Orlando shooting prompts increase in security at Winnipeg's 2 gay bars

A bag check and pat-down at the door will no longer be enough to get you into Winnipeg's two gay bars.

Fame Nightclub and Club 200 have purchased metal detecting wands in a bid to beef up security this weekend, in light of Sunday's mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 dead another 53 wounded.

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"We thought we would be a little proactive," said Club 200 owner Allen Morrison.

"Nowadays when you do go to concerts everybody is getting wanded down, so it was a matter of time," added Fame's manager, Beverly Claeys.

Winnipeg police were on hand at both clubs Wednesday morning to discuss safety.

Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said "special attention" is going to be given to the two clubs, but Michalyshen wouldn't say if that meant a police presence outside the clubs this weekend.

"We're here as a support," he said.

Claeys said she contacted police after Sunday's shooting in Florida to ask them what could be done to tighten security at her club.

Morrison said while there will be an increase in security this weekend, people shouldn't be scared to come out to the bar, which is a safe place for members of the queer community.

"Violence and hate towards the gay community isn't new or anything that started in Orlando," Morrison said, noting the homophobia that gay people still deal with today.

He added that the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando happened even though an armed off-duty police officer was working there.

Both Morrison and Claeys said they don't want their new security measures to scare people.

"The last thing we want to do is live in fear," said Claeys, adding that her bar will turn people away at the door if they're suspected of not coming for the right intentions.

"We're very picky [about] who we let in," she said.

Kerry Bertoncello-Dale, 25, said he'll be going to Fame on Friday and Club 200 on Saturday night.

Bertoncello-Dale, who performs drag as Satina Loren, said he's going to both bars to show his support for Orlando.

"If we become fearful we're letting them win, really," he said.

"There's always a worry that something is going to happen, but we shouldn't let our fear overcome our sense of feeling safe in a safe environment."