I am a high school student in Washington State, and recently, an incident of hate crime occurred that shook me to my core. An elderly lady of Asian descent was abused by locals and subjected to racial slurs. As an Asian myself, this incident has greatly impacted my mental health because it happened so close to home.

Hate crimes against Asians have been on the rise across the United States. According to Stop AAPI Hate, nearly 3,800 incidents were reported over the course of roughly a year during the pandemic (Source: NBC News). This is not just a statistic; these are real people suffering from real harm.

In our state of Washington alone, there has been an alarming increase in such incidents. We cannot stand idle while our fellow citizens live in fear for their safety due to their ethnicity or national origin.

We call upon local government officials and law enforcement agencies in Washington State to take immediate action against these hate crimes. We demand stricter laws against racial discrimination and hate crimes as well as better protection for our Asian American Pacific Islander community.

Please sign this petition if you believe that everyone deserves respect and safety regardless of their race or ethnicity. Together we can make a difference and stop AAPI hate crimes in Washington State.