Contributors to this thread:
I went to my last Du dinner then Pat that sucks
Of course they waited until this years event was over. Can the leftists keep them in business? We'll see.
So what does that mean? If you get invited to a wedding or fund raiser that is being held at the Aqua Turf, you have to say to the hosts “Yeah, sorry, I can’t go.”
Or does this mean if you’re planning a wedding or fund raiser, you won’t use their facility?
Speaking for myself I won't go to their facility for any reason. I have turned down invitations for less reason.
I’m out, screw them. Bunch of sellouts. There are plenty of other venues to use.
I will not go to fundraisers nor weddings. However, I have never gone to fundraisers nor weddings there either.
Went to an awards show there on the 6th. Didn’t know this till after. Yup f them.
Great place, I will never go there again. Really sad
What is Aqua Turf - a banquet hall?
Aqua Turf is a banquet/wedding facility in Southington. I asked the question before about attending an event there and it's hard to comprehend how I or anyone would tell the person(s) who holds you in enough esteem to invite you....(or your direct family member who is asking you to attend).....(IE - a prom, wedding, fund raiser/charity event, awards/sports ceremony), how you could decline the offer and your family/friends wouldn't change their mind about you and you could accept that outcome. It's just funny to me when guys are like "Nope, I won't go no matter what now" :)
Doing the right thing isn't always easy.
Thought this was bowsite??? Hah.
I agree with Bloodtrail. I know the family that owns the Aqau Turf, they're good people and my daughter was friends with one of their daughters in high school. While I don't agree with excluding a client like the NRA who never gave them any trouble, the public pressure is what made them do it.
Write them a letter and let them know your thoughts. Give them a chance to respond.
They had that chance, Bob, their response was: "No you cannot come back here". They heard the objections from the anti-gun people, they made a choice. Yes, they were a friend to hunters and shooters before, but now they've chosen the other side.
If they expect Gun Owners to attend and books events there, after that choice, they are very naive. The Hunter Safety Instructor's banquet is there on Sunday, it's too late to change for this year, but I can't imagine a scenario where we will be back there next year.
I already sent them an email.
How are they going to respond that makes this ok? Like you said they refused service to a long time loyal customer for political reasons. What response can they give that is going to make that OK?
If they feel they had no choice, fine, but they left a lot of us no choice but to respond in kind.
I understand not "booking" your next event there, but when Bloodtrail stated he didn't see the need to not attend an invite to a wedding, birthday, etc for a friend, that's what I agree with. Just like not going go to Dicks to buy anything in the future sends a message. I also considered bringing a cart of expensive articles to the register and then saying something like "Oh wait, didn't Dicks change the policy on selling guns? I'm not going to buy anything here any more."
I also think if a few hundred letters were sent to the Aqua Turf saying we will no longer book any events there and also encourage others to do the same, that would give them a picture of future business and it may change their policy,.......you never know. If nothing else, you get to vent.
Pat - in my opinion the reaction to have to these types of decisions is to make a statement with your wallet, whether it's Dicks or the Turf, and to be vocal about your viewpoint, but remain respectful of other's. To me, talking about guns is like trying to discuss hunting with a non-hunter. You may never win them over to your side, but you can certainly get them to oppose your viewpoint FOREVER if you act the fool by disrespecting their viewpoint. Again, JMHO
So I hear that nobody is going to use the Aqua turf because they are pulling out on the NRA dinner ,well what I heard on the streets is the schools are pulling all banquets and proms and the rest of the yuppie outings if they continue doing the nra dinners ,so there you have it 1 big dinner for a years worth of work and then they go out of business. This is all BS , that someone else can control who someone does work for their political gain ,so what does food service have to do with politics and high school kids ,that's my 2 cents.
You know, I was just wondering how a bakery could get sued for not serving a gay wedding but the turf can refuse to serve the NRA? Any legal scholars out there?
Bob, your comment a couple up, about pushing folks away (broadly) is very true.
Interesting point on the gay wedding thing. I dont know (though I'd have had zero issue with baking the cake for the folks) the details on that story, mostly just headlines. I'm guestimating that that would be viewed in a way which is similar to saying you wouldnt serve a given race or gender, from a legal perspective... In essence you didnt choose it, it's just who you are - maybe that's the difference? While the NRA / gun ownership is a choice we make - just like this place is choosing not to serve NRA related events any longer.
Not sure, just trying to come up with an idea - you raised a good question.
Will - I am no expert on discrimination, but pretty sure the difference is that certain classes of protected against discrimination under law. I think protected classes include things like gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, physical disability etc.
So with certain exceptions, businesses cannot refuse service because of your race or religion but can refuse service for other reason.
The NRA is not protected class of people under the law.
Toonces - great info - thanks for that!
So, basically it's people that fall under protections, vs groups, idea's, etc?
Makes sense to me, just trying to make sure I'm following your points.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_group
Good decision recently,--- a sportsmen club I belong to has been using Dicks for up to $1,000 year for raffle tickets. This year it will be Cabelas. Small but it's in a good direction.
Aqua-turd... spread the word...
