Blumenthal & Advocates Celebrate Senate Passage of the Jabara-Heyer No Hate Act

(HARTFORD, CT) Today, at a press conference outside the Connecticut Capitol Building in Hartford, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) stood with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, Mike Keo, Founder of #IAMNOTAVIRUS, and Jason Chang, Director of the Asian/Asian American Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, to celebrate the Senate passage last week, by a vote 94-1, of the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality (Jabara-Heyer NO HATE) Act as part of the COVID-19 Hates Crime Act.

“The reason this measure is so important it not only sends a message and takes that first step against hate crimes at a national and federal level. It is a first step because it will spur more reporting, we know that hates crimes are notoriously under-reported, there has been a surge in hate crimes targeting Asian American and Pacific Islands, and we need to combat that surge. But equally important, incentivize and spur more reporting,” said Blumenthal during the press conference.

Blumenthal added, “hate crimes are a vicious, insidious crime because they target an individual, but more than an individual they seek to terrorize and traumatize an entire community, that what makes them so pernicious and that is why this measure Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act is a dynamic, first step, a serious effort for the first in our United States Congress against hate crimes.”

Blumenthal began the effort to pass this legislation in 2017 following a series of attacks on houses of worship. The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act would address the out-of-control epidemic of hate crimes occurring across the country by improving reporting and expanding assistance and resources for victims. According to data from the FBI, there were more hate crimes reported in 2019 than at any point over the past decade, and more hate-motivated killings since the early 1990s. In addition, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been more than 3,800 incidents of harassment, discrimination, and assault against Asian Americans. According to the Anti-Defamation League, more than 40% of Americans have experienced online hate or harassment.

To view the full press conference click here.

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