Over 85 Asian and LGBTQ Groups Band Together to Oppose COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

More than 85 Asian and LGBTQ organizations have expressed their opposition to the

The bill, which passed the Senate in April, responds to the surge in reporting of anti-Asian incidents amid the COVID-19 pandemic by mandating the “expedited review of hate crimes and reports of hate crimes.”

Their claims: The organizations believe the bill “contradicts Asian solidarity with Black, Brown, undocumented, trans, low-income, sex worker and other marginalized communities whose liberation is bound together.”

The groups said bolstering law enforcement and criminalization “does not keep us safe,” but only worsens violence against “Asian communities facing some of the greatest disparities and attacks.”
The bill also “ignores that police violence is also anti-Asian violence, which has disproportionately targeted Black and Brown Asians,” they added.
The groups cited the names of Christian Hall and Angelo Quinto, who were “killed by police during mental health crises.”
They argued that in its current form, the bill “would create no systemic change to address racism” and “only increase crime statistics collection.”

Their demands: The organizations are calling on Congress and fellow movement groups to oppose the bill.

Instead of law enforcement, the organizations suggest shifting resources to communities through investments in “community-based interventions” and “non-carceral alternatives.”
They also proposed “removing police from communities and neighborhoods.”
The groups said bias violence must be designated as a “public health issue” so that public policy interventions can be based on non-criminal legal research and prevention efforts.
They are also rejecting proposals against anti-Asian bias that are “inherently anti-Black, anti-immigrant and harmful for the most marginalized in our communities.”

National coalition Stop AAPI Hate has recorded 6,603 anti-Asian incidents between March 19, 2020 and March 31, 2021.

The groups’ full statement can be read here.

Featured Image via Jason Leung

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