“I dare you to go to a lesbian bar”: How this gay conservative defends keeping discrimination legal

[DonViejo]

"I have many, many black friends…I just don’t think government should use its power to do things."

JOSH EIDELSON

As CPAC attendees readied to hear Ted Cruz, Salon spoke with Canadian Tory Roy Eappen – a nine-time CPAC participant and donor to the gay conservative group GOProud – about why he opposes laws banning racial or anti-gay discrimination.

“There are black-only events here,” said Eappen, a CPAC “premium” attendee. “There are gay and lesbian bars that you went to, and they would throw you out. So how come we sort of look at one side, and not the other?” A condensed version of our conversation follows.

What is your impression of CPAC so far?

Well, I’ve gone to CPAC for the last decade or so. You know, I think we do things somewhat better in some ways in Canada than they do here, but – I’m a gay conservative.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/03/06/i_dare_you_to_go_to_a_lesbian_bar_how_this_gay_conservative_defends_keeping_discrimination_legal/

[hobbit709]

1. I've been in gay and lesbian bars. Nobody threw me out or even harassed me.

[SheilaT]

2. I've been to a gay bar once or twice,

some decades ago. Long enough ago that the first time I didn't even realize I'd walked into one for nearly ten minutes, and I quietly left. The second time with a gay friend of mine.

My 26 year old son tells me he sometimes goes to gay bars because women there will talk to him more easily. He's straight, and at a "regular" bar he finds the women are often quite defensive and it's hard to strike up a conversation. At the gay bar, either they're lesbians and they're happy to talk to a guy, or they're straight and the initially assume he's gay so they'll talk to him. Weird.

[David2775]

17. Sheila T

I have noticed that too. I think people just don't want to feel like your after, them for sex only. Its just intimidating. . . I always enjoy talking to people at the bar, no matter why they are there, I just like to talk, especially after drink 3 lol

[JaneyVee]

3. I go to gay and lesbian bars all the time. never thrown out.

[Kber]

4. This guy get thrown out of a lot of gay bars?

[DonViejo]

9. So he says...

[joeybee12]

19. Im'm not making fun of his looks...honest...but I can see stupid oozing out of his pores...nt

[Xyzse]

10. Probably because he's acting like an ass.

Otherwise, no one cares.

[Humanist_Activist]

5. I've been to gay and lesbian bars, I've been hit on, but not kicked out...

what a fucking dumbass.

[upaloopa]

6. My wife and I like going to the Castro on summer weekends.

Seems like everyone is out on the street having a good time. We don't drink so we don't go to bars but we go to restaurants and coffee houses there and always are treated in a friendly way. It just seems like a happy place to be at times and it rubs off on you.

[Aerows]

7. You don't get thrown out unless you are there to start trouble

Then you get shown the door. That's the same way it works in any bar.

[JI7]

8. i don't know of any gay bar that does that

[DonViejo]

12. Years ago Lesbian bars weren't real fond of having men

in their space and discouraged us from coming in. I don't think any bars do that today but, I haven't been in any kind of bar for a good 20+ years.

[JI7]

15. there are certain reasons i can understand why they would do that

and had to do with why the guys were going there.

[DonViejo]

16. I understand the reasoning too, and I support(ed) it. eom

[Behind the Aegis]

11. May his own hand reject him!

What a fucking idiot! The only time I have seen people ejected from gay or lesbian bars is because they were acting like buttheads (fighting, selling drugs, harassing other patrons).

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. Been there done that a couple of times.

Once by mistake the other time I knew what the place was. I wasn't hassled or kicked out either time.

[Cha]

14. Right.. no laws, no regulation.. no nothing because people are so

brilliant on doing what's best the safety and care for others.

[HockeyMom]

18. I've beem to gay male bars but not lesbian ones

I had a very close male gay friend who was a singer and I and his female friends would go watch him perform in gay bars. While my daughter is a lesbian, she is now married to her wife and like straight married couples do, they don't frequent bars anymore.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. GREAT song.