BHAI
GURSANT SINGH JI THE ONLY SIKH LEADER IN THE US WHO RECOGNISES THE NEED
TO BE ARMED AS PER SIKHISM & THE US CONSTITUTION
Gursant Singh is a former riflery champion.
Sikhs are a misunderstood religious group in the US. Sikh men—who
traditionally sport beards and turbans—are sometimes mistaken for
fundamentalist Muslims hell-bent on America's distruction. Which, they
are not. In the month after 9/11, more than 300 hate crimes were
committed against Sikhs according to the Sikh Coalition, a New
York-based community group formed in response to that flurry of
misguided reprisal attacks. The mass shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak
Creek, Wisconsin, last year was another disturbing example of the
cultural confusion that the 700-year-old South Asian religion causes for
some Americans. Although Oak Creek authorities have yet to determine an
official motive for the attack, the shooter’s white-supremacist
background and alleged claims of an “impending racial war,” left little
doubt that he targeted the Sikh community because of their differing
cultural heritage.
Just last week, two incidents of mistaken xenophobia were reported: in
Manhattan, a mob of 20 teenagers swarmed and beat a Columbia University
professor, Prabhjot Singh, supposedly because his turban and beard
signaled to the marauding teens that he was a terrorist. Professor
Singh’s attackers allegedly yelled, “Get Osama,” before they left Singh
with a broken jaw and several missing teeth.
In Mississippi, a judge
ordered a Sikh defendant to “remove the rag on his head” or go to jail. The defendant had gotten arrested for carrying a short knife—or a
kirpan—which, it turns out, is a religious requirement that some Sikh men follow.
The kirpan is a ceremonial dagger that some Sikh men carry as a symbol
of the martial history of the religion and the duty of manhood. Carrying
the kirpan is one of the five articles of faith of Sikhism, as
established in the 17th century by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth leader
of the religion. While advocates at the Sikh Coalition push for better
education about their religion and nonviolent, cross-cultural outreach
as a means to stop the uptick in violence toward Sikhs in the US, at
least one American Sikh sees the legacy of the kirpan as a reason to arm
up as a more direct method of deterrence.
Gursant Singh has a solution: he wants every Sikh man and woman to have
access to and know how to use a firearm. He details it on his
YouTube channel and writes about his disenfranchisement with other white Sikhs in his book,
Confessions of an American Sikh.
Gursant was born Clark Harris in 1956 to a proud military family in
Southern California. In 1981 he became one of thousands of white
converts to Sikhism in American. He is a uniquely American mix of
red-blooded gun boosterism and the heritage of a religion birthed half a
world away. Get this:
he sued
the State of California because he claimed its ban on assualt assault
weapons and high-capacity magazines interferes with the practice of his
religion, claiming that the articles of faith detailing kirpan-carrying
extend to the bearing of large firearms.
Gursant doesn’t speak for the majority of Sikhs in America. The kirpan
is regarded by many Sikhs as a potent symbol of duty for Sikh men and
part of the muscular tradition of
Sikh warriors,
but few Sikhs connect that tradition to gun ownership. We decided to
talk with Gursant about his outlying beliefs that Sikhs should arm
themselves, and how Sikhism might evolve in our pistol-popping, American
context.
VICE: What is the place for guns in Sikhism?
Gursant Singh: Guru Gobind Singh said we should have weapons
of all kinds. We should be ready to defend ourselves and defend those
who can’t defend themselves. To train with firearms is good for your
sense of confidence and responsibility. I think it’s a great way to
increase your self-confidence and individual responsibility. I grew up
with firearms so they’re very natural to me. But I hear so many people
who say they’re afraid of a gun. [
laughs]
It’s not the gun that is the thing to be afraid of. It’s the people who
are using them. I think it’s important for our society to have the guns
that these criminals have or that these hatemongers have. I feel a lot
safer and I feel self-confidence that I can go where I want and I don’t
have to fear someone attacking me.
Are you always strapped then?
I just can’t imagine going out without wearing a handgun in today’s
society. You’re just really asking for trouble especially in our
situation where there are so many people out there who hate us for
looking Sikh. It’s a personal defense weapon, and it's legal to get one.
You can defend yourself and your family without too much practice. Take
a few classes and get the license.
