More on Michigan Decision Permitting Carrying of Kirpan

Today's Detroit, Michigan News reports that Wayne State University is reviewing its public safety policies on carrying of knives after a Detroit judge ruled a Sikh student's religious right were infringed when he was arrested for carrying a kirpan. Elaborating on an earlier report about the case, the paper reported on the opinion written by Judge Rudy Serra of the 36th District Court. He held that Detroit's knife ordinance was intended to apply to people carrying "a knife as a weapon or for some unlawful purpose," not someone like Sukhpreet Singh Garcha who was carrying a kirpan for religious reasons. "There is no question that forbidding him from wearing the kirpan imposes a burden," Serra wrote. "It would be similar to an ordinance that made it illegal to wear a cross or a Star of David."