| 1 | | - | Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2019 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 60Introduced by Assembly Members Diep, Daly, Kalra, and Quirk-Silva(Principal coauthor: Senator Umberg)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chen, Chu, and McCarty)March 25, 2019Relative to Black April Memorial Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTACR 60, as amended, Diep. Black April Memorial Month.This measure would proclaim the month of April 2019 as Black April Memorial Month.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, April 30, 2019, marks the 44th year since the Fall of Saigon, on April 30, 1975, to communism; andWHEREAS, For many Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who were directly involved in the war and Vietnamese Americans who have settled in the United States, the Vietnam War was a tragedy full of great suffering and loss of American, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian lives; andWHEREAS, The combined United States and South Vietnamese fatalities among servicemen and women during the Vietnam War reached more than a half million, with approximately 800,000 additional troops being wounded in combat. Millions of Vietnamese civilians suffered casualties and death as a result of the extended conflict; andWHEREAS, After the Fall of Saigon, millions of Vietnamese and their families fled Vietnam to surrounding areas and the United States, including, but not limited to, former military personnel, government officials, and those who had worked for the United States during the war; andWHEREAS, In the late 1970s to mid-1980s, thousands of Vietnamese risked their lives by fleeing Vietnam aboard small wooden boats. These emigrants reached refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, while approximately one-half of the people fleeing Vietnam in search of freedom and democracy perished at sea; andWHEREAS, According to the United States Census for 2010, more than 580,000 Vietnamese live in California, with the largest concentration of Vietnamese residents found outside of Vietnam residing in the County of Orange; andWHEREAS, Human rights, religious freedom, democracy, and protection against threats of aggression are important concerns of Vietnamese Americans and Vnd democratic world. Californians should set aside moments of time every year on April 30 to give remembrance to the soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians who died during the Vietnam War in pursuit of freedom and democracy; andWHEREAS, Vietnamese American communities throughout California will commemorate April 30, 2019, as Black April, a day of remembrance and rededication to the principles of freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and Internet internet freedom; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That in recognition of the great tragedy and suffering and lives lost during the Vietnam War, the month of April 2019 shall be proclaimed Black April Memorial Month, a special time for Californians to remember the lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for a more humane and just life for the people of Vietnam; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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| 1 | + | CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20192020 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 60Introduced by Assembly Members Diep, Kalra, and Quirk-Silva(Principal coauthor: Senator Umberg)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chen, Chu, and McCarty)March 25, 2019 Relative to Black April Memorial Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTACR 60, as introduced, Diep. Black April Memorial Month.This measure would proclaim the month of April 2019 as Black April Memorial Month.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, April 30, 2019, marks the 44th year since the Fall of Saigon, on April 30, 1975, to communism; andWHEREAS, For many Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans who were directly involved in the war and Vietnamese Americans who have settled in the United States, the Vietnam War was a tragedy full of great suffering and loss of American, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian lives; andWHEREAS, The combined United States and South Vietnamese fatalities among servicemen and women during the Vietnam War reached more than a half million, with approximately 800,000 additional troops being wounded in combat. Millions of Vietnamese civilians suffered casualties and death as a result of the extended conflict; andWHEREAS, After the Fall of Saigon, millions of Vietnamese and their families fled Vietnam to surrounding areas and the United States, including, but not limited to, former military personnel, government officials, and those who had worked for the United States during the war; andWHEREAS, In the late 1970s to mid-1980s, thousands of Vietnamese risked their lives by fleeing Vietnam aboard small wooden boats. These emigrants reached refugee camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, while approximately one-half of the people fleeing Vietnam in search of freedom and democracy perished at sea; andWHEREAS, According to the United States Census for 2010, more than 580,000 Vietnamese live in California, with the largest concentration of Vietnamese residents found outside of Vietnam residing in the County of Orange; andWHEREAS, Human rights, religious freedom, democracy, and protection against threats of aggression are important concerns of Vietnamese Americans and Vietnamese communities worldwide stemming from human rights abuses that continue to occur in Vietnam in the following areas: child labor, human trafficking, religious and political persecution, suppression of the press, unlawful deprivation of life, forced disappearances, and land seizure, among others; andWHEREAS, The 2016 United States Department of States Report on Human Rights Practices in Vietnam estimates 94 political detainees are being held, and the International Labor Rights Forum reports that mistreatment has continued at reeducation centers, including forcing detainees to produce goods for private companies; andWHEREAS, We must teach our children and future generations important lessons from the Vietnam War and the continuing situation in Vietnam, including how the plight of the Vietnamese refugees following the end of the war serves as a powerful example of the values of freedom and democracy; andWHEREAS, We, the people of California, should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of human rights, individual freedom, sovereignty, and equal protection under the laws of a just and democratic world. Californians should set aside moments of time every year on April 30 to give remembrance to the soldiers, medical personnel, and civilians who died during the Vietnam War in pursuit of freedom and democracy; andWHEREAS, Vietnamese American communities throughout California will commemorate April 30, 2019, as Black April, a day of remembrance and rededication to the principles of freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and Internet freedom; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That in recognition of the great tragedy and suffering and lives lost during the Vietnam War, the month of April 2019 shall be proclaimed Black April Memorial Month, a special time for Californians to remember the lives lost during the Vietnam War era, and to hope for a more humane and just life for the people of Vietnam; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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