Bar loses Round 1
Proof Nightclub ladies nights drew rights complaint
Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain News
Saturday, January 6, 2007
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A self-proclaimed "agitator" against feminism declared ladies nights at Colorado nightspots dead Friday after prevailing in the first stage of a civil rights complaint against the Proof Nightclub in southeast Denver.
Steve Horner learned Thursday that Colorado's Division of Civil Rights for the Department of Regulatory Agencies sided with him in his complaint that men were unfairly having to pay cover charges and higher drink prices than women at the Proof's ladies nights.
"Ladies night is now illegal," said Horner, a 59-year-old corporate speaker, who says he's been on an anti-feminist crusade since his wife left him with two young children several years ago.
While Horner claimed that all bars will have to cancel ladies nights, officials from the Department of Regulatory Agencies said their rulings only apply to the targeted business, in this case the Proof.
Wendall Pryor, director of the Regulatory Agency's Division of Civil Rights, declined to discuss Horner's complaint. He said confidentiality rules prevent him from talking about specific cases.
Documents show that in Horner's case, the agency found there was probable cause that discrimination occurred. That means Horner and the Proof will have to go to mandatory mediation. If they can't agree to a mediated solution, the case will go to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
In the meantime, Horner plans to catch any club owners who continue to offer women special deals.
"This is now a violation of law. I will now make it a point to visit as many ladies nights as I can every week. I'll have my rights violated, then I'll sue them in county court and collect my $500 (the maximum penalty in county court for each incident of discrimination)," Horner said.
"I feel it could net me $3,000 to $4,000 a week easy, and I'm going to do it," he added. "It takes me five minutes to be discriminated against."
Karen Parker, one of the owners of the Proof, said the business "might have to change the way we do things."
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