Canadian Supreme Court Decides to Allow Kirpans in School

Ok, most of you probably don't know about this - but there was a descision made by the Canadian Supreme Court to allow followers of the Sikh faith to carry a kirpan to school.

Originally Posted by The Globe and Mail

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Sikh students can carry ceremonial daggers to class and that doing so does not pose a undue danger to others in the schools.

The top court overturned Thursday morning a Quebec Court of Appeals ruling that had barred the kirpan from schools in the province. The Quebec court had said a limit on religious freedom was reasonable, given the safety concerns from carrying the daggers to school.

Several other provinces have long ago reached compromises with the Sikh community, allowing the carrying of the kirpan – a requirement for baptized followers of the Sikh religion – as long as it is safely sheathed and concealed.

The 2004 ruling from the Quebec appeal court, however, dismissed any possibility of a compromise in that province.

The specific case that went to the Supreme Court involves Gurbaj Singh Multani, now 17. Five years ago, he accidentally dropped his kirpan in the schoolyard of a Montreal elementary school.

Parents of other children pressured the local school board to ban the dagger, because of a zero-tolerance policy concerning weapons.

Gurbaj's parents sued, and the case wound its way through the courts for several years.

When the Supreme Court heard the arguments last April, several organizations – including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the World Sikh Organization of Canada – intervened to support the family.

They noted that there have been no examples of any violent acts in schools as a result of wearing of the kirpan.

The youth transferred to a private school soon after the controversy erupted in 2001, and some of the intervenors were concerned that there would be a mass exodus by Sikh students from public schools across the country if the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the ban.

In its intervention, the Quebec government supported the ban, arguing that any potential weapon can cause a unnecessary risk in the schools.

I'm a fan of religous freedoms, it's a great thing to be able to practice one's faith without fear of persecution - but there has to be a line drawn. One freedom should not be allowed to threaten another freedom. Bringing a weapon into a school is wrong - there's no need for it.

To make a comparison - we don't allow kirpans aboard aircraft because they're considered a weapon, and dangerous - what's the difference in a public school? Just because it's a child carrying it makes it safe? This isn't just an issue of religion, it's an issue of saftey. You can't even bring in a multitool (leatherman, SAKs), but when you want to bring in a fixed blade - you just have to pull the religon card...

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Actually - my religion requries me to carry a concealed handgun every concious moment, and at least once a day, publically execute someone.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Fyodor D.

I don't think so. Sikhism is, oddly enough, not an inherently hostile religion. Someone who would create a religion demanding that it's followers carry AR-15s would be creating a religion that is hostile to the spirit of the law, and thus the government would first not recognize that religion as a religion, and second, ban its members from performing acts which are a direct threat to people.

I fail to see your reasoning. As much as religion tries to teach us what is right from wrong - it's up to us to make our own descisions. It doesn't matter if you have been taught to be peaceful, if you decide to kill someone, there's shit all any religion can do about it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Madam Justice Charron

"There are many objects in schools that could be used to commit violent acts and that are much more easily obtained by students, such as scissors, pencils and baseball bats,"

This argument pisses me off - because those items arn't designed to hurt people, when a kirpan, which is a knife, is designed to KILL people. There's no two ways about that - if Gurbaj pulls his kirpan out of it's sheath - there's no question on what he intends to use it for.

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Originally Posted by Fyodor D.

However, Sikhism forbids unsheathing the kirpan except for religious duties, which are non-existent at school.
If Gurbaj pulls his kirpan out of it's sheath at school, he is violating his religious principles.

Forbidden - that's just a word. Like I mentioned before, just because a religion forbids you to kill someone, if you've made the concious descision to kill someone, it doesn't matter what your religion tries to teach you - there's nothing stopping you from using the dagger that's hanging around your shoulder.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Fyodor D.

Ah, but Frappe Snowland is not like that.
They are all peaceful, happy people and such. They are nothing like Americans. They don't even lock their doors. Michael Moore told me so.

On a sidenote - I live in Canada, and the only time the doors are locked is when there is noone there, and sometimes not even then

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by acid

Can't bring nail clippers on a plane, but you can bring a knife to gym class.

Yeah. I get it's a religious symbol. But the bottom line is that it's still a knife. He is still bringing a knife to school. I can't even begin to understand this. Bringing a knife to school regardless of the reasons behind it should not be allowed. Period.

Oh, it's only a replica. It's not sharp. So I suppose a school would let me stroll around with a replica Bowie knife, right? Sure. How about a fake handgun?

My feelings exactly. It doesn't matter if the kid never INTENDS on using it - it's still a knife - still a weapon - that we're letting him bring to school. It may be a religous symbol, but if you remove religion from it, you find a deadly weapon designed to kill.

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The kirpan is allowed to be used in self defense... which would lead one to believe that they are not dulled down ceremonial knives.

And second of all - with the new ruling, they don't have to be sewn shut - that was the school's policy on them before this whole shitshow.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Why allow a weapon into shools period though? There's a reason why knives and firearms are banned - the're hazards to other students, regardless if they're only meant for self defense from a bully.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

What about the other kids, how is it fair to let a Sikh bring in a dagger, when maybe poor billy really wants to bring his klingon dagger to show off to his friends?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ah - but would you let a Klingon Warrior bring a weapon (intended for agression), to a school?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.