Washington: Two prominent Sikh and Muslim groups have filed complaints against a California amusement parks chain that denied access to people from the communities to certain rides for wearing religious head coverings. In their complaint, United Sikhs and the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) alleged that members of their religious minorities were permitted entry to the Boomers amusement park, a subsidiary of Palace Entertainment Ltd, but then denied access to the Go-Kart rides after employees cited unfounded safety concerns. "Boomers' Go-Kart policy currently targets the Sikh turban without reason or necessity," said United Sikhs director Amritpaul Singh. "It is discriminatory and inconsistent," he alleged.
According to Manmeet Singh, staff Attorney of United Sikhs, the go-kart policy requires individuals with hair longer than shoulders length to tie their hair in order to ride the go-karts. A Sikh individual would be better protected wearing their turban while riding the go-karts, rather than remove the turban and tie their hair with an elastic or rubber band that is far less secure then a turban, he asserted. The company has maintained the position that it cannot accommodate anyone wearing a religious head covering on its rides, despite being unable to offer any substantive proof of the safety concerns it cites as justification for the discriminatory treatment.
"While safety is our priority, we ask Boomers! to approach the concern over religious headgear as any other safety concern and explore alternative accommodation solutions that will allow everyone safe access to their rides," said Sammar Miqbel, CAIR-LA’s civil rights coordinator. "There are larger amusement parks with far more intense rides than Boomers! and they have managed to accommodate individuals wearing religious headgear, so we ask that Boomers! follow in their footsteps," he said. "With the passing of the Unruh Civil Rights Act in 1959, the California State legislature made clear that private business services should be made available to all Californians, regardless of their race or religion," said CAIR Northern California Civil Rights Coordinator Brice Hamack. "Boomers! is acting in contravention of this long established law by barring access to its public attractions to thousands of Muslims across California," he alleged.
