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  BACK  Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network Monday, July 25, 2005 / 05:23 PM Another nightclub has been gutted by fire, making it the third case of suspected arson against LGBT-friendly venues in the past three weeks. On Sunday, fire ripped through the Heart Rock in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. The club opened for business in May with a 25-foot Pride flag draped over its doorway. Investigators told the Brownsville Herald the suspects broke in through the front, vandalized the interior and poured several cans of gasoline before igniting the fire that gutted the windowless cement building. Owner Sylvia Armente told the local newspaper it was a hate crime directed against Brownsville's gay community. "What else could it be?" she said. Armente added that the club had not received any specific threats but had suffered random acts of vandalism, such as broken lights. "Everyone's friendly here, but other people pass by and say nasty things," she told the paper. Chuck Smith, deputy director of the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, told the PlanetOut Network that the anti-LGBT rhetoric has increased in Texas as voters prepare to consider a state constitutional amendment on Nov. 8 that would deny same-sex couples marriage rights. "It is conceivable that the anti-gay rhetoric that is prevalent can play a factor in that. We will be interested to see whether incidence of hate crimes has increased because of the lies and mistruths that have been spread against us to deny us our humanity," Smith said. Under Texas law, arson is a second-degree felony punishable from two to 20 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. There could be additional penalties under the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, a bill named after an African-American man dragged to death in Jasper, Texas. The Brownsville blaze comes after a fire destroyed Studio 716 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the city's only LGBT club, on July 16. On July 9, fire damaged St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ in Middlebrook, Virginia five days after the church's national board endorsed same-sex marriage. Jay Smith Brown, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, called the trend "alarming." "The current rhetoric right now is not helping. We need to build a dialogue that is constructive. We need to make it clear this kind of violence is not OK." | In The Guirre Archives Feb - April 2004 | In The Guirre - May 2004 | In The Guirre June-July 2004 | The Guirre August 2004 | In The Giurre Sept-Nov 2004 | The Guirre April 05 | Mothers Day 2005 | Happy B'day Madonna | LoGo 71205 | And the Queen is | In the Guirre Jan-Mar 05 | ShAnTii's NO - SENSE Article...!! | Heart Rock Fire | The Guirre April - July 05 | The Guirre Aug-Sept 05 | Thanks | The Guirre Oct - Dec 05 | Superman is Back | Gale aka Brian Back on TV | Disco DIVAlicious | Celebs within the Club | ESCAPE | The Guirre - June 2006 | Madonna BD 2006 | | Happy B Day Madonna05 | Madona By ShAnTii | Noahs Arc | Whats New 6-02-06 | MADONNA Vegas Concert | A Night of Hope | What is Speak Your Mind | In The Guirre | |
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