Rep. Bera Comments on the Anniversary of Oak Creek Shooting

Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-7) offered the following comment on the one year anniversary of the shooting at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin Gurdwara which killed six people:

“Since the September 11th attacks, too many Sikh Americans have been wrongfully subjected to hate crimes and discrimination. Our own community has not been immune from this violence - in 2011, two elderly Sikh Americans, Gurmej Atwal and Surinder Singh, were shot while out for a walk in Elk Grove. The Oak Creek shooting is another horrific example of violence and intolerance against Sikhs.

I have worked closely with the Sikh American community and I am committed to protecting domestic civil rights. I am pleased by the FBI’s recent decision to track hate crimes against Sikh, Hindu, and Arab-Americans, among other categories. The Sikh faith promotes equality, religious tolerance and community service. Religious tolerance is a fundamental value of our nation and I hope we can come together to prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again.”

Congressman Ami Bera M.D. represents Sacramento County. Born and raised in California, Bera is a physician and the only Indian American currently serving in Congress.  He’s fighting to rebuild an economy that works for middle class families and to reduce our country’s debt in a responsible way. A proponent for strengthening United States’ strategic and trading relationship with India and Asia, Bera is a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee and is working to open Asian markets to California products to create new  jobs. He and his wife Janine live in Elk Grove with their daughter Sydra. For more updates on Rep. Bera follow @RepBera on Twitter, like Congressman Bera on Facebook, or visit https://www.bera.house.gov.