Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow members of the Sikh faith to carry religious daggers known as kirpans with them into city chambers, a move that expands the religious freedoms of the Sikh community.<\/p>\n
The ordinance states that kirpans can now be brought into council chambers so long as they are secured in a \u201cprotective sheath\u201d and the blade is no longer than 10 inches. Not every member of the Sikh faith carries a kirpan, but it is a core part of the religion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jasjit Singh is a member of Sacramento\u2019s Sikh community and serves on the Sacramento City Unified\u2019s School Board. He said that Sikhs in Sacramento have felt like they couldn\u2019t participate in civic engagement because of previous rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not outsiders. Sikhs have called Sacramento home for a century,\u201d Singh said. \u201cWe [were] unable to, as community members and people live here, effectively advocate, effectively show up and show support at city hall.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councilmember Caity Maple, who presented the ordinance, told CapRadio that members of the faith came to her a few years ago with their frustrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there’s something that I must do as a part of my faith, and then that prevented me from being able to participate in government, which should be my right as a citizen, that would be very upsetting to me,\u201d Maple said. \u201cThat would be something that I would want to fix.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are approximately 40,000 members of the Sikh faith living in Sacramento. The religion originates from India and operates under the core tenets <\/a>of giving back to the community, meditating on god and the oneness of the universe and earning an honest living.\u00a0<\/p>\n The goal of those practicing the Sikh faith is to become an initiated Khalsa-Sikh, meaning certain members hold an unwavering commitment to these beliefs and carry the religion with them both internally and externally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Externally, Khalsa-Sikhs are required to not cut their hair, wear an iron or steel bracelet, carry a wooden comb, wear specific undergarments, and carry a kirpan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Singh points out that while the goal is to to become initiated, each person within the Sikh faith is on their own journey.<\/p>\n \u201cKhalsa literally means \u2018the pure,\u2019\u201d Singh said. \u201cIt does not mean others are not pure. It\u2019s just that you have taken an additional step to join this communal belief system that takes the Sikh faith and raises it to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n Mandeep Singh is a Khalsa-Sikh and carries a kirpan. He told CapRadio following the meeting that the ordinance helps address some previous discrimination members of his faith have experienced.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that take it off, leave it in their car, or don\u2019t come at all,\u201d Mandeep Singh said. \u201cYou have to show up at your full self first, right? If you actually don\u2019t advocate for yourself, people are going to walk all over you.\u201d<\/p>\n The ordinance follows others in the state and is modeled after one in Fresno from 2020. Karpins are also allowed<\/a> in the California State Capitol and in the White House, with similar restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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