Key Points
California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark but controversial bill passed by the states legislature that added caste to its basket of anti-discrimination legislation, arguing that the administration already barred discrimination across various dimensions, including caste, and the new legislation was unnecessary.ge..
In a sign of the divide in the diaspora on the issue, Indian-American Hindu groups welcomed the governors decision, but prominent anti-caste and minority groups as well civil liberties bodies criticised Newsom..
Returning SB403 to the members of the California state senate on Saturday, Newsom, who is a prominent Democratic governor, said that the bill defines ancestry for the purposes of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, Unruh Act and the Education Act to include caste..
In August, SB403 which would add caste as an explicit category for anti-discrimination action in the states civil rights, education, and housing codes passed by a margin of 50-3 in the California House, marking the first time an American legislature considered and cleared an anti-caste legislation..
Though governor Newsom has rejected the bill for now, we will continue to work alongside many Californians in labour, civil rights, and interfaith movements to ensure Californias opportunities are accessible for all going forward, said Nirmal Singh from Californians for Caste Equity..
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