Those training sessions were certified by the Nightclub Security Consultants (NSC), which pioneered standardized security-training programs in the hospitality industry when it launched in 1998. "Most of these precautions are not visible or discussed by venues, for obvious reasons," Lee said. In the wake of attacks in Orlando, Paris, and Manchester, the trade association-which includes LGBTQ-owned and -centric venues in its membership-facilitated multi-day training sessions in which city officials and regulatory agencies participated. He served as executive director of the DC Nightlife Hospitality Association at the time Pulse occurred. "DC bars and restaurants have undertaken coordinated and continuing efforts to further enhance local security preparedness," said Mark Lee, a veteran gay event producer and venue manager. LGBTQ bars in the nation's capital, for example, have recently taken steps to collectively prepare staff for emergency situations. Other actions that venues have taken are less obvious to patrons-such as hiring private security companies and seeking assistance from local police departments. "We have added additional security personnel, added wanders to check people at the door, and provided additional security training to our staff." "Our biggest concern immediately following Pulse was to make sure we could provide a place where our guests felt safe," said owner Wendy Connor.
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In Orlando, the Pulse Latin Night event relocated after the shooting to a new venue, also called the Abbey, which has made its security presence more visible over the past year. "We have at least one visible armed guard every night at the Abbey and the Chapel" in response to Pulse, said owner David Cooley, who has also outfitted security staff with body cameras and turned to West Hollywood authorities for formal training. For example, a prominent gay nightlife venue in Los Angeles beefed up security in hopes of making guests feel more at ease. Some are unsurprising and immediately noticeable, such as armed guards, metal detectors, and frisking. But questions remain as to what impact these changes might have on patrons, particularly those most marginalized in the queer community. More than one year later, major LGBTQ event producers and bar managers say they have responded to perceived terror threats by implementing a range of security measures, some obvious and others less so. The question didn't seem if security at queer spaces would change but how and to what degree. The fact that Pulse was the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11 made it feel like a harbinger of a more muscular and increasingly visible security presence at queer bars, clubs, and events. Gay and lesbian venues have long been victims of homophobia, from decades of police raids at gay clubs to the 1973 arson at a New Orleans club that killed 32 people to the 2000 fatal shooting at a bar in Roanoke, Virginia.īut Pulse was different. Orlando, of course, was far from the first attack on an LGBTQ space. It's particularly concerning for trans and queer people of color, who are often victims of violence at the hands of the very police and security forces that are supposed to protect them. But the subsequent impulse to fortify security at LGBTQ bars and events also serves to underscore patrons' marginalization-stressing the dialectic between pride and an instinct for safety. It was yet another reminder to a community all too accustomed to violence that no space is ever entirely safe.
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But by and large, a flurry of headlines declared that club owners, parade organizers, and local authorities would elevate security for the remainder of 2016 pride festivities. For example, the owner of Larry's Lounge in Chicago told TIME that he refused to give into fear and would carry on with business as usual. A few gay bars insisted on maintaining the status quo. Some clubs admitted that measures as simple as bag checks weren't a part of security protocol until the Orlando massacre. This was in part because the security at gay bars is often on the lenient side-metal detectors and armed guards are a rare sight. Pulse immediately raised concerns of copycat attacks. That's why for many, the news amounted to the literal violation of a haven and the metaphorical desecration of a sanctuary.
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More than just a place to get drunk, gay and lesbian clubs have long served as community centers and a refuge from societal persecution. The carnage sent tremors through the LGBTQ community. It was the single deadliest mass shooting in US history. Six days earlier, on June 12, 2016, the Pulse shooting had happened. But Blow Pony was only one of many such events to increase security that week.