"Christian" Skating Time

[Will Esser]

That looks like the case.  A further internet search revealed the following story.  The TVC letter to Governor Pataki is interesting:
   
  Skate Rink Warned Against ‘Christian’ Skate Time
June 22, 2006 – A skating rink in Accord, New York has been warned by the State of New York’s Division of Human Rights against having a Christian skate time on Sunday afternoons.

The owners of Skate Time 209, Len and Terry Bernardo recently received a stern letter from the human rights office warning that having a “Christian” skate time violates Human Rights Law 296.2. The law says that no business can discriminate against a person because of race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, etc. 
  
Human Rights official Gina Lopez Summa told the Bernardo’s that their Christian skate time “apparently denies or at a minimum, discourages non-Christian patronage” and “constitutes prima facie violation” of the Human Rights Law. Summa has given them ten days to respond to the charges. 

Summa has also sent the same letter to the Ulster Country Press because they advertised Skate Time 209’s Christian skate time. The newspaper is also under threat of legal action by the state because they published the ad. 

In addition, the Bernardo’s received an anonymous email from someone warning them “Get a lawyer.” 

TVC has issued a press release on this case and has sent a letter of concern to New York Governor George Pataki over this outrageous violation of religious freedom and free speech. In the release, Rev. Sheldon notes: “This is crazy. These people are exercising basic Constitutional rights on private property to the exclusion of no one and the state government is treating them like dangerous criminals. 
 I have asked Governor Pataki to take authority over this illegal attempt to manipulate the law to accomplish a violation of basic civil rights. I will be watching closely to see that the Bernardo’s rights are protected.” 
 
  http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2764
  

Douglas Laycock <DLaycock at law.utexas.edu> wrote:
        Does New York maybe prohibit religious discrimination in places of public accommodation?
   

    Douglas Laycock
  Alice McKean Young Regents Chair in Law
  The University of Texas at Austin
   
  Mailing Address:
  Prof. Douglas Laycock
  University of Michigan Law School
  625 S. State St.
  Ann Arbor, MI  48109

  
  
---------------------------------
  From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu on behalf of Will Esser
Sent: Mon 7/3/2006 7:13 AM
To: Religion Law
Subject: "Christian" Skating Time


    An unusual blurb on FoxNews that will be of interest to the list.  I'd be curious if anyone knows the legal basis under which the NY Div of Human Rights sent the cease and desist letter, given the privately owned status of the skating rink.
   
  Spiritual Skating, Dictionary Debating 
  Sunday, July 02, 2006
   
  By Scott Norvell 
   The New York Division of Human Rights is clamping down on a privately owned roller-skating rink that has advertised a "Christian skate time" on Sunday afternoons, according to the Times-Herald Record, claiming that the marketing ploy is discriminatory.
   
   
  Skate Time 209 in Accord, N.Y., advertised the Sunday skate just as it has "tot skates," "tween skates," family nights and adult disco parties. But when the Christian advertisement appeared in the local weekly paper, officials in Albany sent the rink's owners a cease-and-desist note.
   
  A "Christian skate denies or at a minimum, discourages non-Christian patronage," the letter said.
   
  The skating rink changed its ad to refer to "spiritual skate times" on Sundays, but insisted that "Christian" referred only to the type of music played during the sessions. No one was discriminated against, its owners said.
   
  http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201874,00.html
   


Will Esser --- Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Charlotte, North Carolina

********************
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.
Plato (428-345 B.C.)
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Will Esser  --- Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Charlotte, North Carolina

********************
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.
Plato (428-345 B.C.)
********************
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