to social media.

“It’s disrespectful to wear a pride flag on patriotic day, it’s not queer day,” another posted.

The victim’s brother also released screenshots of a terse conversation he had with a fellow student. When he asked what happened that got a student arrested, the “friend” showed little sympathy.

“Some gay kid brought a gay pride flag in and some kid beat the [expletive] out of him,” the classmate said, punctuating his statement with laughing emojis.

When the victim’s brother objected, the classmate showed no sympathy.

“Well don’t send him in a country ass school wearin’ some gay (expletive) if you don’t want his ass beat.”

2021 has seen a number of attacks on LGBTQ students and the pride flag in high schools across the United States. In Florida, a group of students carrying makeshift Confederate flags attacked a group of students promoting the school’s queer-straight alliance. In May, a 14-year-old student endured an attack from classmates for carrying the pride flag to school. In April, video of students defacing the pride flag at a Colorado high school went viral.

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It’s official: Superman is queer

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DC Comics has celebrated National Coming Out Day by confirming a long-rumored development: Superman has officially come out as bisexual.

To be clear: this is not the well-known Clark Kent/Kal-El Superman; rather, his son, Jon Kent. GayTimesreports that DC has confirmed the character will officially come out in the pages of Superman: Son of Kal-El on October 9.

“I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” Tom Taylor, writer of the book, said in a statement. “Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.”

DC has also confirmed that in the comics, Jon Kent will fall for his close friend, reporter Jay Nakamura. As Jon faces exhaustion from saving the world from constant threats, the emotional bond between he and Jay will deepen.

Jon Kent joins the ranks of popular, queer DC heroes and villains, including Batwoman, The Question, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Earlier this year, former Robin Tim Drake (of Batman & Robin fame) also came out as queer.

Now, what do we have to do to get a movie about this Superman?

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Five shot in attack near Atlanta Black Gay Pride event

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At least five people sustained gunshot wounds in a shooting near an Atlanta nightclub hosting a black gay Pride event.

Shots rang out around 6 am Monday (September 6) near The Marquette Lounge, a venue hosting a Lil Kim concert as part of black gay Pride. Officers responded to reports of gunshots at the scene and discovered the five aforementioned victims. All received treatment at a nearby hospital and fortunately did not sustain any life-threatening injuries. The identities of the victims have not been made public.

11Alive reports that an investigation suggested that a fight broke out among concert patrons. Several concertgoers called 911 after the gunfire began. The suspect in the shooting fled, and remains at large, and the investigation remains ongoing.

“There were people shooting back and then somebody got in a fight, and they maced somebody and we all had to run. It was very scary,” said Joseph Downer, an eyewitness to the scene.

The Marquette Lounge also issued a statement in response to the shooting. “The Marquette Lounge management team is committed to the safety of our guests and are deeply saddened by the events that occurred outside the facility and across the street from our parking lot on Sunday evening as our establishment closed,” it read in part. “Our premises were fully secured at the time and to our knowledge, no major occurrence happened that would warrant the shooting that took place across the street.”

Meanwhile, Atlanta city councilman Michael Bond has said he will propose new measures to the council aimed at increasing security. That will include a new ordinance requiring liquor license holders to own adjacent parking lots to make sure customers are protected.

“Perhaps they begin towing cars after the business is closed, then the lot becomes private and people are no longer allowed to park there,” Bond told 11Alive.

The shooting outside The Marquette Lounge is just one of a number of shootings across the United States this Labor Day weekend. Chicago and New York City both experienced numerous shootings, while a former Marine in Florida gunned down four people, including an infant.

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