Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Arizona

Re: Sex Discrimination Question

I don't see a problem with it. For one thing, private entities are generally allowed to discriminate if they want to. Public accommodations (and this includes restaurants) have only limited rights to do so, but these limits prevent them from treating groups of people worse than others on the basis of suspect classifications like race, religion or gender. While this restaurant's rule about hats does discriminate on the basis of gender, it does not treat either gender worse than the other.

There are many restaurants which require men to wear ties and impose no such requirement on women, but this policy doesn't treat men worse than women; instead, it simply treats the genders differently. The intent of the rule is to ensure that patrons are properly attired, and the rules of proper attire for each gender are different. Men are expected to wear ties in such places and are also expected to remove their hats, but women are not. I'm sure the restaurant would also intervene had you been a woman wearing unsuitable clothing, but the rules which say what is suitable and what isn't would not be exactly the same.

There is nothing wrong with treating people differently as long as the distinction and the different treatments are reasonable. This is why we have segregated restrooms and locker rooms, and it is why hospitals and clinics provide some gender-specific services. The rule you describe is not as obviously reasonable, but I don't see a legal problem with it.

And, of course, if you feel strongly about the rule you are free to dine elsewhere. If enough people stop eating at that restaurant because they dislike its policies, the restaurant will either change or go out of business.