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Chairs of Congressional Committees
Say No to
TSA's Turban Screening Policy
WSN Network
Washington: At
the request of the Sikh Coalition, key Congressional Committee
Chairs with oversight power over the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) has released a joint letter expressing deep
concern with its new turban screening policy. The letter, addressed
to TSA Administrator Kip Hawley and Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff, calls for screening procedures that preserve both
religious freedom and security.
This is the
second letter to the TSA from Congressional leadership in a week.
Last week Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), also at the urging of the
Sikh Coalition, wrote to the TSA expressing concern with the
policy.
Monday's letter,
initiated by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), was signed by
Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary
Committee; Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) Chair of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chair of the
House Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure
Protection; and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Civil Rights
Taskforce Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
“We shouldn’t
encroach upon freedom in order to protect freedom,” said Congressman
Mike Honda. “Turbans are an intimate part of Sikh religious
identity. We would not order a western woman to bare her chest in
public, so in the same manner we need to balance civil liberties
with security concerns.”
The Sikh
Coalition has been working tirelessly with members of Congress to
ensure they are up to date on the Sikh community’s concerns about
the new policy. “We are all Americans, and want to protect the United
States. But at the same time we need to balance security with a
measure of respect for those articles of faith that we consider
sacred and intimate,” said Neha Singh, advocacy director at the
Coalition, America's largest Sikh civil rights organization.
The joint letter
urges the TSA to work directly with the Sikh American community to
resolve its concerns. It also expresses concern that the new TSA
policy will inevitably lead to religious profiling.
Representative
Honda also pledged to speak directly with the TSA to express the
Sikh communities concerns. “One of the biggest failures in the war
on terror has been to win hearts and minds,” Honda said. “But at the
same time I know the men and women of TSA are professionals who
believe in their mission, and because of this I am confident we can
reach an outcome that is both respectful and responsible. I am
looking forward to my conversations with them.”
The Sikh
Coalition has commended Congressman Honda and his colleagues for
their leadership on this issue of deep concern to the Sikh
community.
20
September, 2007
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