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TEXT OF THE BILL
Bill
Number: AB 504 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY
Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 24,
2009
An act to add
Section 13515.45 to the Penal Code, relating to peace officers.
LEGISLATIVE
COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 504, as
introduced, Furutani. Peace officers: training.
 Existing law
establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
within the Department of Justice. Under existing law, the commission
is required to develop and implement trainings for peace officers
relative to certain areas of criminal law or procedure.
This bill would
require the commission to create and make available to all law
enforcement agencies as part of basic training a training component
on how to recognize and interact with persons carrying a kirpan, as
specified. This bill would define a kirpan as a blade that resembles
a sword and is required to be carried as an integral part of the
practice of the Sikh faith.
Vote: majority.
Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated
local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF
THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA DO
ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The
Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) The
United States
was founded on the core principles of religious freedom, diversity,
and equality for all.
(b) Sikh
Americans form a vibrant, peaceful, and law-abiding part of the
United
States
community. California was one of the first places that Sikhs settled
in this country over 100 years ago. Today, California is home to a
large number of the nation's 500,000 Sikhs.
(c) Sikhs are
mandated by their religion to keep five articles of faith on or as
part of their person at all times. These articles of faith are
physical manifestations and reminders of core Sikh spiritual values
which include honesty, remembering God, and providing service to
humanity.
(d) The five
Sikh articles of faith include the kirpan. A kirpan is a religious
article resembling a sword, which is integral to the practice of the
Sikh faith. The kirpan is carried in a shoulder strap known as a
gatra, as mandated by the Sikh Code of Conduct. The kirpan acts as a
constant reminder to its bearer of a Sikh's solemn duty to protect
the weak and promote justice for all. The kirpan is also an allusion
to spiritual knowledge that cuts through ignorance and sin.
(e) In the years
since the attacks of
September 11,
2001, Sikhs have experienced an unprecedented increase in
prosecutions for carrying the kirpan.
(f) It is the
responsibility of the Legislature to protect religious freedoms,
while ensuring public safety. Keeping those obligations in mind, it
is the Legislature's goal to promote education and awareness of the
carrying of the kirpan by Sikhs in
California
when its possession is in accordance with an integral part of the
recognized religious practice of the person carrying it and there is
a benign intent in carrying it.
SEC. 2. Section
13515.45 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
13515.45. (a)
The commission shall, upon the next regularly scheduled review of a
training module relating to weapons violations and cultural
diversity, create and make available training content on how to
recognize and interact with persons carrying a kirpan. The training
content shall be designed for, and made available, as part of its
mandatory basic training, to peace officers employed by law
enforcement agencies that participate in, and comply with, training
standards set forth by the commission.
(b) For purposes
of this section, "kirpan" means a blade that resembles a sword and
is required to be carried as an integral part of the practice of the
Sikh faith.
(c) The training
course shall be developed by the commission in consultation with
appropriate subject matter experts. The commission shall make the
course available, as part of its mandatory basic training, to
California law enforcement agencies that participate in, and comply
with, training standards set forth by the commission.
(d) In addition
to the duties contained in subdivisions (a) and (c), the commission
shall electronically distribute, as necessary, a training bulletin
to law enforcement agencies participating in the commission's
program on the topic of the kirpan.
4
March 2009
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