The recent story about a Chicago gay bar that is requiring patrons to have an I.D. that matches the outward gender expression of the individual made my chin drop. If you read down a bit you realize that this insane tactic was put in place to deter transvestite prostitutes from meeting clients at the bar.

Well.

If your bar was a meeting place for female prostitutes would you decide all females were banned from entering in order to curb the problem?

Not likely.

This policy is based on ridiculous logic. The idea that there is some inherent risk of prostitution in a gay bar that is more open to cross-dressing clients is ludicrous. Likely, prostitutes use the bar as a meeting place because the security in the bar is less rigorous than other places. And/or it’s the only gay bar around (Chicago suburbs are not known for their plethora of gay-friendly establishments).

If identifying prostitutes is difficult, get more security. Plan a sting operation. Get on Craigslist and report the ads that identify your bar.

Don’t target a population that already faces discrimination from most drinking establishments.

Sctario Tia Edwards, 25, and the suspect bumped on the dance floor of Coconuts Cafe early Saturday morning and an argument ensued.

The dispute continued outside the club when Edwards and another woman left. The suspect began beating the two women with a metal pipe and then pulled a gun, shooting Edwards multiple times. 

At one point, Edwards attempted to run after being hit by the first shot, police said, but the suspect chased her down and shot her again several times. She died later in hospital.

Edward’s friend was hit in the hand by another shot, and a women on the street heading to the club was struck by stray gunfire. Both were treated in the hospital and released.

The suspect escaped but police said they have a good description.  So far, though, there have been no arrests.

Hobart City Council has passed a resolution officially telling gays it is sorry for the police action.

In 1988, when homosexuality was still illegal, members of the LGBT community set up a stall in the public Salamanca market to lobby for a change in the law.

When someone complained to the city that the stall was promoting immoral and illegal activity, City Council voted to ban the group from operating at the market.

LGBT activists ignored the ban and the city sent in the police to shut down the stall. Gays and police clashed and when the dust cleared 130 gays and their allies were arrested.

It took another nine years for the laws against homosexuality to be repealed.

“We are sorry for the pain and trauma to all involved,” Rob Valentine, the Lord Mayor of Hobart, told Australia’s ABC television network. “We are also sorry that the actions we took may have encouraged ill-will and discrimination.”

The vote to issue the apology was not unanimous. Council member John Freeman said he was not sorry.

“Because what we did at the time was legal. They knew that. We knew that. I find no need at all to apologize for legal behavior [by police] he said.

Freeman also called the apology ” fatuous.”

“I don’t believe you can apologize for something that you weren’t involved in and only two of us were there at the time – neither of us think it is appropriate to apologize,” he said.

Nevertheless, Tasmanian LGBT rights activist Richard Hale said the apology will still be accepted.

“We have a lot more supporters in the states than we have detractors; so things have moved on quite a lot, and it is a bit sad that some people haven’t moved along with that,” he told ABC.

Police said the clubs were operating behind legitimate businesses and were uncovered during a routine vice blitz in a seedy part of town. The city is popular with foreign tourists.

Vice officers said one of the clubs was operating in a traditional massage parlor; three others were “disguised” as fitness clubs.

Police said that in several of the early morning raids, they found men engaged in sex. In others they found “evidence sex had occurred.” They said that officers found gay pornography, condoms and sex toys in four of the locations.

Those arrested were booked and released on bail after being given court dates. They are charged with gross indecency and if convicted would be subject to floggings and up to 20 years in prison.

Those charged are between the ages of 20 and 50, police said.

Last year, police in the capital Kuala Lumpur charged 37 men with gross indecency after a raid on what was described as a gay sex club. They were sentenced to be lashed and then freed.

Malaysia’s anti-sodomy law dates back to British colonial times.  The country’s Muslim majority has steadfastly refused to repeal the law.

Minter is the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Stewart is San Francisco’s chief deputy city attorney. Both successfully fought to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Separately they also have been involved in a number of other key LGBT legal cases.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Dan Bradley Award with Terry Stewart, who was a true partner in this case,” Minter said in a statement referring to the landmark California same-sex marriage case.

Minter has guided NCLR’s litigation and program work for over 10 years. He has been lead counsel in dozens of groundbreaking legal victories including the California marriage case and Sharon Smith’s unprecedented victory in her wrongful death lawsuit.

Smith’s partner, Diane Whipple, was attacked and killed by two dogs in her apartment building in 2001. The owners of the dogs were later convicted of criminal negligence and Smith filed a civil suit.

It became the first lawsuit in the country in which a same-sex partner was given survivor spousal standing in a wrongful death case.

In 2005, he was one of 18 people to receive the Ford Foundation’s “Leadership for a Changing World” award.

Minter also has received the Anderson Prize Foundation’s Creating Change Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Distinguished National Service Award from GAYLAW, the bar association for LGBT lawyers, Cornell Law School’s Exemplary Public Service Award, the Unity Award from Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the Advocacy Award from the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Justice Award from Equality California.

He has authored numerous articles and books on LGBT legal issues, including Transgender Rights (University of Minnesota Press, 2006) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Family Law (West Publishing, 2008).

He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1993.

Stewart is a former president of the Bar Association of San Francisco, where she established a mentoring program for at-risk youths.

Stewart also is a lesbian activist who years ago campaigned for acceptance and equal treatment for gay and lesbian lawyers in top San Francisco firms. She is a graduate University of California Berkeley School of Law.

Each year, through its Dan Bradley Award, the NLGLA recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Minter and Stewart will be honored at the Lavender Law conference in San Francisco in September.