Author: Kacie Harlan

O’Connor bar tending at Wild West’s annual luau.

Wild West is a nightclub located in Waco, Texas. Like many other clubs in the area, it draws a large crowd of people every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. But the manager is what makes the club different from the rest.

“People are scared of me because I am the manager and nobody wants to be thrown out,” O’Connor said.

Moreover, some may wonder why this matters. Here is why.

1. O’Connor manages a country nightclub.
2. The country nightclub is located in Waco, Texas.
3. He happens to be gay.

Working his way up from a server, O’Connor eventually earned the top position at the club. However, because Baylor and Waco typically share the same conservative views O’Connor catches some flack from the community.

“I catch some flack for everything, mostly because it is me. I hear about my hair and sport coat…people make fun of me for little things. Most of the time it is friendly,” O’Connor said.

Nonetheless, he does not think being gay in his situation is as big of an issue as most people would assume but he is concerned his customer base stays the same BECAUSE of his preferences. 

“I find it is much rarer than you would think. I constantly worry that is why I have a much younger based crowd and it is something I am constantly concerned about,” O’Connor said.

In spite of everything, he finds it amusing when people get confused and ask him questions trying to figure out if he is gay.

“I find it entertaining and I find it sad. A because it should not matter and B it has to be based on stereotypes. Straight boys cannot have pretty hair and gay boys cannot run a country bar,” O’Connor said.

Laws in Texas Regarding gay Individuals

Moreover, in Texas individuals may be discriminated against because they are gay. Few states recognize sexual orientation on the list of prosecutable hate crimes. Therefore, gays are protected yet they are still threatened.

“An employer ruining our chance of having a livelihood, a roof over our head and food in our bellies should not be okay,” O’Connor said.

In 2007, he and some friends came across a group called Equality Texas. It was a bus of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) activists making stops at private religious universities with discriminatory policies. They stopped in Waco and because Baylor would not allow them on campus they went to Common Grounds.

So, anybody could go ask questions or talk to the members. They marched gave a speech about the need for change at Baylor and left a starter kit for a gay students association (GSA) on campus.

Meanwhile, supporters of Equality Texas chalked on campus, which was considered vandalism, to raise awareness about the organization and march in front of Waco Hall. However, Baylor quickly put an end to the event.

“Baylor had given limits and they were broken. Baylor came down hard and people were arrested. There were faults on both sides,” O’Connor said.

Of course him and a friend took the starter kit and began an underground GSA. It started to fall apart and someone else revamped it but it fell apart again. In the past two or three years, someone took over again, but it is not distinctly organized.

Baylor Students Affected by gay Discrimination Laws

Similarly, when Susan Duty, straight Baylor senior, caught wind of this discrimination, she became interested in what she could do. Equality Texas provided the answers for her.

“I learned all about legislative action and what I can do as a citizen to bring equality to Texas. All the ideas were spun from there,” Duty said.

Currently, Duty uses regular social media postings to tell her friends about things she is doing and what she is working on to obtain equality for all citizens. Not everyone in the community is on board, but she does receive some support. Her and her friend receive help from the Universality Unitarian church here in Waco. 

In addition, they branched out to Baylor’s Sexual Identity Forum (SIF, an unofficial forum for open discussion on topics regarding sexuality) as well as the Interfaith Council of Waco. Pastors in the area have been contacted as well.

“I’m definitely more focused on the community. With Baylor being a private institution it would be much harder to affect change here,” Duty said.

However, Baylor’s SIF has reached out in the Waco community as well.

Even Rebekah Zinnikas, Baylor junior and SIF member, said, “We have recently been involved with Planned Parenthood and helping them look at ways to be more inviting and friendly to the LGBT population.”

Furthermore, she personally has not felt discriminated against at Baylor, but says there are many people who are either completely against gay individuals or misunderstanding of the whole idea. Not everyone at Baylor is against the movement, in the same way not everyone in Waco is against it. This experience has shown her many of the professors are very accepting of LGBT students and wish to help SIF become an official group on campus.

“I think overall people are becoming more accepting of LGBT people. Most people are willing to at least be neutral on the issue if not supportive of LGBT rights,” Zinnikas said.

Subsequently, Duty’s focus is on a larger group of people and changes in the community would benefit more people than on campus. If they did pass an employment non-discrimination ordinance here in Waco, she said she would focus on a different social justice cause whether it dealt with LGBT rights or something else. She is willing to work to fix any issues arising in Waco.

Likewise, O’Connor would like to see some awareness in the community.

“There are no gay organizations, no gay movements…there is a tiny gay bar full of middle aged gay men. There are no lesbians or allies…just gays,” O’Connor said.

Equally important, Zinnikas said she has never had a real job so she cannot say anything for discrimination, but O’Connor has never had any problems working at Hondo’s or Wild West. He said he does not think anyone has thought twice about it, all the way up to the club owner. In the past, was jumped in the bathroom twice for being a gay bartender but now he mainly only hears name calling when throwing someone out.

“At work I am constantly paying attention to what is going on. But so many people who have been there long enough or pay attention, know I am doing my job,” O’Connor said.

On the other hand, O’Connor is comfortable enough to dress up with his staff for Halloween, as a drag queen. He even convinced his two door guys to dress up as women with him. With people like Duty putting in an effort to change things, discrimination toward gay individuals will eventually disappear.

Part of the Wild West staff dressed up for Halloween weekend 2012. From left to right back:  

Charles Elliott, Mike Ballard and Kieran O’Connor. Front:  Kacie Harlan