Just out ▼ march 7, 1907 ▼ 13
Lesbian bar bom bed
bomb loaded with 3-inch nails ex
ploded on the patio of a lesbian night
club in Atlanta on Feb. 21, sending
one woman to the hospital and injur
Five people are hurt in the Atlanta blast;
ing four other people. Another bomb
found an hour later in the club’s parking lot was
in its wake a diverse community rallies together in unity
detonated using a police robot.
▼
Police now say that similarities between the
attack on The Otherside and the Jan. 16 bombing
by Richard Shumate
at an abortion clinic in the Atlanta suburb of
Sandy Springs, which injured seven people, could
The carnage might have been much worse,
ernment motivation. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
be evidence that the attacks are the work of a serial
however. The bomb went off relatively early in
Tobacco and Firearms— viewed as villainous by
bomber—perhaps one with far-right political ties.
the evening, before the popular bar filled up with
many far-right and militia groups ever since the
Authorities are also looking at whether these
people. And after a week of unseasonably warm
fatal 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound
attacks could be related to a bombing at Centen
weather that might have drawn a crowd to the
in Waco, Texas— has been investigating all of the
nial Olympic Park in July that killed one person
patio, the Friday of the explosion was stormy, as
bombings in Atlanta, and federal agents were
and injured 100 others.
a cold front blew through the city.
among those injured in the abortion clinic attack.
News of the Friday night attack sent shock
The Otherside sits at a busy intersection but is
There are some differences between the abor
waves through Atlanta’s sexual minority com
about two miles away from the Midtown neigh tion clinic and nightclub bombings and the attack
munity. A crowd of 150 people rallied on the steps
borhood, where most of Atlanta’s lesbian and gay
on Centennial Olympic Park. Though nails were
of the State Capitol on Sunday, Feb. 23, calling
bars are concentrated. In the wake of the bomb also used in the park
for legislation in Georgia to stop hate crimes,
ing, other bars have implemented stricter security
attack, it was carried
while another group of activists gathered near the
measures, including banning backpacks and
out with a pipe bomb
bombing site to remember the victims and the
searching purses.
and a warning was
violence.
Some of the people in the club at the time of the
phoned in to 911 be
At a press conference the same day, Atlanta
attack apparently fled before being interviewed
fore the explosion.
Mayor Bill Campbell, flanked by representatives
by police because of fears that their sexual iden There were no warn
from a number of gay organizations, denounced
tities might be disclosed. Community leaders and
ings in the later bomb
the attack and said that the police would beef up
bombing investigators have been asking those
ings.
security around other lesbian and gay bars and
people to come forward, saying their anonymity
In a handwritten
businesses in the city.
will be protected.
letter mailed to sev
“Anyone who plants an explosive device that
The bombing at The Otherside bears a striking
eral Atlanta-based
targets a particular group is expressing hatred,”
resemblance to an abortion clinic bombing in
news organizations, a
said Campbell, who described the attack as the
January. In both cases, the bomber left two de group identifying it
work of an “urban terrorist.”
vices, set to go off about an hour apart—the
self as The Army of
Gay and lesbian leaders met with Campbell
second bomb presumably designed to injure in God claimed respon
after meeting among themselves early Sunday
vestigators and members of the news media re
sibility for the bomb
morning to decide how to respond to the attack.
sponding to the first attack. Long, thick nails were
ings of The Otherside
used in both sets of bombs to produce flying
and the abortion clinic
“We wanted people to know we were banding
shrapnel intended to injure and kill people over a
together and being strong and that we would not
in Sandy Springs. The
wide area.
letter vowed more at
be terrorized,” said Larry Pellegrini of the Geor
gia Equality Project, a statewide sexual minority
The abortion clinic bombs were made of dyna
tacks, saying the
rights group, who was part of the contingent that
mite. Authorities have not yet said how the bombs
Army was officially
met with Campbell.
at the nightclub were
declaring war “on the
‘This was definitely a
made.
entirechild-killing in
hate crime.”
In the abortion
dustry.”
Georgia’s Legisla
clinic attack, no one
As for gay men
ture has for years re
was injured when the
and lesbians, the let
fused to pass legisla
first bomb went off.
ter said, “We will tar- j
tion providing stiffer
But seven people
get sodomites, there
penalties for bias-
were hurt when the
[sic] organizations, and all those who push their
related crimes, prima
second bomb, planted
agenda.”
rily because support
in the parking lot of
Another group, identifying itself as an off
ers of that legislation
the office complex
shoot of the Ku Klux Klan, also claimed respon
have refused to re
where the abortion
sibility for the bombings in a phone call to the
move sexual orienta
clinic was located, ex
publisher of the local Gay Yellow Pages. But
tion as a covered cat
ploded. The area was
investigators seem to be giving more credence to
egory. In the wake of
flooded with police
the letter from The Army of God, which con
the bombing, a re
and mediaatthetime.
tained specific details related to the bombs’ con
newed push for hate-
After the first ex
struction.
crimes legislation will
plosion at The
The FBI has sent a copy of the letter to its
be made.
