March 07, 2012 11:13 PM UTC

Biker Discrimination Protection, Maybe Not The Greatest Idea

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• by: Colorado Pols

This man is not an animal.

The AP reports via the Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Biker clubs say they’re unfairly thrown out of hotels, restaurants and stores because of how they dress.

But a Colorado bill that would ban businesses from discriminating against leather-clad motorcyclists faces long odds when it comes up for its first hearing Wednesday…

As proposed, the bill would not cover any unusual dress; just clothing that “indicates participation in motorcycling.” So businesses that ban athletic garb or restaurants with a coat requirement would not be affected.

The sponsor is a Denver Democrat who is challenging an incumbent Republican congressman. State Rep. Joe Miklosi says he is not proposing the measure to get attention but to help constituents who belong to biker clubs and say they are being singled out unfairly…

So folks, we have enough friends who occasionally exchange their boardroom uniforms for biker leather–those you often least suspect, in fact–that we’ve actually heard, more than once and well before Rep. Joe Miklosi proposed this kind of unfortunate bill, complaints about people dressed like bikers being denied motel rooms and other accommodations while on the road. This can happen even if none of that clothing signals membership in any kind of “1%er” outlaw motorcycle gang, which is of course the stated reason for businesses to refuse them service.

The thing is, with only very narrowly-defined exceptions for cases of ethnic, religious, or other truly bigoted discrimination, businesses should have the right to “refuse service to anyone.” And biker leather, we’re sorry to say, may not rise to a level worthy of protection over those private property rights: many lawyers who ride a Harley on the weekends will likely agree. We’ve seen some predictable attempts to make this more than it is, turning it into some kind of knowing defense by Rep. Miklosi of criminals or other such election-year nonsense.

That’s silly, but we maybe wouldn’t have carried this bill while running for Congress either.