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Summary of Question:	Reply To Kirpan In School
Category:	Sikh Practices
Date Posted:	Thursday, 8/23/2001 2:46 AM MDT

I just wanted to add a little to the reply about wearing a Kirpan in school. The reply that was given is totally correct. Wearing a small replica of a Kirpan on a chain around your neck may be the best alternative.

Although the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides for Freedom of Religion, the Supreme Court of the United States has made it clear that that freedom of religion is not an absolute right. The Supreme Court has established a guideline for determining when it is okay to infringe upon ones religious practices and when it is not.
Put in simplest terms, the current guideline states that if a law or rule that infringes upon a person's religious practices is reasonable under the circumstances, then it is okay. I personally do not agree with this guideline and think that it makes infringing upon one's religious practices too easy. But, the Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States, so regardless of my opinion, the guideline that it has established is the law of the land.
Using this guideline, I think that any Court would confirm that a school has a reasonable need to regulate any and all potential weapons on school grounds.
Although the student who wrote to this Forum might prefer to wear a full sized Kirpan, it is quite clear that the best any Amritdhari Sikh student can expect to be permitted to wear would be small 'harmless' replica of one.
--Mukhia Singh Sahib RamDas Singh Khalsa