Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 15
CHAPTER 8
Relative to Stand Against Hate Action Day.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
March 09, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 15, Newman.
Stand Against Hate Action Day.
This measure would proclaim, in perpetuity, January 28 as the Stand Against Hate Action Day.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, The number of reported hate crime events across the State of California have risen 89.6 percent over the last decade, according to a 2021 report from the California Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, Between 2020 and 2021, anti-Black and African American hate crime events increased 12.5 percent, anti-Hispanic and Latino hate crimes increased 29.6 percent, and anti-Asian hate crimes increased a staggering 177.5 percent in California; and
WHEREAS, Antisemitic and anti-Jewish hate crimes rose 32.2 percent in that same period; and
WHEREAS, Hate crime events involving bias against real or perceived sexual orientation increased 47.8 percent in that same period; and
WHEREAS, Hate crime events involving bias against gender or gender identity increased 200 percent from 2012 to 2021; with antitransgender and anti-gender nonconforming hate crimes accounting for 83.3 percent of all hate crime events involving gender bias in 2021; and
WHEREAS, The number of reported hate crime victims in California increased 41.9 percent, for a record 2,180 Californians reporting being victims of hate; and
WHEREAS, A 2021 report from the United States Department of Justice found that 42 percent of violent hate crime victims did not report their crime to law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, Many more nonviolent hate incidents go unreported by victims to law enforcement, or by law enforcement to the State Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, The dramatic increase in hate crimes and hate incidents has endangered the public safety, undermined the welfare of our state’s historically marginalized communities and communities of color, and threatened to reverse our progress on social and race relations; and
WHEREAS, Hate has no place in California, where we honor, respect, and celebrate our state’s rich cultural diversity; and
WHEREAS, Community outreach and public education campaigns that educate residents on what constitutes a hate crime or hate incident, and how to report and respond to them, are essential components of addressing the epidemic of hate; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature is committed to supporting localities and community-based organizations that encourage cross-cultural dialogue and intersectional coalition building, and has enacted legislation and designated resources to this effect; and
WHEREAS, ACT Against Hate Alliance is one such organization dedicated to identifying and implementing strategies that prevent hate crimes and hate incidents in a collaborative and bipartisan manner; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature denounces hate crimes, hate incidents, and hateful rhetoric directed against individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and immigration status; and be it further
Resolved, That January 28, in perpetuity, is hereby proclaimed Stand Against Hate Action Day; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.