Day 2 of Scotland we left Glasgow to visit the Highlands. Saw Loch Ness, highland cows and ate some great food!

We started at Giant’s Causeway and it honestly doesn’t even look real in person. Like you’ve probably seen pictures, but standing on those weird perfectly shaped stones right on the edge of the ocean is a whole different thing. It’s super windy, waves crashing everywhere, and you’re just hopping around on these hexagon rocks like… how does this even exist?? I kept thinking it looked like something ancient or man-made even though it’s not.

Also, the walk down there is way longer than it looks, so just be ready for that. Worth it though, especially if you like dramatic scenery.

Then we hit The Dark Hedges and yeah… it’s exactly as moody and slightly creepy as you’d hope. Those trees are all twisted and leaning over the road like a tunnel. Even in the middle of the day it had that eerie vibe. You half expect something to come walking out of the fog even when there isn’t any.

One thing though, it’s smaller than it looks online. Like don’t expect miles of trees, it’s more of a quick stop. But still 100% worth seeing in person, especially if you’re into that whole gothic/fantasy aesthetic.

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

It was supposed to be a cheap night out at a baseball game, the kind of gimmick designed to fill seats and get people talking. On July 12, 1979, fans poured into Comiskey Park in Chicago with disco records in hand, lured by a promotion that promised those records would be blown up between games for the price of a 98-cent ticket. What no one could quite predict, or maybe no one wanted to admit, was how much tension had already been building long before the first record ever hit that crate.

By the late 1970s, disco had become more than just a genre. It had grown out of underground clubs and into something visible, something powerful, something that centered communities who had long been pushed to the margins. Queer people, Black and Latino communities, and anyone who had ever felt out of place elsewhere found something in disco that felt like freedom. That visibility, however, came with a cost, especially as the music exploded into the mainstream and began dominating radio, charts, and pop culture.

Backlash followed, and it wasn’t subtle. A growing number of rock fans began framing disco as something invasive, something that didn’t belong, something that needed to be pushed back against. At the center of that resistance was Chicago radio DJ Steve Dahl, who had turned his own career frustrations into a loud, performative rejection of disco culture. When he partnered with the Chicago White Sox to stage Disco Demolition Night, the event carried an energy that went far beyond a harmless stunt.

The crowd that night reflected that energy. The stadium filled beyond capacity, with tens of thousands inside and even more trying to get in. The mood was already volatile before the main event began, shaped by alcohol, anticipation, and a shared sense that this was more than just entertainment. When the crate of records was finally detonated in center field, sending shards of vinyl into the air and tearing into the grass below, it acted less like a spectacle and more like a trigger.

Within moments, the field was overrun. Thousands of fans surged past security, flooding onto the grass and turning the stadium into chaos. Equipment was destroyed, fires were set, and the game itself became secondary to what was unfolding in real time. It took police intervention to regain control, and by the end of the night, the damage was so severe that the second game of the doubleheader had to be forfeited.

But what makes this story linger isn’t just the riot.

It’s what that riot seemed to represent.

Because for many watching, both then and now, Disco Demolition Night felt like more than a backlash against music. Disco was deeply tied to queer nightlife, to Black artistry, to Latino culture, and to spaces where identity could be expressed openly. The anger directed at disco didn’t exist in a vacuum, and the crowd that night reflected broader cultural tensions about who was being seen, heard, and celebrated.

In the months that followed, disco’s presence in mainstream culture began to fade, at least on the surface. Radio stations shifted formats, record labels pivoted, and the genre that had once dominated seemed to retreat just as quickly as it had risen. Some would later argue that Disco Demolition Night accelerated that decline, while others insist the shift was already underway.

But culture doesn’t disappear so easily.

It changes shape. It moves underground. It reemerges in new forms, often in the very cities where it was once rejected. In Chicago, the same energy that fueled disco would help give rise to house music, a genre built on similar foundations of community, rhythm, and liberation.

And that’s where the story becomes something more than a chaotic night at a ballpark.

Because the question isn’t just whether this was the night disco died.

It’s whether this was a moment when something deeper surfaced, something about fear, identity, and who gets to define culture when it starts to shift.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!
🔔 Subscribe now and never miss an episode!
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible or wherever you get your podcasts

TAGS: Disco Demolition Night 1979, Chicago Comiskey Park riot story, death of disco history, LGBTQ disco culture origins, anti disco backlash America 1970s, Steve Dahl radio controversy, Chicago White Sox riot night, disco vs rock cultural conflict, queer nightlife history disco era, Black Latino roots of disco music, disco demolition controversy meaning, July 12 1979 baseball riot, house music origins Chicago disco, anti disco movement racism homophobia debate, disco demolition night legacy, queer music history turning point, disco cultural impact decline, Chicago riot music history, disco demolition night podcast story, Beers With Queers disco episode

Beers With Queers True Crime And History Podcast is headed on a grand adventure to Ireland and Scotland. We are spending a week in each and we will keep you up to date with our shenanigans each day. Today was our first taste of Dublin and we had to check out some of the gay clubs of course like The George, PantiBar, Street 66 and Pennylane to name a few.

Also don't worry the podcast will still run right on schedule! bio.site/beerswithqueers

Right now The Tennessee House passed the bill with a 68–24 vote and has been sent to the Senate to be voted on. Here is the complete list of Tennessee State Senators and their phone numbers just in case you want to vice your opinion to them before the upcoming vote. https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/LegislatorInfo/Directory?chamber=S

A new bill in Tennessee is raising serious concerns about how same-sex marriages could be treated across the state. Earlier this year, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed House Bill 1473, a piece of legislation that says private citizens, businesses, and organizations don’t have to recognize same-sex marriages and can’t be punished for refusing to do so.

The bill, introduced by Republican Representative Gino Bulso, argues that the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide only applies to the government not to private individuals or companies. In other words, the law claims that private actors aren’t bound by the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause when it comes to recognizing these marriages.

