# Sikhs, kirpans, and security **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583 "2008-08-02T05:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ntcrawler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/34f0e0/32.png) [@ntcrawler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ntcrawler)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/1 "2008-08-02T05:55:33Z")
How do sikhs handle airport security and going through other checkpoints (such as to court, etc) with regards to their carrying of a kirpan? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/2 "2008-08-02T07:43:47Z")
According to the following sources, Sikhs do not carry their kirpan onboard an aircraft. They check it in to their checked-in baggage. A quick search of another message board post also mentioned that you could submit the kirpan to be handed over to the flight crew. Some Sikhs also wear a smaller symbolic kirpan around the neck which doesn’t violate TSA policies. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi\_qn4176/is\_20061122/ai\_n16860140](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20061122/ai_n16860140) > **[Airline%20Security.pdf](https://www.sikhnet.com/oldsikhnet/SikhEducation/Airline%20Security.pdf)** > > 457.31 KB ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/3 "2008-08-02T20:36:32Z")
If I may ask a related question: what’s the policy on turbans? Are they removed? Searched? The wand waved over them? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/4 "2008-08-02T22:51:51Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] If I may ask a related question: what’s the policy on turbans? Are they removed? Searched? The wand waved over them? [/QUOTE] The turban is a 15-foot cloth meticulously wrapped around the head. It takes about 10-15minutes to wear. It is a religious requirement and must be worn at all times in public. The pdf linked in my previous post covers this question. According to the pdf there is actually a stated FAA policy regarding the handling of Sikh turbans: " Sikhs Support FAA Policies • Sikhs ask for equal treatment under the law • Airport personnel must observe FAA policies • FAA policy states that a turban removal should only be a last resort. Procedures are as follows: – If randomly selected for additional screening, use handheld metal detector – If handheld metal detector is triggered at or over the head, request a manual pat down of the turban – If the manual pat down suggests a prohibited item is concealed, request Sikh to remove turban as a last resort " " Handling a Turban with Care • Sikhs feel severely humiliated if asked to remove their turban in public, as this breaks a sacred covenant with God and exposes an intimate part of the body • If turban removal is required, provide a clean private area with lighting and a mirror • Treat the turban with respect and don’t allow it to fall or be placed on floor. • Allow at least 10 minutes for the turban to be retied in a private place " ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/5 "2008-08-02T23:38:58Z")
Ah, thank you. Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/6 "2008-08-03T00:10:06Z")
[QUOTE=ntcrawler] How do sikhs handle airport security and going through other checkpoints (such as to court, etc) with regards to their carrying of a kirpan? [/QUOTE] They just snikh it in. ---
**Author:** ![ntcrawler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/34f0e0/32.png) [@ntcrawler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ntcrawler)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/7 "2008-08-03T03:22:59Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] They just snikh it in. [/QUOTE] What about security checkpoints at county courthouses, etc? ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/8 "2008-08-03T03:48:27Z")
[QUOTE=ntcrawler] What about security checkpoints at county courthouses, etc? [/QUOTE] Woosh. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/9 "2008-08-03T03:54:35Z")
[QUOTE=feppytweed] Woosh. [/QUOTE] It’s a valid question hardly related to the originally-quoted post. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sikhs-kirpans-and-security/458583/10 "2008-08-03T09:34:34Z")
[QUOTE=ntcrawler] What about security checkpoints at county courthouses, etc? [/QUOTE] From: > **[News Archives](https://www.findarticles.com/news/)** > > Explore the News Articles featuring Technology, Business, Entertainment, and Science & Health topics. Access reports, insights, and stories. " The article of faith has been the source of hostile encounters with screeners at airports, courthouses and federal buildings, where several Sikhs have been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Sikh organization, which worked on the poster with federal officials, has dealt with about 30 instances of Sikhs’ being arrested for carrying a Kirpan. All of the cases have been dismissed, Datta said. To help avoid such encounters, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week released a poster explaining the Kirpan and giving security screeners tips on diplomatically searching for and confiscating the sword. * * * For visits at prisons and several historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Sikhs can leave the Kirpan with security guards. At airports, the Kirpans must be stowed in luggage that is not carried into the cabin. At federal courthouses, they must be taken outside the building. "