Survivors of Upstairs Lounge Recall Mass Murder of Gays

Yesterday was the 41st anniversary of the largest mass murder of gays in U.S. history.  The fire at the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans claimed 32 lives and others had their lives and careers ruined in the aftermath.  To date, no one has every been charged for the crime and the New Orleans police at the time seemed indifferent to the murder of gays and lesbians.  Queerty looks at this sad anniversary which should be a reminder that the hate that motivated that crime is still alive and well with many of our opponents.  Here are highlights:

On June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to a gay bar in New Orleans called the Up Stairs Lounge, killing 32 gay men and women in what has gone down in history as the largest gay mass murder in U.S. history.

Today is the 41st anniversary of that tragedy, which has been documented by Robert L. Camina in the new film “Upstairs Inferno”. According to the first official teaser trailer below, the horrific event led to even more reprehensible acts in its wake – several bodies from within the club were never claimed by family members, those survivors featured in the news went on to lose their jobs and livelihoods, and the New Orleans police department lagged its feet and attempted to cover up the deadly crime.

To this day, no one has ever been charged with setting fire to the Up Stairs Lounge.

A piece in the Times Picayune recalls the horror of one witness and the aftermath:

Flames shot from the building like "blowtorches" into the night, Lambert said. Men could be seen struggling hopelessly against the security bars on windows, escape impossible. People on the street screamed for help. A sickening smell hung in the air.

The fire was quickly brought under control, the firefighters said, but so much damage and misery had already been caused.

"It was horrible," Gilbert said. "These people, they were literally roasted alive. When your skin is exposed to open flames, you just melt, like candle-wax. It's horrific." 

Gilbert, who had just returned from a tour in Vietnam, was almost in shock.  "I don't think anything could have prepared you for something like that," he said. "No one deserves to die like that."

Once they were able to get inside the charred lounge, a grisly task lay ahead for the firefighters and volunteers helping out at the scene. A pile of bodies lay heaped on the floor near the windows facing Chartres Street.

A week after the fire, after some churches refused to bury the dead, mourners attended a memorial at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in the French Quarter. At the end of the memorial, in what many at the time said marked a major shift for the gay community, mourners had the option of walking through a side door, to avoid being caught by the local media on camera. Instead, most of the 300-plus attendees chose to exit through the front of the church.

Some remember the event as the catalyst that brought the gay community together and helped push the gay rights agenda in the city forward. 

"That was a huge step," Perez said. "In the aftermath of the fire, the gay community in New Orleans was forced to confront itself, finally."

Note how some families refused to accept the bodies of family members and how some churches refused to conduct funerals.  Evil and the "godly folk" are synonymous.

 

Arson Fire Set in Crowded Seattle Gay Bar

No details are available as yet on the identity of possible suspects or the motivation behind an arson fire that was set at a crowded Seattle, Washington, gay bar (pictured above) shortly before midnight last night.  Thankfully, prompt action extinguished the flames and none of the 750 patrons were injured.  Frighteningly, the arsonist set the fire on the stairs leading to the second floor of the club providing overtones of the tragic and deadly Upstairs Lounge fire in New Orleans of years ago.  Obviously, the intent was to seriously harm and/or severely frighten gays.   Here are details via Joe My God:

Seattle's Fox affiliate reports:

Police are searching for an attempted arsonist who allegedly poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of Neighbours Nightclub and trying to set it on fire. Seattle police said an attempted arsonist poured the gas in the stairway just after midnight New Year’s Day. The arsonist lit the gas and left, police said. Luckily, the fire was quickly discovered and put out with a fire extinguisher. Someone in the club also pulled the fire alarm, causing sprinklers to activate and dousing the flames. Police said all of the 750 patrons celebrating the New Year’s holiday managed to evacuate safely and no one was injured.