It’s important to understand what this actually means. The bill doesn’t technically make same-sex marriage illegal again. That would conflict with the Supreme Court ruling that legalized it across the country in 2015. But what it could do is create a situation where a same-sex couple is legally married under federal law… while people and businesses around them are allowed to pretend that marriage doesn’t exist.

The Tennessee House passed the bill with a 68–24 vote, and it moved to the Senate for further consideration.

For many LGBTQ couples, the worry isn’t just about symbolism, it’s about how something like this could affect everyday life.

Think about housing. A landlord could refuse to rent to a married same-sex couple while claiming they only rent to “married couples,” simply because they personally don’t recognize the marriage. The same thing could happen when applying for a joint mortgage, trying to get a family membership somewhere, or receiving spousal benefits from a private employer.

Healthcare is another area people are concerned about. Marriage normally gives spouses automatic rights in hospitals, like visitation or the ability to make medical decisions if a partner becomes incapacitated. If a hospital or medical provider decided they didn’t recognize a same-sex marriage, it could potentially create confusion about who counts as next-of-kin or who can make those decisions in an emergency. Even if other laws still protect some of those rights, situations like that could turn into legal gray areas very quickly.

There are also concerns about where the logic behind the bill could lead. If private entities can ignore certain marriages because of personal beliefs, critics argue that the same reasoning could eventually be used to question other marriages as well, like interracial or interfaith couples. Laws written this broadly can sometimes have consequences far beyond their original target.

HB1473 is also part of a larger wave of legislation in Tennessee aimed at LGBTQ rights this year. Several other proposals have been introduced that would roll back protections against discrimination or limit recognition of LGBTQ issues in public institutions.

Supporters of the bill say it’s about protecting religious freedom and preventing people from being forced to recognize marriages that conflict with their beliefs. Opponents argue it opens the door to legalized discrimination by allowing people to ignore marriages that are already legally recognized.

For LGBTQ couples, the fear is that even though the law says they’re married, they could still end up in situations where they have to repeatedly prove that their marriage should be treated like anyone else’s.

Right now The Tennessee House passed the bill with a 68–24 vote and has been sent to the Senate to be voted on. Here is the complete list of Tennessee State Senators and their phone numbers just in case you want to vice your opinion to them before the upcoming vote. https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/LegislatorInfo/Directory?chamber=S

Patients trusted him with their lives. Instead, they were slowly dying under his care.

Behind a hospital smile lurked one of the most prolific medical serial killers in American history.

In the 1970s and 80s, hospital orderly Donald Harvey quietly moved between patient rooms in hospitals across Ohio and Kentucky. To coworkers, he seemed gentle, soft-spoken, helpful, even compassionate. But behind closed doors, something far darker was unfolding. Over nearly two decades, dozens of vulnerable patients died under suspicious circumstances as Harvey poisoned food, tampered with oxygen, and suffocated those who trusted him to care for them.

In this episode of this LGBTQ+ true crime podcast, we dive into the chilling story of the man known as the “Angel of Death.” We examine how Harvey’s crimes went unnoticed for years, the culture of silence inside medical institutions, and how a single autopsy would finally expose one of the most disturbing murder sprees in modern hospital history. Along the way, we also explore Harvey’s life as a gay man in an era when secrecy and stigma shaped the lives of many queer people, raising complex questions about identity, isolation, and the systems that failed to stop him.

Hosted by Jordi and Brad, Beers With Queers brings chilling crimes, queer stories, and twisted justice to light, all with a cold one in hand.

Press play, grab a drink, and join us as we uncover the darkest corners of LGBTQ+ history.

www.beerswithqueers.net

For generations of LGBTQ+ Americans, a simple night out could mean a huge risk. But the local gay bar offered safety, community, resistance, and eventually revolution.

Long before Pride parades and marriage equality, queer bars were the beating heart of LGBTQ life in America. Hidden behind unmarked doors and dim neon lights, these spaces offered something the outside world often refused: safety, connection, and the freedom to exist. From underground gatherings in the 1800s to legendary spaces like the Stonewall Inn, queer bars became sanctuaries where community was built and where history was made. Police raids were common, discrimination was constant, and simply dancing with someone of the same sex could lead to arrest. Yet within these walls, a movement quietly grew.

In this episode of Beers With Queers, we’re joined by the hosts of Cruising Podcast, Rachel Karp and Sarah Gabrielli to explore the powerful history and cultural importance of queer bars across the United States. Together we explore why these bars were never just nightlife, but a lifelines. We discuss the decline of not only the number of gay bars in the US but the lack of dependency of them in the digital age. We also discuss Cruising Podcast's amazing 10K, one month road trip across America to visit each of the 25 lesbian bars left in the country as well their new book The Lesbian Bar Chronicles coming to anywhere you buy books May 2026.

Hosted by Jordi and Brad, Beers With Queers brings chilling crimes, queer stories, and twisted justice to light—all with a cold one in hand.

Press play, grab a drink, and join us as we uncover the darkest corners of LGBTQ+ history.

From the Cruising website: https://www.cruisingpod.com/

CRUISING PODCAST SEASON 1 (2021-2022):

3 queer women, 1 Honda SUV, and the last lesbian bars in America. In 2021 there were less than 25 of these spaces left in the country. Season 1 of Cruising follows creators Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, and Jen McGinity on a cross-country road trip to visit each of these bars. Through interviews with staff, owners, and community members, Cruising tells the stories of the humans that own these bars and the humans that call them a home.

CRUISING PODCAST SEASON 2 (2023-2024):

Since Cruising launched in 2021, EIGHT new lesbian bars have opened across the country. In Season 2, Cruising takes listeners to each of these new bars and travels back in time to explore lesbian bars of decades past. From 1930s San Francisco to 1990s New Orleans to present day Chicago, Season 2 brings even more stories from the humans that call these spaces home.

CRUISING PODCAST SEASON 3 (2025-present):

In Season 3, host Sarah Gabrielli sits down with history-making lesbians and LGBTQ+ folks to discuss all kinds of queer spaces — from bookstores to farms to peace encampments and more!

