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(6/22/2006)
New York Investigates Skating Rink for Playing Christian Music Traditional Values Coalition asks for the harassment of Christians to stop Washington, DC – The Traditional Values Coalition asked New York Governor George Pataki to rein in a state agency which is threatening legal action against an Accord, New York skating rink because it plays Christian music during a “Christian Music Skate” party. The New York Division of Human Rights threatened Len and Terry Bernardo, owners of the Skate Time 209 rink in Accord, with an investigation because the rink plays Christian music during certain hours. The agency also threatened to charge a local newspaper which advertised the event for “aiding and abetting” unlawful discrimination. According to the Traditional Values Coalition, the owners of Skate Time 209 received a stern letter from the human rights office warning that having a “Christian” skate time violates Human Rights Law 296.2. This law says that no business can discriminate against a person because of race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, etc. Traditional Values Coalition says Human Rights official Gina Lopez told the owners that their Christian skate time “apparently denies or at a minimum, discourages non-Christian patronage” and “constitutes prima facie violation” of the Human Rights Law. “This is crazy,” said TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon. “These people are exercising basic Constitutional rights on private property to the exclusion of no one and the state government is treating them like dangerous criminals. “Aiding and abetting? It is the responsibility of every citizen to aid and abet the free exercise of religion, free speech, the right to assemble and private property rights. “New Yorkers have never been intimidated by international thugs and terrorists and they should not tolerate this bureaucratic attempt to violate their most basic civil rights. “I have asked Governor Pataki to take authority over this illegal attempt to manipulate the law to accomplish a violation of basic civil rights. I will be watching closely to see that the Bernardos’ rights are protected.”
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