(1) Except where the context clearly requires a different meaning, the following terms shall have for the purposes of this section the meaning respectively ascribed to them:

(a) “Person” means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not.

(b) “Establishment” means any building or part thereof, including, without being limited to, public inns, hotels, motels, apartment hotels, any structure, enclosure, tract of land, and all improvements, appurtenances, and additions, bodies of water whether natural or artificial, and any other place of whatsoever nature to which the general public is or will be admitted, allowed, or invited on payment of a fee, free of charge, or otherwise.

(2) No person, directly or indirectly, for herself or himself or for another, shall publish, post, broadcast by any means, maintain, circularize, issue, display, transmit, or otherwise disseminate or place in any manner before the public with reference to an establishment any advertisement that the patronage of any person is not welcome, or is objectionable, or is not acceptable because of the person’s religion. No person shall cause or solicit another person to violate this section.

(3) This section shall not apply to any establishment which is private or limited to membership only, to any camp administered by any religious organization, group, or sect, admission to which is based on religious belief or affiliation, or to any gathering, meeting, or assembly held under the auspices of any religious organization, group, or sect.

(4) Any person or persons violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

History.—ss. 1, 2, ch. 29845, 1955; s. 1132, ch. 71-136; s. 1406, ch. 97-102.