Heartbreakers stands in the middle of downtown Williston - and when it opened, it became the only LGBTQ bar in North Dakota. North Dakota is a state that's not only legislatively hostile to queer folks but also geographically difficult to live in. Heartbreakers, however, illustrates the challenges of running a gay bar in a state where there are few resources for LGBTQ people, let alone gay clubs. “For us to try to compete with the other establishments in town, we have nothing new to offer,” Holbrook told the Williston Herald. Jared Holbrook, the owner of Heartbreakers, announced that it would be rebranding as a gay club following the shutdown. In January, the Williston City Council decided to revoke the erotic dancer licenses of the town’s two major strip clubs in hopes of “cleaning up” the city. The Times reported that since the oil boom, Williston had become “unsafe” for the women who live in the city - according to the Times, some women couldn’t even shop “at the local Walmart without men following them through the store.” The men, mostly oil workers who came to the area for work, compared it to being in prison.
#June 11 2016 gay bar shooting full
That club closed in 2013, shortly after a New York Times article chronicled the town’s demographic crisis: Williston, with a population of just 14,716, is young and full of men - 60 percent of residents between the ages of 18 and 34 are male. Heartbreakers, formerly a strip club, promised a new beginning for Williston.
![june 11 2016 gay bar shooting june 11 2016 gay bar shooting](https://images.indianexpress.com/2016/06/obama-gay-rights-monu_kuma759.jpg)
While Williston residents gather for the annual Upper Missouri Valley Fair, complete with wrestling and a performance from the local hypnotist, the town sits silent, as if it’s waiting for something. But since the oil dried up near the end of 2014, there’s less to go around these days.
![june 11 2016 gay bar shooting june 11 2016 gay bar shooting](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/A8D8/production/_100042234_us_shootings_comparisons_640v3-nc.png)
During the oil boom that blessed the region in the mid-2000s, that train brought prosperity to the town, with workers arriving to claim the spoils of overflowing black gold. The small bar, which holds 70 people at fire code capacity, is tucked away near the Amtrak station in Williston, North Dakota. It’s Saturday night, and Heartbreakers is empty.