Friday, December 21, 2007

If I had a hammer....


A Utah prison inmate serving time for aggravated assault & robbery is suing the State Dept.of Corrections in Federal court for denying him the right to practice his religion.Michael Polk alledges that he is has been a follower of the Asatru faith since 2005 and the DOC will not allow him the items he needs to practice his religion.Asatru followers worship the Nordic gods Thor,Odin,Tyr & Heimdal.Among the "tools" he says he needs for "proper worship" are a Thor's hammer,a prayer mat,a Mead horn used for drinking Wassail(whatever that is!),a drum of wood & boarskin,a rune staff and a sword!Yeah,you read it right-his list of requirements include lethal weapons and again,he is in prison already for aggravated assault!
I am all for freedom to practice whatever religion you choose,but at the same time if exercising an individual right infringes upon someone elses liberty(translation:he buries the Thor hammer in a fellow inmate or guards head)then his right is kinda cancelled out.The DOC is in a toguh position because no one in their right mind is going to furnish potential weapons to an incarcerated felon,but this guy will no doubt enlist the help of the good ole "AC-to hell with you"(ACLU) and waste countless tax dollars fighting this issue.Whats next?Rastafarians in prison demanding ganja?Oh,thats already happened!

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