(Samaj Weekly)- California’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-0 in favor of SB 403 on April 25th. Remaining three senators have also now voted in favor of this legislation, bringing the final vote count to a historic 11-0. We applaud Senator Aisha Wahab for championing this bill and thank the Judiciary Committee’s decision to hear the voices of the oppressed and put an end to caste oppression and discrimination. The Judiciary Committee stood firm and resisted propaganda and disinformation campaign against this legislation and did the right thing by listening to the voices of the oppressed and approved the bill to proceed to the next legislative stage.
We want to take a moment and recognize the incredible work done by the Ravidassia community of California towards this bill. The community has thousands of members in the state and the following Gurudwaras and their members played a huge role in this victory. They are – Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bay Area, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Fresno, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Pittsburg, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Selma, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Rio Linda (Sacramento) and Bhim International Foundation, USA. We also want to recognize and thank the Sikh community and Gurudwara Sahib, Fremont for their support.
Without the dedication of these Ravidassia Gurudwaras and its members, this important success would not have been realized. Mr. Vinod Kumar Chumber, Founder of Bhim International and Chairman of Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Bay Area said, “We are committed to ensuring a safe passage of this bill and will not stop till this becomes California law”. We cannot agree more.
In addition, we also want to recognize and thank Equality Labs for leading the effort to mobilize the bill. We also want to thank the bill co-sponsors for coming forward – Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Sikh Coalition, Jakara Movement, South Asian Network, Hindus for Caste Equity, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Alphabet Workers Union and Tech Equity Collaborative.
Jai Bhim.
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