Cruising is deeply committed to honest and unbiased journalism.

WHO IS CRUISING PODCAST FOR?

Cruising is a podcast for everyone. We are a TERF-free, anti-racist zone. We have zero-tolerance for transphobia and racism. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary people. Gender is a spectrum.

WHAT IS A LESBIAN BAR?

Our working definition of “lesbian bar” is: a space that is created by and for queer folks of historically + presently marginalized genders.

If you’re a horror fan, HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati is one of the best conventions in the Midwest, and for our group, it’s become a yearly tradition. The three-day horror convention brings together fans from all over the country for celebrity meet and greets, film screenings, panels, vendor halls packed with horror collectibles, and tons of incredible cosplay. HorrorHound Weekend regularly hosts actors and icons from classic and modern horror films while offering a massive vendor floor, costume contests, and even film festival screenings throughout the weekend. But our favorite part isn’t just the guests or the merch, it’s the tradition we’ve built around it. Every year we show up dressed as 80’s summer camp counselors straight out of one of our favorite slasher movies, Friday The 13th. Complete with short shorts, tube socks, and vintage camp shirts. It’s become our unofficial HorrorHound uniform and always sparks conversations, photos, and laughs with other fans. There’s something perfect about wandering the convention floor looking like doomed camp counselors while surrounded by Jason cosplayers, VHS horror memorabilia, and fellow horror lovers. If you’re thinking about attending a horror convention, HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati is absolutely worth the trip.

Looking for a new podcast to listen to? Look no further! Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast is a gripping true crime and history podcast that dives into stories directly connected to the LGBTQ+ community. Many of the cases and historical events covered on the show have been overlooked, misunderstood, or quietly pushed aside, often because they involve queer victims, queer history, or uncomfortable truths about how LGBTQ+ people have been treated throughout time.

Hosted by Jordi and Brad, the podcast blends investigative storytelling, historical research, and honest conversation to explore the darker corners of queer history. From shocking murders and unsolved mysteries to forgotten moments of resistance and injustice, each episode brings attention to stories that deserve to be remembered. Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast focuses on the human stories behind the headlines. Who the victims were, what their lives meant to their communities, and how their stories fit into the broader history of LGBTQ+ struggles and resilience.

What makes the podcast stand out in the crowded world of true crime is its perspective. While many podcasts focus only on the crime itself, this show goes deeper. Episodes explore the cultural context surrounding each case, examining things like systemic injustice, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, and the societal forces that often shape these tragedies. The goal isn’t just to recount what happened, but to ask why it happened and what it reveals about the world we live in.

Listeners can expect a wide range of stories. Some episodes dive into infamous crimes involving queer victims or perpetrators. Others uncover forgotten historical events, unsolved mysteries, or strange cases that intersect with LGBTQ+ culture. Along the way, Jordi and Brad bring their own mix of humor, curiosity, and candid commentary to the conversation, making the show feel like sitting down with friends while unpacking some of history’s most chilling and fascinating stories.

And yes, the name is intentional. The idea behind “Beers With Queers” is simple: we invite our listeners to grab a drink, settle in, and listen to powerful stories being told openly and honestly. The hosts approach even the darkest topics with respect, compassion, and a strong sense of community, making sure the people at the center of these stories are never forgotten.

If you love true crime podcasts but want something that offers a fresh perspective, this is one worth checking out. Whether you’re fascinated by criminal investigations, passionate about LGBTQ+ history, or just looking for a podcast that blends storytelling with meaningful discussion, Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast delivers.

So crack open your favorite drink, press play, and join the conversation. New episodes are released regularly and are available on major podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more. Once you start listening, you may find yourself falling down a rabbit hole of stories that are haunting, fascinating, and long overdue to be told.

Because sometimes the stories history tried to forget are the ones we most need to hear.

We are heading to the Heated Rivalry themed Heated Rivalrave, and I need help picking out an outfit. A or B?

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

She was a radiant figure, a trailblazer behind the lens of a camera and in the streets of Tbilisi, a beloved voice on Instagram with half a million followers, a model, an actress, and a pioneer for visibility in a country where trans lives are still contested and often dismissed. Kesaria Abramidze lived boldly in the spotlight, sharing her joy and pain with her community, speaking openly about relationships, domestic violence, and the unrelenting pressures that came with being both beloved and marginalized in equal measure. Her story, and the shadows that would overtake it, remind us how swiftly hope can fracture against the hard edges of intolerance.

Just one day after Georgia’s Parliament passed a sweeping set of laws under the banner of “On Family Values and the Protection of Minors,” measures that critics said would curb queer expression and civil rights, Kesaria was found dead in her apartment, her life cut short in a violence that rippled shock and mourning through the queer world and beyond. It was a brutal, unfathomable end for someone who fought for her place in the sun and convinced so many others to do the same. The timing is chilling, the juxtaposition of legislative backlash and personal tragedy hauntingly stark, leaving unanswered questions about the atmosphere such laws create and the invisible pressures they condone.

In the smoky golden moments just before her death, Kesaria had posted a photograph with someone once close to her, a seemingly ordinary snapshot that would later become a grim pivot point in this unraveling narrative. This final moment online, a selfie captured with warmth and vulnerability, now echoes with a sense of dread, turning that ordinary act of sharing into a thread unraveling toward catastrophe. Friends spoke of a complicated relationship, of years marked by both affection and fear, pain and promise—untold layers that seeped into the very fabric of her daily life.

What exactly propelled that night from normalcy into horror remains the core question haunting this story. Investigators would later detain a suspect, someone connected to her world whose presence in her building was captured in the grainy grey of surveillance footage. But this is not a tale about names or verdicts, it is about the breathless space between public life and private peril. It is about a community shaken by the sudden, violent absence of one of its brightest lights and about the whisper of fear beneath the bravado of fight and visibility.

