Today marks 12 years since the shooting that left seven members of the Sikh community dead after a White nationalist opened fire in a Sikh gurdwara, or place of worship, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, according to Remember Oak Creek.
U.S. Senatorial candidate Rep. Andy Kim (D-3) of New Jersey mourned the victims in a post on social media platform X. New Jersey is home to approximately 100,000 Sikhs, or about a fifth of the total U.S. Sikh population, WHYY wrote.
Since the September 11 attacks, Sikhs have been a disproportionate target of race- and religion-based hate, with those donning the turban being particularly vulnerable, AsAmNews reported. Groups in the Sikh community have since advocated for specific legal protections.
One such group, the Sikh Youth Alliance (SYA), currently has a bill in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, known as A4561 in the Assembly and S3532 in the Senate.
The bill calls for the designation of Sikhs as a protected class, the establishment of a working definition for anti-Sikh bias, and the allocation of $100,000 towards educational investment into Sikh awareness for three years, Insider NJ reported.
Last year, the SYA passed another bill in the Assembly calling for education on Sikh culture to be included in statewide social studies curricula, AsAmNews wrote. On top of the $100,000 appropriation, bill A4561/S3532 calls for statewide accountability measures on this legislation, according to Insider NJ.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-28) of California, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), released a statement about the shooting today, as did other CAPAC members.
“Nowhere should this violence have happened – not in this sacred place meant for peace and community for all, not in America, not ever,” Chu wrote. “Sikh Americans, and all Americans, deserve to live, learn, worship, and play with a sense of safety.”
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