Magic Mountain Accused of Gay Bias

A representative of the gay and lesbian community sued Six Flags Magic Mountain on Thursday, alleging the Valencia amusement park discriminates against homosexuals in violation of state law.

Valerie Heekin, 31, said she called Magic Mountain last May about renting the park for a “Gay Pride Night” private party and was turned down.

“They denied on grounds that 80% of their staff are minors and they were afraid of getting complaints from their parents,” she told reporters at the Los Angeles County Courthouse.

Parents’ Protests

Heekin said she was told that when gays and lesbians were allowed to use Magic Mountain for a private function seven or eight years ago, the park got letters from some parents expressing disapproval at having their children exposed to the homosexual life style.

Her Superior Court suit, filed by attorney Gloria Allred, says the park regularly permits its facilities to be reserved for private group events and “has never restrained heterosexual groups from reserving (it) for the same, or similar, purposes sought by plaintiff Heekin.”

“There is no bona fide reason for denying (them) solely on account of sexual orientation,” Allred said, adding that the main purpose of the suit is to get the park to change its policy in this regard.

The lawsuit alleges that such denial is a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of race, sex or national origin, and also constitutes an unfair business practice under the state Business and Professional Code.

The suit is seeking a court injunction requiring the park to use the same criteria for gay and lesbian groups as for any other group in reserving the facility for private group events. It also seeks damages in an unspecified amount.

Donations Planned

Heekin planned a “social event to celebrate gay pride,” and intended to donate some of the profits for research into the disease acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Allred said.

A spokeswoman for Magic Mountain said the park would withhold any comment on the suit until it has received a copy of it.

In May, 1984, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered Disneyland to stop enforcing a long-held policy against same-sex dancing after two male homosexuals had challenged it as being discriminatory.

In that case, the two men said they were removed from the dance floor and ejected from the park by security guards, who told them: “This is a family park. There’s no room for alternative life styles here.”

A Disneyland attorney had argued that the park was not discriminating against homosexuals simply because it banned same-sex dancing.