An amusement park chain in California received complaints from three Muslim families after they were barred from riding go-karts due to wearing headscarves, family advocates said Tuesday
According to Reuters, two locations of Boomers! Parks have been accused of violating the family's 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.
A similar complaint was being prepared to be filed by the United Sikh's organization on behalf of a Sikh family.
Although 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, they were barred from the ride upon reaching the front of the queue, CAIR's Miqbel said.
"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."
Any headwear, including scarves and baseball caps, are not allowed in the park since they may get caught and injure a rider, said Michele Wischmeyer, a spokeswoman for Palace Entertainment Holdings, which owns Boomers.
"It's not a matter of discrimination, race or religion," Wischmeyer said. "It's a matter of safety."
The safety policy was being looked to be revisited by the company recently. However, they decided against making exceptions for religious headdresses because it would pose too much of a safety risk, she said.
CAIR filed two complaints with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Monday, while a third was filed last month, she said. According to Reuters, it is also preparing to file another complaint.
Before filing a lawsuit, it is a requirement for complaints to be filed with the state agency, Zahra Billoo, another CAIR spokeswoman, said.
But it is not confirmed whether the families are planning to sue the park.
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, Reuters reported.
