Against The Use of Surveillance Technology In Queer Spaces
Against The Use of Surveillance Technology In Queer Spaces
SF Gaymers Board of Directors
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July 13th, 2026
OAKLAND, CA - A June 10 Gazetteer SFarticle reported that Castro gay bars Badlands, Toad Hall, and The Mix now use a surveillance product called Guard+ to screen customers at peak hours. This product does far more than perform the traditional functions of checking IDs and verifying patrons' ages. It collects and stores patrons' photographs and personal data, which may be shared with other businesses that use the same product. This information may even be shared with law enforcement without a warrant.
Today, SF Gaymers joins the privacy rights nonprofit Fight for the Future and over two-thousand petitioners in their call to remove this surveillance technology from these venues.
Data collected from marginalized groups can, and often does, end up in the wrong hands. The hostility of lawmakers against Queer people, and of public agencies against marginalized people in general, only heightens this risk. Accordingly, Guard+ forces Queer people to balance their visibility today with their safety tomorrow.
Our call to action is consistent with our history of collaboration with privacy-rights advocates, as well as our mission of making spaces inclusive of all people.
We call upon our sister organizations to mobilize members of their respective communities against the use of Guard+ in the historic Castro. We encourage all our event attendees, our donors and volunteers, and our partner institutions to sign Fight for the Future's petition and join us in other lawful action against this surveillance. And finally, we thank our partnering venues for not deploying Guard+ or similar products against our community.
