Reopening Gay Bathhouses Will Aid 'Economic And Cultural Recovery,' San Francisco Supervisor Says

Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Aug. 06, 2020

San Francisco District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman says gay bathhouses need to be reopened ASAP so they can aid the city's "economic and cultural recovery" and his fellow board of supervisors have already unanimously approved an ordinance to help make it happen.

From SF Weekly, "Restrictions Relaxed For Gay Bathhouses, Sex Venues":
Gay bathhouses could have an easier time returning to San Francisco, after the board of supervisors approved an ordinance that would ease restrictions for adult sex venues on July 21 with a unaminous vote.

This will amend the Heath Code, requiring the Director of Health to "adopt minimum health and safety standards" for commercial adult sex venues. It will also remove decades-old policies that required these businesses to monitor sexual activities and prohibited private rooms and locked doors.

These regulations were put in place in 1984, when the AIDS crisis was devastating gay communities in San Francisco. They specifically targeted sex clubs and gay bathhouses, and while sex clubs eventually reopened in the city after shuttering their doors, gay bathhouses never did, according to the Bay Area Reporter

That could change after the COVID-19 pandemic is over (this new ruling will not affect the city's reopening timeline). The ordinance, led by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, will help "decriminalize sexuality" according to a press release by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

[...] "What this ordinance will do is allow for adult sex venues to be apart of our economic and cultural recovery when it is safe to do so," Mandelman said in a July 9 meeting. "During the '70s and early '80s, bathhouses were a focal point of gay social life in San Francisco, and were important community meeting places for friends to gather to share stories, dance to the latest disco hits, or watch a live show."
Of course, your Churches need to stay closed!

Remember, Fauci said in April in the middle of the pandemic it's fine if people want to use Grindr for gay hookups:


"If you want to go a little bit more intimate, well, then that's your choice regarding a risk," Fauci said.

Fauci refused to comment on whether protests should be "limited" to stop the spread of CV but Grindr hookups are just fine!


Fauci also said in the past that AIDS is not the product of a "lifestyle phenomenon":



STDs are at record levels but that's not a public health crisis like CV -- that's progressive!


[Graphic source: Health Testing Centers]


[Graphic source: California Department of Public Health]

Mandelman says not to worry:
"The only backlash that we've received [from this proposal] is, I think the crankiness of social media, wondering whether this is the most important thing to be doing in the light of a pandemic. I've also heard it from queer people who say, 'HIV may be dropping in San Francisco, but STDs aren't. Isn't this just going to become a place where STDs spread?' And my response to that is, well, people are having sex right now," he says.

"They're having sex in private parties. They're having sex with multiple partners on a given night, based on the apps, and they're not getting any kind of health messaging that could be provided in a bathhouse."

Mandelman stresses that the ordinance does not require or allow the reopening of adult sex venues until restrictions requiring social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted.

"Bathhouses are not going to open during the height of the pandemic and nobody's going to expect them to. The legislation gives the Department of Public Health until January to come up with regulations to allow this," he says.
Giant "private parties" are just fine according to Mandelman but he wants you to remember you better put on a mask next time you leave your home!


If you're in Marin County, refusing to comply with their mandatory mask ordinance could get you a $10,000 fine!

Residents of Los Angeles are going to get their water and power shut off by Mayor Eric Garcetti for holding house parties but the "private parties" in San Francisco are just fine!


Please remember, when you go to Church next time with your face mask (and goggles) you are forbidden from singing and chanting!

The sacrifices we're all making will all be worth it in the end.

Once San Francisco gets their gay bathhouses reopened we can finally get our economy roaring again!

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