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' THE VOICE OF THE GAY COMMUNITY - SERVING THE SOUTHEAST AND THE NATION’’
Vol. 2 No. 4 PUBLISHED IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA 25 cents
FIRE DESTROYS
CABARET AFTER DARK
Just hours before the
long awaited grand
opening of what many
expected to be Atlanta’s
poshest gay bar, Ca
baret After Dark, fire
swept through the build
ing leaving the glitter
in rashes.
As morning traffic
flowed by, fire trucks
and fire department
investigators were still
on the scene of the 3 a.m.
fire.
The building mid its
contents were totally
destroyed. The brick
facade camflouged the
ruin inside. Only the
telltale black smoke
marks along the front
of the building, broken
and blackened., told
passers-by that Cabaret
was no more.
Rumors spread swift
ly of anti-gay rednecks
fire bombing the
building, and of former
employees taking re
venge. A cover story in
Atlanta Newspapers did
not memtion the name of
the bar, and the WAGA-
TV commentators con
stantly referred to it as
“Richards” (The name
of a rock club formerly
located there.) None of
the media indicated the
lounge clientlewas gay.
Police and fire in
vestigators confirmed
that the fire was deli
berately set. Resident
of nearby buildings told
of hearing glass break
and seeing a car flee
from the Club’s parking
lot when the fire began.
While no arrests have
been made at this time
sources within the
police department in
dicate an arrest is
imminent.
The owners of the
club have said they plan
to open at a different
location, though nothing
appears definite at this
point.
The scheduled April
24th opening would have
been postponed without
the. fire. Cabaret’s
liquor license was
denied by Mayor Jack-
son on April 23rd only
hours before the fire.
Cabaret was the second
gay bar to have been
denied a license in
Atlanta recently. Then
Bayou Landing had
operated, for almost a
year under the license of
the previous mange-
ment and via court
injuction until March of
this year.
Cabaret's license was
adversed twice by the
police department and
twice by the Atlanta
Liquor License Review
Board. An appeal to the
ALRB saw a reversal of
position with two of five
members voting for
approval, two abstaining
and one absent. The lack
of a majority of the five
despite the fact that no
member of the board
voted against the license
and thus Mayor Jackson
denied the license to
Cabaret After Dark.
Cal Carter, an aid
to the Mayor, denied
that there were any anti -
gay overtones in the
refusal of licenses to
Cabaret and Bayou. He
said that the Mayor had
not been aware that the
lounges were to serve
the gay community.
In a conversation with
Carter, Barb editor,
Bill Smith, noted that the
minutes of the ALRB
hearing showed that the
first vote to adverse was
based on inaccurate in
formation supplied by
the Atlanta Police De
partment. Contrary to
the police report Ca
baret has licensed
cisco and Los Angeles.
Smith also pointed
out that the gayness of
a bar should be taken
into consideration when
receiving reports of
convictions or citations
for violation r of liquor
laws in light of the
harrassing and discri
minatory policy of some
police departments and
their often problematic
relationship with the gay
community.
Cabaret’s Los Angeles
violations came at the
hand of LAPD chief Ed
Davis whose homo-
phobic tirades have only
recently been curbed by
the election of a pro-gay
solicitor in Los Angeles
Bert Pines.
Carter indicated that
in the future every effort
would be made to con
sider the source of
information and the
possibility of discrimi
nation involved in the
citations against gay
lounges as they apply for
licenses here. Carter
said that he had not
made the Mayor aware
of the gayness of the
bars because he did not
consider it relevant to
their merit for li-
★★★ NATIONAL NOTES ★★★
MADISON, WISC. - The
city council her voted
unanimously March 11
to expand the city’s
equal opportunities or-
diance to include sex
ual orientation. The or-
diance bans discrimina
tion in housing employ
ment and the use of
public accomodations.
ATLANTA - Leaders of
the Atlanta-Emory dis
trict of the United
Methodist Church have
joined national denomi
national leaders in op
posing the ordination of
homosexual to the
mininstry. A spokeman
for the district affirmed
however a statement by
the national organi
zation that “Homo
sexuals no less than
heterosexuals are per
sons of sacred worth. ”
BOSTON- A chamber of
the Massachusettes le
gislature has for the
first time voted in favor
of a major gay civil
rights bill. The legis
lation given initial ap
proval by the house on
a 129-96 vote would pro
hibit discrimination
against gays within the
civil service system and
give homosexual the
right to appeal job
cases.
SAINT PAUL- A bill be
fore the Minnesota legi-
lature which would pro
hibit discrimination
against gays in housing
and employment is in
danger of defeat. A
coalition of gay people
opposing the bill say
that the bill does not go
far enough and that the
group would press for
the right of gay people
to marry and compul
sory gay sex education.
SACRAMENTO,CA The
state senate has passed
a Bill which would re
move from the criminal
law sexual acts between
consenting adults in'pri
vate with the senate tied
20-20, the lieutenant
governor of the state
voted for the measure
bring cheers from the
gallery. Governor
Brown f is expected to
sign the bill into law.
ATHENS, GA.- An Avowed
homosexual, Joseph James
O’Connell Jr., from Augusta,
Ga. has won a runoff election
for student government presi
dent at the University of
Georgia’. O’Connell, whose
Coalition Party platform called
for programs toward Blacks
and homosexuals, said he
thought the fact he was
homosexual was “utterly
irrelevant. I ran and won on a
platform that called for
increased student services and
greater responsibeness to
student needs/’
HARTFORD,UN - Tne
Legislative body of this
state turned down a pro
posed bill which would
have been the first state
wide gay civil rights
bill. Passed by the state
senate, the house re
jected the measure.
BOSTON - Rep. Morris K.
Udall (D-Ariz) an announced
candidate for President in 1976
has expressed his support for
H.R. 5452 (formerly H.R. 166),
the national gay rights bill
filed by Rep. Bella Abzug
(D-N.Y.) and other member of
congress.
COLUMBUS, OH. - This city’s
ordinance against across
dressing *has been held
unconstitutional by . the state
supreme court. The court
ruled that “in light of
contemporary dress habits the
ordinance violates the due
process clause of the 14th.
Cover Photo
Our cover Boy this month is
tan and handsome, VICTOR
STEWART. The 22 Year old
native? of Miami has been in
Atlanta working. Encouraged
by his co-workers he entered
and won his first contest,
“Mister Sweet Gum Head”.
“I felt funny on stage just
walking around and being
looked at,” he said. “So I just
kept on walking and smiling”
Flashing his beautiful black
eyes and gorgeous smile, no
wonder, he won.
Victor is very modest,
doesn’t seem to be impressed
by his good looks, loves to
boogie, and declares he is
NOT a sex manic. He owns his
own car and home in Miami,
loves “old fashions” and the
great out doors.
“I may get into some more
contest in Florida at the bars
but I don’t know now. I may
not win. .” but if you saw him
on stage Oscar Nite you’d
know why heads turn when he
passes by. He has a job offer to
do roofing, a job he loves and
has done since he graduated
from school. . . All I say is
“Watch you step VICTOR,
cause a lot of other people are
certainly gonna be watching
you!” You GEORGOUS
HUNK!
