A man with PTSD who uses a service dog was forbidden entry to the Crazy Girl Saloon in Humble, near Houston, and was told it was because of the animal—a refusal of service that's illegal under both state and federal disability law. He hit Facebook to complain, only for the venue to publicly double down.
In a series of comments, the representative said the bar would continue to refuse service to those who try to bring service animals.
"Every weekend someone wants to bring in their 'service dog' to assist them with their drinking habits," the person operating the Crazy Girl Saloon account commented. "We say no and point to the sign … Fact is, it is private property, we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason and we don't allow pets."
The story notes that the man is a "pastor" who was there to proselytize: "We were taking the gospel into the bar."
It would be funny if they wanted to kick him out for proselytizing, but mistakenly believed that would have been illegal—so they instead claimed to have kicked him out for the dog, which they didn't realize is actually illegal.
However…
Their disagreement with the Texas law appeared to hinge on the words "public facility," which the individual operating the account may have believed only applies to government-owned property.
"We serve the public, that doesn't make it public property," the representative commented. "Are (you) for real? It is private property and we don't allow pets. It's posted at all entrances. How is this always such an issue!"
This disastrously mistaken understanding of what public and private mean in the legal context is another thing cultivated in reactionary media ("Facebook/Twitter isn't privately-owned because its shares are sold to the public") and it's going to bite this bar owner's ass.
By the way, that argument about private property rights letting them keep service dogs and the disabled out? If they think property rights overrule the civil rights of one protected class, they think it overrules all of them. This is a belief we'll be seeing a lot more of in the coming years.
