A Beloved Gay Bar in the Ozarks Set to Shutter

Gay bars are shutting down in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, but closures in relatively-remote places like Joplin, Mo., leave LGBT residents there with almost no options for gathering together in public.

The ER in Joplin (pop. 52,000) will close its doors on New Year's Eve with a Hollywood glamour-themed party, reports the Springfield News-Leader. After opening during a busy Pride Season in 2015, The ER (an acronym for Equality Rocks) suffered from declining business and exorbitant air conditioning bills.

After it closes, Joplin will be devoid of any exclusive queer establishments, though a new LGBT organization -- Jo Mo EQ -- recently launched and hosts hosts education and activities for youth in a downtown coffee shop. AIDS Project of the Ozarks also offers services to southwest Missouri and nearby areas.

Still, The ER offered a place for comraderie and community that will be deeply missed.

"I would go there to the drag shows with my friends, and it was just a fun place to go for people in the gay community -- my community," local resident Heather Wright told Joplin's KOAM. "We would be able to get together and, you know, just have a good time and felt like we had a safe place in Joplin to do that."

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The ER's Facebook page shared the News-Leader's story, with the following message:

"Although we realize this is not the most flattering way to receive publicity, we feel sharing the story of the ER highlights the importance of why we need more LGBT businesses and organizations to help educate and progress our efforts to prove the importance and relevance of the LGBT community's core mission...equality."

(RELATED: 26 Dead or Dying Gay Bars in NYC, L.A., and S.F.)