DENVER (AP) – Colorado regulators say a Denver gay bar discriminated against a man when a bouncer denied him entry last year because he was dressed in drag.
The civil rights division of the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies has ordered the Denver Wrangler to resolve the dispute with Vito Marzano, a gay man who was wearing a dress and wig when he went to the bar July 31.
The order obtained August 4 says the bouncer turned Marzano away because his appearance didn’t match the one on his driver’s license. But regulators ruled the Wrangler wrongly favors those with a masculine appearance, since its dress code bars high-heels, wigs and perfume.
A bar employee who answered the phone wouldn’t comment.
Marzano says the order will help protect others from discrimination.
