Judge: Army’s Special Tests for Sikh Officer Are ‘Unfair’
6th March 2016
A federal judge in Washington, DC, called the Army’s plan to require a Sikh soldier to undergo special testing to make sure his long hair, beard and turban did not interfere with proper, safe wear of his helmet and gas mask “unfair and discriminatory.”
Seems like plain common sense to me. But, then, no federal judge’s decision has ever seemed like plain common sense to me, so at least one of us is consistent.
“Singling out the plaintiff [Singh] for specialized testing due only to his Sikh articles of faith is, in this context, unfair and discriminatory,” Howell wrote. “It is this singling out for special scrutiny — indeed, with the initial precaution of requiring an escort and observers for the plaintiff as he was subjected to the tests–that has a clear tendency to pressure the plaintiff, or other soldiers who may wish to seek a religious accommodation, to conform behavior and forego religious precepts.”
Except that’s not what’s happening. In reality, he’s being given special consideration to accommodate the requirements of his faith, with proper safeguards for his own safety (and those of his comrades) under modern battle conditions. US District Judge Beryl A. Howell has, of course, no military experience, and her CV of Swarthmore, Columbia, and Columbia Law is pretty thoroughly Crustian.