Fox gay bar denver
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"There are strong, strong parallels in terms of responsibility - the parallel between a safer sex and 'Look, wear a mask, take care of each other', and personal responsibility issues," Bond said. Because of that, they were especially strict with the mask mandate, social distancing, and outdoor seating, even during the winter. He says the fear of an unknown virus during the COVID-19 pandemic was eerily reminiscent of what he and Fox experienced in the 1980s. These days, they say, bars tend to be more "gay-friendly," accepting allies into the fold.įox is retired now and Bond runs the Crazy Fox. "But you also kind of lose that tight-knit community that you were used to and you grew up in." "Now there is a certain nostalgia for that because you gain some things - you gain greater acceptance in society," Bond said. About 66% identified as gay or bisexual men about 24% got the virus through heterosexual sex.Īs the spread of HIV worsened, LGBTQ people had to recruit allies to prevent and treat the virus, Fox and Bond said.īuilding allies meant creating a stronger movement for LGBTQ equality and health - something they're grateful for - but it's also meant losing some of the intimacy gay bars created. In 2018, the CDC says 37,968 people received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. The most recent data shows they're still most at-risk to get HIV. The CDC says nearly 330,000 gay and bisexual men have died from AIDS in the United States since the 1980s. Rather than just drinking together, the LGBTQ community were the first people to raise money for HIV research - though it wasn't called HIV at the time - and the first to publish articles about the virus and safe sex practices, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "That really mobilized the community in a way that I don't think it had before." Terry Bond, 54, says it galvanized people. That refuge was especially important in the '80s and '90s as the HIV epidemic ravaged the LGBTQ community. It's where you made new friends and you knew that you weren't going to be judged, not like you'd be judged at home or church or your job or anything else. "It was where you went to meet all your friends. "The bar felt like a place you could be safe," Fox said. Despite the risk of police raids, gay bars were essential to LGBTQ people.
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Many lost their jobs and were ostracized by their friends and family. The real names of those arrested were published in the newspaper, outing them as gay. Fox said he'd meet three people in a night named "Joe Smith." "And if you dared say a word, you get beat up."Īt the time, people gave fake names at bars to hide their identities. "They came right up to me, shined a flashlight in my face, called me a f-, looked at my ID, asked me if my parents knew that they raised a f-, called me by my name, shouted out my address," Fox said. The officers inside tried antagonizing people. He and his partner of about 25 years, Terry Bond, recall how much the gay bar scene meant to them and their peers when they were younger.įox says on that Friday night in the '80s, several people were beaten by police when they tried to flee through the patio. He considers it a gay-friendly bar where all are welcome, which is important to him. It's decorated with rainbow pride flags and a stuffed fox. After he sold it, he opened the Crazy Fox Saloon in Newport. "They were ready."įox is 63 and opened Rosie's Tavern, a gay bar in Covington, over 30 years ago. I was up against the wall," he said, adding there was a police van nearby. Carl Fox and others were ordered by police to line up with their IDs out. It was a Friday night in the 1980s and police officers were raiding Spurs, a popular gay bar in Cincinnati.