24 May Joe Biden Signs Bill To Put An End To Anti-Asian Hate Crimes In America
In an effort to dismantle systematic racism, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill to address anti-Asian hate crimes on Thursday. Reportedly, this measure is considered the first legislative action taken by Congress to address the sudden increase of racist crimes since the start of the pandemic.
Biden also praised Democrats and Republicans for approving the bill and sending it to the White House. The Senate passed the law by the vote of 94 to 1. While celebrating this overwhelming bipartisanship, Biden stated, “We simply haven’t seen this kind of support for much too long in America.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a non-profit organization, Stop AAPI Hate, has recorded more than 6600 Anti-Asian hate crime cases. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, New York witnessed the largest number of hate crimes against Asian-Americans.
While standing before 70 lawmakers, Biden said, “All of this hate hides in plain sight. Too often, it is met with silence — silence by the media, silence by our politics and silence by our history.”
Reportedly, this new law will establish a position at the Justice Department to review these cases. The administration will also set up new channels where victims could report these crimes. In addition to these measures, the creation of new state-run hate crime hotlines will be encouraged.
Federal grants to improve identification, investigation and reporting will also be provided to the law-enforcing agencies. According to the sources, a series of educational campaigns to train the public and officials will also be initiated to identify and address these hate crimes.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who belongs to Asian ethnicity, said, “This bill will bring us one step closer to stopping hate, not just against Asian-Americans, but for all Americans.”
Harris and Biden were also seen discussing anti-Asian incidents that took place last year. According to the reports, these cases increased six times after the Corona Virus was declared the “Chinese Virus” by the previous administration.
Harris also stated that while this new law will bring us one step closer to eradicating racism, a lot of work is yet to be done.
SOURCE- The New York Times
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