Son Of Wisconsin Sikh Temple Massacre Victim Eyes US Congress

WASHINGTON – The son of aSikh temple leader slain in a massacresaid today he may seek the Congress seatof Republican heavyweight Paul Ryan,calling for a more peaceful America.Amardeep Kaleka – whose fatherSatwant Singh Kaleka was credited withsaving lives when he fought off a whitesupremacist in the August 5, 2012 assaultin Oak Creek, Wisconsin – said he hopedto decide by November whether to seekthe Democratic nomination to challengeRyan, the Republican vice-presidentialcandidate last year.Kaleka hit out at Ryan, chair of thehouse budget committee, over the ongoingshutdown of the federal governmentin which some 800,000 workers havebeen furloughed. Republican hardlinershave refused to authorize spending withoutforcing changes in President BarackObama’s signature reform of expandinghealth care coverage.“He’s definitely part of the problembeing the budget chair and havingno sway inside your own party to stopsomething like this from happening and800,000 people losing jobs including inhis own district, where a number of governmentservices were stopped,” Kalekatold AFP.“Ultimately, he’s a career politician tome – 13 years in Congress coming out ofan internship in DC. He left Wisconsinto go to DC and never really came back,”he said.Kaleka, a 35-year-old filmmaker,said he met Ryan twice as he pressed fortighter background checks on guns followingthe massacre at the temple, whichkilled his father and five other worshipers.The US Senate in April rejected apush supported by Obama to increasebackground checks for purchases afterintense opposition from the gun lobby.“Responsible people should haveguns; people who are irresponsible – orwho cannot pass a background check- should not have guns. Easy as that,”Kaleka said.“I think 90% of the nation agrees,but it’s funny that Congress wouldn’teven pass a bill toward that direction.”Kaleka said that a more peaceful societywould benefit the economy.“There are so many people whodon’t comprehend that peace-buildingstarts with changing our punitive justicesystem, taking guns out of the wrongpeople’s hands, and all those affect theeconomy … as noticed in Europe, wherethe most peaceful nations are the mosteconomically well-off nations,” he said.