Not cutting your hair is one of the marks of a true Sikh but many Sikhs in the West backslide about that
"The US Justice Department has sued the state of California in defense of a Sikh prisoner's right to practice his religion, including by not cutting his beard.
Backing legal action taken on inmate Sukhjinder S. Basra's behalf, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez said California's policy for inmate grooming 'substantially burdens the rights of an inmate to practice his Sikh faith.'"
Andre Birotte Jr., US attorney for California's central district, added: "The rights guaranteed by the Constitution extend to all people in the United States. "By protecting those rights -- even for those incarcerated -- we strengthen those rights for all," he added.
Source
I think the DOJ is right about this -- though a true follower of Guru Nanak (Sikhism) wouldn't be in prison anyway.
Note: Sikhs are good guys. They have been fighting the Muslims for around 600 years. They are also the only major Indian religion that rejects the caste system. The present Prime Minister of India is a Sikh. I have known a lot of them over the years and have always been favourably impressed by them.
George Bush was very pro-Sikh
9 comments:
So prisoners should be able to question the prison system to accommodate whatever they say their religion requires, even if it goes against existing prison rules - is it the inmates running the asylum?
It's the equivalent of immigrants demanding the host population bends to the immigrants' customs rather than the reverse, except felons should have even less consideration.
3:38:
I agree. Prisons should be completely sectarian. Absolutely no accommodation should be made to any religion.
You lose just about every right when you go to prison, I'm not sure why your right to an invisible friend should be retained. No accomodation should be made for any convict that places them outside the mainstream prison population. That includes apperance, diet, time out of their cells, whatever.
I have had a beard since I got off active duty. If I end up in prison should I convert to get to keep it?
How devout can this man be if he committed a crime that calls for incarceration? He forfeited all religious standing by being sent to jail. He has no right to invoke religion in custody. The supreme being stops at the jailhouse door.
"How devout can this man be if he committed a crime that calls for incarceration? "
How devout can a priest be if he raped an alter boy?
Does this Mexifornia ruling also apply to Rastafarian prisioners who, in order to practice their religious beliefs, must smoke great amounts of Gonja?
(there use of the drug as part of their religious belief was upheld by the FL. Supreme Ct.)
William Wayne Justice
This 1 man is the reason the inmates run the assylum now. He took away the power from the states and gave it to the federal govt. And we all know how well they can run things...
Many prisons are going smoke-free nowadays, what about the rights of voodoo priests who smoke cigars during their ceremony? Will liberals accommodate them?
http://libertarians4freedom.blogspot.com/
I understand when russians PETER THE GREAT got tired of the BOYARS in their beards and long robes he went after them with a pair of scizors and would pull their beard off phisicly
Post a Comment