UMG BACKS ASIAN HATE CRIMES BILL

Universal Music Group has weighed in after the U.S. Senate voted resoundingly Thursday (4/21) to approve legislation designed to increase federal efforts to address hate crimes against people of Asian descent.

“Hate and violence against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community must end now,” UMG said in a statement. “Heartened by today’s overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, we call on the House to pass the bill and the President to sign it into law.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised to introduce the bill in May. It is expected to pass. According to the New York Times, hate crimes against the Asian-American community have soared 150% over the past year.

The Senate vote was 94-1, with the lone holdout MAGA boy wonder Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who argued it was government overreach. Call his office at 202-224-6154 to ask WTF he was thinking.