It has been a busy first few months of 2023! I am so grateful to serve my new district full of amazing residents and plenty of challenging issues to work on. My team and I have been working very hard at the Capitol and in the community getting things done. I wanted to share three highlights from the past five months!
We passed my bill to officially designate January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day in Michigan!
During World War II, Fred Korematsu refused to comply with the executive order to report to a Japanese American incarceration camp and was arrested. The decision in Korematsu v. United States declared that his incarceration was justified, but in 1983 the U.S. District Court of Northern California overturned his conviction. In 1998, Fred Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Fred Korematsu exemplified the best qualities in Americans and continued to champion civil liberties and the Constitution. Governor Whitmer signed Senate Bill 18 into law last week!
We passed our bipartisan package to prevent sexual assault and protect survivors.
We’ve introduced this legislation several times since 2018 and am excited that these bills are on track to become law – finally! My bill, Senate Bill 66, would ensure that all students in grades 6 to 12 receive age-appropriate educational material about sexual assault and sexual harassment and helpful resources in the community. I worked directly with young women in my district to develop this policy which we know will make a big impact. Other bills in the package would ensure that mandatory reporters receive training materials, prohibit medical professionals from sexual misconduct under the guise of medical treatment, protect young survivors of sexual assault from expulsion from school, and much more.
We passed common sense gun violence prevention legislation.
Gun violence has taken far too many lives, whether it has been suicide, domestic violence, mass shootings or in our neighborhoods. It was truly an honor to chair the committee hearings regarding the content of the universal background checks, child access prevention, and extreme risk protection order bills. We heard heartbreaking stories from gun violence survivors and spent countless hours talking with stakeholders and finalizing the details of the policies that Governor Whitmer has now signed into law. When these bills go into effect, they will save the lives of many Michiganders and make our communities safer.
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month! The AAPI community in Michigan continues to grow in numbers and in impact. I'm hopeful that we can continue to address some of the many issues in the AAPI community, by combatting anti-Asian hate, ensuring that all students learn AAPI history in our schools, increasing language access in state government, protecting voting rights and much more. #AAPIHeritageMonth
Sincerely,
Stephanie Chang
State Senator, District 3
P.S. Here’s a link to my op-ed in the Detroit Free Press regarding the third anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the work that lies ahead. My children and their generation deserve a justice system that is more fair, just and equitable and we can’t stop working toward that future. |
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