Condemning the Horrific Shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my resolution, H. Res. 275, to condemn the horrific shootings in Georgia and to reaffirm the House of Representatives' strong commitment to combating anti-Asian hate, bigotry, and violence.

As we commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, the Asian-American and Pacific-Islander community continues to be terrified by the alarming rise in anti-Asian hate and violence that have become near daily tragedies.

The bigotry and xenophobia were fueled by former President Donald Trump and his followers, who used racial slurs like China virus, Wuhan virus, and Kung flu to direct blame and anger at innocent Asian Americans, who have put lives at risk despite the fact that the CDC and World Health Organization said not to name a virus after geographical locations because of the stigma it would cause.

In fact, to date, there have been over 6,600 anti-Asian hate incidents reported in just the past year alone, and two-thirds of those have targeted Asian women.

In March, the fear that many Asian Americans were feeling reached a crisis point when a gunman targeted three Asian-owned spas in Georgia, killing eight people, including six Asian women. This killer, so motivated by hate, intentionally sought out Asian immigrant women.

In response, I organized a congressional delegation to Atlanta to meet with the victims' families, as well as local AAPI leaders. We went there with a purpose: to follow the murderer's steps to show how deliberate he was in targeting three Asian-owned businesses that were nearly 30 miles apart from each other.

Local sheriffs have tried to diminish these crimes by saying that the shooter had a sex addiction and a bad day. But he had plenty of other places to go in that time. Instead, he chose three places where Asian women would be killed.

There is no doubt in my mind that this was a hate crime. That is why I am glad that Georgia prosecutors announced last week they will be seeking enhanced hate crime charges against the murderer.

The victims of these tragic shootings were hardworking mothers and grandmothers, many in their fifties, sixties, and as old as 74. I met with the families of two of these women.

Xiaojie Tan was the owner of one of the spas and a mother, who worked 7 days a week to provide for her family. Her daughter, Jami, spoke to us through tears about how unfair it was that her mother's life was cut short on her 50th birthday.

Then there was Young Ae Yue, whose son, Robert, told me about his mother and how she adored her children and loved being a Har Mul Ni, or grandmother. She would share her love through cooking and karaoke. But amid his pain, Robert was angry, too--angry that it happened, angry at a narrative that tried to justify it by victim blaming, and angry that people moved on so quickly.

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Ms. CHU. Madam Speaker, we will not move on, and that is what today's resolution is about. We must remember Young Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, and other victims of these horrific shootings in Georgia. We must stand up for all of those who have been terrorized by anti-Asian hate and violence.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the resolution.

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