SACRAMENTO, CA  --  A Sacramento man got his gym membership revoked because he refused to stop wearing a T-shirt saying "I NEED A MAN OR A DATE. Serious inquiries only." when working out in the gym.

David Cano, 43, says he was called up by the management of California Family Fitness Center in Elk Grove and asked not to wear his T-shirt. When he refused to, his gym trial membership was revoked due to "disorderly conduct."

Cano is now seeking legal counsel, considering to sue the gym for discrimiating against him for being gay, The Sacramento Bee reports.

"There had to be some straight guys who had a problem with my shirt," Cano said Tuesday. "If it was a straight woman who wore that shirt -- straight guys wouldn't have a problem with it. I think the gym has a problem -- they're very bigoted and discriminatory. They don't like openly gay men."

Not true, said Russ Kuhn, co-president of California Family Fitness, Inc., which is headquartered in Orangevale.

"We're a family facility and not a dating service," Kuhn said. "We wouldn't let someone wear a shirt saying 'I'm looking for a man,' or for a woman, or, for that matter, for a child. It has nothing to do with Mr. Cano as an individual -- it has to do with making it a fun, safe family atmosphere. We have kids there all day."

Even though the gym has rules that require "appropriate attire," it does not spell out what that means. This could be a problem for California Family Fitness, said Alan Schlosser, legal director of the ACLU of Northern California.

"If they could show they have a rule that prohibits any socializing that leads to dating, that would be different," Schlosser said. "Here, I think, the fact that some people find dating by gay people upsetting is not a basis for discriminating. And calling it a 'family center' doesn't give them a license to discriminate."

Discrimination based on sexual orientation is a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Schlosser said.

Last update: 02-21-2008 12:36