JACL Responds to the 2023 State of the Union

February 8, 2023

For Immediate Release

Seia Watanabe, VP Public Affairs, swatanabe@jacl.org

Matthew Weisbly, Education & Communications Coordinator, mweisbly@jacl.org

Last night, President Joe Biden delivered his second annual State of the Union address. While touching on a number of points, the President’s major message throughout his address were calls to work across the partisan divide and to make significant progress towards meeting the needs of the American people.

We especially applaud the President’s commitment to ending the scourge of gun violence that has plagued our nation for years. Gun violence has affected countless communities across the country, most recently our Asian American community in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. Congress has successfully passed legislation such as the assault weapons ban in the past. Congress must act to pass a new ban and other sensible measures so we can protect all Americans from having to face the tragedy of another mass shooting. 

To highlight the failure of our country to address police violence, Tyre Nichols’ parents attended as guests of the President and First Lady. Despite the hope that meaningful reform might be accomplished following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, Black lives continue to be in danger at every encounter with the police. We join the President in demanding Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as one step toward nationwide reform of law enforcement. 

We welcome the President’s commitment to protecting abortion access and same-sex and interracial marriages. We join him in calling on Congress to reform our broken immigration system including pathways to citizenship. Congress must also act to protect the right of every citizen to vote and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. 

As the president said, there is still much work to be done. JACL looks forward to working with the President and Congress to accomplish these goals.

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The Japanese American Citizens League is a national organization whose ongoing mission is to secure and maintain the civil rights of Japanese Americans and all others who are victimized by injustice and bigotry. The leaders and members of the JACL also work to promote cultural, educational, and social values and preserve the heritage and legacy of the Japanese American community.