Hawaii-2021-HR130-Introduced

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, 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 all public agencies are urged to prioritize language access and inclusivity in communication practices and combat misinformation and discrimination that put Asian Americans at risk; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, United States Secretary of State, United States Attorney General, President and members of the United States Senate, Speaker and members of the United States House of Representatives, and each Governor and each of the presiding officers of the legislative bodies of each state of the United States of America.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Hate Crimes; Safety

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	130
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII