周三，民主党人就周二亚特兰大的致命枪击事件发表了强有力的讲话，并表示，很明显，被枪击的人是美国最脆弱的人群之一:亚裔女性。

当局表示，涉嫌周二在亚特兰大地区三起不同的温泉枪击案中杀害八人的男子据称承认了杀人行为，并指责他的“性瘾”是动机。根据当局的说法，尚不清楚种族是否是一个激励因素。

“调查仍在进行，动机问题仍有待确定。但不管这里的动机是什么，我知道亚裔美国人非常非常担心，因为正如你所知，我在过去几个月里一直在谈论针对亚裔美国人的暴行，这非常非常麻烦，”乔·拜登总统周三在椭圆形办公室说。

在最近反亚洲袭击增加的情况下，民主党人已经将注意力集中在受害者的种族上。追踪仇恨事件的倡导组织“停止AAPI仇恨”表示，自2020年3月以来，该组织已收到全国各地近3800起仇恨事件的报告，表明与前几年相比有显著增加。AAPI代表亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民，是美国增长最快的种族群体。

加州民主党众议员朱蒂·朱(Judy Chu)在周三的新闻发布会上对记者表示:“特朗普总统显然用他的言论煽动了对美国独立党的仇外心理。”

朱棣文指出，特朗普在过去一年谈到新冠肺炎时，使用了“功夫流感”和“中国病毒”等种族主义语言，这是暴力仇恨犯罪上升的催化剂。

“因此，反亚洲仇恨犯罪和事件呈指数级增长，”朱棣文说，并补充说，尽管特朗普政府进行了外联，但特朗普“人数翻了一番，他和他的追随者实际上更多地使用了这些术语。”

“我们昨天看到的，就是这个结果，”朱棣文说，尽管调查仍在进行中。2009年，朱棣文成为第一位在国会任职的美国华裔女性。她目前是国会亚太裔美国人核心小组的主席。

副总统贺锦丽周三也在白宫对暴力事件发表了看法。

“这是悲惨的。我们的国家，总统和我，还有我们所有人，我们为这一损失感到悲痛。我们为遇难者家属祈祷。哈里斯说:“这说明了一个更大的问题，那就是我们国家的暴力问题，以及我们必须做些什么来永远不容忍它，并永远大声反对它。”。

“调查正在进行。我们还不知道，我们还不清楚动机。但我确实想对我们的亚裔美国人社区说，我们与你们站在一起，理解这是如何吓坏、震惊和激怒所有人的，但我们知道针对我们亚裔美国人兄弟姐妹的仇恨犯罪越来越多，我们也想声援他们，并承认我们任何人都不应该在任何形式的仇恨面前保持沉默，”哈里斯补充说。

曼努埃尔·巴尔奇·塞内塔/美联社

2021年3月17日，美国副总统贺锦丽在白宫艾森豪威尔行政办公楼参加庆祝弗雷德里克·道格拉斯全球研究员的虚拟活动。

众议院民主党核心小组主席哈基姆·杰弗里斯(Hakeem Jeffries)对一些国会议员发出了严厉警告，他们可能会用种族主义言论进一步煽风点火。

杰弗里斯说:“对于继续使用这种仇恨言论的国会议员，请停止使用——因为你们手上也有血。”。

佐治亚州民主党参议员乔恩·奥索夫(Jon Ossoff)在一份声明中表示，他声援亚裔美国人社区，并指出动机仍在调查中。

奥索夫说:“尽管昨晚可怕暴力的动机仍在调查中，但我对亚裔美国人社区表示爱、支持和声援，他们在过去一年里经历了令人震惊的暴力和骚扰的增加。”

格鲁吉亚参议院议长拉斐尔·沃诺克(Raphael Warnock)周三告诉记者，即使嫌疑人说他不是出于种族动机，“任何以这种方式夺走宝贵生命的人都是出于仇恨。”

“我为失去这些宝贵的生命而悲伤。这种暴力在美国发生得太频繁了，”民主党人说。“我们和哭泣的人一起哭泣。但我们必须尽一切努力解决我们国家的偏见和仇恨。”

