Banning face coverings

[Aegon]

You know, back when women were protesting their right to vote, a significant number of women polled claimed that they did not want that right. It's something called internalized oppression. I would agree that a similar phenomenon is present with those who say they want to wear  headdresses and the like.

But is it fair to ban them outright? It would certainly seem to go against freedom of religion and expression that US protects under the First Amendment. On that basis alone I wouldn't agree with a ban.

I don't see how it's a first amendment thing.  There's no compulsion to wear the burqa in the qu'ran, only for both sexes to dress modestly and cover their hair (but notice how men in the most muslim countries are never held to that rule).  That is because the burqa didn't come from Arabia or Iran but places like Afghanistan where thinking of women as proerty rather than people long predated conversion.

So what if the Quran doesn't explicitly say it? Wearing them is still obviously an expression of their faith, it is still religious in nature, and it is still something that these people believe to be crucial to practicing their faith. It certainly falls under the umbrella of the First Amendment. Hell, take away the religious aspect, there'd still probably be a case for general freedom of speech/expression. And even if it doesn't fall under any of those categories, the left-libertarian in me naturally pushes back against the government telling people what they can and can't wear.