John,

Today, I stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with my colleagues to mark one year since the horrific Atlanta Spa Shootings that left eight members of our community dead – six of whom were Asian women. 

Fueled by hate, misogyny, and easy access to firearms, the gunman wreaked havoc on the greater Atlanta community – and the tragedy left many of us feeling less safe. 

Unfortunately, the Atlanta Spa Shooting was not an isolated incident. In the last year, we have seen hate crimes and attacks on AAPI members of our communities on the rise – especially Asian women. 

A recent report by Stop AAPI Hate has documented more than 10,000 racially motivated attacks against Asian Americans from the beginning of the pandemic through December 2021. That number is probably just a fraction of the attacks that have occurred since hate crimes are typically under-reported. 

Today, we must center our thoughts and prayers on the victims, the survivors, and their families. Tomorrow, we'll continue to fight for gun safety in Congress and the fight to end the long history of race and gender-based gun violence in our country. 

In solidarity and remembrance,

– Lucy