Pints, politics and pride
On Tuesday, Phoenix gay bars will provide a space for LGBTQ residents to watch election returns and, whatever the result, give support to each other.
As people across the country tune in to watch election returns on Nov. 3, a drag show will take to the stage at Stacy’s at Melrose, a gay bar in one of Phoenix’s most LGBTQ friendly districts. Owner Stacy Louis plans to ask each of the drag queens to perform one song about the election. Perhaps one will dress as the Statue of Liberty, he says.
But the night will be about much more than the weekly drag show, Louis says.
Come election night, his bar and others throughout the Melrose district will provide a space for the gay community to watch the election returns and, whatever the result, provide support for one another.
During the last four years and throughout President Donald Trump’s first campaign, the LGBTQ community has endured policies and rhetoric that have reversed advancements, failed to enforce protections and threatened equality.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent switch to a 6-3 conservative majority further threatens the LGBTQ community’s rights as Justice Amy Coney Barrett potentially aligns herself with opposition of same-sex marriage.
Now many in the community eagerly, and anxiously, await the election results. Some Phoenix gay bars will host watch parties; others will air the results without much fanfare. But bar owners say creating a place for the community to come together and celebrate or commiserate safely will be essential during the historic election.
“On election night, people want to be together,” Louis says. “If we lose, it’s going to be monumentally sad at the bar. I want to be with everybody.”
Why a sense of community will be crucial on Nov. 3
At Stacy’s, Louis is planning a socially-distant party to safely bring the community together for election night. The results will be shown on TVs with subtitles during the drag show, and then will be turned up when it ends.
“If I could pack the house, I would because this is important to me,” he says.
But with “strict in a nice way” COVID-19 distancing and capacity protocols in place, Louis plans to create an environment where the community can feel safe to watch the returns together.
Four years ago, Louis was certain Hillary Clinton would win. This year, he remains cautiously optimistic. Keeping a close eye on the polls and predictions leading up to the election, Louis hopes for a celebration on election night.
“I run a gay bar and gays are primarily Democrat,” Louis says. “So it will be
“On election night, people want to be together. If we lose, it’s going to be monumentally sad at the bar.”
Stacy Louis
celebratory if the Republicans lose.”
He’s also preparing for the possibility that a winner might not be announced at all on Nov. 3, something that election experts predict might be the case if the vote tallies are a close call.
Either way, the drag show will go on, the drink specials will flow and people will come together as “community is paramount,” he says.
Owner of Stacy’s at Melrose
‘After 2016, I couldn’t just sit on the sidelines’
A few blocks away at Kobalt, the name of the game is usually karaoke. But on election night, the cocktail bar will host an all-night election watch party, says co-owner Jeffery Perales. Creating an place for the community to gather on Nov. 3 is important to both him and his business, Perales says.
Kobalt has hosted watch parties for each of the presidential debates, and they’ve drawn big crowds, Perales says, so he’s preparing for a big turnout on election night. The bar can usually hold 165 customers, but due to the rules restricting bars to less than 50% occupancy, Perales is taking reservations. A week prior to the election, about half of the available tables have been booked.
He plans to air the results on TVs inside the bar and project the results on a large wall outside for people sitting on the patio.
“We’ve been preparing for this night for a while,” Perales says. “Up to 2016, we did political events as a second thought, but after 2016, I couldn’t just sit on the sidelines. For the past four years, we’ve been looking forward to November 3.”
Perales hopes the bar will be a community meeting point and a “non-combative” place to watch the election results come in, he says.
Leading up to the election, Kobalt has invited political leaders from different viewpoints to come to the bar and speak. Not everyone in the LGBTQ community has the same political views or leans Democratic. Just last week, a “Trump Pride” roundtable took place in downtown Phoenix where LGBTQ supporters of the president rallied around his campaign.
But so far, at Kobalt’s debates and political events, everyone’s been respectful, Perales says.
“Regardless who wins, I hope we can move forward in a more unified way,” he says.
If the results don’t go in the way people want, people may want to be around like-minded friends, Perales says. He hopes he can provide that space at Kobalt. Some of his regulars rely on the bar as a social outlet, Perales says, and may not have anywhere else to go.
“Last election I felt like a relative had died or something. I was in mourning for months,” Perales says. “But we got through it then and we’ll get through it now.”
Right now, Perales is focused on preparing for a night that can’t get here soon enough, he says.
“I’m hoping after the election, we can all breath a sigh of relief,” Perales says.
How one bar hopes to create a safe space
Not all of Phoenix’s gay bars will be celebrating the election with drag shows and parties. But paying close attention to the results is important, says Mike Jacobs, co-owner of The Rock. He plans to air the results on the bar’s TVs, but chose not to host an event in an effort to promote safety and to keep anxiety at a minimum, he says.
“We are just hoping it will be a better result than four years ago,” he says. “We were just dumbfounded.”
The election comes at a time when support is particularly necessary among the LGBTQ community, Jacobs says. Since Justice Barrett was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, fear has swept the LGBTQ community over the policies she could have a hand in changing.
“With the new justice sworn in, we are worried about our marriage and
whether they are going to overturn Jacobs says.
So tuning in to the election results is
it,” a must for the entire community, he says. That’s why creating a safe gathering spot, both in regards to politics and the pandemic, so people can get out of their houses and watch the results with friends is his goal.
“Our community is really tight knit and very supportive of each other,” Jacobs says. “And supporting everybody, whether they are gay or straight, it’s just something we do.”