2012
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12-032
       
       
       BY SENATOR(S) Guzman, Carroll, Foster, Giron, Grantham, Harvey,
       Hodge, Hudak, Mitchell, Nicholson, Renfroe, Shaffer B., Aguilar,
       Bacon, Boyd, Brophy, Cadman, Heath, Jahn, Johnston, King S., Lambert,
       Lundberg, Morse, Neville, Newell, Roberts, Scheffel, Schwartz, Spence,
       Steadman, Tochtrop, White, Williams S.;
       also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Waller, Court, Duran, Ferrandino, Kagan,
       Levy, McNulty, Nikkel, Pace, Schafer S., Singer, Todd, Acree, Balmer,
       Becker, Beezley, Brown, Casso, Conti, Coram, DelGrosso, Fields,
       Fischer, Gerou, Hamner, Holbert, Hullinghorst, Jones, Joshi, Kefalas,
       Kerr A., Kerr J., Labuda, Lee, Liston, Looper, Massey, McCann,
       McKinley, Miklosi, Murray, Pabon, Peniston, Priola, Ramirez, Ryden,
       Scott, Solano, Sonnenberg, Soper, Stephens, Summers, Swalm,
       Swerdfeger, Szabo, Tyler, Vaad, Vigil, Williams A., Wilson, Young.
       
       
          CONCERNING THE DECLARATION OF APRIL 16 THROUGH
       22, 2012, AS "HOLOCAUST AWARENESS WEEK". 
       
       
          WHEREAS, Prejudice, bigotry, racism, and hate have been the cause
       of conflict, war, and mass atrocities throughout history; and
       
          WHEREAS, The Nazi regime was able to exploit severe economic
       hardships in the aftermath of World War I to foster prejudice, bigotry, and
       hatred toward a group that had historically been used as scapegoats
       throughout Europe, culminating in the attempt to exterminate the Jewish
       population in Europe known as the Holocaust; and
       
          WHEREAS, During the Holocaust, at least 11 million people were
       brutally murdered, including 6 million European Jews, along with other
       marginalized groups such as Soviet POWs, ethnic Poles, political and
       religious dissenters, intellectuals, homosexuals, children and adults with
       disabilities, and Gypsy Roma; and
       
          WHEREAS, It is imperative that we and future generations never
       forget the tragic lessons to be learned from the organized,
       government-sponsored mass killings of the Holocaust; and
       
          WHEREAS, These lessons of that era are becoming more difficult to
       teach as survivors continue to pass away and, consequently, first-hand
       accounts are becoming more scarce; and
       
          WHEREAS, It is also important to remember, honor, and emulate
       those righteous people who risked their lives to save thousands of
       innocent people during the Holocaust and to learn from their legacy of
       courage, selflessness, and hope; and
       
          WHEREAS, Many courageous people have been honored with the
       designation of "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, the
       Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, for their acts of
       bravery in saving lives of Jewish Europeans during the Holocaust,
       reminding us today of our personal obligations to stand up against
       prejudice and discrimination; and
       
          WHEREAS, In 1948, the United Nations Universal Declaration of
       Human Rights recognized that ". . . the inherent dignity and . . . the equal
       and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
       foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world"; and
       
          WHEREAS, The Declaration also states that "disregard and contempt
       for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the
       conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings
       shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want
       has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people"; and
       
          WHEREAS, Pursuant to the Declaration, "Member States have
       pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations,
       the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights
       and fundamental freedoms"; and
       
          WHEREAS, More than sixty-five years later, too many of the world's
       nations have not learned the lessons of the Holocaust, as demonstrated by
       continuing ethnic cleansing and mass killings in so many parts of the
       world such as Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, and today in the Sudan; and
       
          WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of families, educators, our many
       diverse faith communities and their leaders, humanitarians, public
       officials, and the media to understand and teach the lessons to be learned
       from the Holocaust as both a political and human tragedy; and
       
          WHEREAS, It is also imperative that all concerned citizens should
       raise awareness and take action regarding current and potential genocides
       and organized mass killing and extermination; now, therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly of
       the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
          (1)  That we, the members of the General Assembly, proclaim the
       week of April 16 through 22, 2012, as "Holocaust Awareness Week"; and
       
          (2)  That we declare that the people of the state of Colorado should
       use these days to teach and remember the great injustices and genocides
       in the past, and to commit to preventing such tragedies in the future.
       
                    Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to
       the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Allied Jewish Federation
       of Colorado, the Mountain States Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation
       League, the Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, the
       Colorado Agency for Jewish Education, the Holocaust Awareness
       Institute at the University of Denver's Center for Judaic Studies, and AJC
       Colorado.
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Brandon C. Shaffer                     Frank McNulty
       PRESIDENT OF                    SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES
       
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Cindi Markwell                        Marilyn Eddins
       SECRETARY OF                CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES