JERSEY CITY — Whoops! A private parking lot in the Journal Square area of Jersey City, across the street from the large Jehovah’s Witness Hall (which is also a historic movie theater), has had to stop offering discounts to people using the hall.
Why? Their sign made it seem as though they were offering a discount to those of a certain religion.
An organization called the “Freedom from Religion Foundation” had its attorney write a letter in September to Harwood Properties, which owns the lot. According to the organization’s website, the letter says:
“Providing discounts only to members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith violates the federal Civil Rights Act, along with New Jersey state law and the city code of Jersey City. The Civil Rights Act states in relevant part, ‘All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation . . . without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.’ “
The city got involved, too, so the property owner agreed to stop giving the discount, especially since it wasn’t subsidized by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is based in Wisconsin and “is a national association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics) that has been working since 1978 to keep church and state separate.”
Their website is here.