Greg Quast, owner of the Elbo Room, sent WMBD 31 News the following statement:

"Recently a statement was displayed on a message board in my bar, the Elbo Room, indicating that it was not a gay bar.  First and foremost, I would like to apologize for any unrest this has caused the community of Peoria, gay or straight.  While I was not responsible for the sign nor was I present when it was posted, as the owner of the bar, I take responsibility and am sincerely sorry.  I've addressed the situation with the individuals involved and I assure you this behavior is not tolerated or condoned at my bar.  I will do everything I can to make sure nothing like this happens again.

The Elbo room is a karaoke bar.  There is no sexual orientation attached to that.  Anyone and everyone of legal drinking age are welcome.

Furthermore, this incident does not reflect my personal views.  I have several close friends in the gay community who I have always supported and will continue to support in the future."

View the statement on WMBD 31's website at http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=53191

One World One Equality is still planning a PEACEFUL Rally at Elbo Room - Friday at 2:00 and 6:00, and Saturday at 10:00 am, to raise awareness of the harmful nature of these types of incidents.  I trust our community appreciates the public apology from Mr. Quast and hopes that in the future events such as these do not happen again.

LINKS TO LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE OF THIS STORY
4/8 NBC WEEK Peoria story - Click here
4/8 NBC WEEK Video News Story - Click here
4/8 FOX WMBD News story and Video - Click here

Friday, April 10, there will be a rally in front of the Elbo Room at 2:00 pm AND at 6:00 pm.  If possible, please meet at Perkins Restaurant, 1810 W War Memorial Drive, Peoria at NOON to organize for the event.  If you can't attend at noon, you can still go directly to the rally.  We will again rally in front of the Elbo Room Saturday, April 11 at 10:00 am.

IMPORTANT RALLY INFORMATION: Per City ordinances, we can only have up to 19 people together in one location, so it may be necessary for us to split up into smaller groups along Main Street.  Please work with the on scene event organizers to avoid unnecessary conflicts.  Also ... This is a PEACEFUL RALLY, please leave attitudes and belligerence at home.  Please do not block doorways, streets and businesses.  We need to rally in a mature, responsible and respectable manner.

Here is the original story by Out & About ...

The Elbo Room Bar in Peoria, located at 631 W Main St, Peoria recently had the message "We are NOT a Gay Bar!!  We are a Karaoke Bar!!!  7 Nights a Week.  Diesel is down the street" posted on a lit sign in the bar.  This message can easily be read to mean that they aren't interested in having gay and lesbian customers.  No matter what the bar says they meant by this message, it's certainly offensive to gays and lesbians who may enjoy the bar.  Apparently they would prefer that gays and lesbians head on down the street to Diesel, which IS welcoming to gay, lesbian AND straight customers.

One has to wonder if The Elbo Room is so afraid of gays and lesbians that they need to post such an offensive message?  I've never been in this bar, and now it's a sure thing that I won't ever go into this bar.  I would encourage our readers not to go there either ... apparently they don't appreciate our business!!!

Isn't it time we stopped these messages of inequality?  Why does someone need to check out a bar to be sure that they are the right kind of customers?  I have NEVER been in a "gay" bar that didn't welcome straight customers.  People go to a bar to relax and meet with friends, maybe make a few new friends, NOT to feel uncomfortable and discriminated against because of who they are.

At Out & About Illinois, we stand for equality and inclusion of everyone, not just one particular demographic group.  The time has come to stop with the labels and accept each other for who we are, even though that may be different than us.

To be fair to the Elbo Room, maybe they didn't actually mean to be hateful, but it sure came off that way.  It shows an inherent lack of acceptance of others and it just simply should NOT be tolerated!!!  It's time to STAND UP and let the Elbo Room know that Hate just doesn't play in Peoria!!!!

PEORIA – After 3+ years of struggles, the Washington (IL) High School Board of Education finally approved the charter in a 6:1 vote for the Washington Community High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at their regular meeting held Monday, March 9. The efforts to start the GSA started in 2006 when Alexis Whitman, then a sophomore, approached Guidance Counselor Patrick Coughlin for help in starting a GSA. Mr. Coughlin immediately agreed to help, and there began the 3 year journey to gain administrative support, write a charter, organize a board and attract members. Despite a few hurdles along the way, including quite a few opponents, the new Gay-Straight alliance grew quickly and is now the second largest organization in the school. The group has over 75 official members, with over 30 attending every meeting. Membership in the group requires only that members agree with the purpose of the group which is:

… to encourage acceptance and tolerance within the diverse population of our school, promote pride in our community, create a safe environment for all students of Washington Community High School, and educate the school community. It will seek to empower the students and address the isolation of Gay, Lesbian, and Transsexual youth as well as to address the concerns of heterosexual students or students who are questioning their sexuality.

The group does not keep records about the specific sexual orientation of it’s members, but Mr. Coughlin says the group is very diverse and has a healthy mix of all sexualities.

At the School Board meeting, GSA President Amada Devore and Vice President Christopher Fehr eloquently answered questions from several Board members and convinced them that the group deserved their vote. Great Job Guys!! Keep standing up for who you are and what you believe in and you will be heard.

The new Washington High School GSA is one more success for "our side", but let’s not rest on our laurels just yet. There are still a lot of schools that don’t have a GSA. Bigotry, hatred and intolerance still exist everywhere. It’s up to us to keep up the fight, one little battle at a time.

Read more about the Washington HS GSA and the efforts to create them in all Illinois Schools in the new issue of Out & About Magazine, coming the weekend of March 21st.

Father Scott West, who was born in South Pekin, will be returning to Peoria to start The American Old Catholic Church.  The Parish will tentatively be named Saint Luke’s Church.

The Old Catholic church is similar to the Roman Catholic Church in that it provides all seven sacraments, and is a valid Catholic church according to ancient agreements with Rome.  The big difference is that it openly accepts all people to the sacraments without reservation.  The Old Catholic Church (sometimes referred to as Independent Catholic) ordains both men and women, gay, transgendered and heterosexual people.

The separation between church came about as a result of the First Vatican council http://www.ocinfo.org/content/view/16/26/.

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