00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22                                                                     
01 Relating to a diverse community; condemning a recent racially motivated attack; and                                     
02 requesting the Municipality of Anchorage police department to conduct a conclusive                                      
03 investigation and to take rapid action against the perpetrators.                                                        
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS Anchorage is an incredibly diverse community with more than eighteen                                    
06 identified ethnic groups comprising nearly 30 percent of its population; and                                            
07       WHEREAS the growth rate of Anchorage minority groups exceeds the growth rate of                                 
08 nonminorities; and                                                                                                      
09       WHEREAS more than 20 percent of the Alaska Native and Native American                                           
10 population of the state resides in Anchorage; and                                                                       
11       WHEREAS the Anchorage economy is highly dependent on the economic                                               
12 contributions of the Alaska Native population and the bush communities; and                                             
13       WHEREAS Anchorage has made and continues to make a concerted effort to build                                    
14 bridges with and among the various ethnic groups and to eliminate racial tension and conflict                           
15 in the city; and                                                                                                        

01       WHEREAS the recent incident involving targeting of Alaska Natives for harassment                                
02 and violent action by three youthful Anchorage residents armed with paintball guns is                                   
03 deplorable and reflects badly on every citizen and business of Anchorage and the State of                               
04 Alaska; and                                                                                                             
05       WHEREAS federal law 18 U.S.C. 245 makes it illegal to commit a crime when the                                   
06 assailant is motivated by bias based on race, religion, national origin, or color and the                               
07 assailant intended to prevent the victim from exercising a "federally protected right"; and                             
08       WHEREAS Alaska law AS 12.55.155(c)(22) provides as an aggravating factor for                                    
09 sentencing for a serious crime that "the defendant knowingly directed the conduct constituting                          
10 the offense at a victim because of that person's race, sex, color, creed, physical or mental                            
11 disability, ancestry, or national origin," and the finding of an aggravating factor allows the                          
12 court to increase a presumptive sentence for such an offense up to the maximum sentence for                             
13 that offense; and                                                                                                       
14       WHEREAS the Alaska State Legislature does not condone and will not tolerate hate                                
15 crimes;                                                                                                                 
16       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature condemns the recent racially                                   
17 motivated attack in Anchorage; and be it                                                                                
18       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the Municipality                                    
19 of Anchorage police department to continue its thorough and conclusive investigation of that                            
20 attack so as to allow the swift prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators; and be it                               
21       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature finds the conduct of those                                   
22 perpetrating this abhorrent act, and any similar conduct, to be unacceptable; and be it                                 
23       FURTHER RESOLVED that the perpetrators, and anyone else committing hate                                         
24 crimes, in addition to any penalties meted out by the criminal justice system, should be                                
25 required to complete cultural and social sensitivity training and do regular, recurring                                 
26 community service in an environment that brings them into close contact with the minority                               
27 groups the perpetrators have targeted; and be it                                                                        
28       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature is pledged to support fair                                   
29 and equitable treatment for all who live in, do business in, or visit Alaska.                                           
30       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George Wuerch, Mayor of                                
31 Anchorage; and to the members of the Anchorage Assembly.