US: Texas nightclub kicks out gay couple for dancing together to country music
A nightclub in South Texas has said it chose to kick out a gay couple dancing together because it wanted to “maintain the peace.”
Justin Meyer, 21, told the Victoria Advocate that he and his partner were kicked out on Saturday night of a Victoria nightclub for dancing together to the country song “Cowboys and Angels.”
According to the couple, a manager had approached them and told them Cactus Canyon had a policy preventing two men from dancing together to country music.
Mr Meyer’s partner, James Douglas, 30, added they were allowed to dance together to rap or hip-hop music, but country was off-bounds.
“Why?” Mr Douglas asked the manager. “Why is it not OK for me to dance with my boyfriend when there are girls here who dance together all the time?”
He said: “So you’re telling me it’s OK for me to bump and grind my boyfriend to the song ‘Bubble Butt,’ but we can’t dance a two-step?”
However, Cactus Canyon director of operations Robert Dillender said the club did not have a policy barring same-sex couples from dancing, and that the men were asked to leave because they were being disruptive.
“We’ve never kicked anyone out of the club for dancing,” he said.
He added that the club had to “maintain the peace” under obligations to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
He said Cactus Canyon is now reviewing how it interprets that policy.
“We apologize for the misunderstanding,” he added.
Mr Meyer said: “I don’t like that we were lied to. The confrontation never would have happened if they hadn’t lied about the policy.”
Mr Douglas added: “We didn’t want to create a problem. We just wanted answers as to why we couldn’t dance together.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Texas has said it plans to offer the couple assistance after it caught wind of the story.
ACLU spokesman Tom Hargis said: “We encourage all people to stand up for their individual rights.”
