Arizona Bill Automatically Becomes Law if Not Vetoed by Monday, May 2 April 28, 2011: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) and thousands of Americans from all backgrounds are demanding that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer veto HB 2230, a bill that removes the memorial of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American who was the first post-9/11 fatality caused by hate violence on September 15, 2001. The bill proposes the removal of Mr. Sodhi’s name from the state’s 9/11 memorial and subsequently selling the memorial plaque as scrap metal. Over 4700 letters have been sent in the past two days to Governor Brewer demanding that she veto the bill. SALDEF encourages Americans to continue to voice their outrage to Governor Brewer and demand that she veto HB 2230 by the Monday deadline, at which point the bill becomes law. TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition urging Gov. Brewer to veto the bill The bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative John Kavanaugh, outrageously claimed that Mr. Sodhi “was not a 9/11 victim” after conducting a cursory Internet search. In fact, Mr. Kavanaugh believes the tragic hate crime was unconnected to 9/11. The bill has passed both houses in the Arizona legislature on party-line votes and is now on the desk of Governor Brewer, who has until Monday to veto the bill before it automatically becomes law. The efforts of the Arizona legislature come as a blow to the entire Sikh American community, which has endured a decade of hate crimes. Whereas Arizona rallied behind the Sodhi family and Sikh American community in the wake of Mr. Sodhi’s tragic murder, the state is now seeking to erase him from its history. In addition to signing the petition, contact Governor Brewer asking that she veto HB 2230:
- Call: 602.542.4331, then dial option 4
- Facebook: facebook.com/govjanbrewer
- Twitter: @govbrewer
Take action now and forward this to your family and friends.