DC's Town Danceboutique Responds

In Monday's post about bachelorette parties at gay bars, I mentioned that when at DC's Town Danceboutique, I'd heard complaints about straight people "rubbing our noses" in their right to marry by holding parties at Town. JMG reader Chad forwarded the post to the owners of Town and here is their response.

"The irony that straight people choose Town Danceboutique in which to celebrate a basic fundamental right that is denied to the very owners, operators, and patrons of that establishment is not lost on those owners and operators. Instead of, in turn, denying straight people a right to celebrate, we choose to embrace the happiness and joy that comes with celebrating an occasion such as marriage.

However, in an attempt to make sure that the irony is not lost on those that are celebrating, Town Danceboutique requires all members of such groups to sign a very straight-forwardly written petition that demonstrates that the those that come to the club to celebrate their marriage or their friend's marriage also support the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere to enjoy those same rights.

We collect these petitions and send them individually to the appropriate congressional representatives in which the respective signers reside. We believe that this process is a far better way of attempting to help gain marriage rights than if we simply were to turn such people away at our door."