California:
Sikh advocacy groups in the US are shocked that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a Bill to educate law enforcement officers about the religious significance of kirpans.
There is a mood of gloom at the office of the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group that spearheaded the campaign in California to educate police officers about what the kirpans means to Sikhs. Schwarzenegger vetoed the Bill, saying it was "unnecessary".
Amardeep Singh, a co-founder of the Sikh Coalition says: "We had unanimous support for the Bill from the legislature, we had the support of all civil rights and religious groups in California and the support of the police officers themselves for the education. That is why were are shocked that the governor would unilaterally, on his own, with very little explanation, veto this Bill."
Across the US, Sikhs are arrested because police mistakenly believe their kirpans to be concealed weapons. The Bill would have been the first such law in the US if the governor had cleared it.
For the past eight years, advocacy groups have been fighting for the rights of Sikhs in a post 9/11 world. And they say they are not giving up that easily.
"The governor and California needs to understand that our community is going to introduce that Bill every year until we find a governor who will sign it. It will happen eventually. We are not going anywhere", says Amardeep Singh.
There is a mood of gloom at the office of the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group that spearheaded the campaign in California to educate police officers about what the kirpans means to Sikhs. Schwarzenegger vetoed the Bill, saying it was "unnecessary".
Amardeep Singh, a co-founder of the Sikh Coalition says: "We had unanimous support for the Bill from the legislature, we had the support of all civil rights and religious groups in California and the support of the police officers themselves for the education. That is why were are shocked that the governor would unilaterally, on his own, with very little explanation, veto this Bill."
Across the US, Sikhs are arrested because police mistakenly believe their kirpans to be concealed weapons. The Bill would have been the first such law in the US if the governor had cleared it.
For the past eight years, advocacy groups have been fighting for the rights of Sikhs in a post 9/11 world. And they say they are not giving up that easily.
"The governor and California needs to understand that our community is going to introduce that Bill every year until we find a governor who will sign it. It will happen eventually. We are not going anywhere", says Amardeep Singh.
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