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Trenton,
NJ – The Division on Civil Rights
announced today that it had issued a Finding
of Probable Cause against the Ocean Grove
Camp Meeting Association for allegedly discriminating
against a lesbian couple who had sought
permission to hold their civil union ceremony
at the Boardwalk Pavilion.
The finding, issued by Division on Civil
Rights Director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo,
said an investigation had determined there
was reason to pursue anti-discrimination
charges against the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting
Association for denying Harriet Bernstein
and Luisa Paster permission to rent its
Boardwalk Pavilion for their civil union
ceremony. Vespa-Papaleo also intervened
as a complainant in the case.
Separately, Vespa-Papaleo found no finding
of probable cause in a second case involving
Janice Moore and Emily Sonnessa because
the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association
had changed its policy about renting the
pavilion for any weddings at the time of
their application.
The
Division’s jurisdiction in the case,
which began in 2007, has been upheld in
U.S. District Court, but the Ocean Grove
Camp Meeting Association has appealed to
the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bernstein
and Paster, who live in Ocean Grove, had
applied for permission to rent the Boardwalk
Pavilion for their civil union ceremony
in March 2007, but the Ocean Grove Camp
Meeting Association denied their request
because it said the civil union ceremony
conflicted with the religious beliefs of
the United Methodist Church. The Association
said it was not required to permit civil
union ceremonies in its Boardwalk Pavilion
based on First Amendment rights.
However, an investigation found that the
refusal to permit the civil union ceremony
violated the public accommodation provisions
of the state’s Law Against Discrimination
and did not violate First Amendment Rights.
The Division investigation found that the
Camp Meeting Association had been permitting
the public to use the Boardwalk Pavilion
for weddings and secular events and that
the Association had gained a Green Acres
tax exemption from the state Department
of Environmental Protection nearly 20 years
ago after a finding that the Pavilion will
be open to the public “on an equal
basis.” (Following filing of the civil
rights complaint, the DEP rejected a renewal
of the Green Acres tax exemption for the
Boardwalk Pavilion in September 2007.)
The Finding of Probable Cause states in
part, “When it invites the public
at large to use it, the Association is subject
to the Law Against Discrimination, and enforcement
of that law in this context does not affect
the Association’s constitutionally
protected right to free exercise of religion.”
The
application from Bernstein and Paster to
hold their civil union ceremony prompted
a swift change in policy by the Association.
By April 1, it was decided by the Association
president that it would cease permitting
the public to reserve the use of the Boardwalk
Pavilion for any wedding and other events.
Therefore, Vespa-Papaleo found no probable
cause in the complaint filed by Moore and
Sonnessa, who also live in Ocean Grove,
because they had applied for permission
to use the Pavilion after the Association
had ceased permitting any of the public
to use the Pavilion for weddings.
A Finding of Probable Cause does not resolve
a civil rights complaint. Rather, it means
the state has concluded its preliminary
investigation and determined there is sufficient
evidence to support a reasonable suspicion
the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
(LAD) has been violated.
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