Gay bar raid
Remembering the night of police raids at Montreal queer bar Truxx in 1977 – and the resulting protests that brought 2SLGBTQIA+ rights to the forefront
New stamp in “Places of Pride” issue commemorates monumental turning point for human rights in Quebec and Canada
Located in the heart of Montreal’s gay village at the time, Truxx stood out as a vibrant sanctuary for the city’s queer community in the 1970s. The exclude was a beloved gathering place, but on the night of October 21 and into the morning of October 22, 1977, a police raid on Truxx ignited a defiant uprising, sparking a movement that led to groundbreaking legislative reforms in Quebec.
The monumental moment is one of four commemorated in Canada Post’s new stamp issue, “Places of Pride,” which shines a light on the places and events in which Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities fought for safe spaces and altered the course of history in Canada.
A regime of police brutality toward Montreal’s gay and lesbian populations had already been underway before the infamous night at Truxx – a “clean up” effort in advance of the 1976 Olympics, hosted in Montréal. “There had been a series of regular raids on clubs,” Ross H
Moscow Police Raid Clubs Overnight Under 'LGBT Propaganda' Law
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How the Stonewall Uprising Ignited the New LGBTQ Rights Movement
In 1969, police raids of gay bars in Manhattan followed a template. Officers would pour in, threatening and beating bar staff and clientele. Patrons would pour out, lining up on the street so police could arrest them.
But when police raided the Stonewall Inn in the preliminary morning hours of June 28, 1969, things didn’t depart as expected. Patrons and onlookers fought back—and the days-long melee that ensued, characterized then as a riot and now known as the Stonewall Rebellion, helped spark the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement.
Each June, Pride Month honors the history of Stonewall with parades and events. In the years since the uprising, LGBTQ activists pushed for—and largely achieved—a broad expansion of their the legal rights, and in June 2015, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry.
Before these gains, however, LGBTQ people had long been subject to social sanction and legal harassment for their sexual orientation, which had been criminalized on the pretexts of religion and morality. By the 1960s, homosexuality was clinically classified as a mental disorder,
Bar Raids & Forced Closures
overview
In the 19th and 20th centuries, gay and lesbian bars and clubs were subject to various oppressive forms of social control. At first, there were the police and religiously-affiliated individuals and groups, such as the New York Population for the Suppression of Vice that dictated morality and raided bars and clubs.
After the end of Prohibition and the creation of the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), gay and lesbian bars and clubs came to be controlled by the Mafia. They were subject to routine police raids, with establishments like the Sea Colony, a 1950s-60s lesbian bar, raided weekly. The Mattachine Society’s 1966 “Sip-In” at the queer bar Julius’ sought to bring media attention to this kind of discrimination.
This curated collection features lgbtq+ and lesbian bars and clubs in New York City that were raided by the police or shut down (or were attempted to be) by the likes of the SLA, moral reformers, and others.
Header Photo
In response to a exclude raid at the Snake Pit in Greenwich Village, Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance protestors confront the police at Charles and Greenwich Streets
By QBurgh staff writer
This story was originally published in QBurgh and has been republished with permission.
What was supposed to be a joyful night of lgbtq+ celebration turned into a moment of surreal disruption on May 2 when P Town Exclude, a beloved LGBTQ establishment in Pittsburgh, was “raided” by approximately 20 Pennsylvania State Police officers and undercover agents during a queenly event hosted by local drag legend Indica and featuring legendary guest Amanda Lepore.
The event, Another Party Pittsburgh, had just hit its stride when the police entered around 11:30 p.m., mid-performance, as drag painter Blade Matthews took the stage. And not just with any number: Blade was in the middle of a theatrical rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. With the room captivated and the tune in full swing, law enforcement had to stand help and wait.
“Blade literally chose the longest song ever and made the cops wait,” said one attendee. “It was iconic.”
Once the show wrapped, officers instructed patrons and performers to exit the venue. According to attendees, the police offered little explanation beyond calling it a “compliance check,” but the scale and timing of the action left man
How the Stonewall Uprising Ignited the New LGBTQ Rights Movement
In 1969, police raids of gay bars in Manhattan followed a template. Officers would pour in, threatening and beating bar staff and clientele. Patrons would pour out, lining up on the street so police could arrest them.
But when police raided the Stonewall Inn in the preliminary morning hours of June 28, 1969, things didn’t depart as expected. Patrons and onlookers fought back—and the days-long melee that ensued, characterized then as a riot and now known as the Stonewall Rebellion, helped spark the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement.
Each June, Pride Month honors the history of Stonewall with parades and events. In the years since the uprising, LGBTQ activists pushed for—and largely achieved—a broad expansion of their the legal rights, and in June 2015, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry.
Before these gains, however, LGBTQ people had long been subject to social sanction and legal harassment for their sexual orientation, which had been criminalized on the pretexts of religion and morality. By the 1960s, homosexuality was clinically classified as a mental disorder,
Bar Raids & Forced Closures
overview
In the 19th and 20th centuries, gay and lesbian bars and clubs were subject to various oppressive forms of social control. At first, there were the police and religiously-affiliated individuals and groups, such as the New York Population for the Suppression of Vice that dictated morality and raided bars and clubs.
After the end of Prohibition and the creation of the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), gay and lesbian bars and clubs came to be controlled by the Mafia. They were subject to routine police raids, with establishments like the Sea Colony, a 1950s-60s lesbian bar, raided weekly. The Mattachine Society’s 1966 “Sip-In” at the queer bar Julius’ sought to bring media attention to this kind of discrimination.
This curated collection features lgbtq+ and lesbian bars and clubs in New York City that were raided by the police or shut down (or were attempted to be) by the likes of the SLA, moral reformers, and others.
Header Photo
In response to a exclude raid at the Snake Pit in Greenwich Village, Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance protestors confront the police at Charles and Greenwich Streets
By QBurgh staff writer
This story was originally published in QBurgh and has been republished with permission.
What was supposed to be a joyful night of lgbtq+ celebration turned into a moment of surreal disruption on May 2 when P Town Exclude, a beloved LGBTQ establishment in Pittsburgh, was “raided” by approximately 20 Pennsylvania State Police officers and undercover agents during a queenly event hosted by local drag legend Indica and featuring legendary guest Amanda Lepore.
The event, Another Party Pittsburgh, had just hit its stride when the police entered around 11:30 p.m., mid-performance, as drag painter Blade Matthews took the stage. And not just with any number: Blade was in the middle of a theatrical rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. With the room captivated and the tune in full swing, law enforcement had to stand help and wait.
“Blade literally chose the longest song ever and made the cops wait,” said one attendee. “It was iconic.”
Once the show wrapped, officers instructed patrons and performers to exit the venue. According to attendees, the police offered little explanation beyond calling it a “compliance check,” but the scale and timing of the action left man