SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's Asian American communities are on edge after an uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country, and state leaders are showing their support through statements of solidarity and a string of new legislation. 

Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, is working together with the Chinese community to condemn hate in San Francisco's Chinatown.

"The only way we can really stop it is to work as a community and stand up and say enough is enough. This is unacceptable," he said.

Ting said Chinatown is the heart of the city's Asian American community and a place where elders should be able to feel safe.

"We need to make sure that they can go about their daily lives and not feel like they can't take their morning walks, not feel like they can't shop for groceries, not feel like they can't go about their everyday errands without getting accosted or potentially getting killed," Ting added.

Recently in San Francisco, an 84-year-old Asian man lost his life after a deadly attack in the Assemblyman's district. In March, a 75-year-old Chinese woman received national attention when she fended off an attacker with a wooden paddle.

"There's so much emotion in our community right now. I think people are incredibly sad because they are just wondering what is going on? What is happening that we have deserved this type of animus?" Ting said.

The assembly man said hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community are nothing new but have been under-reported over the years. He is now urging his community to speak up if they experience or witness any anti-Asian hate.

"We're often told just deal with it, move on, go along your business. Now, we're actually sending a different message to our community — stop, take the time to report it," Ting explained.

He said the best way to report a hate crime is through Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit tracking discrimination incidents against Asian Americans. 

"This is a systemic, racial issue in our country. I think we've always known that to exist, but we haven't always had the data to prove it," he noted.

Over thirteen weeks, the organization reported 832 hate crimes in California. In response, San Francisco has launched a new public safety team to help protect the Asian American community.

"We're going to do everything possible, not just to rely on the police, but really to work as a community," Ting added.

He said he hopes that by shedding light on these racist attacks, the city will step up and come together to stop these anti-Asian hate crimes.