PRINTER'S NO. 3723
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 554
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY R. MACKENZIE, BERNSTINE, KAUFFMAN, LEADBETER,
M. MACKENZIE, MARCELL, ROWE, SCHMITT AND SCIALABBA,
OCTOBER 7, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 7, 2024
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating November 7, 2024, as "Victims of Communism Memorial
2 Day" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, The year 2024 marks 33 years since the fall of the
4 Soviet Union; and
5 WHEREAS, Based on the philosophy of Karl Marx, communism has
6 proven incompatible with the ideals of liberty, prosperity and
7 dignity of human life and has given rise to such infamous
8 totalitarian dictators as Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi
9 Minh, Pol Pot, Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Castro brothers and the
10 Kim dynasty; and
11 WHEREAS, One-fifth of the world's population still live under
12 communist tyranny in countries like China, Venezuela and Cuba
13 where atrocities like genocide, food shortages, forced labor and
14 internment occur; and
15 WHEREAS, The Victims of Communism Museum opened on June 13,
16 2022, in Washington, DC, to educate visitors about the history
17 and horrors of communism; and
 1 WHEREAS, Communist regimes worldwide have killed more than
2 100 million people and subjected countless others to the worst
3 and widest-spread human rights abuses known to history, with
4 victims representing many different ethnicities, creeds and
5 backgrounds; and
6 WHEREAS, Through false promises of equality and liberation,
7 communist regimes have, as a matter of government policy, robbed
8 residents of the rights of freedom of religion, freedom of
9 speech and freedom of association, through coercion, brutality
10 and fear; and
11 WHEREAS, Many victims of communism were persecuted as
12 political prisoners for speaking out against these communist
13 regimes and others were killed in genocidal, state-sponsored
14 purges; and
15 WHEREAS, In addition to violating basic human rights,
16 communist regimes have suppressed freedom of conscience,
17 cultural life and self-determination movements in more than 40
18 nations; and
19 WHEREAS, The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in
20 Washington, DC, a nonprofit organization authorized by a
21 unanimous act of the Congress of the United States, educates
22 people about the ideology, history and legacy of communism and
23 honors those who have suffered and died under communist regimes;
24 therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
26 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania designate November 7, 2024, as
27 "Victims of Communism Memorial Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
28 further
29 RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
30 Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania transmit a
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1 copy of this resolution to the Victims of Communism Memorial
2 Foundation so that members of the organization may be apprised
3 of the Commonwealth's action on this matter; and be it further
4 RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
5 Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania post this
6 designation on the publicly accessible Internet website of the
7 House of Representatives.
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