It's a small beard, only half an inch long, but the principle it raised is a great one. Great enough for the Supreme Court of the United States to debate and, this week, decide.
The principle is freedom of religion, and the question before the high court was whether a Muslim prisoner has a right to grow such a beard in accordance with his religious dictates. Or if the state's prison system can deny him that right in the name of keeping the prison secure. For its part, the State of Arkansas argued that forbidding such a beard is necessary to prevent an inmate from hiding contraband there, or otherwise needlessly endangering the prison's security. The court saw through that argument--unanimously. And upheld the First Amendment and its guarantee of freedom of religion.
Even the justices who usually consider freedom of religion expendable in other cases--like the one requiring companies to pay for contraception/abortion under Obamacare, even if that violates the owner's freedom of conscience. That was the issue in the closely decided Hobby Lobby case that upheld freedom of religion not long ago.
In this constitutional landmark of a case, Associate Justice Samuel Alito remained a consistent defender of religious freedom, pointing out that many other states allow prisoners to grow such beards without greatly endangering their prisons' security. This time Justice Alito was joined by even The Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg despite her dissenting opinion in the Hobby Lobby case. Mrs. Justice Ginsburg turns out to be less than consistent in her defense of religious freedom, but this time she was on the right side, that is, of religious freedom. May it ever be preserved in an ever free country.
Commentary on 01/26/2015