There are rational arguments to be made in support of such bans, as was the case where the European Court of Human Rights upheld Belgium's comprehensive face veil ban. Essentially, the ECHR accepted that promoting broader societal interests, benefits and objectives, like gender equality and social harmony, outweighed the benefits of sustaining a blanket protection for religious freedom. Similarly, on grounds of achieving broader societal objectives, courts in Canada have determined that freedom of expression - perhaps the most vital of all freedoms in a democracy - isn't sacrosanct and can be infringed for purposes of limiting certain kinds of what is deemed to be unacceptable or offensive speech (i.e. R. v. Keegstra).