Posted on 03/02/2006 2:14:56 PM PST by ferri
Sikhs in B.C. are cheering the Supreme Court of Canada's decision that upholds the right of Sikh children to wear a ceremonial dagger to school.
The case involved a Montreal student who wasn't allowed to wear his kirpan to school. Schools in B.C. have long permitted orthodox Sikh students to wear the ceremonial dagger.
In its 8-0 judgment, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a total ban infringed on Gurbaj Singh's guarantees of religious freedom under the Charter of Rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
And I am going to sue to allow me to take my ceremonial Swiss Army Knife to school.
that was what i was thinking, i am sure when i was in school in Wa. state a lot of the guys would have loved to come to school with their hunting knives on their belts.
What about tomahawks ?
ping
I'm gonna love going thru customs next time.
As all you canadians know, Americans worship guns.
sixguns, tommyguns, our religion has a diversity too it.
From the derringer to the M2 BHMG, we accept all types.
Just wear you Boy Scout uniform. Used to be normal in my day. And stabbings and shooting were unheard of.
Canda is well on its way down the slippery slope of turning their country over to foreign ideology.
And I am going to sue to allow me to take my ceremonial Swiss Army Knife to school.
And Eric in the Ozarks posted
What about tomahawks ?
You show the court an organized religion where that is a demonstrated part of the belief system and you got it. We've got a better shot with the tomahawks. After all, hallucinogenic mushrooms and peyote have both been ruled legitimate parts of religion in the Nations because they can show that it has been historically part of their practices.
I know there's got to be a tribe out there that can establish that wearing tomahawks is a vital part of ceremonial practices. As soon as I find them I'm gonna pull a Ward Churchill and get myself a certificate of membership.
Although, I may hold out for the First Church of John Moses Browning. I mean, we've got a start with that middle name, dontcha know?
I own seven Browning shotguns. When do I get sworn in ?
Yea, though I walk through the valley of liberals, I fear no evil, for my Colt 1911 comforteth me.
I own seven Browning shotguns. When do I get sworn in ?
And TexasRepublic said
Yea, though I walk through the valley of liberals, I fear no evil, for my Colt 1911 comforteth me.
I believe we may have a movement starting here. Anybody got a redneck ping list?
Of course, now we'll hear from rival groups. Watch out for the Church of Ruger, and those pesky Eastern Orthodox Kalashnikov types (splitters)...
A corporal pried the lid off an ammunition crate. He started to reach down for a handful of cartridges, stopped and stared in disbelieving disgust. "What the hell goddam bucket-headed jackass sent us up a load of Minie" balls?" The whole crate was full of paper cartridges for the rifle muskets the Army of Northern Virginia no longer carried.
By the howls of rage that rose from several other soldiers, they'd made the same unwelcome discovery. Caudell ground his teeth in fear and fury. A big part of the Army of the Potomac was bearing down on him. He and his comrades would need every possible round, and here were boxes and boxes of cartridges they couldn't use. "I just brung 'em up here," the wagon driver protested when the angry Confederates rounded on him. "I didn't load 'em in."
A few hundred yards to the north, the skirmishers began a brisk fire. A couple of them let go on full automatic.
That comment kinda jarred me a bit. "Full automatic?"
Caudal scowled and worked his jaws harder. Either they were overeager or a whole lot of Yankees were on the way, all packed together. He suspected he knew which.
"Here's the right ones!" somebody shouted, his voice rising in relief. Caudell hurried over, grabbed a couple of magazines, and stuffed them into his pockets. The firing was getting closer in a hurry, not just AK-47s but also the familiar deep roar of Springfields. Under the gunfire came the tramp of marching men.
At this point I decided to check the radio and make sure I was, in fact, on NPR. Yup.
The Confederate skirmishers dashed back toward the breastworks. Some turned to fire last shots. Others just scrambled over the barricade or off into the concealing woods.
"Yankees!" The shout came from a dozen throats at once, Caudell's among them. A thick blue column appeared on the Brock Road, a sword-swinging officer at its head. He pointed his sword at the Confederates' makeshift works. The Northern men, their bayonets gleaming even in the uncertain light, upped their pace to double-quick. They cheered as they charged, not the wild rebel yell but a more studied, rhythmic "Hurrah! Hurrah!"
Caudell thumbed his change lever to full automatic. His rifle spat flame. He used up what was left of his first banana clip in the twinkling of an eye. He rammed in another, fired it off at full automatic, too. He knew he would never find a better, more massed target.
Banana clip? BANANA CLIP!
BANANA CLIP!
I decided I had to figure out what this was about. The show only went on for a little bit more before they broke for that weeks installment. They gave the title and author and I went to the book store as soon as I could. I ended up buying the book and I enjoyed it immensely. Yes, the author took a bizarre left turn to get to his "alternate history" premise (involving time traveling white South Africans from the 80s trying to give aid to a group they think will stand with them against the rising tide against in their day, if only they win their little war). But he did such a good job of his research of the Civil War that he impressed Shelby Foote enough to write a forward for the book. Really, really good.
What about air travel, I wonder? I've seen Sikh men at the airport but never asked one if he was forced to leave the kirpan behind.
You know, I could care less whether they are nice people. A lot of people say the Muslims are nice people. A lot of people say Christians are nice people. That should not mean that any sect gets special rights in the name of who they are. What if another sect was established and they believed it was their right to wear a gun where ever they went. Would this same court say that they have the right to? If not, why not? By the way, how many gang members will now claim to be Sikhs? You want a slippery slope? The Canadian court has provided the pit to slide into.
Wow, aren't we just the answer man. If they can give it up at the airport until they reach their destination, I would think they could give it up until they got home from school.
I went to school with Sikh kids and photographed the wedding of a Sikh buddy.
The kirpans they wore at school were smaller than a pen knife. you would be hard pressed to sharpen a pencil with one.
I think you suffer from turban phobia.
No, I suffer from obeying the rules and laws. It will be the downfall of what you know as Canada, from people such as you who don't see anything wrong with changing rules for selected sects. It will be your children or grandchildren who will suffer for what you think is a non-issue.
My vote is to build upon the Sikh courtroom success to allow a more flexible approach to all flavors of knives for all people. We shouldn't begrudge these folks because they were successful in securing a policy that we desire as well. Heck, I would love to get back to the point when I could bring my handy Benchmade Mini-AFCK aboard an airliner like I did just a few short years ago. People need to see that the presence of knives and other tools doesn't immediately cause mayhem.
Keep in mind that we're talking about Sikhs here, not Muslims. They are worlds apart from each other and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. The Sikhs I've encountered in my travels as a businessperson have generally been courteous and decent people.
~ Blue Jays ~
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