Kirpan Decision: Either You're a Liberal or You're Not

On Thursday, Canada's Supreme Court unanimously decided in favour of a Sikh student to wear his kirpan to school and upheld lower court restrictions regarding the placement of the ceremonial dagger on the body.

The knife must be worn under the clothes and sewn into a sheath.

Under thoses[sic] conditions, "the kirpan is almost totally stripped of its objectively dangerous characteristics," the court said. "Access to the kirpan ... is now fully impeded by the cloth envelope sewn around the wooden sheath. In these circumstances, the argument relating to safety can no longer reasonably succeed."

Traveling around the Canadian liberal blogosphere since the decision was announced, I was disappointed to see so many so-called liberals denounce this Supreme Court decision, citing "danger" and "weapon" as their justifications. If you're worried about weapons in schools, ban pencils. Everybody knows you can poke your eye out with one of those dangerous instruments of evil and mayhem.

Let's get real here: there has never been a violent incident involving the use of a kirpan in a school. I can hear you now. You're saying, "but it could happen! It's a knife!". Take a look at those restrictions. What's more likely to happen if a fight breaks out? Someone lifts up their shirt, rips open the sewn cloth, opens the wooden sheath in the heat of the moment or they just punch the guy in the face or poke his eye out with the nearest pencil?

Sorry, people. Your "handy weapon" argument is a non-starter.

Frankly, if you're a liberal, in my books you ought to be supportive of freedom of religion as guaranteed by our Charter instead of falling into this weapons hysteria trap that is just a handy excuse for not standing up for true liberal values. We do live in a country that affords freedoms so that we can live in peace and harmony.

Keep this in mind when you would choose to deny "others" of their rights:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Pastor Martin Niemöller