Bar owner accused of discriminating against transgender patrons
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Labor commission officials filed discrimination charges against Portland’s Twilight Room Annex following a lengthy investigation that revealed the bar discriminated against transgender patrons.
Commissioner Brad Avakian on Tuesday filed the formal charges against the bar, formerly known as the P Club.
The charges follow a highly publicized investigation that found bar owner Chris Penner had left phone messages asking a group of transgender patrons to stop visiting the bar because he didn’t want the P Club to be known as a “tranny bar.”
The charges were filed because the commission and bar did not reach a settlement, according to a press release from the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries.
Penner had contended the group, known as the Rose City T-Girls, disrupted business; however, labor investigators found no evidence to support that.
Investigators found Penner did not notify the group of any complaints about their behavior and, instead, blocked them from coming to the bar.
Oregon state law protects anyone from discrimination because of sexual orientation, but that's not just about sexual preference. It also covers gender identity.
The charges are the first commissioner’s complaint filed under the landmark 2007 Oregon Equality Act, a law to protect the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender Oregonians in employment, housing and public places.
Reached Tuesday afternoon by telephone, Penner declined comment to KATU.
LOL, and how much tax money has been thrown down the toilet to fight this? Who the hell cares? Wonder why they are always out of money in local Governement? Here you go.
 @Alex Clayton No local tax money has been thrown down the toilet. the Bureau of Labor and Industries Money comes from a diversion of .03 of one percent of the State employment tax collected during the second calendar quarter of every odd numbered year. Employers do not pay this in addition to the tax they already pay. BL&I exists with the sole purpose of ensuring the work place is fair. When some one chooses to open a public enterprise the must pay their taxes and obey the law. Apparently the bar owner chose to explicitly disregard that law, and was unable to reach an agreement with either the BL&I or the party BL&I was requested to represent, So the Case will go to court, Where from the looks of things; the bar owner will lose the case, The state will rule then recover their leagle fees and award damages from the Bar owners pocket. And the morale of the story? It doesn't pay to act in the fashion of a bigot, while serving the public.There is in reality a very small number of us Transgender people, and an equally small number of bigots. The difference between the two is public opinion and right of law are clearly on the side of the Transgender.
 @Mercedes LovejoyÂ
OMG. The public schools have really done a number on this country. It is scary what they crank out now. Ignorance that is shocking.
Good for the owner for taking a stand in what he believes is right for his business. It's his dream, not anyone else's dream and he can run it the way he wants. If anyone is butt hurt about it, oh well, get over it and spend your money somewhere else. Crap happens in life. You can waste your energy on something that can be fix by going somewhere else, or walk away with pride, knowing your a bigger person. His choice on how to run his business, is not the end of the world. There are bigger things to care about. Â
 @Just my say And if he were to block blacks, or hispanics, or Jews, that would be ok as well in your opinion I suppose?
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What about disabled people? Bad for business, I say...
I wonder what all these redneck, discriminatory people would do if it were them being kicked out of a bar or other establishment. Do YOU want to be discriminated against?
 @Stephanie Jean Flettshock of course they dont. they are Hypocrites.Â
 @Stephanie Jean Flettshock I sure wouldn't be frequenting a  Tranny bar anyway , That's for sure. So it would be kinda hard to get kicked out of a place I wouldn't be in in the first place. Â
@Stephanie Jean Flettshock I imagine that they would simply go and find another establishment. It seems to be higher on the LBGT list to go places they arent welcome and then file suit over it. The normal person would simply leave.
 @madminer15 Your statement is cruel, and comes down in support of segregation. We should only patronize certain businesses and stay out of the way of normal persons? We're not looking to pick fights, we're just looking for somewhere to buy a drink.
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I am a transgender woman, should I only buy my groceries that have posted notices saying transgender people are welcome? How about instead I assume I can buy my cereal and oranges at the grocery store down the street because it's down the street. How about I just assume I'm going to be able to go to karaoke at the bar a few blocks from my apartment because it's only a few blocks from here?
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How about we get treated as humans, like the rest of you Normal Persons?
Yup I wouldn't be in a bar if I wasn't wanted there.Â
Nothing illegal about a business wanting to pick its customers. Another fake law being used to close down another business.
