Winooski gay bar apologizes, changes name

The owner of a Winooski gay bar has abandoned the name Mister Sister and is seeking forgiveness after three months of bitter controversy.

The new name of the area's only gay bar, which opened in March, will be The Bridge Club.

"I hope everyone finds the humor in going to 'The Bridge Club' to party, sees the nod to the historic Winooski Bridge and recognizes the camaraderie and necessity in building bridges," owner Craig McGaughan wrote on Facebook.

"My wish is that we can all forgive and move forward," McGaughan continued. "Nothing good came from the fighting. No one won here."

More:

• Mister Sister says donations were rebuffed, or were they?
• LGBT group says Winooski gay bar should choose new name
• Two Pride Center board members resign over gay bar name
• Controversial gay bar opens in Winooski
• Name of new Winooski bar sparks controversy

The name Mister Sister, which McGaughan initially described as inclusive, sparked controversy because some people viewed the term as a slur against transgender people.

McGaughan changed his mind, according to a post on The Bridge Club page, after a transgender woman wrote a "kind letter" showing that people who claimed to support Mister Sister were "using public forums to create hate toward the trans community."

"I am a trans ally and when faced with the fact that this issue has created a platform for trans people to be blatantly abused, I had to act," McGaughan wrote.

"I realize now that I mistakenly listened to the fight rather than the pain," McGaughan added.

The Pride Center of Vermont asked McGaughan to change the name before the bar opened in March and pledged to refuse any donations that came from the bar.

McGaughan informed the Pride Center this week about his decision.

"The board is happy that Craig is changing the name of the bar and is open to meeting with Craig to continue the discussion," the Pride Center board of directors said in a statement shared by Executive Director Susan Hartman.

The new name also garnered many positive comments on the bar's Facebook page.

McGaughan declined to speak to the Burlington Free Press about when the name change would take place.

The change comes as the bar is also raising money online to keep the bar's doors open. McGaughan has set a goal of raising $100,000 to pay bills and support operations.

"I've exhausted all of my business and personal resources, borrowed from family and friends and there's no longer any working capital or any sort of reserve to pull from," he wrote on a fundraising page created this month.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum. 

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