in part reposted from fightingwords with amendments from moi

So, the DNA Lounge, which has is one of the few awesome places where i have seen lots of different orientations, colors and ages of people come together like good sf weirdo artsy charming folks is currently under attack by the homophobic (and racist) California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.

first - feel free to email the papers in town if you feel that this is a fucked up situation

news@ebar.com
editor@sfbaytimes
matierandross@sfchronicle.com

Now - back to what's happening.

When the ABC decided to send undercover agents into the club - yes really - they did not send them to the monthly Hubba Hubba Revue, the tasteful but pasty-covered titty show, but instead decided to harass / target two gay/lesbian nights, Cream and Escandalo, that highly catered to people of color: From the DNA website:

On Aug 6, 2008, we received a citation from ABC for "lewdness", "discrimination", and "running a disorderly house injurious to the public welfare and morals"!

The facts are these:

* All of the accusations relate to two particular monthly events that used to happen here: "Cream", a lesbian dance party; and "Escandalo", a gay male Latin dance party. That's two events out of the approximately eighteen nights a month that we are open. (We canceled both of those events after we learned ABC was taking action against us.)

* This is the first citation of any kind that DNA Lounge has ever received from ABC since we opened for business in 2001.

* ABC is asking for outright revocation of our liquor license. This would put us out of business permanently. This would be the end of DNA Lounge permanently because it would not even allow the option of someone else buying the business.

* The "discrimination" charge is because the Cream promoters were charging different cover charges to men and women. We weren't aware they were doing this, and made them stop as soon as we found out, but ABC is citing us for it anyway. (Typically the outside promoter runs the cashier window, not DNA Lounge staff, which is how it took us a while to notice. The discriminatory pricing wasn't advertised on their flyers or on the web site.)

* The "lewdness" charges are because there were incidents of dancers at Escandalo pulling their shorts down and exposing their buttocks, and sometimes their pubic hair or genitals. Butt-slapping: that's also not allowed. Standing behind someone, even while clothed, and doing "several" pelvic thrusts: that's not mere dirty dancing, that's a "simulated sex act". Not allowed.

* Also, at one Cream event, they held a wet t-shirt contest, in which a few female customers exposed their boobs to a room full of lesbians.

See the rest of the info here. Let the ABC have a piece of your mind:

Email: SFO.Direct@abc.ca.gov
Phone: (415) 356-6500