A few months before that, a pastor and police officer in Knoxville went on a wild homophobic rant during his sermon, concluding that, “One of the laws of the US should be to put homos to death,” which apparently prompted an “Amen” and nods of agreement from the congregation.
A month prior to our chat, Tennessee county commissioner Warren Hurst took the mic at a local meeting to say that a “queer running for president” is “about as ugly as you can get,” referring to 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg. Tennessee is the little prong that goes in the hole,” she says.įlicking through recent news, the belt seems to be tight as ever. We’re the buckle of the Bible belt, so to speak. It’s a large city, but we’re in the Deep South gay people aren’t loved in Tennessee. There’s little issue with being such an attention-grabbing queer bar in Nashville today. “It pops, and it’s beautiful,” says owner Christa Suppan, who, alongside business partner Jonda Valentine has been running the Nashville lesbian-owned bar for 18 years. It’s slathered in purple, red, and green paint, like a New Orleans painted lady. Built in 1896, The Lipstick Lounge is a standalone bar in East Nashville that couldn’t draw more attention to itself if it tried.
