California Governor Vetoes Bill Mandating Police Educational Material On Kirpans

On Sunday, California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that would have required the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) to create additional training materials for law enforcement officers on how to deal with Sikhs carrying kirpans. (See prior posting.) The governor said that AB 504 is unnecessary because POST already has authority to create this type of material if it finds it is needed. Religion News Service yesterday quoted Neha Singh of the Sikh Coalition who said the Sikh community was "outraged" by the veto. Singh said that police officers often do not know what they are looking at when they see a kirpan. However a POST spokesman said that statistically the kirpan is not a significant issue.