88R10205 BPG-D
By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 52
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The nation's top law enforcement officials have
warned that white supremacy represents the most significant
domestic terror threat; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Justice has worked to protect
Americans from domestic violent extremism since its founding more
than 150 years ago, when it pursued white supremacists determined
to oppress people newly freed from slavery and deny them their
constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS, In May 2021, the United States attorney general and
secretary of Homeland Security warned U.S. senators of escalating
peril, noting that 2019 had been the deadliest year for violent
domestic extremism since 1995; a report drafted by the Department
of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
National Counterterrorism Center, under the auspices of the
Director of National Intelligence, outlined the elevated threat
posed by domestic violent extremism; the FBI assessed that the top
domestic violent extremist threat stems from racially or ethnically
motivated violent extremists, specifically those who claim
superiority of the white race; the Homeland Security secretary
stated that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists
are the most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks against
civilians"; the secretary and the attorney general both cautioned
that the threat of domestic extremism has intensified because of
encrypted apps and other online communications and the
proliferation of increasingly lethal weaponry; and
WHEREAS, Addressing the rising threat of racially motivated
violence, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced
House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of
2023; the bill would amend Title 18 of the United States Code to
broaden the definition of hate crimes in order to prevent and
prosecute crimes motivated by white supremacy, as well as
conspiracies to commit such crimes; it would affirm the DOJ's
authority to conduct investigations, intercede, and take any other
measures it deems necessary and appropriate to interdict, mitigate,
or prevent potentially violent actions of this nature; under the
legislation, the DOJ's Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep
track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes, related actions,
and enforcement measures; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Justice is charged with the
responsibility to protect citizens of the United States and
preserve their constitutional rights, and the Leading Against White
Supremacy Act of 2023 supports the agency in fulfilling this vital
mission; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass
House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of
2023; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.