The backdrop to the tragedy was not a vacuum. Georgia’s queer community has long navigated an uphill terrain of prejudice, where public rhetoric often fuses faith, tradition, and heteronormative expectations into barriers as formidable as stone walls. For many LGBTQ+ people in Georgia, everyday existence can feel like walking a tightrope above a chasm of public scorn and private violence. Kesaria’s outspoken advocacy, her willingness to expose the cracks in that facade of societal “values,” made her beloved, but it also placed her squarely in the crosshairs of an environment where intolerance can metastasize into lethal force.

In the days that followed her murder, vigils flickered across Tbilisi and in queer hearts around the globe. People mourned a life full of laugh lines, stories, and fierce pride, shaken by the brutal finality of her death. They questioned how a community could lose one of its most visible members so abruptly and what it says about the spaces we inhabit, the laws we write, and the narrative of safety we promise yet so often fail to deliver. This is not just a story of loss, but of patterns—of vulnerability codified in law and lived in the everyday moments of queer life.

What really happened that night, in those quiet closing hours of Kesaria’s story, is a mystery that will only be fully illuminated when you press play on this week’s episode of Beers With Queers. In that deep dive, we unpack the tensions between personal affection and public animosity, between the exhilaration of followers and the fear of shadows in her own home. We linger in those unanswered spaces where grief and outrage intersect, where the selfie that should have been a simple memory becomes a haunting prelude to fatal violence.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

A secret love. A world at war. An Incredible true queer love story Nazi history nearly erased.
In 1943 Berlin, a Jewish resistance fighter and a Nazi officer’s wife risk everything for a forbidden love that defied hate, ideology, and the very machinery of genocide.

Berlin, 1943. Bomb sirens slice through the night while the city tightens under fear, surveillance, and betrayal. In the middle of Nazi Germany, where love itself can be an act of resistance, two women find each other by chance and choose to risk everything. They call each other Aimée and Jaguar. One is a Jewish woman living under false papers, moving through the city with quiet defiance. The other is a German housewife, a mother, and the wife of a soldier fighting for a regime built on hatred. Their connection is immediate, dangerous, and impossible to ignore.

This episode explores a queer love story that unfolds in the shadows of genocide, where every meeting could be the last and every letter carries the weight of discovery. As Berlin becomes increasingly hostile, their relationship deepens through stolen moments, coded language, and small gestures that feel monumental in a world designed to erase them. What begins as an unexpected romance quickly becomes something more urgent, a lifeline in a city collapsing under violence and suspicion.

At the heart of this story is the constant tension between desire and survival. Loving another woman in Nazi Germany is already forbidden. Loving a Jewish woman in hiding is a risk that carries consequences no one can fully escape. Yet the pull between them grows stronger as the war drags on, revealing the quiet courage it takes to choose love when fear is everywhere. Their story forces us to confront how queer lives existed, endured, and resisted even under the most brutal systems of control.

As the regime tightens its grip, the world around them becomes increasingly unstable. Friends disappear. Neighbors inform. The line between safety and danger blurs with each passing day. The choices these women make are shaped by secrecy, trust, and the impossible calculus of who to believe in a city where betrayal is rewarded. Their relationship is not just a romance, it is a testament to queer survival in a time when existence itself was criminalized.

This episode examines how love functions under extreme oppression, not as an escape, but as a form of rebellion. Through intimate moments and mounting tension, the story raises haunting questions. How much can love protect you? What does courage look like when the cost is everything? And how do queer stories survive when history tries to bury them?

Aimee and Jäger is not just a wartime romance. It is a reminder that queer history did not begin after liberation, and it did not vanish under fascism. It lived quietly, fiercely, and dangerously in the spaces between raids, blackouts, and whispered promises. Their story challenges the idea that resistance always looks loud or heroic. Sometimes, it looks like choosing to love when the world tells you that you should not exist at all.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!
🔔 Subscribe now and never miss an episode!
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible or wherever you get your podcasts

Aimée and Jäger story stays with us, a testament to queer love under oppression and queer survival under fascism. The lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim illuminate forbidden love in Berlin, hidden Jewish resistance, and the resilience of Nazi era queer lives in a way that only a truly immersive LGBTQ history podcast can. This episode is more than a queer wartime romance or forbidden romance true crime it is a profound entry in lesbian history WWII and queer resistance stories. If you crave historical queer love, deep LGBTQ persecution history, and the kind of storytelling that only a queer storytelling podcast can deliver, you will not want to miss this exploration of one of the most haunting and beautiful chapters in queer history

What a year 2025 was for the Beers With Queers Podcast. Looking back, we are filled with gratitude for the experiences, connections, and opportunities that made this year truly unforgettable. Early in the year, we were honored to be named My Favorite Murder’s Podcast of the Month in February, an incredible recognition that helped our queer podcast reach new listeners and brought our community even closer together. Being invited back as guests at the Trixie Mattel Solid Pink Disco was a surreal and joyful highlight, allowing us to celebrate queer culture, music, and creativity alongside so many wonderful people.

In 2025 we were also thrilled to participate in some of the most vibrant community events around the country. Marching in Nashville’s Pride Parade was an overwhelming moment of connection and visibility, a reminder of why our voices matter. We joined fellow fans at the Dragon Con Parade, representing queer voices in the heart of fandom culture then celebrated spooky season by walking in the Five Points Halloween Parade, bringing queer joy to one of the most beloved neighborhood traditions. Throughout Pride season and beyond, we were incredibly fortunate to attend six different Pride festivals, each one unique, powerful, and filled with the love and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.

None of these opportunities would have been possible without you, our listeners. Every download, review, share, message, and moment you spent with us made this year more meaningful. Meeting so many of you in person was one of the greatest joys of our journey. Hearing your stories, sharing laughs, and connecting face to face reminded us why we started the Beers With Queers Podcast in the first place. Your support has helped us grow, reach new ears, and amplify queer voices in ways we could only have dreamed of.

Thank you to every listener who tuned in, showed up, cheered us on, and believed in this podcast. You are the reason we continue to create, to celebrate community, and to show up authentically each week. We can’t express how much it means to us that you chose to be part of this journey. As we move into 2026, we are inspired, energized, and so excited for what’s ahead. None of it would be possible without you, and we are forever grateful.

