In light of the active rulemaking on the Prohibited Conduct rule (WSR 24-05-037/“The CR 101”), and based on some of my remarks in my last post, here’s the message I wrote to the rules coordinator.
I’ve seen a lot of anger from people all around me, and a lot of strong passions. What I will encourage everyone who’s looking to comment on this is, there is a clear disconnect between the behavior and actions of the commission and the enforcement division. The commissioners, in every public meeting, have made it clear that they are willing to consider repeal without replacement. In fact, Vollendroff has advocated for repeal at every meeting I’ve observed. With that in mind, I’m willing to have a more conciliatory tone–I think we’ll get what we want best without being too aggressive, just firm.
To the WSLCB Rules Coordinator,
I’m writing as a Seattle-area resident and member of the queer community to encourage the LCB to fully repeal WAC 314-11-050, and remove this outdated stain from the state codes. This is particularly important given the events of the weekend of January 26th, and their continuing fallout.
This code originated out of a desire to control “appropriate” expression by minority communities (and block the sale of alcohol at strip clubs), and today it evidently has continued to be used for that purpose. The best way to prevent future abuse is to remove the mechanism that enables it; if this rule, or something substantially similar remains in effect, we have no guarantees that we will not once again see overzealous enforcement of that rule at some point in the future, long after the current commissioners have moved on.
The main concern of the LCB should be the proper handling of alcohol; the behavior and attire of patrons is fundamentally outside of that mission. Communities can and will have differing standards of conduct in their social spaces; this is fine! There’s a vastly different expectation of behavior in a gay bar or other queer social space, especially during a theme night or party, than there is at a straight bar. The problem arises when a separate culture’s expectations are enforced on that other group–which is what WAC 314-11-050 does–and any substantially similar rule would have the same effect.
At the Jan 31st LCB meeting, Chairman Postman remarked that he doesn’t believe the Board should be in the business of mandating morality. In fact, he noted that the board approves of SB6105 and wants to establish a means for strip clubs to sell alcohol! In light of this, I would encourage the commissioners to act on their initial intuition, and repeal the rule.
I hope that the commissioners of the WSLCB will make the right choice for communities across the state, and repeal this outdated and punitive rule.
I’ll post another update when rulemaking concludes. If you live in Washington, care about the freedom of the queer community to define their own expectations about their social spaces, and you’re reading this before March 22, 2024, I would encourage you to submit your own comment to the WSLCB. Be sure to mention the rule in question (and probably the WSR, I’ve not done this before but I assume that doesn’t hurt.)