SCR-29
Black April Memorial Month.(2015-2016)
CALIFORNIA
LEGISLATURE— 2015–2016 REGULAR SESSION
Relative
to Black April Memorial Month.
SENATE
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No.
29
LEGISLATIVE
COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Introduced
by Senator Nguyen
(Principal
coauthor: Assembly Member Travis Allen)
(Coauthors: Senators Bates, Huff,
Morrell, Nielsen, and Vidak)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chu,
Harper, Kim, Lackey, McCarty, and Wilk) |
March 10, 2015
Relative
to Black April Memorial Month.
LEGISLATIVE
COUNSEL'S
DIGEST
|
|
SCR 29, as introduced, Nguyen. Black April Memorial
Month.
This act would proclaim the month of April
2015 as Black April Memorial Month, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of
the fall of Saigon.
Fiscal
Committee: no
WHEREAS,
April 30, 2015, marks the 40th year since the Fall of Saigon on April 30,
1975, to communism; and
WHEREAS,
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 the loss of American,
Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian lives; and
WHEREAS,
The combined United States and South Vietnamese fatalities among servicemen
and women during the Vietnam War reached more than half a 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; and
WHEREAS,
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; and
WHEREAS,
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; and
WHEREAS,
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; and
WHEREAS,
Human rights, religious freedom, democracy, and protection against threats of
aggression are important concerns of Vietnamese Americans and the
Vietnamese communities
worldwide stemming from the human rights abuses that continue to occur in
Vietnam in the following areas, but are not limited to, child labor, human
trafficking, religious
and political persecution, suppression of the press, unlawful deprivation of
life, forced disappearances, and land restitution; and
WHEREAS,
The 2013 United States Department of State Report on Human Rights Practices in
Vietnam estimates more than 120 political detainees are being held, and
diplomatic sources
report there are approximately 4,000 prisoners incarcerated in four
reeducation centers; and
WHEREAS,
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 war serves as a powerful example of the values
of freedom and democracy; and
WHEREAS,
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; and
WHEREAS,
Vietnamese American communities throughout California will commemorate April
30, 2015, as Black April, a day of remembrance and rededication to the
principles of freedom,
including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of press, and
Internet freedom; now, therefore, be it
Resolved
by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring,
That in recognition of the great tragedy and suffering and lives lost during
the Vietnam War, the
month of April 2015 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 Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the
author for appropriate distribution.
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