This Missouri Assault Shows How Homophobia Hurts Straight People, Too

While it’s often been said that homophobia hurts everyone, there’s no better story to illustrate that than this one. This Saturday, at the Shady Gators nightclub in Lake Ozark, Missouri, Allen Loftis gay bashed straight men who’d gone there to see an ’80s rock cover band. The three men were dressed in costume like members of a hair band, but they looked gay to Loftis so he assaulted them.

Shortly after midnight on Aug. 4, Allen Loftis was arrested for starting a fight at the Shady Gators nightclub. The club was hosting the ’80s hair metal cover band Top Gunz on their “2018 Party Like the ’80s Tour.”

The victims went in costume: One of the men wore a wig, a see-through crop top shirt and leopard-print pants. While those clothes might seem surprising in other contexts, at a hair metal concert they fit right in — the original hair bands wore similar over-the-top, gender-bending fashions and could even be more outrageous and flamboyant.

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But 22-year-old Allen Loftis saw their outfits as “gay” and attacked them. According to news reports, Loftis called one of the men a homophobic slur, snatched the wig off his head and started fighting. One of the three men tried to break up the fight only to have Allen Loftis punch him in the face, chipping his tooth.

Loftis and the men went outside where the fight continued. Loftis then punched another man in the face and neck; this man called 911. The police came and arrested Loftis.

Loftis told a deputy he “does not let gay stuff go on,” and that he was enraged when he saw two of the victims dancing together. He also said that he tried to leave the bar via an Uber, but was stopped by one of the victims, who Loftis then hit.

Authorities said Allen Loftis “showed no remorse but instead attempted to justify his actions.” He has been charged with three counts of third-degree assault motivated by discrimination, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. Loftis is out of jail after posting a $75,000 bond.

Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms said this is the first instance of an anti-LGBTQ hate crime in the county.

Helms said, “I think we’ve had a couple of other incidents come up and it was racial type stuff, but as far as a hate crime going into something like this, this is the first that I’m aware of.”

Helms clarified that none of the victims identify as gay, but still charged Allen Loftis with a hate crime.

He said, “It’s not legal to attack somebody for their beliefs or how they live their life. You just can’t do that. If these guys chose to be having silly fun or if they are truly gay, that shouldn’t be anybody else’s business but their own.”

Allen Loftis gay bashed straight men at the Shady Gator; have any of your straight friends been abused because they were assumed to be gay?

Featured photo of Allen Loftis courtesy of Camden County Sheriff’s Office