A Queensland businessman wants anti-discrimination laws to be amended to prevent pubs, nightclubs and restaurants from preventing people with tattoos on their faces and necks.
Key points:
- The Queensland Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act
- Civil libertarians, tattooists, and people with tattoos are pushing for laws to include dress codes that prohibit people with tattoos on local faces and necks.
- Lawyers say some homeowners are already violating existing human rights laws with their dress codes
His push has won the support of civil libertarians and tattoo artists, with lawyers saying premises owners with discriminatory dress codes are already violating existing human rights laws, but the issue has yet to be proven in court.
Daniel Lowry, 34, has a large rose tattoo on his neck and other visible body arts.
“I’m a young Australian, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a musician,” he said.
“The reason I got a tattoo was because I grew up looking at my heroes in bands that had tattoos and wanted to be like them.”
Lowry has been denied entry to restaurants because of his tattoos. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
Over the years, he has been denied entry to Gold Coast and Brisbane venues, including a family birthday dinner at Brisbane’s Blackbird at Eagle St Pier and the popular Burleigh Pavilion when he visited Burleigh Heads on his moon. of honey.
“[Once] we had to pick up the whole family and walk around town until we found another place to eat, ”he said.
“Moments like that, it’s very frustrating because the reasoning doesn’t make sense to me. I should be able to have dinner at a restaurant with my family.”
Submission to the change of laws
With the Queensland Human Rights Commission reviewing the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act, Lowry presented a presentation to lawmakers asking them to outlaw tattoo codes against tattoos.
At the moment, they are not covered by the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act, which was enacted 30 years ago.
Next month a report will be delivered to the Attorney General detailing the proposed changes to the laws following communications on a variety of issues.
Mr Lowry says he feels like he is grouped with “extremists” and “criminals” because of his body art. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
According to Mr. Lowry called for tattoos to be classified as “physical features” and “body features” that cannot be discriminated against.
“It’s not fair for businesses to say you can’t come in because of your tattoos, just as we hope they don’t deny entry to someone because of their weight, a disability … a scar,” he said. .
“The subtext of what they say is that you belong to a group, and there are criminals or extremists in that group, and that’s why we’ll exclude you all.”
Tattooers want a change
Gold Coast tattoo artist Tim Ebbles, owner of Borderline Tattoos in Burleigh Heads for more than two decades, said many customers with visible tattoos no longer went out to pubs and clubs because they knew they would not enter.
“I think tattooed people are very persecuted or looked down upon,” he said.
Ebbles says many customers with tattoos on their face and neck no longer go to licensed places. (ABC News: Alexandria Utting)
“Everyone should be able to go wherever they want and have a beer, relax and enjoy.”
Also tattoo artist Jayden Moles said many people got body art to mark meaningful events or remember loved ones.
“Now you can find a tattoo shop in a mall. In its day, it was pretty intimidating for normal people walking down the street,” he said.
“There are people with good jobs who are well covered in tattoos, for example, from the wrist to the feet, but at the same time, they don’t look good either.
“It’s 2022, we’re in the new era. Everyone has tattoos, unfortunately.”
Freedom of expression protected
Terry O’Gorman, vice president of the Queensland Civil Liberties Council (QCCL), believed that while there were no protective provisions in the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act, the Queensland Human Rights Act protected “the freedom of expression, even through art. “
“To put it bluntly, people get tattoos because they see it as a body art,” he said.
“There’s a wide range of people in the community who wear tattoos. I’ve come across a variety of police officers, including police prosecutors, professionals and people from all over the spectrum … and a growing number of women.”
O’Gorman says the Queensland Civil Liberties Council will write to relevant authorities about the practice of the dress code. (ABC News: Marton Dobras)
He said the dress codes that were intended to ban customers with certain tattoos clung to “old” opinions and that the QCCL was expected to write to the Bureau of Liquor and Games Regulation (OLGR) to draw attention. on what he described as “quite illegal.” practice “.
O’Gorman said the dress codes go back to the hard-line laws introduced as part of the Newman government’s controversial crackdown on motorcycle gangs.
“Some licensed local licensors were backed by police to prevent people from wearing tattoos from entering because they were thought to be related to cyclists,” he said.
“One of the absurdities is that if someone else wears a tattoo, it is [often] a security guard wearing a tattoo is barring access to authorized premises. “
Right to choose from the owners of the site
Glen Day is a member of the Queensland Council of the Australian Restaurant and Catering Industry Association.
The Gold Coast businessman said restaurants, clubs and pubs should have the right to enforce dress codes.
“They have to make that decision themselves and they should have the right,” Day said.
The owner of a Gold Coast restaurant, Mr. Day, says employers have a right to choose who enters. (ABC News: Alexandria Utting)
The restaurateur said he did not have a dress code banning tattoos from his restaurants because they were family-run establishments, but high-end restaurants often ban tattoos on his face and neck for good reasons.
“Not everyone with tattoos is a violent person,” he said.
“But there are some who look very aggressive with their tattoos and do it deliberately.
“You can pick them up a mile away, they usually have some kind of chip on their shoulder and they want to be an old person and you can see that.
“It simply came to our notice then [the venue] the opportunity to say, ‘I’m sorry, guys, we don’t allow tattoos,’ to protect other clients, and I think that’s fair enough. “
Many homeowners who spoke anonymously about their dress codes acknowledged that the bans on tattoos on the face, neck and hands were controversial.
However, most said it was the only mechanism they had to prevent people from entering sites that could intimidate other customers.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Liquor and Games Regulation said it did not regulate dress codes at licensed premises, except for requirements to prevent people from wearing prohibited items associated with identified criminal organizations, including motorcycle gangs and legal.
He said the Alcohol Act specified other circumstances in which licensees and their staff could refuse entry, including “in the event that the person is unduly intoxicated, with disorders or a non-exempt minor.”
“As a business owner, licensees can also refuse entry to a person for any other reason, as long as doing so does not violate discrimination laws,” the spokesman said.
“A patron has the ability to bring an issue to the Queensland Human Rights Commission if he or she believes he or she has been personally affected by discrimination.”
Burleigh Pavilion and Blackbird operators declined to comment.
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Posted 3 hours ago 3 hours ago dig. June 12, 2022 at 8:22 PM, updated 3 hours ago dig. June 12, 2022 at 8:29 p.m.