The Asian American hate crimes bill was approved by the Senate in April.
On Tuesday, legislators came together in a rare bipartisan vote to approve a bill created to address hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which have been on the rise since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bipartisan legislation was passed last month by the Senate and was passed by the House of Representatives in a 364-to-62 vote. The legislation now goes to the president to be signed.
The bill will expedite the review of hate crimes at the Justice Department and make grants available to help local law enforcement agencies improve their investigation, identification, and reporting of incidents driven by bias. Such incidents often go unreported.
Representative Young Kim of California said, “I’m glad Congress is coming together in a bipartisan way to take steps against the hate targeting communities like the AAPI community. However, let’s recognize that we cannot legislate hate out of our people’s hearts and minds. We must treat each other with respect and see each other as Americans.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the Justice Department to have discernment as this legislation is implemented.
- For state and local officials and law enforcement as they address hate crimes.
- For Americans to turn to the Lord, learn His truth and love, and cease discrimination.
Sources: Fox News, The Hill, NY Times