Capitol Hill Seattle has a similar report:

The Seattle Fire Department’s marshal was called to Broadway’s Neighbours just minutes after the legendary gay night spot’s midnight 2014 celebration to investigate a suspected arson fire that triggered the club’s automatic fire sprinkler system. SFD’s Ladder 10 was dispatched to the dance club at 1509 Broadway at 12:16 AM. The arriving firefighters found the building’s sprinkler system activated and the club’s 750 or so partygoers were cleared outside. Seattle Police were called to the scene to assist in crowd control to keep patrons and staff from re-entering the building.

The Seattle Fire Department has issued a preliminary report.

Suspect being sought in arson bar fire. On 1/1/2014, just shortly after midnight, an unknown suspect poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of a bar and ignited it. The bar in the 1500 block of Broadway was occupied by over 750 patrons celebrating New Years Eve at the time. The fire was quickly discovered before it could spread beyond the stairway and was extinguished with a fire extinguisher. Someone pulled the fire alarm and caused the fire sprinkler system to activate. An orderly evacuation was accomplished and no one was injured. Arson Bomb Detectives (ABS) responded after being notified by SFD Fire Investigators. No suspect information available. The investigation continues.

 Updates will be provided as more is learned about suspects and motive.
 

40 Years Later Catholic Church Apologizes for Lack of Compassion for Anti-Gay Arson Victims

Personally, I believe that when the scales are balanced, religion, particularly Christianity, has done more harm and ruined and destroyed countless more lives than it has saved or aided.  Put another way, Christianity and religion in general have proved to be a pestilence to mankind.  Hate, bigotry, discrimination and the out right murder of those of other faiths have sadly been the norm rather than the exception.  Even within the last decade an Anglican Archbishop i Africa is suspected of having ordered the massacre of over 600 men, women and children.  Making matters even worse, break away Episcopal parishes in America have aligned themselves with such hate-filled and murderous clerics.  A piece in the UK's Daily Mail looks at the Catholic Church's belated apology for its behavior following the Upstairs Loungearson attack that claimed 32 lives.  Here are article highlights:

New Orleans marked the 40th anniversary on Saturday of one of the saddest days of its history and a tragic event which is regarded as the largest mass murder of gay people in U.S. history.

The Upstairs Lounge arson attack occurred on June 24, 1973 when a flash fire tore through a gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter.   In less than 20 minutes, 32 people were killed, dozens more critically injured and those who managed to escape watched helplessly as friends and lovers burned to death before their eyes. 

At the time local politicians and religious leaders wanted nothing to do with it and little effort was made to bring whoever started the suspected arson to justice.  The powerful Catholic Archbishop of New Orleans at the time, Phillip Hannan, did not offer his support or sympathy to victims.

Now 40 years on, the event is gaining greater recognition for its significant role in the fight for greater rights for gay people.  This year’s milestone anniversary was marked with a special mass in New Orleans, while the current Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has apologized for the church's silence over the tragic event.

'In retrospect, if we did not release a statement we should have to be in solidarity with the victims and their families,' Archbishop Gregory Aymond recently wrote in an email to TIME.   'The church does not condone violence and hatred. If we did not extend our care and condolences, I deeply apologize.'

New Orleans in the early 1970s was an extremely homophobic place as typified by the response of authorities following the fire.  Neither Mayor Moon Landrieu or any other government official made a public statement about the tragedy. 

The UpStairs Lounge fire was a seminal moment in the history of gay New Orleans and significant advancements have been made in the years since and now the city leads the South in extending civil rights to gay city employees. 

Other events being held to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy include a lecture at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a jazz funeral procession from there to the site of the fire and even a musical. 

The city recognizes domestic partnerships for gay and straight couples, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu - son of Moon Landrieu - has issued an official certificate commemorating the anniversary of the fire, something that would have been unthinkable for his father to do at the time of the fire.

Better late than never is how the saying goes, but sadly, the Catholic Church is still preaching and disseminating the same anti-gay vitriol that helped create the mindset that caused 32 individuals to lose their lives with little or no response for government officials.  Religion is a form of poison that yields death and damaged lives as its principal fruits.