Club’s policy unfair to women

I am writing to clarify the salient issues of the recently reported suit filed against the Spokane Country Club.

First, the three woman members who filed are full stockholders and “regular members,” the club’s highest level. They pay full dues and assessments. Other membership classes receive subsidies from the regular members, mainly in the form of lower dues and freedom from assessments.

A surprise to some is that one of the club’s longest-standing rules is that Wednesday is a day reserved for only regular members to play golf. There was a revision within the last 10 years which gave men in the subsidized memberships the right to play on Wednesdays, too.

The club’s recent rule change, which restricted woman members’ rights of access to play golf on Wednesdays, had the effect of changing their level of membership to one subordinate to other levels, based solely on gender.

Secondly, these woman members are not seeking to expand their privileges but only to retain those due them as regular members, i.e., the rights they contracted and paid for and which are expressly protected by the club bylaws.

In summary, the answer’s easy. You pay, you play.

Steve Quaid

Colbert