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.