The mayor of Cheyenne on Friday expressed his disappointment with a local bar that was selling offensive T-shirts up until this week.
Mayor Patrick Collins addressed the offensive shirt that was sold by the Eagle’s Nest, a bar that primarily caters to motorcyclists, in his weekly column on the City of Cheyenne’s website.
“This week I have had many folks write with concerns about the homophobic tee shirt that was being sold at the Eagle’s Nest bar here in Cheyenne,” Collins wrote. “I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that any one in Cheyenne would espouse thoughts like these, let alone put them on a shirt to sell.”
The Eagle’s Nest was roundly criticized on social media over the weekend when a photo of the shirt the bar sold began circulating. Many commenters opposed what they called the shirt’s violent imagery and use of a derogatory term for homosexuals.
The shirt features a man pointing a pistol and reads “In Wyoming, we have a cure for AIDS, we shoot f—–‘n f—–s.”
“I know Cheyenne people to be loving and accepting and this abhorrent episode is in no way reflective of our people,” Collins said. “We are the capitol city of the Equality State, and it is important to let our LGBTQ neighbors know we believe they are a valued part of our community.”
The bar’s owner told The Cheyenne Post on Monday that the shirts had sold out and he had no intention of getting any more.
Ray Bereziuk said that he is “in the bar business, not the apparel business,” and that he would not be reordering the shirts.
It marked abrupt change as over the weekend, pro-LGBTQ organization Wyoming Equality asked the bar to stop selling the shirts, but the staff refused.
It wasn’t clear how long the bar had been selling the shirts.
