A bill that would have made California the first state to explicitly ban caste-based discrimination was vetoed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. After a year of advocacy and a monthlong hunger strike, progressive South Asian groups were disappointed — but said that the caste equity movement is just beginning.
“We are very proud of the power and resilience that caste-oppressed people across the state have shown in their advocacy for SB403,” Thenmozhi Soundararajan, a caste equity activist and founder of the civil rights organization Equality Labs, said in a press release. “While it is heartbreaking to receive the Governor’s veto, it is not a reflection of the incredible democratic power that our communities showed. We did the impossible.”
Senate Bill 403, introduced in March by Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab, would have delineated caste as being protected under the existing category of “ancestry” in the state’s civil rights law.
It sparked dialogue in South Asian communities about the lingering effects of the caste system and how they present in American life. Many who identify as caste-oppressed went public with their stories in the process of moving the bill forward, saying they’ve faced violence, harassment and exclusion, particularly in the workplace.
In a veto message, Newsom noted that California already bans discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation. When interpreted broadly, he said, this implicitly includes caste.
“Because discrimination based on caste is already prohibited under these existing categories, this bill is unnecessary,” his message said.
Wahab’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the veto.
In March, Wahab told NBC News: “This is a human rights bill. … This is a bill that will allow people to pursue their American dream to the fullest potential without any restrictions based on where they come from, how…
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