...But Insult A Dyke And She'll Kick Your Teeth In

A Melbourne gay bar has won the right to discriminate against heterosexuals:

The owners of Collingwood's Peel Hotel applied to ban straight men and women to try to prevent "sexually based insults and violence" towards its gay patrons.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last week granted the pub an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act, effectively prohibiting entry to non-homosexuals.

Nasty straight people, being mean to the people of other sexual orientations.

Only it wasn't just the straight people. VCAT deputy president Cate McKenzie said:

"Sometimes heterosexual groups and lesbian groups insult and deride and are even physically violent towards the gay male patrons." (Emphasis added)

Well, laugh out loud.

One suspects McKenzie's findings will be as legally unsupportable as they are morally so:

(She) said if heterosexual men and women came into the venue in large groups, their number might be enough to swamp the gay male patrons. "This would undermine or destroy the atmosphere which the company wishes to create."

Which is the argument used by traditional men's clubs about women members and which is usually not supported by the likes of VCAT.

McKenzie's homofavouritism opens a window of opportunity for lots of companies to argue exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act. Better, however, that we look up the word 'equal'.

-- Nick