Weekend Question 2: Why Won’t the Ohio Civil Rights Commission Get Off Tom Ullum’s Back?

Here’s the latest on the ongoing saga from The Cincinnati Enquirer:

New bar sign: Legals only
May 10, 2006

MASON — The Pleasure Inn, which stirred controversy by posting a sign saying “For Service Speak English,” now has a second sign declaring “For Service You Must Be Legal.”

In December, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found probable cause that the “Speak English” sign discriminated against non-English speakers. An administrative law judge has scheduled an Aug. 15 hearing on that sign.

The commission is aware of the second sign, and continues working with the owner, Tom Ullum, to try to persuade him to remove both signs, said Toni Delgado, commission spokeswoman.

I suspect most people believe that the second sign is less provocative than the first. Both are, of course, perfectly legal, as Mr. Ullum wishes his customers to be. Also, don’t forget that Ullum’s establishment serves alcohol. ID is required to have a drink, and serving someone without proper ID could jeopardize his liquor license.

Mr. Ullum has succeeded in making the Ohio Civil Rights Commission look like what the R-Rated Whistleblower has described (link no longer available) as the “$11,456,071-per-year Political Correctness Commission, whose 135+ bureaucRATS seem to have nothing better to do than travel around the state so they can persecute people like bar owners in Mason for having a helpful sign in their window…..”. Its attempt to determine a civil rights violation based on a couple of signs must mean that there are very few, if any, complaints of real rights violations occurring in Ohio.

This ongoing battle proves that the OCRC has way too much time, staff, money on its hands. It should be de-funded, and its duties absorbed by the Attorney General.
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Previous Posts:

• Oct. 9, 2005 — Questions for the Thought Police at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and The Cincinnati Enquirer
• Dec. 16 — Thought Police 1, Bar Owner 0
• Dec. 19 — Update: Thought Police 1, Bar Owner 0; Bar Owners Showing Solidarity–1