What are you currently packing?
For 35 years, I’ve always used a revolver. I was convinced recently the
more modern thing is a semiautomatic .45-caliber handgun. It’s
definitely more modern and effective. Revolvers are really good; they’re
easy to shoot. You don’t have to worry about a safety because the
hammer comes back. They convinced me at the gun shop these semiautomatic
weapons are very safe now. Which was the major reason I didn’t get one
before. The .45 caliber is a much larger bullet it has a lot more impact
and will knock someone down, while the .38 revolver doesn’t have as
much impact. With the revolver the cylinder has to turn when you pull
the trigger so it’s not as accurate to shoot. The main thing is you want
to be trained with the handgun you use, so in the right situation you
can act quickly. These things happen very quickly.
So you think that the attack on the Columbia professor could have been deterred?
From what I saw, he [Prabhjot Singh] wasn’t wearing a kirpan, and I
think that would’ve been a real deterrent. It’s too bad. I don’t think
Sikhs should be victims. I think there are enough teachings in Sikh
history, like by Guru Gobind Singh, that we should be able to defend
ourselves and defend those who can’t defend themselves. That’s why, in
my mind, we wear the kirpan so it’s not a showpiece. It’s supposed to be
a way to defend yourself.
It seems like the Sikh American community has a different idea.
I think most of the Sikhs coming from India to the USA are interested
in making money and aren’t as interested in upholding the Sikh
principles as Guru Gobind Singh laid them down. You’ll see political
advocacy groups like the Sikh Coalition, and they’ll never talk about
firearms or self-defense. They’re more interested in pacifism. I think
the stress on education is important, but education is not everything.
It’s definitely not going to help you in a one on one confrontation
where someone has an agenda. Try using education against someone like
[Oak Creek Sikh Temple shooter] Michael Page.
How has the community reacted to your YouTube channel or calls to start a Sikh shooting club?
I have been kind of surprised by the lack of the interest. I was just
talking to my wife about the lack of interest. There are so few Sikhs
who would like to be, so-called orthodox Sikhs, or observant Sikhs about
defending themselves. I do see that there are a lot of Sikh youths
between the ages of 16 and 25 who are getting back to the fundamentals
of Guru Gobind Singh and the proficiency with self-defense.
I think there’s no substitute for guns. If you’ve got a mob or a bunch
of people who want to attack you, a gun is a good equalizer. I think
especially for women. I encourage women to learn how to use a firearm.
And I think if all Sikhs had that weapon where they can legally have
them, I don’t think people would mess around with them. They would never
attack a Sikh if they knew he had a gun. That ‘s my opinion.
You’re from a military family. Did you ever try to enlist?
I tried to get in the army in 1982, but I was denied basically for
being Sikh and wearing a turban. This was even though I’m from an
important family—my dad was in the Marines for 14 years.
They’ve let three Sikhs in under an exemption they’ve been giving. I
think they’re medical doctors. In 1948, President Truman had given an
exemption for all Sikhs to join the army but in the 1980, the Moral
Majority, they were a kind of right-wing Christian group, they had a lot
of pressure on Ronald Reagan. So they changed that exemption.
How did your white Christian parents react to your conversion to Sikhism?
My father didn’t like it at first, and he kicked me out of the house
basically. It took a few years to help him understand what Sikhs were
about. He had to read a few books and see that it’s not a cult or
something.
But you’ve found a home in Yuba City?
The first Punjabi Sikh farmers came here in the turn of the 20th
century. The oldest gurdwara (Sikh temple) in the entire country is
here. So they’ve been Sikh farmers here for many, many generations. If
you drive down Yuba City you’ll see gurdwaras on the side of the road,
there are many of them in Ffresno and Central Valley. My experience is
that Sikhs are really good hard-working people. And they really have a
good sense of values. I married a Punjabi lady about five years ago. And
I’m really enjoying being in the family.
But you haven’t gotten much of a response regarding gun ownership?
I’ve talked to maybe six or seven people who have called me on the
telephone. I invite anyone to call me on the issue. I’ve gotten likes on
Facebook and a lot of responses and views on YouTube, but in terms of
people learning about firearms and incorporating it into their
lifestyle, it’s very few.