|
 The families claim that Boomers! Parks in two locations in the
state violated their civil rights with an unfair safety policy that
bans all headgear on the rides, said Sammar Miqbel, a spokeswoman
for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the
complaints on behalf of the families.
The United Sikh's organisation said it was preparing to file a
similar complaint on behalf of a Sikh family.
CAIR's Miqbel said the families visiting Boomers' in the San
Francisco suburb of Livermore and the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine
had been allowed to wait in line for go karts, but were barred when
they reached the front of the queque.
"We share their safety concerns," Miqbel said. "We just ask that
Boomers approach this (in a way) that won't exclude an entire group
of people."
The parks ban all headwear on go-karts rides because it could get
caught and injure a rider, said Michele Wischmeyer, a spokeswoman
for Palace Entertainment Holdings, which owns Boomers. Scarves and
baseball caps alike are not allowed, she said.
"It's not a matter of discrimination, race or religion," Wischmeyer
said. "It's a matter of safety."
The company recently looked into revising its safety policy but
decided against making exceptions for religious headdresses because
it would pose too much of a safety risk, she said.
[to top of second column] |
CAIR filed two complaints with the state Department of Fair
Employment and Housing on Monday, while a third was filed last
month, she said. It is also preparing to file another complaint.
Filing complaints with the state agency is a necessary step before
filing a lawsuit, Zahra Billoo, another CAIR spokeswoman, said.
Billoo did not say whether the families planned to sue.
Boomers, which has parks in 11 California cities, in addition to
locations in New York and Florida, features carousel rides,
miniature golf and laser tag.
(Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Simon Cameron-Moore)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