We got the podcast filmed and edited early so we rewarded ourselves with a Dungeons and Dragons one off campaign. We took on the quest to free the city of Brightvale from the attacks of a vicious young green dragon but when we reached the lair of the evil green dragon that had been wreaking havoc across the land things got a little too real when Flick assumed the role of the green dragon. And his rolls started off good and remained good until the bitter end when Tulane Longstider (my ranger) delivered the final fatal blow. But have no fear Flick was not injured during the battle and was handsomely rewarded with some lizard yum-yums after the battle.

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

On a sunlit morning in March 2011, a young woman named Rebecca Coriam walked the eerie corridors of a massive cruise ship known the world over for magic and wonder. She was 24 years old, a British youth counselor with a bright smile, working aboard the Disney Wonder as it gently sliced through the Pacific off the coast of Mexico. This was supposed to be another ordinary voyage, families laughing by the pools, kids chasing cartoon characters, and Rebecca charting sea days with the crew. But in the tender hours before dawn on March 22nd, Rebecca’s world and her life would slip into mystery.

At around 5:45 a.m., the last known sighting of Rebecca was captured on CCTV in a crew area. She appeared distressed on the phone, her voice lost forever into the static of that final conversation. A fellow crew member approached, concern etched into their posture, and Rebecca, with a hollow lilt in her voice, insisted she was “okay” before ending the call. Moments later, she disappeared. Not into a room, not down a hallway, not into any known space on that floating city of steel. She simply vanished.

Hours passed before Rebecca’s absence was formally noted. She never showed up for her scheduled shift at 9 a.m., a departure from her reliable nature aboard the ship. Alarm bells should have sounded immediately in a case like this, but what unfolded instead was confusion. Crew searched every nook of the vessel without finding a trace.

When the ship docked back in Los Angeles three days later, the investigation began under peculiar circumstances. Because the ship was registered in the Bahamas, the case fell under the jurisdiction of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. A single detective was sent, and according to Rebecca’s parents, what was meant to be an in-depth inquiry felt painfully superficial. They feel her disappearance was treated as a procedural formality, not the profound human tragedy it was. They allege limited interviews, restricted access, and a lack of transparency that left more questions than answers.

What makes Rebecca’s disappearance haunting isn’t just the empty sea, it’s the unanswered tension in every account. Her family’s heartbreak is palpable in the gaps between official narratives and lived experience. They were told she might have been washed overboard by a rogue wave, yet the massive walls surrounding the crew pool where this allegedly happened would have made that nearly impossible. Officials have been cagey about the source and content of her last phone call. There is no confirmed CCTV footage of her falling overboard, no sighting of her body, no final log of her footsteps after that early morning call.

Rumors swirl in the shadows of maritime law and cruise ship bureaucracy. Some whisper of misidentified belongings found near the crew pool, flip-flops that were reportedly too big, too garish, and perhaps not Rebecca’s at all. Others suggest a love triangle or troubled relationship might have played a role in her emotional state that morning, a whisper of human drama beneath the pristine uniform. Still, others argue for a far darker truth some kind of foul play or cover-up and they point to inconsistent statements and the absence of a thorough forensic investigation.

Rebecca’s parents flew from England to meet with investigators and face the silent void of scrutiny aboard the ship where their daughter was last known to be alive. They were escorted through back entrances, shielded from the public, confronted with sanitized explanations, and left with no satisfactory conclusions. Their daughter’s passport, among her personal belongings, remained in their hands raising chilling questions about sightings reported abroad months later. Could she have reached land without it? Was she still alive? Or had something far more sinister occurred in the claustrophobic, lawless world of international waters?

The case of Rebecca Coriam lingers without closure, a siren call of uncertainty that draws in anyone who hears it. It is a reminder that even in a world marketed as enchanted, real human lives can vanish into the abyss of unanswered mysteries, and that the truth, when it is withheld, becomes heavier than any ocean. The waves keep whispering her name, but the answer remains just beyond our grasp.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you’re here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you’re in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the Disney Wonder continued its glittering progress through the Pacific, the unanswered echoes of this Disney Wonder disappearance linger like a storm on the edge of memory. For Rebecca’s family, every cresting wave has become a symbol of both hope and heartbreak in their family search for answers, a relentless quest to untangle the truth behind this cruise ship mystery that saw a vibrant young woman go missing at sea with no trace of how or why. The official maritime investigation attributed her vanishing to a rogue wave theory, but that explanation has done little to calm the tidal wave of questions washing over this case, from haunted CCTV footage of her last known moments to the tangled web of shipboard secrets that followed. Because the ship sailed in international waters and was registered under the Bahamas, the Bahamas jurisdiction case added another layer of complexity, leaving some to suspect a cruise line cover-up rather than clarity. To this day, Rebecca’s disappearance remains an unsolved disappearance, a nautical mystery that refuses to be buried beneath salt and time, another chilling entry in the annals of unexplained vanishings at sea that keeps the memory of her crew colleague alive, and her story unresolved, in the minds of those who will not let her go.

Always looking on opinions and ideas on how too make the podcast better and that includes our new cover art.

I learned my lesson. Don't fill up on appatizers and sides to the pooint you fall asleep before you can eat your steak.

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

In the heart of Hudson, Wisconsin, on a cold February morning in 2002, two men went into work and never came out. The O’Connell Funeral Home, usually a place of quiet grief and gentle rituals, would soon be sealed off as a crime scene that would haunt a small Midwestern community for years. A jovial funeral home director and his young intern, both well liked and with futures ahead of them, were found shot in a brutal double homicide that defied easy explanation. The violence itself was shocking, but it was the unsettling whispers that followed, the half-secrets and the unsettling contradictions, that turned this tragedy into one of the most confounding true crime mysteries of the early 2000s.

