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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The nation's top law enforcement officials have |
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warned that white supremacy represents the most significant |
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domestic terror threat; and |
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WHEREAS, The Department of Justice has worked to protect |
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Americans from domestic violent extremism since its founding more |
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than 150 years ago, when it pursued white supremacists determined |
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to oppress people newly freed from slavery and deny them their |
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constitutional rights; and |
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WHEREAS, In May 2021, the United States attorney general and |
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secretary of Homeland Security warned U.S. senators of escalating |
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peril, noting that 2019 had been the deadliest year for violent |
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domestic extremism since 1995; a report drafted by the Department |
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of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the |
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National Counterterrorism Center, under the auspices of the |
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Director of National Intelligence, outlined the elevated threat |
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posed by domestic violent extremism; the FBI assessed that the top |
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domestic violent extremist threat stems from racially or ethnically |
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motivated violent extremists, specifically those who claim |
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superiority of the white race; the Homeland Security secretary |
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stated that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists |
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are the most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks against |
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civilians"; the secretary and the attorney general both cautioned |
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that the threat of domestic extremism has intensified because of |
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encrypted apps and other online communications and the |
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proliferation of increasingly lethal weaponry; and |
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WHEREAS, Addressing the rising threat of racially motivated |
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violence, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced |
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House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of |
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2023; the bill would amend Title 18 of the United States Code to |
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broaden the definition of hate crimes in order to prevent and |
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prosecute crimes motivated by white supremacy, as well as |
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conspiracies to commit such crimes; it would affirm the DOJ's |
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authority to conduct investigations, intercede, and take any other |
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measures it deems necessary and appropriate to interdict, mitigate, |
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or prevent potentially violent actions of this nature; under the |
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legislation, the DOJ's Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep |
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track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes, related actions, |
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and enforcement measures; and |
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WHEREAS, The Department of Justice is charged with the |
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responsibility to protect citizens of the United States and |
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preserve their constitutional rights, and the Leading Against White |
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Supremacy Act of 2023 supports the agency in fulfilling this vital |
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mission; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass |
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House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of |
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2023; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |