Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR66 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		87R13794 BPG-D
2		-	By: Wu~~, Vo, Button, Jetton, et al.~~ H.C.R. No. 66
	2	+	By: Wu H.C.R. No. 66
3	3
4	4
5	5		CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6		WHEREAS, Asians account for five percent of Texas' population
7	7		and are the fastest growing racial group in the state; and
8	8		WHEREAS, Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been a
9	9		dramatic increase in the number of hate crimes and incidents of hate
10	10		directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), with the
11	11		use of terms such as "Chinese virus," "Wuhan virus," and "kung-flu"
12	12		perpetuating this disturbing escalation; and
13	13		WHEREAS, The group Stop AAPI Hate began collecting incident
14	14		reports on March 19, 2020, and in under four months, it received 63
15	15		from Texas alone; while shunning and verbal harassment, including
16	16		racial slurs and name-calling, accounted for most of the incidents,
17	17		physical assaults constituted 22 percent of reports from the state,
18	18		more than twice the national rate of nine percent; and
19	19		WHEREAS, One high-profile act of violence occurred on March
20	20		14, 2020, when a 19-year-old man, looking for someone to blame for
21	21		the COVID-19 pandemic, attacked an Asian American family with a
22	22		knife in Midland; the FBI called the case a hate crime; and
23	23		WHEREAS, In Houston's Chinatown, rumors spread on social
24	24		media falsely claiming that an Asian supermarket in the area was
25	25		shut down by the government due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19);
26	26		customers avoided the area, driving losses that reached 70 percent
27	27		for many Asian American businesses; businesses owned by Asian
28	28		Americans have also been targeted for vandalism during the COVID-19
29	29		pandemic; and
30	30		WHEREAS, Nationally, Stop AAPI Hate received more than 2,800
31	31		firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate by the end of 2020; over 7
32	32		percent of these involved Asian Americans over the age of 60;
33	33		attacks have continued to occur in 2021, leaving many seniors
34	34		afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods; two terrible incidents
35	35		captured on video include a vicious assault on a 91-year-old in the
36	36		Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, California, and another on an
37	37		84-year-old San Franciscan, who later died; and
38	38		WHEREAS, The number of victims is likely higher than official
39	39		tallies, since many incidents are not reported to law enforcement,
40	40		due to past negative experiences with law enforcement or a lack of
41	41		faith in a response; nevertheless, Asian American families are well
42	42		aware of the growing frequency of violence and harassment,
43	43		prompting many to keep their children at home learning remotely,
44	44		rather than returning to schools as they reopen; and
45	45		WHEREAS, The pandemic has brought the problem of anti-AAPI
46	46		racism to the forefront, and it is imperative that this issue be
47	47		addressed; now, therefore, be it
48	48		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
49	49		hereby strongly condemn racism against Asian Americans and Pacific
50	50		Islanders; and, be it further
51	51		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
52	52		call on state law enforcement officials, working with federal and
53	53		local officials, to investigate and prosecute all credible reports
54	54		of hate crimes and incidents and threats against AAPIs in Texas;
55	55		and, be it further
56	56		RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
57	57		express its support for public and private efforts to eradicate
58	58		anti-AAPI racism in all its forms.