RACHEL ROBINSON
Late Saturday night—or early Sunday morning—just as a deranged human being was storming into Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, armed with weapons banned in every civilized country on earth, I was sitting on a bar stool in the Shamrock, a small gay bar in Madison, Wisconsin.
There are fewer gay bars in Madison today than there were 25 years ago, when I lived there. There are fewer gay bars just about everywhere these days. Think pieces have been written about the disappearance of gay bars and queer nightclubs. Gay people can drink anywhere they want to these days—and besides, we have hookup apps. Who needs gay bars anymore?
But the Shamrock is still there, still serving, still a refuge…