American Legion Riders say they were wrongly told to remove vests..
Members of an American Legion
motorcycle group said they were turned away from a downtown Oceanside
restaurant Saturday when they refused to remove their vests, which
identified them as members of the veterans service group.
“We
had our Legion Riders vests on with our Legion Riders patches on. We
were told we couldn’t come in with our vests on ” said Carlene Warren,
president of the American Legion Riders of Post 328 in Norco, a
Riverside County community north of Corona.
The
manager of Davina’s Cabo Grill and Cantina on Tremont Street in
Oceanside said it is the restaurant’s policy to require members of any
motorcycle group to remove their identifying vests when they enter the
restaurant.
The manager, who
identified herself as Christine and declined to give her last name,
said to allow the American Legion Riders to keep theirs on would have
been discriminatory against members of other motorcycle groups.
“It
(the policy) is not against any organization. It’s a blanket policy on
any organization who wears vests to identify themselves,” she said.
Never before have members of any other group declined her request that they remove their vests, the manager said.
“They hang them on the back of their chairs, they put them right next to them,” she said.
The
American Legion Riders are comprised of American Legion members and
auxiliary members, Warren said. They are either military veterans or the
children or spouses of veterans. The group provides honor guards at the
funerals of veterans and other events honoring veterans.
The
leather or denim vests they wear bear patches identifying them as
members of the Riders along with a flag patch and patches, pins or
medals related to the military, Warren said.
Warren
said her group stopped in Oceanside Saturday during a coastal ride they
were taking as a send-off for member who was being deployed to
Afghanistan for a third tour of duty.
She
said the treatment they received at the Cabo Grill was surprising
because Oceanside has a reputation of being a military town and home to
Camp Pendleton.
“We’ve
never been treated that way anywhere and it was really appalling to be
treated that way in a town that is based on being next to one of the
largest military bases in the country,” Warren said. She said her group
wound up in a restaurant next to the Cabo Grill where they were allowed
to keep their vests on.
The
restaurant manager said she welcomed the Norco group when they arrived
and set up tables for them in an upstairs outdoor patio but they left
when told they had to remove their vests inside the restaurant.
She said some members of the group became verbally abusive when she told them they had to remove their vests.
“They were calling me non-American, they intimidated me, they caused a ruckus right in front,” she said.
She said her father and daughter were military veterans.
In
a written response to comments on the Norco group’s Facebook page, the
manager wrote “I personally feel that it is not what you wear on the
outside that should represent your pride and beliefs, it should be your
actions and behaviors that show your beliefs and that you are proud.”
She said the policy on vests
was adopted because members of less savory groups, like the Hells
Angels, use to frequent downtown Oceanside.
The
president of the Oceanside chapter of American Legion Riders, Ken Derr,
said some casinos have banned motorcycle club vests but he’s never
heard of it in a restaurant.
“It
happens but usually it has happened to us at casinos because some of
the motorcycle gangs that go in there wearing their colors,” Derr said.
He said he would expect restaurants in a military town like Oceanside to
make exceptions for veterans’ groups.
“We’re
not a one-percent gang,” Derr said, referring to a term used to
describe criminal motorcycle gangs. “We would hope they would respect
the fact that we’re veterans and we ride motorcycles and wear vests with
a patch.”