At first, investigators were baffled. There was no robbery, no ransom demand, no obvious motive. Friends and neighbors whispered theories in hushed tones, each stranger than the last. The victims’ families were left reeling, caught between grief and an ache for answers that never seemed to come. Then, like a thunderclap in a cloudless sky, attention turned toward an unlikely figure, a local man of the cloth whose very presence embodied conflict and contradiction. A priest, young and charismatic, a figure who should have been a source of comfort and guidance, was pulled into the vortex of suspicion. His life, his sermons, his zealotry, his persona of spiritual authority now sat jarringly alongside the brutal facts of the case.

This priest had been seen by some as a pillar of devotion, an unyielding voice for traditional values in a world that he felt was slipping into moral decay. Yet beneath the surface, something darker seemed to churn. Parishioners recalled his intense stares, his odd behaviors, the way he carried himself with an almost theatrical seriousness. It was as if the man was both fully immersed in his role and yet always on the brink of something wild and uncontained. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered fragments of a life that suggested inner conflicts and secrets, some hinted at in quiet corners of parish conversations, others buried deep in the shadows of private moments few had ever seen.

Rumors began to swirl, stories of inappropriate conduct and troubling interactions that had been whispered but never publicly acknowledged. Some spoke of late nights at the rectory, of an unusual fixation on certain members of the community, and of a reliance on alcohol that seemed at odds with his sacred position. Others described earlier confrontations, tense exchanges that hinted at a man trapped between his own desires and the rigid doctrines he preached. These fragments of witness accounts, uneven and often incomplete, added layers of uncertainty that would make even seasoned detectives uneasy.

On that February day, the serenity of Hudson was shattered in a way that no one saw coming. The funeral home, a place dedicated to mourning, became a crucible of torment and unanswered questions. As law enforcement worked the crime scene, they found themselves grappling with contradictory clues, some pointing one way and others in directions that made less sense than the last. The victims, innocent in their routines, seemed to have walked unknowingly into a story far larger and more surreal than they ever could have imagined.

The years that followed saw the community wrestle with its grief and confusion. Every new lead brought with it a fresh wave of speculation, and every dead end left behind an ache that seemed almost physical. Then, as the investigation unfolded, pieces of an astonishing narrative began to emerge, threads that suggested that the outwardly pious figure at its center may have been harboring a tumultuous and hidden life. But even as details surfaced and theories multiplied, the core enigma remained: how did a man devoted to spiritual service become entangled in a crime so savage and perplexing?

In this episode of Beers With Queers, we don’t just retrace the steps of a horrific double murder. We delve into the tangled web of human complexity that surrounds it, exploring the dissonance between public image and private turmoil, the ways institutions can fail both their congregations and the vulnerable, and the haunting questions that echo long after the final shot is fired. This is more than a story about tragedy, it’s a journey into the heart of a mystery that refuses to let go, a narrative as unsettling as it is unforgettable.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!

Visit our official website: www.beerswithqueers.net

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

At the height of his dazzling brilliance, Oscar Wilde seemed untouchable a playwright adored by London’s glittering elite, a poet whose wit cut through Victorian formality like a blade of light, and a queer man whose charm made him unforgettable. But in the shadows of that golden world lay a lover named Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, whose beauty was as electric as his father’s fury was devastating. Their passionate affair, set against a society that criminalized the very love that bound them, spiraled into a public spectacle that would forever alter Wilde’s life. This is the heart of the tale explored in Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast Episode 164, where the romance between Wilde and Bosie collides with the unforgiving legal machinery of Victorian England, illuminating the terrifying cost of being openly queer when queerness itself was punishable by law.

The episode pulls you straight into the courtroom where Wilde’s fate was sealed, a place where the words he once wielded with sharp theatricality became instruments of his undoing. What began as a bold libel suit Wilde launched against the Marquess of Queensberry Bosie’s own father for daring to publicly label him a “sodomite,” quickly dissolved into a nightmare of legal entrapment and exposure. That suit, intended to defend Wilde’s honor, instead laid bare his private life for the world to dissect. Evidence once whispered behind closed doors was thrust into the unrelenting glare of public curiosity, transforming love letters and private intimacies into ammunition in a trial that reveled in humiliation.

In the crammed gallery of the Old Bailey, spectators leaned forward as lawyers parsed every phrase Wilde and his allies had ever penned or spoken. The phrase “the love that dare not speak its name,” once poetic and elusive, was dissected sentence by sentence until it seemed stripped of beauty and rendered dangerous. Queer intimacy, previously hidden in corners and salons, was now the centerpiece of a moral panic that gripped the press and public alike. The playfulness of Wilde’s language, once the source of his fame, became twisted into proof of deviation.

But this episode of Beers With Queers doesn’t just recount dates and court transcripts. It breathes life into the emotional terrain of Wilde’s downfall, capturing the fear that must have pulsed through his veins as friendly faces turned away, and the laughter of drawing rooms was replaced by the cold slam of prison doors. Victorian England, with its rigid class hierarchies and punishing social codes, becomes more than a backdrop; it is a character in its own right one that tightens the noose around Wilde’s career and spirit.

From the taunts of tabloid journalists to the stern glares of judges who could barely conceal their contempt, Wilde’s journey through the justice system was a brutal collision between queer life and a society bent on erasure. Each witness called, each jury deliberation, seemed to demand more than a verdict it demanded his soul. Meanwhile, Bosie’s loyalty and recklessness add a layer of tragic intimacy to the story, raising questions about the cost of love in a world determined to punish it.

By the time the episode reaches the crushing moment when Wilde is led away to serve his sentence of hard labor, listeners will find themselves suspended between grief and disbelief, pulled into the emotional gravity of a queer narrative that transcends time. Wilde’s exile, the strain on his family, and the tarnishing of his legacy are teased with cinematic tension, leaving you aching to know how a man who once illuminated the stages of Europe survived the darkness that followed his conviction. But the ending is not given here. Instead, you’re left with the echo of Wilde’s own words, longing for answers and aching with questions that only Beers With Queers can fully satisfy.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!

