(FOLEY, Ala.) October 27 - Lights, music, a dance floor cage and now controversy after the owner of a gay bar claims Foley Police are discriminating against him.
"There are gay people here," says Sixto Rivera, owner of the Highway 59 Bar called Club Evolution. "There are straight people, it's just an everybody bar."
But nobody comes to Club Evolution until later in the night. On most days it opens at 8 p.m. at the earliest and closes at 6 a.m.
Rivera says an ordinance Foley's Police Chief may propose to cut off alcohol sales from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., "would actually close my business."
The rule would impact all 10 of Foley's bars, but Rivera believes it's only being considered in order to close down his gay bar.
Chief David Wilson, who would not speak on camera, told LOCAL 15 News that's not true. He says the measure is intended to cut down on DUIs in a city where there are around 30 DUI arrests a month.
Another bar operator we spoke to says, while she doesn't support the ordinance, she also does not believe it's fueled by prejudice. But Rivera says he's gearing up for a fight, sending letters to city leaders and collecting signatures for a petition.
Chief Wilson has already invited the bar owners to a meeting Friday to get their input on the issue. He says he wants to hear what they have to say before deciding if he'll propose the ordinance to the city council.
