To add to the story, the Sikhs in question were appearing before legislators to discuss cultural issues and had called ahead to ask about the kirpans- they got mixed messages until they showed up wearing them and I guess got the definitive answer.
That's true in more ways than one. They got the definitive answer on their kirpans, but one might also say they got their definitive answer on cultural issues as well! And in a pretty publicly embarrassing way.