Six Flags Named in 2nd Suit in a Week

By CAROL CHAMBERS

Aug. 31, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

For the second time this week, a lawsuit filed against Six Flags Magic Mountain alleges that the theme park discriminated against minority patrons.

The suit filed Thursday in San Fernando Superior Court says security guards at the park stopped and searched plaintiffs because they “fit the profile” of gang members.

Erick Anton, 35, of Sun Valley and Robert Gonzalez, 21, of Panorama City, both Latino, were “subjected to extreme humiliation, embarrassment and inconvenience” and ultimately were denied admittance to the park, said their attorney, David B. Rosenberg.

“I’ve been coming here all my life and never had any problem,” Anton said. “Not here, not at Disneyland, not at Knott’s. I would hear about it happening to other people, but I never thought it would happen to me. They made me feel like I’m a nothing.”

Anton and his wife, Gretchen, had planned to visit the park Sept. 3, 2000, with a group of co-workers, among them Gonzalez and his girlfriend, Sylvia Rendon. It was Gonzalez’s first trip to the Valencia-area amusement park known for its thrill rides.

“All these years I was too afraid to go on the rides,” Gonzalez said. “That day, they [had] convinced me to try. But I didn’t get to. . . . We were there to have fun, not to cause trouble.”

On Monday, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the park alleging that it has discriminated against more than 4,000 black patrons.

Park officials said they would not comment on the latest suit, but adamantly denied that the park discriminates on the basis of race.

“Those accusations in general are totally absurd,” said park spokesman Andy Gallardo. “Our guests mirror the demographic of Southern California, and it is unfortunate that out of the millions of guests that visit the park, a few are unhappy with our procedure. That will all be sorted out in due time.”

He also would not comment on security procedures, saying that to do so “would jeopardize their effectiveness.”

Gallardo said he thinks the recent spate of racial discrimination allegations has been a case of people “jumping on the bandwagon.

“It is ridiculous to assume that we discriminate or profile in any way,” he said.