NO GUNS ONLY KNIVES!!!

Canada high court allows Sikh daggers in school
Thu Mar 2, 2006 10:03 PM IST
By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Multiculturalism and religious
freedom trumped safety concerns in a Canadian
Supreme Court decision on Thursday that will
allow orthodox Sikh students to carry concealed
traditional daggers to school.
In its decision, the court noted that Sikh orthodoxy
requires the wearing of the daggers, known as
kirpans, even though they are banned from
airplanes and some courtrooms.
"Religious tolerance is a very important value of
Canadian society," Justice Louise Charron
wrote in reasons for the decision after a court
case that involved 12-year-old Gurbaj Singh
Multani who was prevented from carrying his
kirpan at a Montreal school.
"If some students consider it unfair that
Gurbaj Singh may wear his kirpan to school
while they are not allowed to have knives in
their possession, it is incumbent on the schools
to discharge their obligation to instill in their
students this value that is...at the very
foundation of our democracy."
Kirpans are already allowed in Ontario after a
lower court order. Thursday's ruling now opens
the door to the practice, with possible
restrictions, across the country.
Canada banned them on airplanes after the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Some courts ban them as well, although Sikhs
attending the Supreme Court hearing were
allowed to wear them.
Charron said aircraft were unique environments,
but schools had the ability to better control
different situations.
Multani's school had originally allowed him to
carry his kirpan in a wooden sheath sewn
inside a cloth envelope inside his clothing.
But the school board overturned this, and the
boy's father turned to the courts.
The Quebec government argued unsuccessfully
for zero tolerance for weapons in school, and
some parents also opposed the idea.
Charron said the boy had no history of violence,
and rejected the idea that kirpans are inherently
dangerous. She also noted that schools had
other objects which could also be used for
violence, such as scissors and baseball bats.
Orthodox Sikhs have been been required to
carry kirpans since the 1600s. Some say the
original purpose was for defense but many
insist it is not a weapon.
Sikhs also struggled for the right to wear turbans
while in uniform with the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. That episode was decided by
the federal government in 1990.
Around 250,000 Sikhs live in Canada, and
about 10 percent of them are considered orthodox.
In the United States, a federal appeals court
allowed kirpans in California, but the U.S.
Supreme Court has not decreed a national policy.

AS A PARENT I WOULD BE PULLING MY
CHILD FROM THAT SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY
AND FINALLY MAKE A STAND IN CANADA
REGARDING THIS RELIGION STUFF.
COME ON MONTREAL!!!!
LINK:
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/
newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&story
ID=2006-03-02T215038Z_01_NOO
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