Nancy Pelosi, members of Congress commemorate anniversary of Atlanta spa shooting

This week marks one year since the shooting at a spa in Atlanta, Georgia where the victims were mostly of Asian descent. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress commemorated the anniversary of the tragic event.

Pelosi joined the lawmakers who are part of the Congressional Asian American Pacific American Caucus in commemorating the anniversary of the shootings in front of the Capitol, addressing the event that took place last year. Three Asian-owned spas were gunned down with eight victims, six of which were Asian women, killed.

Several other lawmakers noted that while the shooting was horrific, other acts of violence towards Asian Americans have continued to occur. Pelosi also cited the statistics of anti-Asian bias, explaining that around three-quarters of Asian American and Pacific Islander women are facing discrimination or racism in the past 12 months and pushed for hate crimes legislation.

This also comes as, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, anti-Asian rhetoric became more evident by referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus” or “Kung flu.” Other members of the caucus such as Senator Mazie Hirono, and Reps. Ted Lieu and Mark Takano recalled stories of Asian-Americans who have been attacked.

“This is why with the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, Congress took historic action to help stamp out hate and hold offenders accountable, delivering new resources to expedite the review of hate crimes and empower the individuals to come forward,” said Pelosi. “As we remember those stolen from us by hate, Congress will continue fighting to combat racist violence in all of its forms.”

Democratic congresswoman Judy Chu, who chairs the caucus, praised the Biden administration’s handling of the hate crimes and urged the public to stand with the Asian community in the country.

In other related news, Pelosi also marked St. Patrick’s Day by reading aloud a poem written by U2 lead singer Bono at the annual Friends of Ireland lunch in DC. Bono’s poem referenced Irish mythology and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“Most of us, always, whether we’re in Ireland, here, wherever it is, Bono has been a very Irish part of our lives,” said Pelosi at the event, where she also introduced President Joe Biden.