Men’s Barbershop Fined After Refusing to Cut Woman’s Hair

You would think that as a business owner, you would have the right to decide who you serve in your establishment, but those days are long gone. Now you serve whoever the government tells you to serve, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. After all, if you’re willing to let them tax your income without your consent in exchange for their services, why should private business with your fellow citizens be any different?

The owner of a gentleman’s barbershop in Pennsylvania learned that the hard way when he was fined for refusing to cut a woman’s hair.

From the rugged décor to the macho atmosphere, it’s a place where guys can unwind with a complimentary cocktail or enjoy a cold beer.

“[I] come here, talk sports, guy talk. A great place to get away after a hard day’s work, get a haircut and have a beer,” said client Robert Craig.

Now, the business is at the center of a heated debate after owner John Interval was fined $750 for refusing to cut a woman’s hair.

She filed an action with the state’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.

That agency imposed the fine for gender discrimination after a state investigator visited the business and interviewed Interval.

Of course, the reason for his refusal had nothing to do with discriminating against women. It was really more of a practical matter.

“You know, I’m not opposed to doing women’s hair,” he explained. “Just not in this shop. I don’t even have [the equipment] to do women’s hair. I want to open a shop to cater to them and no men will be allowed there. They’ll have all the champagne and mimosas they want, and that’ll be on the house.”

Sorry John, your sense of fairness is not applicable here. In America, the government has the final say on what is and isn’t equal and fair.

The owner has since said that he is perfectly willing to pay the fine because he “respects the law,” though I’m not sure how anyone could respect the law after an incident like this. Regardless, it’s good that he feels that way because who knows what kind of punishment he might incur for defying the edicts of the state?

Perhaps they would just keep fining him until he goes out of business, or maybe they would send some of their stormtroopers to throw him in prison. Neither would be all that surprising, since private property rights exist in name only in this country. It may be your business, and your name may be on the deed to the building, but at the end of the day the state is the real owner. You have to run your business in the precise manner that they instruct you to, or else.