Religious Group Protests Jail Policy on Hair
We read:
"A Duval County Jail policy that requires inmates' hair to be cut has sparked outrage among Sikhs, who say the policy violates their freedom to practice religion. Protesting outside the Duval County Jail Sunday, men and women carried signs alleging discrimination and violations of religious freedom. The group protests on behalf of Jagmohan Ahuja, an inmate in the jail who is a practicing Sikh.....
Jaspreet Singh, a lawyer for United Sikhs, says it is against Sikh religious practice to cut one's hair. Hair covered by a turban is one of the five articles of faith which a Sikh must keep at all times.
Singh spoke on behalf of protestors, along with a local representative of the ACLU. "We would like the jail to change the policy on the issue. We would like the jail to stop shaving prisoners where it violates their constitutionally guaranteed religious rights," Singh said.
His supporters in the community say Ahuja has been forced to have his haircut twice since his incarceration, and that the policy violates the religious rights of other religious peoples as well, including Orthodox Jews, Rastafarians, Muslims and Native Americans.
Source
Sounds to me that he has the 1st Amendment on his side. I suppose long hair COULD be a security risk but so could almost anything.
12 comments:
The religious practices of Sikhs also includes the wearing of large, fully functional, daggers.
Should we also allow them those?
Is this Duval County, FL? As in, where I live?
This guy is a criminal who deserves whatever punishment is meted out to him. The jail's rule is that everyone has their head shaved. I'm sure this cuts down on lice and the like.
This practice is so as to help eliminate drug smuggling and razor blade hiding in the hair.
One of the fundamental tenets of incarceration is that you loose some of your rights. The question that should be considered is exactly what rights you retain and cases like this one help answer the question.
The simple solution here is to allow him to keep his hair, but lose his head. In this case, we should adopt Sharia law, something the ACLU wouldn't mind a bit.
Maybe if he was truly a 'practicing Sikh', he wouldn't have ended up in jail in the first place. Amazing how incarceration brings out the religion in some people.
if you don't want to live by the rules in the jail, don't get arrested. and the best way to do that is to not commit any crimes. mr. ahuja has only himself to blame for his predicament.
Upstanding Citizen = Full Rights
Convicted Criminal = Not so much...
End of Story
Typically prisons will have a policy for short hair more for hygiene than anything else. Many rights and freedom are checked at the door.
"Maybe if he was truly a 'practicing Sikh', he wouldn't have ended up in jail in the first place. Amazing how incarceration brings out the religion in some people."
This is probably one of the best comments I've read here in a while.
As usual, religious scruples only emerge when it suits the "devotee"!
I dont suppose they would allow christains to wear crosses and carry KING JAMES bibles do they?
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