Charges dropped against a Sikh for carrying kirpan at airport
Thursday, 24/07/2014
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=111541&boxid=58173&uid=&dat=2014-07-24
New York: A US court here has dismissed criminal charges against a Sikh man for carrying a kirpan to a city airport.
The Queens Criminal Court dismissed the criminal summons after rights group Sikh Coalition’s staff attorney Gurjot Kaur represented Singh during a hearing at where Kaur explained the religious significance of Singh’s kirpans and the peaceful nature of his religious practice, the Sikh Coalition said in a statement.
Kaur also argued that the law in question provides many secular and recreational exemptions, including exemptions for individuals who carry knives for fishing, hunting and camping purposes and for members of the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.
Kaur said that the law should provide an exemption to Sikhs who carry kirpans as part of their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.
She cited a similar case in 1987 where the court had dismissed all criminal kirpan charges against the Sikh defendant.
