Everybody knows you can’t wear a ski mask in a bank, so the same principle should apply to those who wear a burqa.
I asked Donald Trump on Boston Herald Radio yesterday if burqas should be banned. “Yes. I’m OK with that,” he said.
The reason is simple. When a person wears a full head-to-toe burqa — or a face veil, called a niqab — civilians and law enforcement can’t identify them.
Given that ISIS and other radical Islamist terror groups are threatening to bomb Times Square and hit “soft targets” elsewhere, we can’t continue to ignore this homeland security risk.
Burqas are not allowed in Senegal, Chad, Niger and Cameroon because there have been multiple terror attacks where female suicide bombers — even Boko Haram men — hid explosives under burqas, killing dozens.
Switzerland banned burqas in the county of Ticino after a recent vote. Fines for violators can be as high as $9,800. Belgium and France have also banned them.
British Prime Minister David Cameron recently banned face-covering veils from being worn at border crossings, schools and government buildings.
We should do the same. It’s not about race or religion, it’s about public safety. Terrorists — disguised in burqas — could easily conceal a machete, gun or an IED under their clothing. We already know that terrorists have disguised themselves as refugees.
There’s nothing stopping them from exploiting our ultra-tolerant society by telling would-be jihadists, suicide bombers and lone wolves to hide deadly weapons under a burqa.
Bostonians know firsthand how important it was to be able to identify the marathon bombers in surveillance photos. Now imagine if the Tsarnaevs were dressed in burqas with their faces and bodies concealed?
They were headed to New York City to bomb Times Square, prosecutors said. They were stopped by brave officers in Watertown, keeping them from killing other innocent Americans.
It’s noteworthy that one of the ISIS terrorists involved in the Paris terror attack was a woman. And the jihadi bride in the San Bernardino slaughter was also female.
Here in Massachusetts, burqas are popping up all over in the suburbs and shopping malls.
Bottom line: In an age of terror, we must not allow political correctness to trump public safety. Protecting lives and our homeland must always come first.