Ok. I get it. Some kids could potentially derail your plans to have a nice quiet dinner away from home. But what’s the deal with the new trend and enthusiasm for banning kids?

Looking at this strictly from a constitutional standpoint, isn’t this a complete and utter example of age discrimination? I mean, I like to get away from my son once in awhile for adult time too, but I certainly don’t like the idea of his rights to enter a public building being stripped away. Especially because of someone else’s lifestyle choice to remain kid-free. I respect that lifestyle choice, but I do not think it constitutes a right to shun someone else’s. Isn’t this the equivalent of putting up signs that, say, people of a certain color are not allowed in an establishment? Let’s blow the entire structure our country was founded upon because someone finds it grating when a child whimpers.

It always made me seethe inside when I was in high school, and the nearby gas station put up signs up that said only three students were allowed to enter the convenience store at a time. And then the owners would watch you like a hawk. This is a small town in WI, mind you. Either way, it’s discriminatory. If you look younger than 18, you automatically hold a scarlet letter that says “most likely to steal” or “most likely to ruin your dinner.” Highly discriminatory.

It’s such a shame that young people are becoming the victims of this modern stigmatization, this new round of sheer discrimination.