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In a landmark civil rights victory for the Sikh community, the U.S. government has agreed to reverse its ban on turbans and beards among federal security officers.
The reversal comes in a settlement in a discrimination case filed by a Sikh security officer Raghbir Singh against the Federal Protective Service and the security company NCLN20, which in 2005 barred him from retaining his turban and beard on the job.
On another front, California Gov Schwarzenegger has a vetoed a bill on mandatory Kirpan awareness training for police officers in the state. Schwarzenegger said the bill, which enjoyed bipartisan support in the legislature, was unnecessary and aimed to force the state’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training “to create and make available to all law enforcement agencies training content on how to recognize and interact with persons carrying a kirpan.” “It is the policy and practice of the Commission to periodically review and update existing course curricula,” Schwarzenegger said in his veto message. “If the Commission determines that training on the kirpan is warranted, it can create a program without this measure.” |
