BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SJR 21
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
SJR 21 (De León) - As Introduced: March 24, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 35-0
SUBJECT : Armenian Genocide.
SUMMARY : Designates the month of April 2014 as "California
Month of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923" and
calls upon the Congress and President of the United States to
act likewise. Specifically, this resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
1)During the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, 1.5 million men,
women, and children of Armenian descent lost their lives at
the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
2)The United States is on record as having officially recognized
the Armenian Genocide in the U.S. government's May 28, 1951,
written statement to the International Court of Justice
regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President
Ronald Reagan's April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by
Congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148
adopted on April 8, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247
adopted on September 10, 1984.
3)California is home to the largest Armenian-American population
in the United States, and Armenians living in California have
enriched our state through their leadership and contribution
in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts.
4)The State of California has been at the forefront of
encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human
rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to
prevent the recurrence of genocide.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
SJR 21
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None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800