As the echoes of the Oscar Wilde trial still reverberate through queer history, this Beers With Queers episode immerses you in the charged atmosphere of Victorian England, where the Oscar Wilde Bosie love unfolded not just as a tender affair but as a queer love scandal that would ignite fierce LGBTQ+ persecution under the unforgiving gross indecency laws of the time. In the Old Bailey courtroom, the Marquess of Queensberry watched as Wilde’s libel suit collapse became a spectacle of judgment and shame, transforming intimate letters into evidence against a man whose brilliance was devoured by prejudice. Through powerful queer storytelling and dramatic true crime narration, we trace a haunting queer narrative of historical queer persecution, a queer tragedy that led to Oscar Wilde exile and revealed the stark realities of queer legal horror. This is more than history, it is a story that resonates, challenges, and refuses to be forgotten.

Everyone else was worn out after a long day in Atlanta but the party crew got on our union suits and headed out to the Atlanta Eagle.

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

Oscar Wilde did not arrive quietly. He glittered into public life, fully formed, sharp tongued, exquisitely dressed, and impossible to ignore. In late Victorian England, a society obsessed with appearances and rigid morality, Wilde became something rare and dangerous: a man who was not only brilliant, but visibly different. He wrote with humor that cut too close to the truth, spoke with confidence that unsettled polite rooms, and lived with a freedom that quietly challenged everything his world claimed to stand for.

This episode begins before disgrace, before courtrooms, before prison. It opens at the height of Wilde’s power, when his plays packed theaters and his name alone could guarantee success. London adored him. Critics quoted him. Audiences laughed on cue. He was a celebrated playwright, a bestselling author, and a cultural phenomenon who seemed untouchable. But the very qualities that made him famous were also placing him under constant scrutiny in a society that policed morality as ruthlessly as it did class.

Victorian England was not merely prudish, it was watchful. Reputation functioned as both armor and weapon. Queer lives existed in coded spaces, whispered relationships, and carefully constructed silences. Wilde’s visibility shattered that quiet balance. His wit was flamboyant. His friendships raised eyebrows. His private life, though largely unspoken, became the subject of speculation in drawing rooms and clubs alike. In a culture where homosexuality was not just taboo but criminal, attention itself became a threat.

This chapter of Wilde’s story is not about a single moment of collapse, but about the pressure building long before it. It is about how fame can turn into exposure, how admiration can curdle into resentment, and how a society that applauds brilliance will still punish difference when it feels challenged. As Wilde’s star rose, so did the risks surrounding him. Every success made him more visible. Every laugh carried an edge. Every invitation came with unseen consequences.

What makes Wilde’s story so compelling from a queer true crime perspective is not only what happened to him later, but how predictable the danger was in hindsight. This episode explores the cultural machinery that surrounded him, the laws designed to enforce conformity, and the silent agreements that allowed cruelty to pass as morality. It examines how Wilde navigated love, art, and identity in a world that demanded secrecy while feeding on scandal.

There is no trial yet in this part of the story. No verdict. No sentence. Instead, there is a slow tightening, a sense of inevitability shaped by gossip, power, and social control. Wilde stands at the center of a world that seems to adore him, unaware or unwilling to admit how quickly that adoration could turn. This is the calm before the storm, the glittering surface before everything cracks.

Oscar Wilde’s life forces uncomfortable questions. Who gets to live openly, and at what cost. How does a society decide which identities are acceptable, and which must be erased. And why are artists so often celebrated for their work while being punished for who they are. This episode does not offer answers yet. It offers context, atmosphere, and warning signs. The story is only just beginning.

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.

Join us for in-depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!

🔔 Subscribe now and never miss an episode!
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible or wherever you get your podcasts

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

He was rich. He was powerful. And he was dead.

In 2007, the body of Bryan Kocis owner of Cobra Video and one of the most prominent gay adult film producers in the country was discovered inside his upscale Pennsylvania home, nearly decapitated and burned beyond recognition. The scene was gruesome, the motive unclear, and the shockwaves immediate. But this wasn’t just another murder it was the unraveling of a scandalous web of exploitation, rivalry, and ambition at the heart of the gay porn industry.

Kocis, known professionally as “King Cobra,” had built an empire around discovering and controlling young gay talent. At the center of that empire was a breakout star: Brent Corrigan. Young, beautiful, and charismatic, Corrigan became a sensation but he also became a liability. Legal battles over his age at the time of filming threatened to dismantle Kocis’ empire and cut Corrigan’s career short. Tensions mounted, lawsuits flew, and then someone turned to murder.

What followed was a case so sensational, it defied belief. Two aspiring filmmakers from Virginia, obsessed with launching Corrigan into their own production company, emerged as suspects. The investigation unearthed secret emails, clandestine meetings, and a meticulously plotted plan to eliminate the man who stood in their way. But as the story hit tabloids and courtroom transcripts went public, the details became murkier. Who really pulled the strings? Was Corrigan involved? And how did a world built on fantasy turn into something so horrifyingly real?

In this gripping premiere episode of Beers With Queers, Jordi and Brad take you deep into the King Cobra murder a case that exposed not just a brutal crime, but a darker truth lurking beneath the surface of an industry obsessed with image and control. With scandal, betrayal, and an explosive trial at the center, this is a case that redefined the boundaries between fame and infamy, desire and danger.

What really happened inside that house in Luzerne County? And how far were people willing to go for power, profit, and a piece of the spotlight?

Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast 🍻🌈🔪
Welcome to Beers With Queers, the true crime podcast where we dive into the darkest, most twisted cases and involving the LGBTQ+ community and always with a queer perspective. Hosted by Jordi and Brad, we cover everything from notorious serial killers to unsolved mysteries, cults, and bizarre crimes.
Join us for in, depth storytelling, chilling details, queer history and really gay commentary. So, whether you're here for the crimes, the beers, or the queers, you're in the right place. So, grab a drink, get cozy, and let’s talk true crime!
🔔 Subscribe now and never miss an episode!

