Daggers (knives) allowed in schools but not on airplanes

Here is the Yahoo news story.

And I thought American Schools had it bad.

Multiculturalism and religious freedom trumped safety concerns in a Canadian Supreme Court decision on Thursday that will allow orthodox Sikh students to carry 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.

Charron said aircraft were unique environments, but schools had the ability to better control different situations.

His kirpan is about 20 cm (8 inches) long, with the blade roughly half that length, but kirpans can be longer.

Wow, I am so glad that my children don't go to school in Canada. I am all for freedom of religion... But I think a line has to be drawn, when safety is concerned. Imagine if a fight broke out and someone either used theirs as a weapon, or someone else took it from the sheath and used it as a weapon.

In the United States, a federal appeals court allowed kirpans in California, but the U.S. Supreme Court has not decreed a national policy.

Why does that not surprise me?

Someone who's willing to use a knife or a gun in a fight will not care about the fact that it is illegal to carry around...

This whole kirpan thing is just silly. There has never been an incident in Canada of a kirpan used in an attack at a school. Not a single one.

You will be hard pressed to find a school in Canada that allows more than a blunt ceremonial dagger, sewn into the sheath. It's about a dangerous as a butter knife and we let those in the door.

I am converting to a sikh

This doesn't bother me at all. All of the Sikhs I know are peacfull, well mannered people. Of course this doesn't go for all Sikhs becasue I don't know them all. It seems to me that there is more of a danger from people who don't understand the religion.

Does anyone remember the incident in Providence, Rhode Island where a Sikh was riding a comuter train home from Boston on 9/11? The man was minding his own business when he was dragged from the train by the police, assaulted by passengers and onlookers. Called "towel-head" and accused of being a terrorist. He was all judged before the police arrived, and was arrested when his kirpin was found. Who do you think had more to fear in that case?

This shouldn't be allowed at all. Next they will want to wear robes into a school that has uniforms or wear a two foot high turban with jewels hanging off it. Just using their power to undermine our culture and it seems that liberals are anxious to let them do it too.

thats great because some dude in some sikh religion book says its ok now they can bring an 8 INCH BLADE to school... if someone passed you by the hallway and you noticed an 8 INCH BLADE on his belt would you not feel threatened at all? what about the school kids who DONT know about this sikc fad? what about the bullys who constantly ridicule and target minors? this truly a downgrade for the board of education.

I went to school my entire life with Sikh's who wear kirpans. I never felt threatened. I did see kids get stabbed with scissors and even pencils, but never a kirpan. Scissors and pencils are far more readily available than a kirpan, maybe we should ban them from schools?

How does other people's ignorance of the symbolism of the kirpan make it all OK to stomp on Sikh's religious rights? School is for learning, maybe they should take advantage of the opportunity?

It caused a bloody uproar when we allowed Sikh's to wear turbans with their uniforms, I see this as more of the same.

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Oh no! The Sikh's are destroying our culture by demanding that Canada abide by it's laws!

This shouldn't be allowed at all. Next they will want to wear robes into a school that has uniforms or wear a two foot high turban with jewels hanging off it. Just using their power to undermine our culture and it seems that liberals are anxious to let them do it too.

After that they'll be wantin freeedom of religion and expression and what not. Then they'll want to vote!!! DagNabbitt, when will they learn that they ain't white and don't deserve the rights that whites get.

thats great because some dude in some sikh religion book says its ok now they can bring an 8 INCH BLADE to school... if someone passed you by the hallway and you noticed an 8 INCH BLADE on his belt would you not feel threatened at all? what about the school kids who DONT know about this sikc fad? what about the bullys who constantly ridicule and target minors? this truly a downgrade for the board of education.

That 8 INCH BLADE is actually a 4 inch blade, and dull. If someone walked by me with a kirpan I would ask why he had it, and hopefully learn more about it. I guess some people would feel threatened (for no reason) and react either violently or fearfully. But why is that my, or his problem. As for the bullies who target minors (did you mean minorities?) why is the issue with the Sikh and not the bully?

Edit: and this "Sikh fad" as you called it is a 500 year old religion, and though I'm not a Sikh, I'm insulted that you would say such a thing.

[edit on 8-3-2006 by Rasobasi420]

Are you kidding? OOo, look at the big scary butter knife. When I was in school not that long ago, during hunting season the older kids, 18+, would bring their shotguns, unloaded, to school in their trucks or cars so after school they could go right out and hunt.

At an auction to raise money guns and knives were sold.

Most people I knew had knives on them at all time, I still carry my pocket knife with me, never know when I will need it.

And who got stabbed? Who got shot? No one! Well one kid got stabbed with a fork, but he was touching a girl in a wrong place and she put the fork through his hand.

You are more likely to die of food poisoning at school then of a gunshot or knife.

Personally, I don't have a problem with someone wearing a kirpan. However, wearing a kirpan in a school setting is entirely a different matter. Knives are not allowed in school. The kirpan is a knife. Therefore, a kirpan should not be allowed in school.

However, I understand that it is part of the Sikh faith to wear a kirpan. The Sikh's say that the kirpan is strictly ceremonial and of the main tenets of their faith. In Canada, the Sikh's have constitutional guarantees that allow them to practice their faith. So, a Sikh is permitted to carry their kirpans.

It would seem, at this point, that there is an impasse. On one hand, Sikh's are guaranteed their right to carry a kirpan and on the other, we are confronted with educational regulations that forbid carrying weapons -- ceremonial or not -- in school. Oh what to do? What to do?

Well, it would seem, if one reads more about the Canadian Supreme Court Decision that the solution is a simple one and, really, quite logical. The kirpan is sewn into a cloth case that would make removing the blade very difficult, if not impossible under normal circumstance. Furthermore, the kirpan is to be worn under the clothes and out of sight. This certainly would seem to satisfy, for the most part, the entire matter.

CBC report on the Canadian Supreme Court decision regarding carrying kirpans in school

I live in Australia, when Ifirst went to high school I brang a pocket knife to school
Stopped now.

Lol at the people saying it's only 4 inches long and dull...the reality is that a handled metal object would give you a big advantage in a fight...which invariably happen in schools.

Either everyone is allowed to take whatever object they want with them to school or there should be no exceptions...

This is not really an issue as the average Sikh is completely reasonsable about this and will have a secured version ( i.e blade completely blunt and then bolted to scabbard so it cant be removed).

This allows them to practice the "teachings of their parents" (or religion as they might know it), and comply with the "everyones equal" value of schools.

That's quite ironic, I was just reading an article online this morning concerning this very issue in the UK, it's quite interesting...

Sikh judge Sir Mota Singh criticises banning of Kirpan

OHSH*T, I go to school in Canada! Luckily I'm not at an inner city school. This is a really stupid law, it's pure descrimination! I hate it when people immigrate here and then expect us to change everything around for them.

Club a kid with a chair choke one with your laces or his own necklace or stab them with pens scissors or a pencil.

There are a hundred different ways for these kids to kill each other besides the obvious "bring in a knife because I'm not particularly concerned with policy, after all my goal is assault or murder" method.

Banning anything from a schoo for safetyl is as stupid as assuming because a thing is not explicitly banned it will somehow result in blood filled hallways.

Folks need to get back to reality. Reality being that there is no such thing as "safe" and no law or lack of law will change that in any way.


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