Search renewed for remains of 4 victims of 1973 gay bar fire

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly a half-century after arson killed 32 people in a New Orleans gay bar, the City Council has renewed the search for the remains of four victims — three of them never identified. The motion written by Council member J.P. Morrell directs the city attorney, property management director and chief administrative officer to provide “all reasonable assistance” and legal entry to the land where they were buried. The motion notes that “the City’s callous and deeply inadequate response … rooted in pervasive anti-gay sentiment” made suffering worse for victims’ families and friends. The council issued a formal apology for that response on June 23 — one day before the fire’s 49th anniversary.