TEXAS POLICE BEAT GAY BAR PATRONS

Police in Texas have been accused of using brutal force in a raid on a gay bar that left one man in hospital with a critical head wound.

During the early hours of Sunday morning police raided the Rainbow Lounge, a newly opened gay bar in Fort Worth. Seven patrons were arrested and one was severely injured in the action.

According to officials these standard “checks” are meant to curb public intoxication and drunken driving, as well as remind bartenders that it is illegal to serve somebody who is already drunk.

However it appears as if the incident got out of hand with police claiming that two men made sexual advances on them and a third groped an officer’s crotch. The bar owner has said that these claims are false.

Chad Gibson was sent to hospital after he was allegedly slammed into the ground by officers and is in intensive care with bleeding in his brain.

Around 200 people protested outside the Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth on Sunday night claiming that the officers’ actions were homophobic and that the authorities were selectively targeting gay men.

Joel Burns, Fort Worth’s openly gay city council member, spoke at the rally, assuring the crowd that he would do his utmost to ensure an independent investigation of the incident, which coincided with the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

“We want all citizens of Texas and Fort Worth to know and be assured that the laws of ordinances of our great state and city will be applied fairly, equally and without malice or selective enforcement,” he said.

“Brutality at the hands of law enforcement is never acceptable and these allegations demonstrate the need for a thorough and impartial investigation,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We applaud the Fort Worth community for seeking answers to these very serious charges.”