The Dallas Tavern Guild has finally responded publicly to the crime wave in Oak Lawn by posting a Press Release on social media outlining their philosophy on the necessary response to the attacks. Forgive us for being cautiously optimistic about the response. Truth is this guild represents 20 of our bars and the majority of what we would call concerned businesses in the affected area. These are the nighttime businesses which bring people out at night and sell alcohol to them before they leave and are attacked on the streets. They are a critical piece of the necessary 3 part response (Citizens, Businesses, City) that needs to act in unison to combat the crime in our area and this is the first statement they have made. Don't get us wrong, this is GREAT PROGRESS. There is still so much left to address and we hope those things will be in the coming weeks. The press release begins with a powerful statement that we hope is not a Freudian Slip. They say that they have developed a "Pro-Active" approach to dealing with the problems the crime created. We assume they mean the problems that created the crime and not that the PR has been so bad for them that they are dealing with the problems the crime created. [Free] They state that they will be informing customers leaving their clubs to be cautious and to report anything out of the ordinary. [Free] They state that they will be posting safety reminders at exits. [Free] They say they will be spotting lights that are out and reporting them to Oncor. [Free] They say that they will be noting large trees that are blocking light and reporting them. [Free] They say they will be meeting with DPD to assure they are doing all they can to add to safety. [Cost] They say they are going to be implementing additional security camera systems outside the clubs. They also downplay the importance of the attacks in Oak Lawn by reminding us that "these types of assaults" are occurring "all around our city". These types of assaults? They are not yet (at least publicly) acknowledging the fact that at least some of these attacks are hate crimes which are certainly not happening all around our city in the same magnitude. Other communities aren't going to help us - and comparing our community to other communities is counter-productive. They also do not mention any additional lighting (as in new lighting that is not currently installed) or additional paid security or paid police patrols. The Dallas Tavern Guild does state the following: "We as customers, businesses, owners, employees, landlords, city officials, and police must be united in our efforts to control this problem." With this statement we the concerned citizens and patrons of Oak Lawn need to both embrace this message by the Dallas Tavern Guild and hold them to their own philosophy. When will the Dallas Tavern Guild hold a public forum? We look forward to their being allies in this fight against crime and working with them to create a safer community. From their website (dallaspride.org) they have this statement which has been up since before the attacks: "First and foremost, we are a group of LGBT bars and nightclubs dedicated to serving our community in a safe and comfortable environment." View the entire Press Release here: http://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-tavern-guild-issues-statement-safety-facebook-10208182.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook