But in real news...those Idaho folks are idiots...
...There is one major problem with all this outrage, according to city officials in Coeur d’Alene:
The owners of the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel do not face arrest or fines or any other penalty for refusing to marry same-sex couples.
The lawsuit argues that Coeur d’Alene’s non-discrimination ordinance -- which was passed last year and bars businesses and public accommodations from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity -- will “unconstitutionally” force the Knapps to either “violate their religious convictions and ministerial vows” by performing same-sex weddings or face jail time and fines. According to the suit, the city has “privately and publicly threatened to apply” the ordinance to the Hitching Post.
However, according to city officials and the lawsuit itself, the Hitching Post filed papers with the Idaho Secretary of State identifying itself as a religious corporation on Oct. 6, the day before the 9th Circuit struck down Idaho’s ban. The city’s ordinance explicitly states that religious corporations are exempt from the law...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/25/gay-marriage-jail_n_6044214.html
Now...about the Kirpan. It is a religious symbol. It, as shown in the NY case, can be rendered useless as a weapon through various means, basically locking it into the sheath.
...Rajdeep Singh, the group's policy director, said the issue of kirpans in schools doesn't often come up, because not all Sikhs wear them and others wear them under their clothes.
He noted that the items are probably less dangerous than the scissors that elementary school students in Auburn are required to bring to class.
"It would be helpful to remind parents that this is not a weapon," he said.
Many agencies across the nation have created policies that accommodate the ceremonial knives, the coalition said. The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service allows kirpan-carrying Sikhs into federal buildings, it said.
"This is not something that's new to us or most districts in the area," Foster said...
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024851207_apxschooldagger.html
