| 1 | 1 | | 87R19397 TBO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Jetton H.R. No. 646 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and |
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| 7 | 7 | | Article One of the Texas Constitution uphold and protect the |
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| 8 | 8 | | freedom for all people to manifest, teach, practice, worship, and |
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| 9 | 9 | | observe their religion; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Violations of religious liberty are often motivated |
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| 11 | 11 | | by fear and hatred; according to a 2019 report from the Federal |
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| 12 | 12 | | Bureau of Investigation, 20.1 percent of single-bias hate crime |
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| 13 | 13 | | incidents were motivated by religious bias, and throughout that |
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| 14 | 14 | | year, 1,715 people were victims of anti-religious hate crimes; 13.2 |
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| 15 | 15 | | percent of these crimes were anti-Islamic in nature, 13.2 percent |
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| 16 | 16 | | were anti-various Christian religions, 60.2 percent were |
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| 17 | 17 | | anti-Jewish, 3.5 percent were anti-Sikh, 0.4 percent were |
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| 18 | 18 | | anti-Hindu, and 0.3 percent were anti-Buddhist; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, From 2006 through 2019, 29 attacks against mosques |
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| 20 | 20 | | occurred in Texas, including multiple shootings, bomb threats, and |
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| 21 | 21 | | acts of arson and vandalism; from May 2020 through March 2021, more |
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| 22 | 22 | | than 60 incidents of arson, vandalism, and other methods of |
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| 23 | 23 | | destruction occurred at Catholic Churches throughout the U.S., |
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| 24 | 24 | | including damage to statues and windows of churches in Texas; from |
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| 25 | 25 | | 2015 through 2018, 151 anti-Semitic incidents occurred in Texas, |
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| 26 | 26 | | including harassment, vandalism, and assault; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, All anti-religious hate crimes are inconsistent |
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| 28 | 28 | | with our nation's founding principles, and it is imperative that |
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| 29 | 29 | | these issues be addressed; now, therefore, be it |
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| 30 | 30 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 31 | 31 | | Legislature hereby express support for the rights and dignity of |
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| 32 | 32 | | citizens of all faiths and strongly condemn racism, intimidation, |
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| 33 | 33 | | violence, vandalism, arson, and other crimes targeting places of |
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| 34 | 34 | | worship and their congregants; and, be it further |
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| 35 | 35 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives affirm that all |
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| 36 | 36 | | citizens should live without fear or intimidation in practice of |
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| 37 | 37 | | their faith; and, be it further |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge local and |
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| 39 | 39 | | state law enforcement authorities to work to prevent and report |
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| 40 | 40 | | anti-religious hate crimes. |
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