Burqa-Friendly Banks in Frisco
Charles Johnson
Sun Sep 23, 2007 at 7:48 pm PDT • Views: 317
Hey bank robbers! Looking for a venue that won’t ask you to remove that mask? Try Washington Mutual in San Francisco.
Attention bank robbers: If you’re planning to stick up a Washington Mutual branch, you’ll first have to remove that ski mask or stocking from your head.
Unless you’re wearing a burqa, of course.
A kind reader brought this to our attention recently.
“I bank at Washington Mutual,” he writes. “The branch at California and Montgomery has a new sign posted in the door that sets forth its policies such as requiring shirts and shoes (!) and for patrons to turn off their cell phones. What really caught my eye, however, was its policy against ‘face coverings,’ which are now prohibited for ‘patron safety.’ They give hoodies as an example, but I’m pretty sure what they really mean are burqas. I can’t believe this could possibly be legal, especially in San Francisco.”
I checked the branch at Eighth and Market streets and found the same sign. “For the safety and consideration of others,” it says, “remove face coverings including hoodies, helmets and sunglasses.” This is posted next to another sign that says “Welcome! It’s good to see you.”
Spokesman Gary Kishner says, “A lot of our branches have had (these signs) up for a while. It’s for security reasons. We like to know the people we’re working with. For the most part, it’s just sunglasses” that customers are asked to remove. …
If a customer wanted to leave her face covered for religious reasons, “We won’t require them to remove it,” Kishner says.
Frank says: