California governor vetoes anti-caste discrimination bill after Hindu-Americans' urges

Updated on Oct 8, 2.55 p.m.

California Governor vetoes cast ban bill

The Governor of the US state of California has vetoed a legislation adding caste to the list of banned grounds for discrimination, saying it is already banned in the state, siding with advocacy groups of Hindu Americans who had mounted a countrywide effort to prevent the enactment of the Bill.

“California already prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, colour, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics, and state law specifies that these civil rights protections shall be liberally construed,” Governor Gavin Newsom, said in a statement explaining the veto.

Following this, California will not become the first US state to ban caste specifically, which had looked possible in the aftermath of Seattle becoming the first American city to prohibit caste.

The SB 403 bill, which seeks to outlaw caste-based discrimination in the state, was passed in the California Senate last week with an overwhelming 31-5 votes, and now rests with Governor Gavin Newsom for clearance.

Holding banners and placards, Hindus in Califonian city of Sacramento on Sept 9 urged Newsom to veto the bill, which if signed, will make California the first state in the US to add caste as a protected category in its anti-discrimination laws.

Hindu-American faction urges withdrawal of caste discrimination bill

“Governor Newsom you stood with us in 2017 when you supported our community to ensure that Hindus and Indians are not misrepresented in California’s textbooks. We ask you to stand with us one more time by vetoing SB 403,” said Samir Kalra from advocacy group Hindu American Foundation (HAF).

“We ask you Gavin Newsom to Veto SB403 so history remembers that you said no to discrimination against Indian Americans and said no to racially profiling our community,” the HAF, which is planning to file a lawsuit against the bill, wrote on X.

Sharing videos and images from the peaceful protest, US-based Hindu advocacy group, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), wrote on X: “Gavin Newsom, we hope you see how deeply concerned our community is about this bill and its potential impact on us”.

“Violates Hindu Civil Rights”: CoHNA

Asserting that the bill seeks to “silence” the Hindus, CoHNA said that SB 403 “is not facially neutral, allows for the targeting and profiling of Hindus and violates our civil rights”.

“‘Caste’ is not neutral like race, religion, gender, ethnicity, ancestry and other categories. And, existing California laws can already address any claims of caste discrimination,” CoHNA said, urging Newsom to “stand on the right side of history”.

The bill, introduced by Senator Aisha Wahab in March, adds caste as a protected category to an existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which provides that all people in the state of California are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments.

“We want to ensure organisations and companies do not entrench caste discrimination in their practices or policies, and in order to do that we need to make it plainly clear that discrimination based on caste is against the law,” Wahab had said in March 2023.

Governor Newsom to review the bill

Just after the passage in the California State Assembly, its supporters went on a hunger strike asking Newsom to sign it into law as soon as possible.

The office of Governor Newsom was reported quoting that he would evaluate the bill when it reaches his desk.

Before its passage in California’s senate, the bill had cleared the State Assembly late last month with a 55-3 vote, a sign of broad support.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for sytle

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