Wednesday, February 20, 2008

When Rights Conflict with Laws

A Sikh gentleman in Canada has enlisted the help of the human rights commission to assist him in circumventing our long existing laws which demand a motorcyclist wear a safety helmet. His problem is that he wears a turban and would have to remove it in order to wear a helmet.

This man has chosen to immigrate from India to Canada and, like every other country in the world, we have laws for our citizens. Our laws also prohibit forceful marriage which some Indians practice for their daughters. Our laws prohibit genital mutilation which is practiced by some African cultures. We also have a free vote in Canada that is not allowed in some countries.

In the end, if a person chooses to live in a country then they have also chosen to abide by the laws of that country. These laws can be changed by majority vote.

I know that thousands of Canadian tax dollars will be wasted on this man as he trudges his complaint through bureau after bureau and I also accept that he just might win his case. We are sometimes too liberal a society.

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