Posted on 04/19/2006 1:30:14 PM PDT by keat
Chapter only one in Central California with no female members
Merced resident Michele Arancibia applied for membership to the service organization in March, but was rejected following an April 6 vote. Arancibia and several Elks members say her gender is all that kept her out of the club, located at 1910 M St.
"I realize that there are a lot of old-timers out there," said the 55-year-old Arancibia. "But I didn't think it was still like this. It's sad, really."
The controversy over Arancibia's recent bid for membership began prior to the election when a current Elks member reportedly made phone calls to other members, urging them to attend the April 6 vote.
"I heard that a member had been calling around, asking other members to show up to vote against my joining," said Arancibia.
Several Elks members present at the April 6 meeting confirmed that a member stood up prior to the vote and pressed other members to deny Arancibia membership specifically because of her gender.
"There was a particular individual who stood up and urged members not to vote for females," said Merced resident John Burk, a 20-year member of the Elks.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercedsunstar.com ...
She looks like a hippopotamus, why doesn't she start a local chapter of the Hippos?
And Mike Tyson or Kobe Bryant should be allowed to join the Girl Scouts too.
Hey, the headline says woman....where is the pics of a woman? Very misleading.
Well, in that case, I demand admission into the Association of Hispanic Women Engineers.
Why can there no longer be a white heteral sexual mens group?
What part of "all-male club" seems to escape your comprehension?
Used to be that people had sexes and words had genders...
The only place I know where no one is denied admission is the Paris Hilton.
It's sad that Ms. Arancibia thinks she should be allowed to force her way into a private organization that doesn't want her. It's sad that she doesn't respect the wishes of the members whose club she wants to join.
Why doesn't she start her own club, if what she wants is to be of service to the community?
Because we're the focus of evil in the modern world.
We would already have been exterminated if not for the fact that we own a lot of guns.
Hippos and Elks require different climates. She ought not fit in too well with the Elks, but do perfect in the mud.
Do you want HIM to wait on you?
This happened to me 2 days ago. In San Francisco.
And Curves, the all-female fitness centers that bar men.
And sororities, who also bar men.
Hey, and what about those all-women colleges......that also bar men?
I guess some barring is more equal than others, eh?
Slap the boys around a bit before making them have 'consensual sex' with her?
The horror! The Horror!
I do not believe there is any government money involved in the Elk's activities. Nor, do they use public property.
So, under the right of free association, guess what?
They can freely choose with whom to associate!
Give the lady and Elk burger and say goodbye!
The Elk membership policy states in part "To be eligible for membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, you must be a citizen of the United States over the age of 21 who believes in God." Nothing about male or female. Our Elks club is the largest in California and we accept female applicants and have a number of well respected female members. We do reject applicants both male and female however through the selection process.
The Elks actually does admit women. Perhaps it's just HER they don't want...
Ping-a-Ling! :) (Or are you a Moose Lodge Gal? I can't remember...)
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