安德鲁·哈尔尼克/美联社档案

2020年7月24日，众议员朱蒂出现在华盛顿国会山的新闻发布会上。

朱棣文指出，周二晚上大屠杀中被指控的枪手去了一家名为“杨氏亚洲按摩”的水疗中心，这可能表明了他的动机。

“事实上，他去了那个标题，给你一个线索，他在想什么，”楚说。

“AAPI社区一直生活在对言语和身体攻击的恐惧中，现在我们正在经历越来越致命的种族主义和暴力。她说:“我们呼吁格鲁吉亚官员确保受害者的家人得到很好的支持，我们的追随者支持当地提供社区保护和受害者支持的努力，我们向这些受害者的朋友和家人表示最深切的慰问。”。

朱棣文说，该委员会已经与司法部会面，讨论如何制止针对AAPI社区的仇恨犯罪。周四，众议院司法委员会还将举行听证会，讨论针对亚裔美国人的仇恨犯罪的上升。

朱棣文说，众议院民主党人也呼吁将3月26日定为国庆日，公开反对AAPI仇恨。

Democrats respond forcefully to Atlanta spa shootings that killed women of Asian descent

Democrats on Wednesday spoke forcefully about Tuesday’s deadly shootings in Atlanta and said it's clear that the individuals who were shot are among the most vulnerable in the US: women of Asian descent.

Authorities have said the man suspected of killing eight people in three separate shootings at spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday has allegedly admitted to the killings and blamed his "addiction to sex" as the motive. It’s unclear if race was a motivating factor, according to authorities.

“[T]he investigation is ongoing and the question of motivation is still to be determined. But whatever the motivation here, I know Asian-America are very -- they are very concerned, because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months and it is very, very troublesome," President Joe Biden said from the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Democrats have zeroed in on the race of the victims amid a recent increase in anti-Asian attacks. An advocacy group that tracks hate incidents, Stop AAPI Hate, said it has received nearly 3,800 reports of hate incidents across the country since March 2020, suggesting a significant increase from previous years. AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which is the fastest growing racial group in the US.

"President Trump clearly stoked the flames of xenophobia against AAPIs with his rhetoric," Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday.

Chu cited Trump's use of racist language like "Kung-flu" and "China virus" when he spoke about COVID-19 throughout the course of the last year as a catalyst for the uptick in violent hate crimes.

"As a result, the anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents increased exponentially," Chu said, adding that despite outreach to the Trump administration, Trump "doubled down, he and his followers, [and] actually used those terms even more."

“And what we saw yesterday, is the result of that," Chu said, although the investigation is ongoing. In 2009, Chu became the first Chinese American woman to serve in Congress. She currently chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

Vice President Kamala Harris also weighed in on the violent incidents from the White House on Wednesday.

“It is tragic. Our country, the president and I, and all of us, we grieve for the loss. Our prayers are extended to the families of those who have been killed. It speaks to a larger issue which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it," Harris said.

“The investigation is ongoing. We don't yet know, we're not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, but knowing the increasing level of hate crimes against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate," Harris added.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries had a stern warning for some members of Congress who could be further fanning the flames with racist rhetoric.

"To members of Congress who continue to use that type of hateful rhetoric: Cut it out -- because you also have blood on your hands," Jeffries said.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia, said in a statement that he stands in solidarity with the Asian American community and noted the motive is still under investigation.

“While the motive for last night's terrible violence remains under investigation, I express my love and support for and stand in solidarity with the Asian-American community, which has endured a shocking increase in violence and harassment over the last year," Ossoff said.

His Georgian counterpart in the Senate, Raphael Warnock, told reporters Wednesday that even if the suspect said he wasn't motivated by race, "anybody who takes precious lives in that manner is driven by hate."

"I grieve the loss of these precious lives. This kind of violence happens too often in America," the Democrat said. "We weep with those who weep. But we have to do everything we can in terms of addressing bigotry and hate in our country."

Chu noted that the alleged shooter in Tuesday night's massacre went to a spa called "Young's Asian Massage," which could give an indication as to his motive.

"The fact that he went to that one with that title, gives you a clue as to what he was thinking," Chu said.

"The AAPI community has been living in fear of verbal and physical attacks, and now we're experiencing increasingly deadly tropes of racism and violence. We call on Georgia officials to ensure that the families of the victims are well supported, and our followers to support local efforts that provide community protection and victim support, and we express our deepest condolences to the friends and families of these victims," she said.

Chu said CAPAC has met with the Department of Justice to discuss ways to stop hate crimes against the AAPI community. On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee will also hold a hearing about the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans.

Chu said House Democrats are also calling for a national day to speak out against AAPI hate on March 26.