Assemblymember Lowenthal urges long-term research, cross-partisan cover to counter hate

Assemblymember Lowenthal, who joined the hearing mid-session, pressed panelists and colleagues to focus on the genesis of hate and to fund long-term, measurable pilot programs rather than only short-term responses.

"Are we collecting and synthesizing and regressing enough data to find the correlations?" Lowenthal asked, urging investment in 10‑, 15‑ and 20‑year studies and pilots that can be evaluated over time. He also called on colleagues to provide political cover for members across the aisle who support anti-hate measures.

Lowenthal emphasized that prevention cannot be only defensive and urged lawmakers to sponsor bills together across communities — what he characterized as practice in solidarity — so the state builds durable anti-hate infrastructure.