Outrage at biker bar’s anti-LGBTQ+ t-shirts that proposed violent cure for AIDS

A biker bar in the US state of Wyoming has been widely condemned after it was discovered to be selling homophobic merchandise complete with anti-LGBTQ+ slogans.

The Eagle’s Nest which is in Cheyenne, a city in south-east Wyoming, was reportedly selling a black t-shirt with featured an illustration of a bearded man pointing a gun. The text on the t-shirt read: “In Wyoming, we have a cure for AIDS. We shoot f**king f****ts.”

An image of the garment was shared on Facebook by Wyoming Equality, an LGBTQ+ organisation based in the state. Posting on Saturday they admitted: “We are sad to say that we failed to convince a local bar to pull these shirts from circulation. We hoped that they would choose to stop selling them when they realized the harm it did to the LGBTQ community and those living with AIDS.”

They add that they have been in contact with Human Rights Campaign to contact the bar’s alcohol distributors to “see if they are ok with working with an establishment selling these types of items.”

Despite not naming the bar in their post, to avoid it selling more t-shirts, Wyoming Equality asked people to protest against the bar. They also asked anyone who wanted to take a stance against the garment by donating to Wyoming AIDS Assistance.

Sara Burlingame, the Wyoming Equality Executive Director added: “Want to make it unpopular to be a bigot? Donate to Wyoming Equality or Wyoming AIDS Assistance. Put a pride flag up in your business or home. Wear one of our cool AF shirts. Pass a Hate Crime bill. Invest in queer joy and resilience. Let the haters hate in their own misery. Keep Wyoming queer and wild.”

Newsweek has since reported that the bar’s owner Ray Bereziuk has told local publication The Cheyenne Post that he will not order any more t-shirts because he’s “in the bar business, not the apparel business.”

According to Movement Acceptance Project, Wyoming has some of the fewest legal protections for its LGBTQ+ community including no hate crime laws that protect the LGBTQ+ community.

indy100 attempted to contact the bar for comment.