RE: Our kickin' sitchyashun

["Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam@hotmail.com>]

Ed wrote,

">What if a bunch of guys heckled a fellow out of a diner because they 
disagreed
>with his religion? Legal? Intolerant?"
The Act does not create a criminal offense, but a civil one.  If your 
hungry, heckled religious person can find a lawyer who wants to help him sue 
the other diners (I assume those are the people you think are liable in your 
scenario), assuming that they have assets that make the suit worthwhile, 
then he can go after it.  My guess is that he won't find such a lawyer, and 
if he does, they won't survive  a motion for summary judgment.  While the 
Act can tell the proprietor that he can't discriminate under certain 
circumstances, I don't think it can force the other diners to be polite.

Those of us who choose not to be rude to other members of our community, 
which I dare say includes not calling people sluts, can impose social 
pressure on the diners.  However, if they are asses, I doubt they will care 
what you or I think.  So I guess my answer to your questions is the same: 
Legal? Yes.  Intolerant? Yes.

Sunil



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