O therside, police
behavioral sciences unit in Virginia for analysis.
“Politicians need
sealed off the area
Meanwhile, federal, state and local law enforce
to send a message that
around the nightclub,
ment agencies held a summit in Atlanta on Feb. 28
this kind of violence
specifically looking
to discuss how to respond to any future bomb
is unacceptable,” said
for a second device
threats or attacks.
Pellegrini. “They
with a robot. Once
No one has claimed responsibility for the first
can’t ju st say it’s
one was found, the
attack, which happened at Centennial Olympic
wrong. They have to
bomb was detonated
Park during the Olympics in July.
do something.”
without incident. Po
Federal agents and local police have appar
The bomb ex
lice were able to use
ently not ruled out the possibility that all three
ploded at about 9:50
the robot to take X-
bombing incidents could somehow be linked.
pn, on a Friday night u s
Walfrs
rays of the bomb,
in the patio area of the
which could provide
w il l n o t b e
club, which welcomes men but has a mostly
clues helpful to the investigation.
lesbian clientele. About 150 people were in the
Because the targets of the two attacks were an
V
FRIGHTENED AWAY
club at the time of the blast, which threw nails and
abortion clinic and a lesbian bar, speculation has
shrapnel as far as three blocks away. Four women
arisen that the bombings might be the work of a
A week and a day after the bombing at The
and one man were injured.
person or group with an anti-gay and/or anti
Otherside, buoyed by the presence of numerous
The most seriously injured person, Memrie
abortion political agenda. Both attacks were also
civic leaders and three members of Congress,
Wells-Griswell, was hospitalized with a nail
aimed at targets where most of the victims would
Atlanta’s sexual minority community rallied to
wound in her arm. She was reported in stable
have been women.
show unity and resolve in face of the attack.
condition and her injuries were not considered
In both incidents, the targeting of police with
“We’re here as a community to celebrate
life threatening.
a second bomb might also indicate an anti-gov
peace,” said Cherry Spencer-Stark, co-chair of
A
,
“W e
the Georgia Equality Project, which sponsored
the March 1 rally. “Our vision for this community
does not include bombings and burnings.”
The gathering was held symbolically just two
blocks from the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr. By
the day of the rally none of the injured were still
hospitalized.
“We will turn the bombings around on this
terrorist and show we are more united than ever
before,” said Mayor Campbell, who has offered a
$10,000 reward for information leading to the
arrest of the bombers. “Love is more powerful
than hatred. That’s why we are here today.”
At the peace rally, nearly 1,000 people were
joined by a wide array of state and local leaders,
with an invocation given by clergy representing
Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions. Three
sitting members of Congress were also on hand.
U.S. Reps. John Lewis and Cynthia McKinney
represent Atlanta-area districts, and U.S. Rep.
M ax i ne Waters, a Los
Angeles Democrat,
chairs the Congres
sional Black Caucus.
In a fiery speech,
Waters said the bomb
ers must be made to
realize that their at
tempts to create fear
will not succeed.
“We will not be
frightened away from
the work of justice and
equality,” she said. “I f
you ’ re going to shoot,
you better shoot
straight, because we
will keep coming.”
She also told the
crowd that winning
against the forces of
hate will require gay
men and lesbians to
stand up for who they
are.
“Love y ourself
and d o n ’t worry.
When you love your
self, you can teach oth
ers what they must be
about,” Waters said, to a thunderous ovation.
In her remarks, McKinney took to task some
members of Congress whom she says haven’t
spoken out forcefully enough against far right-
wing groups. And she said that has created an
atmosphere where “homegrown madness” can
flourish, resulting in such tragedies as the Okla
homa City bombing and the attacks in Atlanta.
“America has got a problem, and we’ve got
some politicians that want to tell us that every
thing is all right. But they don’t walk in our
shoes,” said McKinney. “We’ve got to teach our
young people that America is beautiful because it
is diverse.”
Also addressing the crowd were the owners of
The Otherside, Beverly McMahon and Dana Ford.
Just the day before the rally they reopened their
bar, which was damaged in the blasts, with a
banner draped outside that read “One Goal: Unity.”
“I would have opened if I’d had to have a tent,”
said McMahon. “We’ve got to stay strong and
together.”
In what may have been theemotional highlight
of the rally, John Hawthorne, whose wife, Alice,
was killed in the Centennial Park bombing, made
an unscheduled appearance. He had heard about
the rally on the news and drove more than 200
miles from his home in Albany, Ga., to lend
support.
“I just felt moved to come here today,” said
Hawthorne. “I just pray to God that all of this
senselessness and all of this violence will end.
And it will only end if we all stay together.”