By ADAM BEAM | Related Press
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers on Tuesday voted to outlaw discrimination based mostly on caste, including protections for folks of South Asian descent who say they’ve been neglected of conventional American safeguards for equity in employment and housing.
The invoice — the primary of its sort within the U.S. — now heads to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who should determine whether or not to signal it into regulation.
Caste is an historical, complicated system that regulates folks’s social standing based mostly on their delivery. It’s primarily related to India and Hinduism, however caste-based divisions are additionally present in different faiths and international locations.
State and federal legal guidelines already ban discrimination based mostly on intercourse, race and faith. California’s civil rights regulation goes additional by outlawing discrimination based mostly on issues like medical circumstances, genetic info, sexual orientation, immigration standing and ancestry.
RELATED: A small world: How caste discrimination got here to California
Tuesday, the state Senate voted 31-5 to approve a invoice that may redefine “ancestry” to incorporate “lineal descent, heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social standing.” The invoice was authored by state Sen. Aisha Wahab, the primary Muslim and Afghan-American girl elected to the state Legislature.
“Caste discrimination is not going to be tolerated in California,” she mentioned.
India has banned caste discrimination since 1948, the yr after it gained independence from Nice Britain. In recent times, South Asians have been pushing for caste protections on the U.S. Many main U.S. faculties and universities have added caste to their non-discrimination insurance policies, together with the College of California and California State College programs. In February, Seattle turned the primary U.S. metropolis to ban discrimination based mostly on caste.
Now, California may turn out to be the primary state to take action. The invoice simply handed the Legislature, with only some dissenting votes. However the proposal provoked an intense response from the state’s South Asian group. A public listening to on the invoice this summer time lasted hours as a whole lot of individuals lined up across the Capitol to testify for and towards the invoice.
Opponents argued the invoice is unfair as a result of it solely applies to folks in a caste-based system. A letter to state lawmakers from the Hindu American Basis earlier this yr fearful that South Asians might be “pressured to reply intrusive questions on or be judged for who they’re married to.”
“This invoice targets Hindus and east Indians,” mentioned state Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield who voted towards the invoice on Tuesday.
California lawmakers are within the last two weeks of the legislative session. Lawmakers have till Sept. 14 to behave on almost 1,000 payments. When lawmakers end, Newsom may have a month to determine whether or not to signal these payments into regulation.