In Dallas, Turban Good, Rosary Bad

Dallas Independent School District students cannot wear rosary beads to school -- because, look, everybody knows that's a gang symbol. But you can wear a turban into a Dallas County facility. That's the word today from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, which bought a suit against the...

By Robert Wilonsky

September 17, 2008

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Dallas Independent School District students cannot wear rosary beads to school -- because, look, everybody knows that's a gang symbol. But you can wear a turban into a Dallas County facility. That's the word today from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, which bought a suit against the county on behalf of Amardeep Singh, a Sikh who, in June 2006, went to a Justice of the Peace court to deal with a speeding ticket and was threatened with removal from the court if he didn't remove his "hat." The county has agreed to rewrite its security procedures to accommodate items including "religious head coverings" or other "religious apparel." Now, what to do with my yarmulke made of throwing stars. --Robert Wilonsky

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