Atlanta: Police Abuse of Power in Gay Bar Raid (Atlanta Eagle)

On Sept 10, 2009 the Atlanta Police raided a gay bar known as the Atlanta Eagle.

A website has been created with full details: www.atlantaeagleraid.com

As a ex-police officer myself I must say several facts about this raid point to abuse of power.

For instance, in the official police report an officer states: "I participated in an undercover operation with the vice unit at 306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE at the Atlanta Eagle. This was the conclusion of a several week investigation..."

I find it quite odd they had time for a "several week investigation" but didn't have time to obtain a warrant.

The purpose of the raid was to investigate reports of lewd conduct and to make arrests for unlicensed adult entertainment, because the bar had four dancers in boxer-briefs.

The police entered the business, forced everyone to the floor, searched every one, confiscated identifications, entered everyone's name into the police computer and infringed upon decent american citizens' constitutional rights.

According to the patrons (a group which included several elderly men), police officers shoved people to the ground, threatened to hit them in the head with barstools, handcuffed people, made racist and anti-gay comments, and forced patrons to remain flat on the ground, with their faces against a floor covered in some areas with spilled beer and broken glass, even long after they had been searched and found to be unarmed.

This abuse of power went on for 2 hours.

None of the patrons were charged with any crime, and the only charges filed by the police related to the “unlicensed adult entertainment” that the officers originally raided the bar to investigate: The bar’s four dancers were charged with “dancing in underwear” without a permit, and four bar employees were charged with operating an adult entertainment establishment without a license. No drugs were found on anyone at the bar, and no-one was charged with indecent exposure, lewd conduct, or any other crime.

Read the complete story at AtlantaEagleRaid.com

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Four openly gay candidates run for Ga. legislature

By MATT SCHAFER
Southern Voice

State Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) won her fifth term in office at noon May 2 as qualifying for the 2008 general election closed without either a Democrat or Republican signing up to seek her House District 86 seat.

As qualifying closed, the odds increased that Drenner would have another gay lawmaker to join her at the state Capitol as three openly gay people will seek seats in the state legislature. On the last day, Georgia Equality board member and Democrat Kevin Clark qualified for the state Senate District 2 seat. He faces two opponents in the primary, Bettye Anne Battiste and Lester Jackson.

Moments after qualifying ended, businessperson Keith Gross announced he is seeking to be the first openly gay man in the Georgia General Assembly, and Keisha Waites announced her candidacy for House District 61 Monday.

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Valdosta's first ever Diversity Pride Saturday April 26

Valdosta State University, Georgia: The Gay-Straight Alliance, a student organization at Valdosta State University, will host Valdosta Diversity Pride, from 3-9 p.m. Saturday, April 26, on the front lawn.

The event will feature a live entertainment, games, sports, special speakers and refreshments. Open to the VSU community, the event celebrates the differences that make everyone individual and unique. The student group invites everyone to join the evening, participate in one of many activities and enjoy an opportunity for free expression.

For more information about VSU Diversity Pride or the Gay-Straight Alliance.

Atlanta activist has spent her life bridging gaps between gay and straight

Emily "Dixon" Taylor's work in Atlanta's gay and lesbian community began in the 1980s.

We came together raising awareness in the battle against AIDS," said longtime friend Michael Aycock. "She has brought the gay and lesbian and the straight communities together in the larger Atlanta community in a really good way."

Taylor, an Alabama native, recently became the second recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

In 2000, Taylor was named one of 20 "Women Making a Difference" by Atlanta magazine. She was the first openly gay woman appointed to the Small Business Task Force for the state of Georgia by then-Secretary of State Max Cleland in 1994.

Taylor has 35 years in real estate sales, but along the way also worked as a sales representative and later investor-owner for Southern Voice, a newspaper founded to give voice to gay and lesbian issues.

She was "the heart and soul of the paper" said current publisher Bob Gundy. "Dixon was instrumental in growing the paper," and helped take it from a biweekly publication to a weekly paper. This gave people a voice who had no voice, addressing social issues that weren't a part of the mainstream media.

Taylor is a lifelong Presbyterian, having kept her membership at Birmingham's First Presbyterian Church until just a few years ago, when her parents passed away. She has Presbyterian ministers in her family "as far back as you can go," she said, including her great-great-uncle, who was President Woodrow Wilson's minister. Now she is a member at Morningside Presbyterian Church.

"She always brings a wonderful spirit and presence to our church and life together," said the Rev. Joanna Adams of Morningside. "Her Presbyterian heritage is a positive part of who she is."
Taylor said that in no way has she ever felt a conflict between her religious beliefs and being gay.

"What I am delighted with seeing," Taylor said, "is a shift from the extreme positions in some of our charismatic and evangelical churches and seeing them shift ever so slightly to be able to open the door to more of an acceptance of the reality that homosexuality is not a choice."

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