Justin Meyer was 18 since he first started coming to Cactus Canyon, a dance club in Texas. Now 21, he decided to bring his 30-year old boyfriend James Douglas and things took a bitter turn for the couple.
"Cowboys and Angels" were playing and the gay couple was dancing a two step on the dance floor when they were asked to leave by the management because as Meyer and Douglas claim, the club's policy was that two men can't dance together to country music.
"Why?" Douglas came up to the manager and asked. "Why is it not OK for me to dance with my boyfriend when there are girls here who dance together all the time?" The manager of Cactus Canyon however, denied the allegations and said that the couple was told to leave because they were disruptive.
According to the couple, when they were told to leave, Douglas got his tab and went outside. Meyer went over to the manager to ask more about the club's policy. He was denied his request and as the manager told in an interview, Meyer ended up poking the manager on the chest. Meyer then denies that no poking took place.
Since the poking, the manager told Douglas that they will be arrested if they every go back to the club. "We didn't want to create a problem," Douglas states. "We just wanted answers as to why we couldn't dance together," he continues.
Meyer continues to relay that the management told them that they can dance to rap or hip hop, just not country music.
Robert Dillender, director of operations for Cactus Canyon in Victoria backed up his manager saying that they never asked the couple to leave because they were dancing together. They were told to leave because they were being disruptive. "Our obligation to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is to maintain the peace," he says and continues ""We apologize for the misunderstanding."
Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project Jim Harrington explains that the line between an individual's rights and a private company's highly depends on what the city ordinances are. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has reached out to the couple, as it encourages to stand up for their rights.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
