A San Diego firefighter camp for girls has been canceled after complaints by a local civil rights attorney.
The Times of San Diego reports that The San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation has canceled its second annual Girls Empowerment Camp at the Naval Training Center following criticism from attorney Alfred Rava on behalf of men's rights activist Rich Allison.
“Mr. Allison was deterred and prevented from timely enrolling his son in this camp because boys were not invited to attend, based solely on their sex,” Rava wrote, citing a little known California law barring gender discrimination called the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
Allison, a former Marine, has filed several lawsuits seeking damages after being denied entry into women-only events.
When asked what he would say to any disappointed girls who wanted to attend the free event, Allison brought up his own disappointment.
“I’m disappointed as well," he said. "The firefighter foundation should have opened it up to any kid that’s interested in going to their event.”
Jeri Miuccio, an award-winning engineer with San Diego Fire Rescue and the camp's co-founder, told the Times of San Diego via Facebook that “we took everyone that applied for the camp."
"We don’t ask gender," Miuccio continued. "False allegations. So sad that so many young campers are not going to have a great experience now. It’s just sad.”
