Gay Dance Bowling Night Canceled Among Cries of Homophobia

Orange County police have put a stop to a bowling alley's large weekly event attended by a largely gay crowd. The police say it's a matter of safety; the local GLBT community say it's anti-gay harassment.

The weekly event, called Spin Tuesdays, took place at Lucky Strike, at The Block at Orange mall. Spin Tuesdays was essentially a "night club," featuring DJs and live music, and drawing crowds of up to one thousand for a night of bowling, dancing, and pool playing, according to a March 16 article in the Los Angeles Times.

But when the large crowds came to the attention of the police, Lucky Strike's management were told to stop the large events because of safety concerns, with the large crowds filling the establishment past its capacity. Also, the management did not have the proper permits for the sort of live entertainment being offered.

Spin Tuesdays organizers have a different interpretation, however, seeing police involvement as a form of anti-gay harassment.

DJ Zach Moos, who also promoted Spin Tuesdays, was quoted as saying, "Everyone's feeling like the gay community is not welcome here."

Moos based that on Lucky Strike offering live entertainment on other nights of the week as well; only Spin Tuesdays were predominantly gay.

The weekly event had been taking place since early in the year. Though the bowling alley has a My Space page, the primary means of promoting the event was via text messaging, the article said.

The police maintain that their concern is solely based on safety.

The article quoted Sgt. Fred Lopez, who said, "When you're expecting 30 or 40 people to be in an establishment and there's 500 people that are drinking that you're not expecting, then you have to pull officers from another area."

Added Lopez, "They're a business, and we want them to succeed."

Other mall businesses want that, too; the article said that some shops had closed over the course of the economic crisis, and quoted bookstore manager Drew Adams, 22, as saying, "It seems like all of a sudden the police start coming around on Tuesdays because it's gay night."

Added Adams, "It's really just people hanging out, listening to music and having fun."

The Los Angeles Times noted that a number gay clubs in the area had closed in the past few years. Spin Tuesdays, evidently filling a need in the community, has begun to take place at other Orange County venues.

But Moos believes that the police are out to shut down the event wherever it may take place, and even speculated that police are actively looking for Spin Tuesdays; the article cited Moos as saying that when a crowd came together at Dave & Buster's, also at the same mall as Lucky Strikes, the police weren't long in putting in an appearance.

Said Moos, "They're after us, they're chasing us, and we're not doing anything wrong."

Added the DJ, "I'm the last person to cry discrimination, but there's definitely some bias here."

Lopez maintained that there was no such effort on the part of the police to shut down gay gatherings.