Thankfully, smuggling endangered monkey meat does not appear to fall under the freedom of religion umbrella:
A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the country.Notice this isn't some African tribal religious belief, but an actual Christian belief. That's funny, because I don't think I'm familiar with the section of the New Testament that covers the spiritual reasons for eating monkeys. For her crime, the woman could face up to five years in prison and deportation.
U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ruled Wednesday that Mamie Manneh's faith didn't preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food or explain why she misled officials.
Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts as it passed through Kennedy Airport on the way to her home in Staten Island.
Manneh's lawyers claimed a First Amendment right, arguing that some Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons.
1 comments:
So there is a market for endangered monkey meat in the U.S.?
That gives me the creeps.
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