This post was submitted by matt

Recently, a lesbian couple dined at the Tastee Diner on Cameron Street. They paid at the counter, and as they were leaving, they embraced. The manager quickly approached and asked them to leave, according to a report today in the Washington Blade. The restaurant, he said, was a family establishment, and “people are trying to eat.”

Tonight at 9PM, the couple and many of their friends are going to the Tastee Diner. They plan on being seated, eating, showing affection, paying, embracing, and then gathering outside for a discussion. Anyone is welcome to attend, so if you find yourself in the area tonight, come and stand up for gay rights.

Even in liberal Montgomery County, it seems, homophobia lurks. On July 20th, vandals shattered a plate glass window at the American Apparel store at Colesville Road and Fenton Street, just a few blocks away from the Tastee Diner. They vandalized a display containing a “Legalize Gay” t-shirt supporting the repeal of Proposition 8. The store in Silver Spring and the one in Georgetown, DC later received phoned death threats.

The Silver Spring store later returned its display to the window, and offered to give free shirts to gay rights groups in the region. This response was certainly nicer than the response given by the general manager of Tastee Diner, who did not condemn the responsible manager or confirm that gays are indeed welcome to eat at their lunch counter.

Apparently, even in these tough times, Tastee Diner is bringing in enough revenue that they don’t need our homo-dollars.

It remains to be seen whether the management will throw out those sitting in tonight. After all, families might object to gays and lesbians, even when they don’t object to the horse racing gambling machines (Maryland Lottery) inside the establishment or the straight couple that was kissing at the same time the lesbians were thrown out for hugging.

It is clear that the management doesn’t understand what this sort of treatment does to people. In a response to the couple ejected from the restaurant, Tastee’s general manager said, “You will see that no disrespect was meant.”

As a gay man, I find it highly disrespectful for someone to say, “Your love is less important and less valuable than that male-female couple over there who are currently kissing without reproach.” I’m not sure how telling someone that they’re welcome as long as they pretend to be someone else is not disrespectful.

If the context was different, there would be headlines. If a restaurant manager told a black or interracial couple to leave based on a hug, while a white couple kissed nearby, there would be hell to pay. If the general manager said that no disrespect was meant, that they were welcome as long as they “acted white,” citizens would be outraged. If that were the case, I doubt even the manager could claim that it wasn’t meant to be disrespectful with a straight face. But the management does not understand. They don’t realize that their actions alienate customers, cause pain and distress, and teach others that bigotry is okay.

Personally, I am angry almost beyond words. I work a block and a half from this place. I have eaten there many times, I’ve even encouraged my coworkers to try the place. And there has always been service with a smile. Little did I know that lurking beneath that smile was a rabid homophobia.

The restaurateur who threw out a loving couple touted family values. But apparently, love is not a family value; bigotry is.

So I encourage you to come out to Tastee tonight. The restaurant is easily accessible by Metro and is directly across Cameron Street from a Montgomery County public parking garage.

The restaurant is located at the corner of Cameron Street and Ramsey Avenue in Silver Spring, one block west of Georgia Avenue. From the Silver Spring Metro station on the Red Line, take the northern exit, use the faregates on the right, and walk up the stairs to the left of the station entrance. Cross this plaza to Second Avenue. Turn left onto Second, passing in front of the District Courthouse. Turn right at the first light, Cameron Street. The restaurant is one block ahead on the right.

Here is the Facebook invite to the event with all the pertinent details. Please come tonight if you can!

---

First time here? See what we're all about... Get involved... Send us a tip!...

---