BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AJR 2
          Author:   Gatto (D)
          Amended:  4/1/13 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
          WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE


           SUBJECT  :    Armenian Genocide

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution 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.

           ANALYSIS  :    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 lives 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  
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             crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and 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  :    Fiscal Com.:  No



          JA:d  4/15/213   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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