Pre-Election Special SALE: 60% Off VIP Membership
BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules on Whether Virginia Can Remove Non-Citizens From Voter Rolls
Tim Walz's Gaming Session With Ocasio-Cortez Was a Trainwreck
Oregon Predicates Request to Judge on Self-Delusion
GDP Report Shows Economy 'Weaker Than Expected'
How Trump Plans to Help Compensate Victims of 'Migrant Crime'
NRCC Blasts the Left's Voter Suppression Efforts in Battleground Districts
Watch Trump's Reaction to Finding Out Biden Called His Supporters 'Garbage'
Scott Jennings Calls Out CNN Host, Panelists Trying to Desperately Explain Away Biden's...
There Was a Vile, Violent Attack in Chicago, and the Media's Been Silent....
One Red State Just Acquired a Massive Amount of Land to Secure Its...
Poll Out of Texas Shows That Harris Rally Sure Didn't Work for Colin...
This Hollywood Actor Is Persuading Christian Men to Vote for Kamala Harris
Is the Trump Campaign Over-Confident?
Is This Really How the Kamala HQ Is Going to Respond to Biden’s...
Tipsheet

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Bearded Inmate

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today in the case Holt v. Hobbs that a prison in Arkansas cannot force an inmate to shave his beard. The prisoner, Gregory Holt (who now goes by Abdul Muhammad), is a Muslim who claimed that being forced to shave his beard violated his religious freedom. Holt sought to grow a half-inch long beard, but was told that facial hair was prohibited due to security concerns in the Varner Supermax prison. Holt was represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

Advertisement

A statement released by Holt's co-counsel Eric Rassbach praised the Supreme Court's decision is a win for religious freedom, and noted that most other states did not have similar policies that restricted the length of a prisoner's facial hair.

This is a huge win for religious freedom and for all Americans. More than 43 prison systems across the country allow prisoners to grow a half-inch beard, and at least 41 prison systems would allow an even longer beard. What the Supreme Court said today was that government officials cannot impose arbitrary restrictions on religious liberty just because they think government knows best.

This is a victory not just for one prisoner in Arkansas, but for every American who believes and wants the freedom to act on those beliefs.

I agree. There's no inherent security risk with a beard that short, and if dozens of other states have no issue with facial hair of that length; I really don't see the harm in allowing this prisoner to have a beard. Arkansas already allowed prisoners to grow beards for medical reasons—I don't understand what the major issue was with this man's beard. Religious freedom does not evaporate in the walls of a prison.

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement