Screeches from the Red Hen: Public Accommodations Laws and Political Affiliation Discrimination in the United States and Louisiana

• Author: Meredith N. Will
• Position: J.D./D.C.L., 2020
• Pages: 962-995

/4*2*".""6&5*&6/4*2*".""6&5*&6

/,4-&

4-#&1

01*.(

13*$,&



$1&&$)&2'1/-3)&&%&.4#,*$$$/--/%"3*/.2"62".%$1&&$)&2'1/-3)&&%&.4#,*$$$/--/%"3*/.2"62".%

/,*3*$",9,*"3*/.*2$1*-*."3*/.*.3)&.*3&%3"3&2".%/,*3*$",9,*"3*/.*2$1*-*."3*/.*.3)&.*3&%3"3&2".%

/4*2*"."/4*2*"."

&1&%*3)!*,,

/,,/63)*2".%"%%*3*/.",6/1+2"3)3302%*(*3",$/--/.2,"6,24&%4,",1&5

"13/'3)&"6/--/.2

&0/2*3/17*3"3*/.&0/2*3/17*3"3*/.

&1&%*3)!*,,

$1&&$)&2'1/-3)&&%&.4#,*$$$/--/%"3*/.2"62".%/,*3*$",9,*"3*/.

*2$1*-*."3*/.*.3)&.*3&%3"3&2".%/4*2*"."

"&5

5"*,"#,&"3)3302%*(*3",$/--/.2,"6,24&%4,",1&55/,*22

)*2/--&.3*2#1/4()33/7/4'/1'1&&".%/0&."$$&22#73)&"6&5*&62".%/41.",2"3"6*(*3",

/--/.23)"2#&&."$$&03&%'/1*.$,42*/.*./4*2*".""6&5*&6#7"."43)/1*8&%&%*3/1/'"6*(*3",

/--/.2/1-/1&*.'/1-"3*/.0,&"2&$/.3"$3+1&&%,24&%4

344404-LSU_80-3_Text.indd 303344404-LSU_80-3_Text.indd 303 8/17/20 7:19 AM8/17/20 7:19 AM

Screeches from the Red Hen: Public Accommodations

Laws and Political Affiliation Discrimination in the

United States and Louisiana

Meredith N. Will

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction.................................................................................. 960

I. Background to Public Accommodations Laws and

First Amendment Freedom of Association .................................. 964

A. Defining Public Accommodations......................................... 964

B. Public Accommodations Laws Historically:

From General Duty to Serve to Legislation Today................ 966

C. Public Accommodations Laws and

First Amendment Freedom of Association............................ 968

II. Louisiana’s Public Accommodations Legislation ........................972

A. The Framework: Sections 3 and 12 of the

Louisiana Constitution........................................................... 973

B. Standards of Review Under Sections 3 and 12...................... 974

C. Section 3: Legislative Intent and Court Interpretations ......... 975

D. Combining Section 3’s Standard of Review

Interpretation with Section 12’s Application......................... 977

III. The Addition of Political Affiliation in Light of

Drafting History and Other Legislation........................................ 979

A. Characteristics of Political Affiliation and Louisiana

Constitutional Convention’s Intent Reveal

Potential to Add Political Affiliation..................................... 979

B. Public Accommodations Legislation in the District

of Columbia, Seattle, and the U.S. Virgin Islands................. 982

C. Political Affiliation in Louisiana Employment Law.............. 984

IV. Potential Conflict with Freedom of Association .......................... 985

Copyright 2020, by MEREDITH N. WILL.

 J.D./D.C.L., 2020. Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State

University. This Comment is dedicated to my parents, Chris and Kathleen Will,

for consistently inspiring me and encouraging me in all of my endeavors. Special

thanks to Professor John Devlin for his guidance throughout the writing process

and law school, as well as Professor Jim Garand for his invaluable mentorship.

344404-LSU_80-3_Text.indd 304344404-LSU_80-3_Text.indd 304 8/17/20 7:19 AM8/17/20 7:19 AM

960 LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW [Vo l. 80

A. Freedom of Association Within Section 12’s

Constitutional History............................................................ 986

B. Potential Threats to Freedom of Association by

Public Accommodations Laws .............................................. 988

V. Legislative Solutions: Amend Section 12 or Draft

a New Louisiana Revised Statute................................................. 989

Conclusion.................................................................................... 991

INTRODUCTION

In June 2018, Stephanie Wilkinson, owner of the Red Hen restaurant

in Virginia, asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders

to leave her restaurant.1 Wilkinson asked Sanders to leave because she

viewed the Trump administration as “inhumane and unethical,” lacking

“honesty . . . compassion, and cooperation.”2 Sanders left without a fuss,

but public support and outcry rained down on the restaurant both online

and at the restaurant’s location.3 Despite the public response, the Red Hen

was within its rights to deny Sanders service based on her political

affiliation.4 As a restaurant, the Red Hen is subject to public

accommodations laws.5 Generally, a business is a public accommodation

when it serves a public interest.6 Although public accommodations laws

vary among jurisdictions, they typically list classifications protected from

1. Whitney Filloon, The Red Hen Didn’t Break the Law When It Kicked Out

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, EATER (June 26, 2018), https://www.eater.com/2018/

6/26/17505512/red-hen-discrimination-laws-sarah-huckabee-sanders [https://per

ma.cc/5WW5-JLT8].

2. Id.

3. Avi Selk & Sarah Murray, The Owner of the Red Hen Explains Why She

Asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Leave, WASH. POST (June 25, 2018), https://

www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/06/23/why-a-small-town -restaur

ant-owner-asked-sarah-huckabee-sanders-to-leave-and-would-do-it-again/?utm_

term=.b1a5c5329952 [https://perma.cc/UK5D-KG5W].

4. Filloon, supra note 1.

5. Sonia Rao, Did the Red Hen Violate Sa rah Huckabee Sanders’s Rights

When It Kicked Her Out?, WASH. POST (June 25, 2018), https://www.washington

post.com/news/food/wp/2018/06/25/was-sarah-huckabee-sanders-denied-public-

accommodation-when-a-restaurant-kicked-her-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.

7217ad133493 [https://perma.cc/P7Z4-ACL6].

6. German All. Ins. Co. v. Kansas, 233 U.S. 389, 408 (1914).