Right now is the time to act.
On May 31, 2019, my dad texted me about an active shooter in his office building. He survived, but 12 of his coworkers did not, and four more were wounded. My Virginia Beach community was torn into shambles by this mass shooting.
This year, the AAPI community has repeatedly experienced that devastation. In Atlanta, nine people were shot, including six Asian women who were killed. In Indianapolis, eight people were shot and killed, four of them being members of the Sikh community. And yet, those tragedies are only a fraction of the violence the AAPI community has experienced this year. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, violence against the AAPI community at large—particularly against AAPI women—has been on the rise like never before.
This AAPI Heritage Month, we must call attention to this hate-fueled violence, and demand our lawmakers work to stop it. We need strong gun safety laws now.
Tell your U.S. senators: Pass background check legislation now.
The last several months have given the world a small glimpse into the hate that the AAPI community has faced for years. We have been the targets of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny for generations; but we have hope as Congress takes steps to address it. This week, Congress sent the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to President Biden's desk, which aims to address the surge in attacks on Asian Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic and improve hate crime reporting across the country.
After a particularly devastating year, we welcome this step to protect Asian American communities—but know there is still more that must be done. Stop AAPI Hate—which tracks and responds to incidents of hate and discrimination against the community—received nearly 3,800 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents from March 2020 to February 2021. Police departments in the 16 largest cities in the United States reported a nearly 150% increase in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in 20201, and nationally, Asian American women were more than twice as likely to be targeted in hate incidents as Asian American men.2
Stopping AAPI hate will take more than legislation, but hatred like this is most dangerous when it's paired with easy access to firearms.
And John, we can do something about that. We can get the Senate to pass a life-saving background check bill; action we know will help prevent this deadly, hate-fueled violence.
Send a message: Tell your U.S. senators to pass background checks now.
This year, I will turn 18 years old. In my lifetime, I have witnessed the impacts of gun violence firsthand. I have experienced the demeaning microaggressions that come with being an Asian American woman. I have been empowered to fight for justice and equity.
And as a proud Asian American woman and gun violence survivor, I know that right now is the time for more than thoughts and prayers.
Right now is the time for life-saving action on background checks.
Right now is the time to act.
Tell your U.S. senators to pass background checks now.
Thank you for being a part of this movement, and thank you for fighting alongside the AAPI community.
Jeannie She
National Advisory Board Member
Students Demand Action
1. Center for the Study of of Hate and Extremism, California State University, San Bernardino
2. Stop AAPI Hate National Report
