Bill Text: NJ SJR139 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates November 7 of each year as "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" in NJ.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-06-20 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [SJR139 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-SJR139-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Designates November 7 of each year as "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" in NJ.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution designating November 7 of each year as "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" in New Jersey.
Whereas, On November 7, 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia overthrew the Provisional Government that had been put in place following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and instituted the world's first communist governing body; and
Whereas, Based on the economic philosophies of Karl Marx, communism has proven incompatible with and brutally suppressed the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such infamous totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro; and
Whereas, The start of communism as a governing political doctrine has led to immeasurable suffering and displacement of individuals through conquests, revolutions, civil wars, purges, wars by proxy, and other violent means; and
Whereas, Soviet communism spread instability and oppression throughout Europe for most of the 20th Century through false promises of equality and liberation; and
Whereas, Atrocities such as the Red Terror, mass famine, gulags, political persecution and exiles, and state violence against its citizens defined the U.S.S.R. before the fall of the Berlin Wall and eventual collapse of the Eastern Bloc; and
Whereas, The People's Republic of China instituted massive, country-wide programs that led to the deaths of tens of millions of people including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; and
Whereas, The Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, under the direction of Pol Pot, committed mass genocide through ethnic cleansing in the notorious Killing Fields of Cambodia; and
Whereas, The authoritarian government in Cuba, established by the Castro family, has repressed democratic values, placed severe restrictions on individual freedoms, and criminalized all forms of dissent; and
Whereas, North Korea has isolated its citizens from the world, and its policies have led to famine and crippling poverty across the country; and
Whereas, There are other countless victims of communism's oppressive rule throughout the world who were persecuted as political prisoners for speaking out against these regimes, and others who were killed in genocidal state-sponsored purges of undesirable groups; and
Whereas, It is appropriate and proper that we remember those who opposed or fell victim to these brutal regimes and sacrificed their lives; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. November 7 of each year is recognized as "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" in the State of New Jersey.
2. The Governor is respectfully requested to annually issue a proclamation recognizing "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" and to call upon public officials, private organizations, and all citizens of this State to observe this day each year with appropriate events and activities.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution designates November 7 of each year as "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" in New Jersey.
The rise of communism in the early 20th Century has directly led to some of the most undemocratic and inhuman political systems in modern history. The formation of communist governments has often resulted in grinding poverty, oppression, and unconscionable human rights abuses. Genocide in Cambodia, the Great Famine in China, and political censorship in the Soviet Union and North Korea are hallmarks of communist regimes.
This joint resolution honors the memory of victims of communism so that as time passes, these atrocities do not slip from our collective memory. It is only through diligence and somber reflection that Americans can learn the lessons of the past and strive towards a better future. There are still over one and a half billion people struggling under the yoke of communism who are living without basic freedoms and in fear for their lives.
The Governor is respectfully requested to annually issue a proclamation recognizing "Remembering Victims of Communism Day" and call upon public officials, private organizations, and all citizens of this State to observe this day each year with appropriate events and activities.
