From: ACTUPwash@aol.com Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 22:07:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Marines Implicated--DC Gay Bar hit in Tear Gas Attack for immediate release July 15, 1997 contact Steve Michael or Wayne Turner at 202.547.9404 ---------------------------------- Tear Gas attack on DC Gay bar in the shadow of the US Capitol U.S. Marines Implicated!!! Washington, DC A tear gas cannister that sources close to ACT UP Washington inside the Metroplitan Police Department indicate was military issue was tossed into the Gay bar Remingtons early Saturday morning, July 12. The bar is located located just six blocks from the US Capitol. Although none of the staff or patrons were seriously injured, the attack has sent shock waves of anger throughout DC's Gay community who are criticising the response by DC's Metropolitan Police Department and military officials. According to witnesses, the perpetrators were military personnel. The Marine Barracks that house President Clinton's honor guard are located nearby. This incident falls on the heels of charges made by the leaders in Gay community that the Metropolitan Police Department has been targeting Gay businesses for special enforcement When questioned by reporters earlier today (Tuesday, July 15) the MPD's Public Information Officer, claimed to know nothing about the attack on Remingtons, suggesting that officers on the scene might not have filed a complete report on the incident. Gay and AIDS activist Steve Michael, a spokesperson for the group ACT UP Washington stated, "Was this a random attack or a new wave of anti-Gay violence? Its the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Department to alert the specific communities of unusal crimes of violence and work to protect establishments that that community serves. They're not taking this seriously." Michael continues, "Police officials have again failed in their duty to protect the people of the District of Columbia. All restaurants and bars on the Hill, whether Gay or heterosexual should have been notified of this attack. Public safety demands a police department that involves the community in crime prevention. " ACT UP Washington members are involved in numerous neighborhood groups on Capitol Hill and have been working with a broad coalition of groups including the DC chapter of the NAACP demanding that the DC Government institute a Civilian Review Board with broad investigative powers over law enforcement. Military personnel from the Marine Barracks were involved in a Gay bashing incident at Remingtons in 1991. The Barracks, located on 8th and I Streets SE, houses the Marine Corps Band and the Honor Guard, which performs ceremonial functions at the White House. States ACT UP's Wayne Turner, "President Clinton's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy seems to apply to Gay bashers. Why have no arrests been made? These perpetrators need to be prosecuted under DC law." Gay bars have long been targets for anti-Gay violence and harrassment. Recently, there have been a string of raids on Gay businesses by DC government regulators and police, causing an outcry by Gay activists. Mickey Wheatley, a Gay rights attorney who has been working to defend Gay businesses from harassment, comments, "A squad of cops munching doughnuts will raid a Gay business. But they're nowhere to be found when hate crimes are being perpetrated against those very businesses." Letter to Defense Secretary demands complete investigation Concludes Michael, "We are drafting a letter to Defense Secretary William Cohen asking him to order the Navy Department. and the Marine Corps' Commandant to launch an immediate investigation into this attack on a Gay bar by weapons owned by the U.S. military. It is clear that the military must begin to train it's personel to treat the residents of Washington, D.C. with dignity and respect. Attacks on members of DC's Gay community will not be tolerated." Turner, Wheatly and Michael will bring this matter up in a meeting with Police Chief Larry Soulsby to be held Wednesday, July 16th at police headquarters. The meeting was scheduled before this meeting to focus on police harrassment of Gay businesses, but will be expanded by the activists to include this attack. Michael and Turner are also members of Mayor Marion Barry's Gay and Lesbian Advisory Group. The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power ACT UP Washington DC 409 H Street NE Washington, DC 20002 202-547-9404