President Joe Biden has known as for lowering gun violence and banning assault weapons within the US to defeat “domestic terrorism” and hate in all its types, together with the “poison of white supremacy”, as he condemned the assault on a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin in 2012 on the tenth anniversary of the heinous act.
On August 5, 2012, a white supremacist opened fireplace contained in the Oak Creek gurdwara in Winconsin, killing six individuals. A seventh one that was severely paralysed died from his accidents in 2020.
“The Oak Creek taking pictures was the deadliest assault on Sikh Americans in our nation’s historical past. Tragically, assaults on our nation’s homes of worship have solely turn into extra widespread over the previous decade. It is as much as all of us to disclaim this hate protected harbor. No one ought to concern for his or her life once they bow their head in prayer or go about their lives in America,” Biden stated in a press release on Friday.
The President stated the Oak Creek incident has proven “us the way” and recalled how after the assault, the Sikh neighborhood returned to their Gurdwara and insisted on cleansing it themselves. The son of one of many victims grew to become the primary Sikh in American historical past to testify earlier than Congress, efficiently calling for the federal authorities to trace hate crimes towards Sikhs and different minority teams.
Every yr, the congregation now hosts an annual memorial run to honor the victims. The occasion bears the phrases ‘Charhdi Kala’, which means “eternal optimism”, he famous.
“Fuelled by that spirit of everlasting optimism, we should proceed to take steps now to cut back gun violence and hold our fellow Americans protected. We should do extra to guard locations of worship, and defeat home terrorism and hate in all its types, together with the poison of white supremacy.
“We must ban assault weapons- used in many mass shootings at houses of worship and other sites across the country- as well as high-capacity magazines,” Biden asserted.
Underlining that the House of Representatives final week handed a invoice to try this, he stated the Senate should act as effectively.
“To stand in defense of religious freedom, we must all stand together to ban the weapons that terrorize congregations around our country,” Biden stated.
Recalling the assault, the President stated when generations of Sikh-Americans in Oak Creek constructed their place of worship after years of renting native halls, it was a sacred place of their very own and a connection shared with the broader neighborhood. That sense of peace and belonging was shattered on August 5, 2012, when a white supremacist wielding a semiautomatic handgun arrived on the Gurdwara and started taking pictures.
“The gunman murdered six individuals and wounded 4 that day, in addition to one other sufferer who survived his wounds solely to succumb to them years later. Jill and I do know that days like at present carry again the ache prefer it occurred yesterday, and we mourn with the victims’ households, the survivors, and the neighborhood devastated by this heinous act,” he stated.
The US is ready to match or surpass its worst yr on file for the variety of mass shootings, in keeping with information compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun violence incidents throughout the nation.
There have been a minimum of 246 mass shootings by means of June 5 this yr. That is identical quantity the nation noticed by means of June 5 in 2021 — the worst yr on file because the Gun Violence Archive started monitoring mass shootings in 2014.
There have been a complete of 692 mass shootings in 2021, CNN reported in June. That 246 quantity additionally means there have been extra mass shootings than days to date in 2022 — a pattern that is recurred every year since 2020 — underscoring the rising prevalence of gun violence in American life, the report stated.
Several mass shootings and a sustained rise in gun violence throughout the US have spurred regulation enforcement officers and lawmakers to push for extra gun management measures.
President Biden in June signed into regulation the primary main gun security laws handed in many years. Though the measure didn’t ban any weapons, it contains funding for varsity security and state disaster intervention applications.
Meanwhile, in a joint assertion, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai – Co-Chairs of each the White House
Initiative and the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders — listed out the steps being taken by the Biden administration to advance insurance policies defending the basic proper to apply religion with out concern.
“Our hearts are heavy as we keep in mind Suveg Singh Khattra, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Ranjit Singh, Sita Singh, Paramjit Kaur Saini, Prakash Singh, Baba Punjab Singh, and all these impacted by the tragedy. The assault in Oak Creek was not simply an assault on the Sikh neighborhood, however America itself — and we be part of with tens of millions of people that have been touched by the unwavering Sikh tenet of Charhdi Kala, or everlasting optimism,” they stated.
“While a decade has handed, Sikh Americans proceed to face unconscionable harassment and violence, together with within the homes of worship the place so many search peace and solace. It is our accountability to do every little thing we will to guard our communities, and the Biden-Harris administration continues to work intently with religion leaders throughout the nation to fight bigotry and intolerance in all their types,” Becerra and Tai wrote.
The Oak Creek incident was like a wake-up name that regardless of having coexisted in America for greater than 100 years, individuals weren’t conscious of the Sikh identification, its piety, the teachings, our values, tenets of common well-being and Seva, UN-affiliated non-profit group United Sikhs stated in a separate assertion.
This yr’s Oak Creek commemoration is centered across the message “Heal, Unite, Act,” stated one other Sikh physique SALDEF. “For us, this sparks the flame to do extra in our neighborhood.
The Sikh religion is grounded within the oneness of humanity and we imagine there may be divinity inside all. It is thru {our relationships} with each other that this transformation is feasible,” it stated.
The tenth Annual Oak Creek Sikh Memorial Anniversary Candlelight Remembrance Vigil was held Friday night from 6 pm to eight pm native time on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
“Ten years in the past, our sangat (neighborhood) suffered probably the most devastating assault towards Sikhs in our nation’s historical past. As ever, our hearts stay with the households of Prakash Singh, Paramjit Kaur Saini, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Suveg Singh Khattra, and Baba Punjab Singh–in addition to those that have been injured in the course of the taking pictures, and those that carry the burdens of trauma and loss ahead to this present day,” stated the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
“This anniversary means many issues to many individuals. Some nonetheless really feel painful loss and absence of their households and households ten years later. Others have come of age previously decade, studying how one can lead and discovering their voice within the shadow of tragedy. And nonetheless others have joined our rising neighborhood and turn into part of our persevering with story.
There is room for this commemoration to carry the distinctive fact that every of us feels,” the temple stated.
“As we replicate on this anniversary, we all know that we should proceed the shared work of constructing our society free from bigotry. In the Sikh custom, we select to try for this higher world with out concern and with out hate–and we accomplish that within the spirit of chardi kala, or everlasting optimism,” it stated.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