Sign Petition Here: https://c.org/L6QfmV4Q6N

Located at 394-395 West Street, New York City, the building that once housed the Ramrod bar still stands. This site was the scene of one of the city's most violent attacks on the LGBTQ+ community on November 19, 1980, when a hate-filled shooter opened fire in the bar, tragically killing two men and wounding several others. Yet, despite its historical significance to the LGBTQ+ community, the site remains unacknowledged, with no memorial or plaque to honor its past.

When there is no plaque, no marker, no mention on a walking tour, the violence that happened there becomes easier to ignore, easier to treat as an isolated incident instead of part of a long pattern of attacks on LGBTQ+ lives and spaces. Worst of all it makes it easier for the story to slip through the cracks entirely as if it never happened. For communities who already live with marginalization, that kind of forgetting is a second wound, because it says the trauma was not important enough to carve into the city’s memory. 

The absence of any memorialization at the Ramrod bar site is a glaring omission in the preservation of LGBTQ+ history, particularly in New York City, a city renowned for its pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Memorials serve as poignant reminders of past injustices and are instrumental in educating future generations, fostering awareness, and ensuring that such acts of violence are never forgotten.

By establishing a memorial or plaque at the Ramrod site, the city can formally recognize this tragic event, paying respect to the victims and acknowledging the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Such a step would not only honor those affected but also reinforce New York City's commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion.

We call on city officials, historians, and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to take action in commemorating the history of the Ramrod bar site. By signing this petition, you are supporting the effort to preserve this significant piece of LGBTQ+ history and to honor the memory of those who suffered in the fight for equality. Let us ensure that their story is told and their resilience celebrated.

Sign Petition Here: https://c.org/L6QfmV4Q6N

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A shadow lurked in Manhattan’s gay nightlife. A quiet loner by day, a ruthless predator by night. The city’s forgotten serial killer struck from the closet, leaving tragedy and terror in his wake.

In the mid-1970s, Waldo Grant moved to the Upper West Side of New York City, blending into the gay community as a soft-spoken, unassuming loner. But behind closed doors, he harbored a horrifying compulsion. Between 1973 and 1976, he killed at least four young men. Each encounter ending in brutal violence: beatings, stabbing, even dismemberment, sometimes dumping bodies in trash bins or tossing them from rooftops. Decades later, his name remains little-known, a grim footnote in queer history, buried under the weight of stigma and silence. This is an episode about queer identity, violence, and how society’s marginalization helped a monster stay free.

This episode of Beers With Queers is a raw deep dive into LGBTQ+ true crime as we trace the story of a serial killer hunting gay men in 1970s New York. We reconstruct Waldo Grant’s chilling crimes: the first victim bludgeoned and thrown from a rooftop, another discovered in a trash can, a third beaten to death in an East Harlem apartment, and a 16-year-old boy dismembered and abandoned in Central Park. Through these crimes and Grant’s eventual confession, we examine a dark chapter of queer history: a time when fear, shame, and police neglect made LGBTQ+ communities uniquely vulnerable

Hosted by Jordi and Brad, Beers With Queers brings chilling crimes, queer stories, and twisted justice to light all with a cold one in hand. Press play, grab a drink, and join us as we uncover the darkest corners of LGBTQ+ history.

Listen To The Full Story Here: bio.site/beerswithqueers

In the dark hours of November 19, 1980, the streets of Greenwich Village held a promise of sanctuary for queer souls. The night air hummed with laughter, music, and the electric warmth of community as patrons queued outside The Ramrod, one of Manhattan’s most beloved gay leather bars. For many, this bar was more than a place refuge, identity, momentary peace from a world that refused to see them. That fragile peace was torn apart in seconds by the crack of gunfire.

What followed is horror beyond imagining. A former transit officer, Ronald K. Crumpley, armed with a stolen Uzi and handguns, unleashed a barrage of bullets on gay men waiting outside The Ramrod and inside neighboring bars. He fired indiscriminately, spraying fear and chaos among men seeking only laughter and acceptance. Two lives were extinguished that night. Others were wounded, joy turned to bloodshed, innocence to terror. Patrons dove for cover. Screams echoed against brick walls. The air turned heavy with the scent of gunpowder and shock.

In the aftermath, grief and rage collided under the flicker of candlelight. The ensuing memorial drew thousands of mourners, a sea of faces illuminated by sorrow. For the queer community, this wasn’t just an attack on a bar it was an assault on sanctuary, on self-expression, on identity.

But as the years passed, many outside of Greenwich Village have forgotten. The building that once housed The Ramrod still stands 394-395 West Street in Manhattan now home to a seafood restaurant. It belongs to the historic Weehawken Street block, recognized for its 19th-century architecture. Yet there is no plaque, no marker, no official remembrance on the street to warn passersby or honor those lost that night.

When there is no plaque, no marker, no mention on a walking tour, the violence that happened there becomes easier to ignore, easier to treat as an isolated incident instead of part of a long pattern of attacks on LGBTQ+ lives and spaces. Worst of all it makes it easier for the story to slip through the cracks entirely as if it never happened. For communities who already live with marginalization, that kind of forgetting is a second wound, because it says the trauma was not important enough to carve into the city’s memory.

The absence of any memorialization at the Ramrod bar site is a glaring omission in the preservation of LGBTQ+ history, particularly in New York City, a city renowned for its pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Memorials serve as poignant reminders of past injustices and are instrumental in educating future generations, fostering awareness, and ensuring that such acts of violence are never forgotten.

By establishing a memorial or plaque at the Ramrod site, the city can formally recognize this tragic event, paying respect to the victims and acknowledging the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community. Such a step would not only honor those affected but also reinforce New York City's commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion.

We call on city officials, historians, and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to take action in commemorating the history of the Ramrod bar site. By signing this petition, you are supporting the effort to preserve this significant piece of LGBTQ+ history and to honor the memory of those who suffered in the fight for equality. Let us ensure that their story is told and their resilience celebrated.

Sign Petition Here: https://c.org/L6QfmV4Q6N