Written by Don Byrd
Kawal Tagore, an accountant who adheres to the Sikh religion, has won a settlement with the federal government, ending a dispute over her right to wear a kirpan into a federal office building when she worked there. The agreement comes just after her trial began, in which federal officials were accused of violating Tagore’s religious freedom rights under RFRA.
A year ago, the 5th Circuit revived her lawsuit, on the grounds that the government had not demonstrated the kirpan ban was necessary to achieve its security interest as required by RFRA. The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the government, but does require the Federal Protective Service to educate its staff on the religious significant of the kirpan, allows her to wear it in federal buildings in conjunction with her work, and once again seek federal employment if she desires.
The Christian Science Monitor reports:
“It’s a huge accomplishment and one that’s going to set a precedent for Sikhs nationwide,” says Daniel Blomberg, legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, which also argued on behalf of religious accommodations in the Hobby Lobby case.
Before Tagore’s case, the government “essentially made Sikhs choose between their faith and their ability to serve the country honorably,” Mr. Blomberg says. “She’s really broken through that and set aside that discriminatory ban on Sikh religious access to federal buildings.”
Kitchen knives, scissors and other objects sharper than a kirpan are allowed into federal buildings for office use without controversy. There seems little rationale for banning an object with such religious significance, when similar objects with clerical significance are routinely accepted. Uncovering unnecessary prohibitions on religious exercise is what RFRA is all about.