 @Blindman BS how would you feel if you were told to leave a bar because your missing front tooth and mullet makes you look like a redneck
@Indi Kelly Edwards @Blindman Shoe meet foot. No sane person would try to go to Canlis wearing sweat pants and a dirty t-shirt. You think nobody would look at you like "WHY are YOU here looking like THAT?" Like Blindman said, nothing illegal about a business wanting to pick its customers.
You've posted the Canlis example twice - and both times not even bothered to realize it is a false analogy. Busniesses CAN discriminate/choose cusomters based on how they dress - there is no federal, state, or local protection for people to wear sweats to fancy restaurants. Gender, sexual orientation, race, religion - all THOSE, on the other hand, ARE protected at all levels by the law. As such, it is not up to the owner's discretion, it is not open to interpretation - it is simply ILLEGAL to discriminate based on those characteristics. So, quit with the Canlis BS.
Will the owner have to now put in a 3rd bathroom? Not fair to me to be uncomfortable in a restroom because of who else is in there. I used to have rights, too.
 @Beau's Mom When there is someone in the stall, how do you know what's between their legs? And, have you seen another woman's privates in a bathroom? I'm transsexual, and in the 7yrs. I've been in the woman's bathroom I have not. If you are not afraid of a "butch lesbian" in your bathroom, you should not be afraid by an effeminate man in a dress or woman's jeans. ...I have my rights too!
 @Stephanie Jean Flettshock  @Beau's Mom Your rights stop where another's begin. That would be the restroom door. No child should be subject to that display. No women should be subject to a biological man in the privacy of a restroom. No man should be either., nor a child who is just growing up.Â
 @Eleanor Leycestershyre  @Maynard G Krebbs  @Stephanie Jean Flettshock  @Beau's Mom totally agreed ElÂ
 @Eleanor Leycestershyre  @Stephanie Jean Flettshock  @Beau's Mom EXcuse me,the homosexuals ,tran whatever want to use any bathroom they choose,not just THIS bar. The problem has been in the news before .Once in Texas,and you do not want to know what the mother's did to the "lady?"Â
 @Maynard G Krebbs  @Stephanie Jean Flettshock  @Beau's Mom "Subject to that display"???  Grow up!  People are in the bathroom to use the facilities for their relief.  And why are you taking your children to a tranny bar, in the first place?  You need to educate yourself about what transexuals are, so that you don't come off sounding like a complete imbecile.  It's embarrassing...seriously.
It's getting to the point where business owners are loosing their rights so that a segment of the population can have theirs. The business owner has their own money invested in this business and should have the right to control it to the point where they can protect that business from that which may not be suitable to the clientele that patronize the business. There is a wide range of types of bars and they do have specific types of clientele. The bar business depends on that and you can't saturate it to accommodate everyone. Biker bars are a good example (not meant to single them out in a negative way) but they do have a culture of their own. Gay bars have a culture of their own. Piano bars have a culture of their own. Pure and simple. It pays the bills for the owner pure and simple.
 @Jatok Perhaps the water fountains should also be labelled so that people know which ones they're allowed to use.
@TheGonzalez Water fountains aren't private owned businesses. You completely missed the point of my post. It's not about discrimination, it about business owners being left to at least run their businesses in a way that is in line with their clientele.
@TheGonzalez I disagree with you. Not getting your own way 100% of the time isn't discrimination. Life is made up of differences and it's not always fair. To many people feel entitled to special treatment by everyone because of the differences and that in itself creates another kind of discrimanation. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
 @Jatok This is exactly about discrimination. You are expressing displeasure in a certain part of the population gaining rights. You say as suck in the first sentence of your post.Â
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Business owners should be allowed to run their businesses however they want, and if that means Certain People are just not allowed to patronize their business because they find them icky, that's alright with you as well then. "We don't serve your kind.", this is the line in the sand you want drawn? This is simply discrimination.
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The group mentioned in the article didn't start their day by wondering what fight they could pick that day, they just wanted someplace to meet for drinks.Â
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 @Jatok Again, if the bar owner felt black people were bad for business, then by your logic he/she should have the right to discriminate.
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Next thing ya know, we'll be using different drinking fountains...
@Jer It's all in how you interpret what I said/meant. Nothing more nothing less.
@Jer @Jatok Ask around, find out why the Tulalip nearly completely closed down the Impulse Lounge. The tribe decided exactly that.
