Bill Text: TX HCR66 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Condemning racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 48-8)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-17 - Referred to Administration [HCR66 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HCR66-Comm_Sub.html
87R13794 BPG-D | ||
By: Wu, Vo, Button, Jetton, et al. | H.C.R. No. 66 |
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WHEREAS, Asians account for five percent of Texas' population | ||
and are the fastest growing racial group in the state; and | ||
WHEREAS, Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been a | ||
dramatic increase in the number of hate crimes and incidents of hate | ||
directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), with the | ||
use of terms such as "Chinese virus," "Wuhan virus," and "kung-flu" | ||
perpetuating this disturbing escalation; and | ||
WHEREAS, The group Stop AAPI Hate began collecting incident | ||
reports on March 19, 2020, and in under four months, it received 63 | ||
from Texas alone; while shunning and verbal harassment, including | ||
racial slurs and name-calling, accounted for most of the incidents, | ||
physical assaults constituted 22 percent of reports from the state, | ||
more than twice the national rate of nine percent; and | ||
WHEREAS, One high-profile act of violence occurred on March | ||
14, 2020, when a 19-year-old man, looking for someone to blame for | ||
the COVID-19 pandemic, attacked an Asian American family with a | ||
knife in Midland; the FBI called the case a hate crime; and | ||
WHEREAS, In Houston's Chinatown, rumors spread on social | ||
media falsely claiming that an Asian supermarket in the area was | ||
shut down by the government due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19); | ||
customers avoided the area, driving losses that reached 70 percent | ||
for many Asian American businesses; businesses owned by Asian | ||
Americans have also been targeted for vandalism during the COVID-19 | ||
pandemic; and | ||
WHEREAS, Nationally, Stop AAPI Hate received more than 2,800 | ||
firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate by the end of 2020; over 7 | ||
percent of these involved Asian Americans over the age of 60; | ||
attacks have continued to occur in 2021, leaving many seniors | ||
afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods; two terrible incidents | ||
captured on video include a vicious assault on a 91-year-old in the | ||
Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, California, and another on an | ||
84-year-old San Franciscan, who later died; and | ||
WHEREAS, The number of victims is likely higher than official | ||
tallies, since many incidents are not reported to law enforcement, | ||
due to past negative experiences with law enforcement or a lack of | ||
faith in a response; nevertheless, Asian American families are well | ||
aware of the growing frequency of violence and harassment, | ||
prompting many to keep their children at home learning remotely, | ||
rather than returning to schools as they reopen; and | ||
WHEREAS, The pandemic has brought the problem of anti-AAPI | ||
racism to the forefront, and it is imperative that this issue be | ||
addressed; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby strongly condemn racism against Asian Americans and Pacific | ||
Islanders; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
call on state law enforcement officials, working with federal and | ||
local officials, to investigate and prosecute all credible reports | ||
of hate crimes and incidents and threats against AAPIs in Texas; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
express its support for public and private efforts to eradicate | ||
anti-AAPI racism in all its forms. |