U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson has rejected a claim by the group Wasatch Equality that they had a “constitutional right to snowboard at Alta Ski Resort.” Four snowboarders brought the lawsuit against Alta Ski Area and the US Forest Service for the right to share the mountain. The lawsuit stated that Alta Ski Area, which operates on US Forest Service land, and it’s policy of not allowing snowboarding was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The federal judge went on to state, “To put it simply, Plaintiffs’ case fails because there is no law to support it. The Equal Protection Clause is not a general fairness law that allows everyone who feels discriminated against to bring an action in federal court.”
Judge Benson wrote that the snowboarders’ claims of equal protection is not what the Fourteenth Amendment was anticipated to reach.
“There are many forums Plaintiffs can resort to in an attempt to accomplish their goal of snowboarding down the Baldy Chutes at Alta,” Benson said. “Seeking an injunction from this court is not one of them.”
[Image Credit: Alta’s Facebook Page]