BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AJR 2
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 4, 2013

                             ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
                                Nancy Skinner, Chair
                  AJR 2 (Gatto, et al.) - As Amended:  April 1, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Armenian Genocide

           SUMMARY  :   Designates the week of April 18 to 24, 2013, as  
          "California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of  
          1915-1923," and calls upon the Congress and the President of the  
          United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for  
          the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide  
          Commemorative Project.  Specifically,  this resolution  makes the  
          following legislative findings:

          1)The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th  
            century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children lost  
            their lies at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. This  
            massacre constituted one of the most atrocious violations of  
            human rights in the history of the world.

          2)Unlike other governments and people that have admitted and  
            denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, the  
            Republic of Turkey has adamantly denied the occurrence of the  
            crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman Young Turk  
            rulers, which only compounds the grief of the few remaining  
            survivors and continues to cause pain to the descendants of  
            the victims.

          3)California is home to the largest Armenian-American population  
            in the United States and the Armenians living in this state  
            have enriched the lives of Californians through their  
            leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and  
            the arts.

          4)By remembering and condemning the atrocities committed against  
            the Armenians, and honoring the survivors, we guard against  
            repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American  
            public with a greater understanding of its heritage.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   









                                                                  AJR 2
                                                                  Page  2

           Support 
           
          None on file.

           Opposition 
           
          Turkish Peace and Justice Committee in California
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800