HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
154 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
CONDEMNING
ALL FORMS OF ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT AS RELATED TO COVID-19; URGING GREATER
INVESTMENT IN FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RESOURCES TO DEVELOP AND SUPPORT
COMMUNITY‑WIDE SOLUTIONS; AND REQUESTING THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION OF THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE INCIDENTS BASED ON
ANTI-ASIAN AND ANTI-PACIFIC ISLANDER SENTIMENT AND DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBERS OF
HOMICIDES OF ASIAN-AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
WHEREAS, the population of the United States includes approximately
twenty-three million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), who comprise
seven percent of the nation's population; and
WHEREAS, there are approximately two million Asian
American-owned businesses that generate more than $700,000,000,000 in annual
revenue and employ nearly 4,500,000 workers; and
WHEREAS, more than two million Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders are working on the frontlines to battle the novel coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID–19) pandemic in health care, law enforcement, first response
services, transportation, supermarkets, and other service industries; and
WHEREAS, the use of anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric related
to COVID-19, such as the "Chinese virus", "Wuhan virus",
and "Kung-flu", have perpetuated anti-Asian stigmas; and
WHEREAS, this increased use of anti-Asian rhetoric has resulted
in Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID–19
pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the "Stop AAPI Hate" reporting center has
collected more than two thousand eight hundred reports of incidents targeting
Asian Americans in forty states, including acts of physical and verbal
harassment, physical assault, workplace and service discrimination, vandalism,
as well as other forms of anti-Asian activity; and
WHEREAS, approximately seven percent of the incidents involved
elders, and incidents involving women are two and one-half times more likely to
occur than incidents involving men; and
WHEREAS, words matter – the incendiary language used by numerous
political leaders and commentators has created conditions where Asian Americans
are seen as a suspect class or as foreigners in their own country, and these
conditions are exacerbated by the history of xenophobia and racism in the
United States directed against persons of Asian ancestry; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recognizes that naming COVID–19 by its possible geographic location of origin
or linking it to a specific ethnicity perpetuates stigmas; and
WHEREAS, on February 27, 2020, the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, stated "ethnicity is not what causes
the novel coronavirus" and that it is inappropriate and inaccurate to call
COVID-19 the "Chinese virus"; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the
CDC, testified that use of the term "Chinese coronavirus" is wrong
and inappropriate; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first
Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate
concurring, that this body condemns all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as
related to COVID-19 and urges all public officials to condemn and denounce any
and all anti‑Asian sentiment in any form; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body recognizes that the health
and safety of all Americans, no matter their background, must be of utmost priority;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all manifestations and
expressions of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian sentiment,
scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance are also condemned; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all federal law enforcement
officials, working with state and local officials, are urged to:
(1) Expeditiously investigate and document all
reports of hate crimes and incidents, as well as threats against the Asian American
community in the United States;
(2) Collect disaggregated data to document the
characteristics and trends in incidences of hate crimes due to COVID–19;
(3) Hold the perpetrators of racially motivated
crimes, incidents, or threats directly accountable; and
(4) Bring such perpetrators to justice; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, which enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, citizenship status, and other bases, is requested to:
(1) Identify and analyze incidents against Asians, Asian-Americans, and Pacific Islanders, based on anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander sentiment that have occurred in Hawaii since March 2020, including acts of racism, discrimination, hate crimes, hate speech, and homicides, and provide comparative information from other jurisdictions;
(2) Investigate the disproportionate number of homicides of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders by law enforcement; and
(3) Inform the Legislature of the Division's findings at the earliest opportunity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent
Resolution be transmitted to the United States Attorney General, United States Attorney
assigned to Hawaii, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, and Chairperson
of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Hate Crimes; Safety