Religion Trumps Helmet Law

(Brampton, Ontario) A 39-year-old devout Sikh and businessman, Baljinder Badesha, was issued a traffic ticket for not wearing a helmet while riding his motorcycle.

Badesha fought the ticket claiming that wearing a helmet instead of a turban was contrary to his religion.

"I know it is for safety, but people die in car accidents all the time," the 39-year-old owner of a used car dealership said yesterday outside a Brampton court. He is fighting a $110 ticket he received for wearing his turban instead of a helmet while riding his motorcycle on Queen St. in Brampton near Hwy. 410.

Now the Ontario Human Rights Commission is siding with him, insisting Badesha is being discriminated against.

"Telling Mr. Badesha to choose between his religion or participating in the normal life of Ontario is discrimination," Scott Hutchison, an attorney for the human rights commission, told a Brampton court yesterday.

As a result, the motorcycle helmet law in Ontario does not apply equally to all citizens. According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, some citizens are exempt depending on their religion.

Of course, the opposite is true also. People who do not follow the right religion must comply. Ironically, that sounds like more discrimination.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.