Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 10:53:33 -0500 From: David B. O'Donnell To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS Subject: Re: Discrimination at IHOP Austin, Texas [ Send all responses to cutecop@aol.com only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. Originally submitted by JAJONE02@UKCC.uky.edu. ] Along the same lines, I witnessed some blatant DISCRIMINATION in an International House of Pancakes Resturant here in Austin, Texas - IHOP. Do you have those in your locations? I am a police officer here in Austin, and was working midnights about 2 weeks ago. There are not very many places to go for a meal break that are open 24 hours here, so IHOP was my choice for that evening. Little did I know what I was going to witness. I have gone to their resturants in and out of uniform for years and never ever had a problem or witnessed a major problem. I was appauled at what I witnessed by the night manager of IHOP. By the way, her name is Glenda Basing, and she is the night manager of the IHOP on !35 @ 1st Street, here in Austin, Texas. There was a man who was obviously hetrosexual that was had been drinking and talking loudly with 2 young men at a table next to his. I sat near them (in uniform). The man who had been drinking was questioning one of the young men about his sexual preference, and then made some rather lude remarks about why he did not perfer women sexually. The man that he was speaking rather loudly to, indicated that he was gay and made some fruther comment that he was born that way, and then continued to talk with his friend. The man who had been drinking continued to speak rather loudly to the two younger men. It hadn't reached the point that I was going to intervene as a police officer with the possible drunk. The man, if in fact he was drunk, was maintaining his position in that "gray area" of disorderly conduct in a public place. Remember, Austin is the only city in Texas with a city ordinance against the discrimination of gay and lesbian people (in the work place and in housing.) ( I always considered it to be very progressive. I and a lesbian police officer friend of mine teach Gay Sensitivity in several local police academies. We are members of GOAL and the Natl Assoc. of G/L Police Officers.) Just at that point, the night manager (Glenda Basing) came over and announced rather loudly to the gay man that ===he could not talk about his homosexuality in public, that she found it offensive.===== My blood began to boil. She made this statement several times, and indicated that === he could not discuss homosexuality to anyone else in the resturant including the young hetrosexual that he was with. ===== The man who had been drinking came over to the table and told the manager that he had been pestering the two and that they had been very courtesy to him, and that if anyone was at fault it was him, and he left the resturant. I agreed and witnessed this to the night manager. The manager however, made the gay man's sexuality an issue. He had bought his meal, had finished it and was drinking coffe. I have always been an openly gay police officer here in Austin and have been a police officer for 12 years now. This manger continued to taunt these two men, and when they asked for her supervisors name, she refused the full name but only gave them a first name. (later investigation revealed that the store manger was her brother, and probably one of the reasons she became so defensive. - His name is Mickey - ) Basing had the gay man removed from the resturant (for no reason) other than he talked in public about his sexuality. He was not loud. He was not lude, He was not offense, He was not violating any Texas law. You must understand, that in Texas, a store owner can have anyone removed at their will without any cause. The victim, can file on the offender after the fact. She insisted that the gay man be removed from the resturant. I refused to do this and she went and got another officer from another agency with the same jurisdiction to do it. I left the resturant without eating; gave my police department business cards to the gay man, contacted the home office of IHOP and then contacted the Texas Human Rights Foundation here in Austin, who is better equipped to give advice on such cases. I still cannot fully believe what I witnessed. I found out that the General Manager for IHOP was a Mr. Mark Shirvan (512/443-7718). He has left several messages for me at the police department and I have re-contacted his several times to no avail. He seems to always been convienently busy when I call. I refuse to return to IHOP until the management makes an official apoligy to the Gay and Lesiban Community. I let as many Gay Officers I know aware of the situation as well as the Hetrosexual community. If this man had been black and been treated this way, we would have had another "Denny's" Resturant situation on your hands. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it. She assumed that I was hetrosexual since I was a police officer, and would take her side. If you have any contacts with management folks at these resturants, please let them know how you feel. Thanks - Rob Havican - Austin, Texas Fr. Robert H. Havican, O.S.F. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P.O.Box 16181, Austin, TX 78761-6181 [Reformed Catholic Priest/Texas Police Officer] ========= "We are humans, not issues." ============= (cutecop@aol.com) (frhavican@aol.com) (revfrrob@io.com) =============================================