If you're headed to the Marin County Fair next week, a top civil liberties lawyer advises leaving your Oakland A's and other ball caps at home along with your Ralph Lauren Chaps gear — and in any case avoid wearing red or blue garb, even on the Fourth of July.
Marin's new ordinance cracking down on gang attire at the fair means that "hundreds, and probably thousands" of fairgoers will run the risk of violations, according to a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, adding that as a practical matter Latino youth are the real targets of a code that in effect formalizes racial profiling.
Undersheriff Mike Ridgway begged to differ, saying the county law does not discriminate and was "carefully crafted by attorneys to pass constitutional muster" while providing a more transparent process that includes advance notice of the gang insignia at issue.
"We welcome everyone at the fair," said fair chief Jim Farley, adding that fair ticket takers intend to wear red and blue Mardi Gras beads on the Fourth of July.
Law enforcement experts skilled in recognizing gang garb will make decisions on whether clothing or related gear, in combination with other items or factors, signals gang membership. Only those who refuse to cover up or remove offending items will be turned away.
Officials contend the new law simply spells out past procedures involving clothing, colors, insignia, numbers and related "identifiers."
But Schlosser renewed earlier criticism of the Marin law after receiving from the county a list of gang "identifiers" that are prohibited.
"What this list does is to substitute the vagueness of your prior apparently unwritten policy for a sweepingly overbroad written policy, while leaving intact the unfettered discretion of the officers on the scene, and therefore the susceptibility and in fact near certainty that this ordinance will be enforced based on stereotypes and racial profiling," Schlosser advised the county in a June 21 letter.
"It is my considered legal opinion that the county faces the potential of legal liability if anyone is detained or ejected based on this overbroad and vague policy," he said.
Schlosser noted the county's list includes 69 prohibited items that might be worn by 50 gangs. Among gang insignia are the colors red, blue, red and white or black and white.
"It is ironic that the colors red and blue will be forbidden on the fairgrounds on July 4," Schlosser noted, adding with tongue in cheek: "Caution would suggest leaving your American flag decals at home."
Sports teams on the list include Oakland A's, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, as well as teams whose hats are red or blue, such as the Dodgers or Cubs. Red or blue bandanas, bracelets,Shop the best selection of men's stainless steel ring. rosaries, shoe laces, as well as gear with numbers including 13, 14, 18, 20, 81, 113, 276, 415 and 707, may raise official eyebrows as well.
"Under this ordinance, if one person is wearing an A's hat or a blue bandana or Chaps by Ralph Lauren, and they are walking with or talking with another person" wearing a listed item, "then each of them 'violates the Marin County dress code policy,'" Schlosser observed.
But, he added, the ordinance will not be enforced as it is written. Instead, those technically in violation will be confronted only if "in the subjective judgment of the officer, they appear to be gang members. ... In the real world, the criteria for actual enforcement actions under this ordinance are purely subjective and unwritten." The result is a "vacuum" where "stereotyping and racial profiling come into play."
In the end, the message is that not all are welcome at the fair, especially young people of color, the attorney concluded.
County lawyers said fears of discrimination are baseless and added the new ordinance makes formal the legally defensible policies that have been in place for years.
Deputy County Counsel Ed Kiernan has noted a listed of banned gang insignia will be posted on the fair website and available at the gate. "There is no restriction on gang members attending the fair," he said. "The bottom line is no one is being racially profiled."
The dress code was unanimously adopted by county supervisors despite worry about racial profiling that Supervisor Steve Kinsey said was a "legitimate concern." The county board asked for a detailed analysis of how the policy works this year.
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