On Wednesday the Parti Quebecois put a vote in the national assembly to ban the Kirpan in the national assembly. The Liberals and the ADQ voted in favor of this. This is crazy Canada is a multicultural country that believes in tolerance and Quebec is no exception. The kirpan must be allowed it is not a weapon it is a religious symbol I was very glad that Micheal Ignatieff went for the freedom of religion. It is a religious symbol that should be allowed in all public area like the national assembly. The Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois and even I regret to hear the Liberals of Quebec are against multiculturalism. These sort of policies tell immigrants that they aren't welcome in our free democratic country. This decision must be reversed and I think all the leaders of the Political parties should apologize to the people who live and pay taxes like any other Quebecer, and should have the same freedom as any other person.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2011/02/09/pq-kirpan-measure.html
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." A Liberal-supporting, environmentalist blog. We blog according to our opinions, not those of the party or government. Free speech must win and that's why we have this blog. The views of two Montrealers and a Libertarian.
Friday, February 11, 2011
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Not gonna happen. Welcome to Trudeau's Canada....
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed to hear that anyone would vote in favor of banning the Kirpan. I do understand that people may be afraid by the general concept of the Kirpan but banning it won't help the public's reaction! By not banning it, it may be easier for the general public to comprehend that it IS not a weapon, just a religious symbol. Assuming that someone decided to use it as a weapon (there has been a case or two where this has happened) they should be punished equally to someone using a regular knife. People should not be afraid of it and as I said, banning it would only encourage fear and hatred against religions. As you said, this is a democracy, we shouldn't be censoring people's right to religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteQuebec xenophobes
ReplyDeleteWho exactly is censoring peoples rights to religious beliefs? I thought they were just banning what could be a knife. Why am I a biggot for seeing it as a knife when, its a knife. I'm just wondering when someone starts a religion where the religious symbol is a poorly fed angry pit bull.
ReplyDeleteExcept that the kirpan is actually manufactured duller than a bread knife. It would be like trying to injure someone with a ruler.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how supporters of the kirpan can continue to insist it is not a knife. It may be a symbol as well but that doesn't deprive it of its essential knife-like qualities. It has a handle, a blade, and a point (even a sheath). It is both a knife and a symbol. Thats where the debate comes in. If it were merely the latter and not the former there would be no debate as there is no real debate about the right to wear a yamulka, a crucifix, or a hijab. Conversely if it were merely the former and not the latter, there would be no debate that you can't bring them into legislatures, schools, airplanes, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt really comes down to the type of kirpan. As for the kirpan being dull, yes most (but not all are). But if its long enough and pointy its still dangerous. My brother has a sword thats dull but if you impaled someone with it it sure as heck could cause grievous injury.
There are legitimate limits to religious freedom. This is a grey area. I don't think its fair to insist that everyone who falls on the "reasonable limit" side of the debate is a xenophobe. There can be legitimate, secular, non-hateful opposition to the kirpan.
I understand what you mean KC and I think if a religious symbol was a bomb I don't think it should be allowed, but the fact is that it is just a Kirpan that can't actually hurt anyone, so it should be allowed.
ReplyDeleteI dont know how you can conclude that it "can't actually hurt anyone". Part of the confusion in this debate springs from the fact that contrary to what both supporters and opponents claim, kirpans come in different shapes and sizes. Some are short, some are long, most are dull but most are also pointy. Just do a google search and that much is clear. I think that supporters of the kirpan wrongly minimize their effectiveness as a weapon. They aren't switchblades, but they arent letter openers or butter knives either.
ReplyDeleteI went on Google and the Kirpans aren't scary they aren't dangerous. They are small and a little bi, but to say that it can hurt someone is an exaggeration. They should be allowed in public areas.
ReplyDeleteYou must be looking at different pictures than me.
ReplyDeletehttp://s.www.sikhnet.com/files/news/2008/May/kirpan-2.jpg
http://www.panjabivirsa.co.uk/communities/2/004/008/164/592/images/4536049019.jpg
http://s.www.sikhnet.com/thegallery/gallery/d/816-3/KhalsaKirpan-1600.jpg
Its not illegal to carry a knife in a public place, but they certainly don't look like something that should be in schools or parliament.
"Society is safer when good people are armed".
ReplyDeleteNRA
I know a lot of Sikhs, they are all good people.
Kudo's to Ignatieff