Sikh community organizes peace rally in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A San Jose plaza was packed Thursday evening with people from different cultures and religions standing together to end violence. The peace rally was hosted by the Bay Area Sikh community.

Members of the Sikh community and different ethnic and religious groups gathered together, searching for peace and acceptance. They are also taking a stand against violence because what happened in Wisconsin has shaken many to their core.

"Am I afraid? There is a possibility it could happen again you never know what people are thinking," Milpitas resident Jaskirat Singh said.

For them, in order to feel safe again things must change. Some are calling for sweeping policy changes at the state and federal levels.

"We need to have a way of identifying individuals like this and stopping them before they can do all this destruction and havoc," Coalition 2020 spokesperson Annie Dandavati said.

Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif. agrees lawmakers need to do more.

"It could possibly have been avoided if we had better or more stringent gun control laws or a way to monitor people on the watch list as terrorist groups," Honda said.

Alice Hoagland knows firsthand what terrorists can do. Her son, Mark Bingham, died on United Flight 93 on Sept. 11. She was at the rally because she wants to stop the violent targeted attacks against people.

"We need to realize that many kinds of people wear the turban and they have other signs of Sikhism and we need to make distinctions in order to combat this type of ignorance and violence," Hoagland said.

Friday, vigils will take place in several countries and in 100 and one cities nationwide, including at San Jose City Hall at 7 p.m.

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san jose, religion, south bay news, lisa amin gulezian

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