Texas lesbian couple: Sue the bar that kicked us out for kissing
A lesbian couple who said they were thrown out of a bar in San Antonio, Texas, are asking the city to sue the business for violating nondiscrimination laws.
The two women, Maricela Fonseca and Gina Ramirez, filed a complaint on Thursday saying they had a drink, and danced, at the Sanchez Ice House on 7 June, but that a security guard asked them to leave.
“As we danced I gave her a quick peck on the lips. We briefly left the dance floor and when we came back the music was abruptly cut off… [He] told us that the owner told him to tell us to leave because they are a family establishment and they do not allow the lesbians to dance and kiss,” said Fonseca.
The establishment declined to comment, but the attorney representing the pair, Justin Nichols, said it had violated the law passed last September banning discrimination based on age, gender, religion or sexual orientation.”
“Under the nondiscrimination ordinance it makes it a crime to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation,” said Nicols, “So one of the things we’re asking the city to do is prosecute the Sanchez Ice House and that would be done in municipal court and the fine is up to five hundred dollars.”
San Antonio has a notoriously anti-gay current compared to other Texas cities, most of which already have similar gay rights protections.
