In the December 12, 2008 issue of Southern Voice newspaper, there is an article titled "Midtown activist: Black gay clubs 'magnets' for prostitution". There is an activist group called the 'Midtown Ponce Security Alliance'. According to this article, the president (Peggy Denby) of MPSA told the group's members that Bulldogs and Club 708 are primarily responsible for the abundance of prostitution in an area south of 10th Street near I-75.
Denby was very critical of Backstreet, a popular mostly White Atlanta gay club, until it closed in 2004. Backstreet opened in 1975. Backstreet had legal problems with the City of Atlanta.
Another mostly White Atlanta gay club The Phoenix, was closed in 2006. The City pulled that club's liquor license after an undercover officer observed men having oral sex there.
314 people have been arrested for prostitution this year in the Midtown area, more than half of those were men.
In my opinion, these businesses are being used as scapegoats for the prostitution in that area of Atlanta. The main reason that prostitution is illegal is because the City hasn't come up with a way to get their part of the money.
I moved here in 1989. There was prostitution going on in that area then. At that time, Bulldogs was a mostly white gay club and Loretta's was the hottest Black gay club. Loretta's closed and the building was vacant for at least five years before Club 708 opened in the same building. It was after the closing of Loretta's and The Palace, that Bulldogs became a 'Black' gay club. The prostitution in that are remained unchanged for the most part. Th article didn't explicitly state this. But the majority of male prostitutes in that are are Black.
If things continue as they have so far, it looks like Club 708 and Bulldogs will be forced to close their doors or follow Traxx and move to Dekalb County.
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I don't believe it's the fault of the clubs or it's owners that men (or women) make the decision to sell themselves in the general proximity of their business. It's not like club owners are getting a cut of the action or anything like that. The fact is that area of town, along with the type of folks that frequent it are more likely to engage in the business of prostitution both from the supply and demand side. I myself have either a ethical or political problem with two adults trading money or anything else for sex, and like yo said the only reason it is illegal is because the government hasn't found a way to make their money from it yet.
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