US House passes 'COVID–19 Hate Crimes' bill in view of anti-Asian hate crimes

The US House on Tuesday, passed the legislation to counter a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The measure needed two-thirds of the chamber's support and passed in a 364-62 vote with 62 Republicans voting against it. President Joe Biden has voiced his support for the measure and now it has passed the House, it will be cleared for his signature, CNN reported.

The legislation, known as the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, was introduced by Democratic-Republican Grace Meng of New York and Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. It passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 94-1 last month, CNN reported. The bill would create a new position at the Justice Department to expedite review of potential COVID-19 related hate crimes and incidents reported at the federal, state or local level, reported CNN. 

It would also direct the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to work with the community-based organisations to issue guidance and raising awareness of hate crimes during the pandemic, and would require the US attorney general to issue guidance to work with state and local law enforcement agencies to establish online reporting of them. 

"After a year of the Asian American community crying out for help, today Congress is taking historic action to pass long-overdue hate crimes legislation and send the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to President Biden's desk," Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, told reporters before the vote, as reported by The Hill.

Passage of the bill comes less than two months after a gunman killed eight people in three Asian-owned spas in greater Atlanta; six of the victims were women of Asian descent. And on Wednesday, the House plans to pass a separate resolution denouncing the March 16 massacre in Georgia, The Hill reported. 

Recent Asian Hate crimes/attacks

On March 16, 2021, eight individuals were shot to death,  six of whom were Asian women, this took place near Acworth which is a northwest suburb in Atlanta. A series of mass shootings occurred at three spas or massage parlours in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Eight people were killed, and one other person was wounded. A suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody later that day. The local police authorities noticed the rising fear in Asians against crimes that seemed to target individuals of a certain descent.

Earlier considered as a burglary gone wrong, the Atlanta police was wrong in characterising the first shooting at the parlours. The first shooting took place at Young’s Asian Massage where four people had lost their lives. 

The Atlanta police also revealed the information about the second shooting which was reported around 5:47 PM. The local authorities were quick but to no avail as they responded to a robbery in the northeast part of Atlanta. The police went on to share how they found gunshot wounds and the dead bodies of three women at Gold Spa. The officers also reported how they were at the second site when reports of gunfire across the street were shared with them. Being in close proximity, the police did not take any time to reach the Aromatherapy Spa, only to find the dead body of a woman. 

Although Robert Aaron Long had not been accused of a hate crime as part of the initial investigation, some commentators characterized the shootings as such, noting the backdrop of rising anti-Asian sentiment in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the shootings, mass protests against anti-Asian violence occurred in cities across the U.S. and the world.