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| A sign outside of the Happy Harbor restuarant in Deale, Md., has been removed. | |
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By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
May 26 2006, 2:49 PM |
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Members of the group Gays of Southern Maryland have joined a gay employee of the Happy Harbor Inn restaurant in defending it against claims that it used a sign posted next to its entrance to discourage gays and blacks from entering.
-IMG-A longtime gay resident of Deale, Md., where the restaurant is located, and a gay employee said they were certain that a homophobic an racist prankster rather than the restaurant owners added the words “fags” and “coloreds” to a sign aimed at discouraging motorcycle gangs from patronizing the establishment.
“Everybody goes there, including gay people,” said Lawrence Butler, a member of Gays of Southern Maryland.
Butler said he and his domestic partner have been regular customers of the Happy Harbor Inn since they moved to Deale 13 years ago. He said he and his partner have always felt welcome.
“They are the heart and soul of Deale,” Butler said. “It’s a fine little place.”
Barbara Sturgell, co-owner of the Happy Harbor Inn, said she and her son arranged for a sign to be posted next to the entrance door about four or five years ago that said, “Attention Bikers: No COLORS, RAGS, CLUB ATTIRE (no) EXCEPTIONS.”
She said the sign was intended to discourage motorcycle gangs from causing problems at the restaurant following an incident in her parking lot where someone was shot in a gang-related fight.
A flap over the sign surfaced last week when customers told the Washington Blade that they visited the restaurant on May 2, and that the sign read, “Attention Bikers: NO COLOREDS, FAGS, CLUB ATTIRE (no) EXCEPTIONS.” The two customers said the entire sign appeared to have been professionally prepared and painted, with no obvious indication of tampering.
An official with the Maryland Human Relations Commission said his office would investigate to determine whether the sign violated the state’s human rights law, which bans discrimination based on race and sexual orientation, among other categories.
A gay employee at the Happy Harbor Inn, who asked not to be identified because he is applying for another job where he cannot reveal his sexual orientation, said he noticed the sign had been changed during his shift on April 30 or 31, and brought the matter to the attention of a manager.
The employee said that because the restaurant was “very busy” from an influx of charter boat customers, the management did not get a chance to remove the offensive words “coloreds” and “fags” for four or five days.
Sturgell said she had employees remove the letters “f” and “eds” from the sign as soon as an employee brought it to her attention.
The gay employee said his fellow employees know he’s gay, including the management, and no one has made him feel uncomfortable. He said most of the kitchen staff of the restaurant is African American, and that many of the customers also are African American.
“This all happened because some stupid homophobe and racist tampered with that sign,” the employee said.
He said the changed sign appeared professional looking and speculated the vandals might have had skills in sign-making.
“Barbara and I talked about this,” the employee said. “She apologized to me. I said, 'There’s no reason for you to apologize. You didn’t do it.'”
Dan Furmansky, executive director of the statewide gay group Equality Maryland, initially called for state authorities to investigate the restaurant over the sign. But Furmansky later changed his mind.
“After talking to several gay people [from the Gays of Southern Maryland group], I believe the owner,” Furmansky said.
Sturgell, 72, last week had the sign removed while she mulls over whether to have it redesigned or whether to discard it, the gay employee said.
“I have a lot of black customers,” Sturgell told the Blade last week. “I have black friends and I have gay friends. “Everybody is welcome.”
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