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'Speak English' opinion isn't a crime, yet There is no evidence that Jim Crow has ever warmed a bar stool or nursed a long neck at the Pleasure Inn tavern in Mason. But to hear the Ohio Civil Rights Commission tell it, Jim Crow is a two-fisted regular who stands in the door with an ax handle to run off anyone who can't speak English. The commissioners did everything but accuse owner Tom Ullum of being a certified racist because he put a sign in his bar window that said, "For Service Speak English." On second thought, they did that too. "It's just as effective as a 'whites only' sign," they said, invoking Rosa Parks as if she had been ordered to sit in the back of the bar... ...That's because the law is clear that the sign is not discrimination, said Ullum's lawyer[*], K.C. McAlpin of ProEnglish in Arlington, Va. "This is really pretty preposterous," he said. "Some people don't like Mr. Ullum's opinion, so they're using this process and the Civil Rights Commission to go after someone."... ...The commission found "probable cause" of discrimination - but commissioner Charlie Winburn of Cincinnati made that motion only to get the case before an administrative law judge, where overheated emotions would be trumped by cold law. "Let the record show there is no evidence of discrimination," he said. Ullum's lawyer, McAlpin, said that was next best to dismissal. "The law on this is overwhelming," he said. "We are quite confident that we will be upheld if we have to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court." The commission should read the First Amendment, he said... *[K.C. McAlpin is the executive director of ProEnglish. He was mistakenly identified as Ullum's lawyer by the journalist.] This article has been exerpted from the Cincinnati Enquirer to comply with copyright laws. For the article in its entirety, please visit the Enquirer's web site (click here). Judge to get tavern's 'speak English' case A unanimous Ohio Civil Rights Commission found probable cause Thursday that a Mason tavern owner discriminated against customers by posting a sign saying: "For Service Speak English." After Pleasure Inn owner Tom Ullum, 63, refused to remove the sign, the commission referred the case to an administrative law judge... ...Just when it looked as if commissioners might be willing to negotiate a settlement, the Rev. Aaron Wheeler Sr., commission chairman, asked Ullum and his representative, K.C. McAlpin, if they would remove the sign. They said no. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish language advocates in Arlington, Va., said Ullum has served "people of virtually every national origin. ... Neither of Mr. Ullum's two employees speak languages other than English. ... This is really pretty preposterous." McAlpin called an October finding of subtle but persistent discrimination by the commission's Office of Special Investigations "a denial of his right to free expression." This article has been exerpted from the Cincinnati Enquirer to comply with copyright laws. For the article in its entirety, please visit the Enquirer's web site (click here).
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