{"id":292100,"date":"2026-04-29T22:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T22:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292100\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T22:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T22:22:09","slug":"sacramento-allows-kirpan-in-city-hall-under-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/292100\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento allows kirpan in City Hall under rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mandeep<\/p>\n

Mandeep Singh, left, and Dr. Gurtej Singh wear kirpans as they join dozens of Sikh community members Tuesday at the first Sacramento City Council meeting where the ceremonial items were allowed after the council created a religious exemption for the weapons. <\/p>\n

JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n

jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n

A new ordinance allowing a religious blade inside Sacramento City Hall<\/a> went into effect Tuesday, and members of the Sikh community who carry the article of faith packed the council chambers for the occasion.<\/p>\n

Some members of the Sikh community carry five religious items as a formal recognition of their religion. One of them is a kirpan, or a religious sword. Because City Hall prohibited all weapons, Sikhs who carry kirpans could not enter City Hall to participate in city government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have called Sacramento area my home for more than two decades. I have been a resident of the city of Sacramento, for I think 7 years, now,\u201d said Dr. Gurtej Singh, who spoke at Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cAnd this is the first time I am stepping into the City Hall, feeling complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A kirpan \u2013 a short blade worn by some Sikhs as an article of faith \u2013 hangs at the side of Dr. Gurtej Singh during a Sacramento City Council meeting on Tuesday. It was the first meeting that kirpans were allowed after the council created a religious exemption for the weapons. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

To be allowed in City Hall, the kirpan must be 10 inches long or shorter<\/a> and be contained in a sheath.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was more than just policy,\u201d said Councilmember Caity Maple, who spearheaded the ordinance\u2019s passage. \u201cIt was about respect and inclusion and making sure that everyone can fully show up as themselves in our civic spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some speakers reflected on the significance of the occasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoments like this, things like this, it goes a long way in educating our community on who we are,\u201d said Mandeep Singh, the regional director of the Jakara Movement<\/a>, a nonprofit Sikh community organization.<\/p>\n

\"Members Members of the Sacramento Sikh community pose for a photograph with the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, the first meeting where religious blades known as kirpans were allowed. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Ishani Desai<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Ishani Desai is a government watchdog reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mandeep Singh, left, and Dr. Gurtej Singh wear kirpans as they join dozens of Sikh community members Tuesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-292100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}