Court Rules: Oh, Yes, Ladies' Nights Are Perfectly Alright

Bad news for Roy Den Hollander: the Second Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed his claim that Ladies' Nights— evenings at bars and nightclubs where women get reduced door fees and drink prices— violated his Constitutional rights. Hollander, who stylizes himself both as a "men's rights" and an "anti-feminist" lawyer, argued that Ladies' Nights resulted from "40 years of lobbying and intimidation, [by] the special interest group called 'Feminism.'" And here I thought it was just a marketing ploy.

Hollander's convoluted legal argument was this: Since the State of New York issues the liquor licenses bars and clubs need, then they are essentially state-run establishments. His logic (and I use that term loosely) followed that these businesses would thus be required to adhere to the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Hollander concludes that, unless the courts take action, only "what’s left of the Wall Street moguls" will be be able to afford to go to nightclubs. Both the lower court and the Court of Appeals found no merit in this claim, pointing out the obvious fact that having a liquor license does not make a business state-run.

This is not the only ridiculous battle Hollander's has fighting against feminism; It is his third. He has pursued two other cases in the recent past. First, he filed a suit against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a law he refers to as the "Female Fraud Act." His big beef with VAWA is that immigrant women can gain citizenship if they've been victims of domestic violence. How terrible! Hollander is sure innocent American men everywhere will be falsely charged under this law. Listen, as a former case manager at a domestic violence shelter, let me tell you this: gaining citizenship under VAWA isn't as simple of accusing some random guy of abuse. Implying otherwise denotes a complete lack of understanding, not only of VAWA, but of domestic violence itself.  Hollander took his case all the way to the Supreme Court and was denied.

Hollander's other lawsuit involved the Women's Studies program at Columbia University. Here he claimed that by having Women's Studies, but not Men's Studies, was a violation of Title IX and of the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Proving that his craziness knows no limits, he further argued that the Sate of New York and the federal government aided Columbia in "preaching the religious belief system 'Feminism.'" Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed the case as "absurd," saying "Feminism is no more a religion than physics."

While the latter two cases are officially dead, Hollander has vowed to take his fight against Ladies' Nights all the way to the Supreme Court. Although, he realizes that there isn't much of a chance that the high court would hear the case. Asked about the odds of the case actually being considered by the Supreme Court, Hollander said, "about the same as some pretty young lady paying my way on a date." Finally, something Hollander and I agree on.

Photo credit: ken30684