Gay Pub to Ban Hetero Drinkers

by jordan | May 30, 2007 at 09:41 am | 358 views | add comment

Would this ban extend to straight women as well as straight men? Several of my female friends enjoy drinking at gay bars, since they get to bypass the whole meat-market thing. Then again, "the meat market thing" is still there, it's just nothing to do with the ladies. the bigger question is, does a bar have a right to ban an entire class of people (imagine a pub with a big sign that said "No gays/lesbians"), or is this a necessary exception for a segment of our society that still faces everything from funny looks to unprovoked assaults when they go out at night?

An Australian hotel catering for homosexuals has won the right to ban heterosexuals from its bars so as to provide a safe and comfortable venue for gay men.

In what is believed to be a first for Australia, the Victorian state civil and administrative tribunal ruled last week that the Peel Hotel in the southern city of Melbourne could exclude patrons based on their sexuality.

Australia's equal opportunity laws prevent people being discriminated against based on race, religion or sexuality.

But Peel Hotel owner Tom McFeely said the ruling was necessary to provide gay men with a non-threatening atmosphere to freely express their sexuality.