When a firework is thrown on a sidewalk full of people at a gay bar, it is scary.” “I don’t think people were afraid as much as in shock,” Rivas said.
He said a firework had been thrown from a moving vehicle onto the patio, where about a dozen people were gathered. “There was a bright green flash followed by a burst of smoke,” said Rivas, who called 911 to report the incident. Steve Rivas said he was at the Iron Bear on West Eighth Street for karaoke night with his husband when, shortly after 1 a.m., he heard a loud, thunderous bang that rattled the bar’s windows. A downtown Austin gay bar is beefing up security after someone threw a firework onto its patio for the second time this summer, setting off a cloud of smoke that sent patrons scrambling early Thursday just days before Austin Pride weekend.
