World News | Indian-American lawmakers in Michigan introduce bill to make defacing places of worship a hate crime

WASHINGTON, June 7 (PTI) — An Indian-American lawmaker in the US state of Michigan has introduced a bill to expand the definition of hate crimes to include vandalism of places of worship.

Rep. Ranjeev Puri of Michigan, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Amritsar in the 1970s, also introduced a bill to make Diwali, Vaisakhi, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Lunar New Year official Michigan holidays s holiday.

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In his second term as a state representative, Puri is now the Michigan House majority whip, an influential position, and has been advancing social issues.

“I have introduced a bill to make Diwali, Vaisakhi and Eid a holiday in Michigan. I have another bill that would expand the definition of hate crime. So Michigan’s original hate crime bill was enacted in 1988, It hasn’t been updated since. It’s been 35 years, so we’re updating the definition to be more inclusive,” Puri told PTI in an interview.

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“If religious institutions such as temples, mosques or Sikh Gurdwaras are vandalized or desecrated, it will be much easier now to prosecute those who are disproportionately responsible for these hate crimes. We are dealing with a whole host of issues. My best Proud to be a leading voice on common sense gun reform in Michigan,” he said.

Puri’s parents immigrated to the United States in 1970. His father was instrumental in establishing the first Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin.

“When they immigrated to Wisconsin, they found that there weren’t many people who looked like them. They really helped build a community, and as more and more people immigrated, they actually started the first tin in Wisconsin. Gurdwara, the Muslims. I watched them build a community on the oak tree,” he said.

On August 5, 2012, in Oak Brook, a gunman linked to a white supremacist group opened fire in Gurudwara, killing six people. A seventh victim later died.

“As I progressed in my career, I got involved and eventually started working with President (Barack) Obama in 2012. Sadly 2012 was the Oak Creek shooting and the community was the same one my parents started in the early 70’s Unfortunately, that shooting was heart-wrenching because many people lost their lives, they were very close family friends, and I realized then that our wider Indian-American community really needed a stronger voice in this arena voice,” he said.

He attributes his success to his parents’ immigrant journey, and says it’s not easy for anyone to pack their bags and move to a different country.

“We usually tell people that the best export from India is the human capital that came here in the early years and continued to come here. I am very grateful to my parents for sacrificing that immigration story because it shaped who I am today,” he said. Puri travels to India every few years.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)