@Jatok Biker bar is a great example. do you see 20 hardcore Harley biker stop by any well known gay bars and try to make a statement? NO. somehow, being annoying and provocative is totally fine if you are gay or confused with your gender.
Granted.  This owner is a douchebag.  But, I think it is his right to refuse service to anybody.  He is also stupid for calling them and leaving a message.  But stupidity is not illegal.     I think the transgender patrons would just be better suited to find another place to spend money.  Then have everybody I knew rip the place on Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare.  I don't go and spend money anywhere I am not welcome or on any place that has a bad rating on yelp because of discrimination. Â
Whether you agree with his position or not, its his right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. I see the sign all the time: "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"
The government needs to stay out of private affairs.
 @northwestsurfer no it is not his right to discriminate on race, sexuality or gender. Thats why you have anti discrimination laws, get with the program.Â
 @northwestsurfer They do have the right to refuse service to anyone. 1, not a group.
@Stephanie Jean Flettshock @northwestsurfer Lol -- sorry it can be any quantity, not just one. Groups of people get refused service all the time.
You should be able to refuse anyone you don't want in your place of business. Â It's his business and his businesses reputation he's trying to protect.Â
 @Seahawker and I repeat 1 more time for the dumbies  "no it is not his right to discriminate on race, sexuality or gender. Thats why you have anti discrimination laws, get with the program. "
 @Seahawker Does that mean it's okay to put up a Whites Only sign?
 @ChristopherC I didn't say put up any kind of sign! I said it should be his right to refuse service to anyone.  wether it be ......Tranny, non Tranny, American, Hispanic, African, Jewish, Islamic, French, Italian, German, Greek, Russian, Polish, Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian, Canadian, English, British, Afghan, Iranian,Saudi, Hawaiian, Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, Australian, Hindu, ETC, ETC, ETC. Â
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 @Seahawker  @ChristopherC NO wrong
This isnt a court of public opinion, and while that is in bad taste and many steps back from the progress we have made as a society in general over the last several decades, its his right do refuse service to anyone.
How is an organization that caters to and only favors one race (NAACP) any different than an establishment that prefers not to serve transgender people? How is running a gay bar any different? Essentially this guy is running a hetero bar. Its his right, whether you, I, or the government likes it or not.
 @ChristopherC  @Seahawker On private property, yes. It is his choice to turn away any customers that he does not want in his bar. If it were my business, I wouldn't be doing that, but I do believe that it is his choice to make. I wouldn't be on his side if he were charging different prices or verbally harassing them, but declining their business is his choice.
 @TP  @ChristopherC Either that or cut them off because they've had to much. I mean it's his discretion to decide who he serves and who he can't, right? Â
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"Sorry Mam,or Sir, whatever you are............. I think your intoxicated I can't serve you". Â Problem Solved.
@Seahawker Like the white-only restaurants we used to have?
 @1opine  @Seahawker His choice.Â
 @1opine
 @1opine  @Seahawker Progressives and intolerant people always use that line. But is is alright to have men and w omens teams,men and women restrooms, special teams now for disabled students. These are all separate ,but equal  situations.
Humm, I thought the Rose City T-Girls was Portlands roller derby team...
Hang up the sign " we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"Â You see it all the time, problem solved. These people don't care about the bar, they just want to get it in the news.
 @lmdk2 You realize "hanging up a sign" doesn't give you leave to break the law, right? Discriminating in who your business serves is against the law, sign or no.
@Protagonist @lmdk2 Show up at Canlis in sweats and a dirty t-shirt and test your theory.
 @Protagonist  @lmdk2 Not if their intoxicated!
 @Protagonist  @lmdk2 With that stance then just give those who want to force there life choices on others lousy service.So they don't come back. The business owner doesn't want to refuse their business,they want their politics and life style to stay out of his business.Â
@Protagonist @lmdk2 That's where the problem lies. The owner of a business, who has everything invested, is getting to the point where they have no say over how their business can be run on a daily basis. There are people out there who think they have the right to have their own way no matter what and they don't care that anyone else has or should have rights if it disagrees with their point of view. That's where things are messed up.
@Protagonist @lmdk2 Thats strictly a matter of opinion and open to debate, and the burden of proof is the government's and yours to establish that he discriminated against them. if i went to a bar and was treated like dirt or discouraged from patronizing, I would not return. Why would you file charges or sue to be granted access? If it was proven you were right, well it would be established then you are not welcome.