To the Editor:

I condemn in the most vociferous terms the hateful, anti-Semitic attacks that have occurred in Newtown, Westport, throughout Connecticut, and the United States. When someone becomes the target of a crime because of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability, the very fabric and soul of our community is torn.

The only way to combat this sort of racism and hate is education, compassion, and zero tolerance. When the specter of hate rears its ugly head in our communities, all of us must rise up against it. Actions of hate can never be tolerated or ignored. It is my commitment and resolve to loudly say that hate and bigotry are never acceptable under any circumstances.

I was proud to shepherd a bipartisan passage of Public Act 17-111, An Act Concerning Hate Crimes, in the 2017 Connecticut General Assembly session, which created one of the nation’s strongest hate crime laws against such outrageous and cowardly actions. I was also privileged to work with former state senator Toni Boucher and many other legislators to enact Public Act 18-24, An Act Concerning the Inclusion of Holocaust and Genocide Education and Awareness in the Social Studies Curriculum, which will codify the curriculum teaching of historical lessons of hate that led to the horrific Holocaust along with other tragic efforts of genocide. It is my sincere hope that legislative efforts combined with community outreach will educate and raise awareness of history’s lessons and further reinforce our society’s zero tolerance of hate.

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana

Tony Hwang

State Senator, 28th Senate District

CT General Assembly

Capitol Avenue, Hartford September 17, 2019