As hard as I try to remain supportive of our current Government, the stupid decisions just keep coming.

So now they want to ban the burqa from Parliament.

How many women are showing up in burqas that this even needs to be considered? Apparently none so far.

If wearing a burqa poses a security threat, then are our politicians telling us only they deserve protection?

There is no defence for such stupidity.

It's 'nikab', not 'burka'. The nikab allows the eyes to be uncovered, the burka covers the eyes with a screen. I live a sheltered life so I don't think I've ever seen a woman in Australia with a burka yet. A few nikabs, noticeably more now than a few years ago. One sees plenty of colourful hijabs, which almost by definition are not designed to conceal a weapon.

If Muslim women are restricted by their husbands from leaving their house unless they are wearing a nikab, then I would rather they are able to do that than to be kept cooped up out of sight altogether.

If the only way some women can get out and see the world, to see that nobody is rampaging and raping every woman with a short skirt or her hair uncovered, that nobody gives much of a toss about all that, then I would rather they were able to get out and move around, no matter how they are dressed.

As for concealed weapons, unless we're talking about AK-47s or grenade-launchers, anybody can conceal a weapon in their clothing, no matter what they're wearing. Maybe not budgie-smugglers, or poncy Lycra-clad cyclist gear. But that young idiot who attacked the police last week was wearing ordinary clothing, and still had two concealed weapons.

Not really an issue.

Joe

CH: There is no defence for such stupidity.

Exactly, & the Burka is at the top of the list for stupidity. Stupidity that comes from an Archaic Stupid Middle Eastern Custom. Not Islam itself. These people have come to Australia to enjoy what Australia has to offer. One of the good things Australia has to offer is the freedom to rid themselves of these stupid archaic customs.

If the men insist on the women wearing such attire then they must wear the same. We'll see how long the custom lasts then.

There is something suspect about a person who will not show their face to others. The face communicates half the meaning and intent of speech. If a person appearing in a place of administration or security with the face covered must uncover the face or be denied access, as their message has no importance and honesty.

There was an instance recently where some young traffic cop was under attack for demanding that a Muslim woman remove her full face covering for identification at a traffic stop.

I could not believe we could be so stupid as to allow anyone to drive a vehicle while wearing such vision restricting headgear. Not only must it dramatically restrict vision while worn as usual, but in many situations the head could move within it, cutting vision almost totally.

How can dark tinting of car windows be illegal, but the wearing of this much more dangerous garbage be permitted.

In Saudi Arabia, a home of such stupid clothing, women are not allowed to drive. Obviously they are smarter than us in this matter. We should outlaw driving in such gear for public safety.

I have a theory on the wearing of such things, & I don't for a moment believe it has anything to do with women's safety.

I believe that Muslim men, in that society of arranged marriages, insist their women were these disguises so no one can find out just how ugly their wives really are.

Yes they are to protect the egos of the men, not the purity of the women. After all, how could these clowns act so tough, if everyone knew their wives had to shave twice a day.

With all our laws now against freedom of speech lest we give offense to someone, I want these things banned in public everywhere. I find nothing so offensive as the sight of these things on the streets of Australia. Why should I not be protected from this studied offense?

Otherwise anyone who does not accept that these things are used regularly for hiding someone's identity, if perhaps not weapons, is simply a fool.

When I saw the mother of that young man who was killed in Melbourne appear on television I wondered what part her niqab had to play in his upbringing.

Imagine being led as a child by hand through the local shopping mall by a woman who was obviously your own mother and she was dressed like that. There may be one or two other kids in the mall in the same situation but you stood out like a sore thumb. Imagine bumping into your class mates from school and them laughing at you for being attached to this person who, for whatever reason, felt the need to appear in public in such a radically different style of dress. Children latch on to extreme difference as a way of bullying and isolating other children. That does not make it right but that is the reality.

Imagine going to school on Monday to find out that everyone had been told about what you had to endure and that they all joined in the bullying. You would feel humiliated and extremely angry at your mother for drawing such unwanted attention towards you. Imagine enduring such bullying for a number of years whilst your rage seethed within you. One day you finally become old enough to hit back. You have two choices you can denounce Islam and this may mean ending your emotional dependency on your mother or you can fight back against all those who criticise your mother’s attachment to Islam. You see their bullying as a hatred of Islam itself.

You choose the later choice and pour such venom into your cause that you are prepared to risk your own life. Where do some Australian grown terrorists come from? From family situations similar to that where they grow up torn between their emotional dependence on their parents and their desire to forge their own life free of the oppression of religion.