Study shows Asians in U.S. California more fearful of becoming gun violence, hate crime victims

People mourn with candles for victims of a mass shooting in front of the city hall of Monterey Park, California, the United States, on Jan. 23, 2023. (Xinhua)

Two-thirds of Asians, and a similar percentage of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about being a victim of gun violence, significantly higher than the 43 percent average of Californians of all races, according to the report.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Asian residents in the U.S. state of California were much more worried about becoming victims of gun violence and hate crimes compared to other racial and ethnic groups, a report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and AAPI Data said.

Two-thirds of Asians, and a similar percentage of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about being a victim of gun violence, significantly higher than the 43 percent average of Californians of all races, according to the report released on Tuesday.

By comparison, 49 percent of Hispanic respondents, 45 percent of Black respondents, and 30 percent of white respondents said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about becoming victims of gun violence, the report found.

The report cited results from the 2021 California Health Interview Survey, an annual UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) survey that interviewed more than 20,000 California households.

Within the Asians, people of Korean origin reported the highest level of fear of gun violence, with 70 percent saying they were very worried or somewhat worried about it. This was followed by 66 percent of people of Filipino and Chinese origin, and 62 percent of people of Vietnamese origin, according to the report.

Several factors likely contributed to Asians' higher level of fear of gun violence victimization, including reports of hate crimes and hate incidents against Asian residents during the pandemic, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data and a professor of public policy at UC Riverside.

One in four Asian Americans in California has ever experienced a hate crime or hate incident, with Southeast Asians reporting the highest levels of hate experiences at a rate of 44 percent, according to the report.

People attend a "Stop Asian Hate" candlelight vigil in a city park of Alhambra, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, March 20, 2021. (Xinhua)

Attitudes toward reporting hate crimes to law enforcement agencies varied among Asian groups. Only one third of Asian Americans expressed being "very comfortable" reporting hate crimes to law enforcement.

Confidence in the criminal legal system varied much more across factors such as nativity and English proficiency. Only 36 percent of U.S.-born Asian Americans agreed that justice would be served, statistically significantly lower than that of both naturalized Asian American citizens and Asian American non-citizens, the report showed.

The mass shootings in schools, movie theaters, and other public settings over the last several years may have also contributed to the heightened sense of fear, Ramakrishnan said.

Previous research done by AAPI Data showed that Asian Americans tended to be the strongest supporters of gun control, he added.

Ramakrishnan surmised that if the same survey were conducted today, an even higher proportion of Asians would report being worried about gun violence after the two recent mass shootings in the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park.

"Gun control is an Asian American issue, it has not gotten the recognition it deserves... Asian Americans need to be part of that conversation. It also means gun control advocacy organizations need to pay attention and invest in Asian American communities," Ramakrishnan was quoted as saying in a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.