Gay-Owned Chicago Restaurant R Public House Attacked by Man with Hammer – Them

“So you tend to forget that there’s people that hate you out there just for who you love,” Labrana told the Sun-Times. “And it makes me really angry that we even have to think about it.”

Carter and Labrana opened R Public House nearly 10 years ago in August 2013, per DNA Info. Although it’s not an explicitly queer bar, its website describes it as a “community-driven pub that welcomes everyone.” The pub has also hosted events like drag brunches, per the Sun-Times, but has never been attacked in such a way.

“It hits you in the pit of your stomach. It really does,” Labrana told ABC 7 Chicago. “And these things shouldn’t matter. Love is love. I don’t know how many other ways we can say that.”

The incident follows a string of similar events across the country, with LGBTQ+ establishments and public figures facing attacks in the wake of the Club Q shooting. Vers, a gay bar in Manhattan, had a brick thrown through its window four times in November. That same month, an Atlanta man was arrested for threatening two separate LGBTQ+ nightclubs. 

That the attack happened at a bar that hosts drag brunch is significant as well. Drag venues of all kinds have become a particular focus of the right wing. Last year, there were at least 124 documented attacks on drag events in the U.S., with multiple states introducing legislation that would criminalize drag. It’s worth noting that the November attack on Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, happened after months of anti-drag rhetoric from Republican politicians and other influential right-wing figures, and right before the venue was set to host an all-ages drag brunch preceding a Trans Day of Remembrance performance.

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