No “COLORS” Allowed

American Legion riders say there were wrongly told to remove their vest as reported on USandDiego.com article “Motorcycle Group Finds Restaurant Policy Hard To Swallow“.

I can respect the right of an establishment to “police” their patrons. Yet, I also feel that “No Colors” policies as well as all these not tennis shoes, hats, baggy pants are at their core discriminatory. The right of a private establishment to enforce a dress code has been addressed numerous times over the years. Most cases of discrimination brought as a result of “No Colors” policies have been filed under the Civil rights Act (42 USC, section1983). You can read the legal gobbledy goop of you wish, but my take on it is that you cannot deny a person rights which are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, specifically rights guaranteed under the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech and association) and the 14th Amendment (equal protection under the law).

I think the issue becomes cloudy when you try to balance a private entity’s right to service against a person’s right to wear what they want and associate with whom they wish to associate. The right to open carry is a similar issue. Something like 33 states allow their citizens the right to carry a firearm “in the open” (strapped in a holster on their side, etc.). HOWEVER, establishments have the right to deny entry to patrons who are carrying a weapon. Are the people exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms being discriminated against because they can carry their weapon up to the door of an establishment but are barred from entry? I think so, but who am I?

Oh that’s right I am #skoop #sunshine.