In Sacramento, CA Governor Gavin Newsom Urged To Veto Caste Bill

India-West Staff Reporter

SACRAMENTO, CA  – Hundreds of Hindus gathered here to protest an anti-caste discrimination bill, which they say will further fuel instances of Hinduphobia if signed into law.

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, the group, on September 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.

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

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 organizations 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.

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 told BBC 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.