California State Senate passes Bill 234, the "Genocide Awareness Act"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The California State Senate passed Senate Bill 234, the "Genocide Awareness Act," reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) told PanARMENIAN.Net The Assembly, an early proponent of the measure introduced by State Senator Mark Wyland (R), activated its ARAMAC grassroots network in California to encourage support and passage of the bill.



On April 29, the Senate Education Committee voted unanimously in favor of SB 234. During the public witness hearing, Armenian Genocide denier Bruce Fein and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) testified against treating the Armenian example and parallel cases in Cambodia and Darfur as genocide. In response to the opposition's testimony, State Senator Joe Simitian (D), a member of the Education Committee, expressed his disappointment, especially given the incontestable historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and asked, "Why is it that genocide happens over and over and over again?...It happens because we are unwilling to step back and confront man's inhumanity to man."



The truth of the Armenian Genocide, Simitian stated, "has long been settled." State Senator Christine Kehoe (D), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, moved the bill directly to the Senate floor for a vote, stating, "The continuing events in Darfur remind me of the words of philosopher George Santayana who wrote: 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' Those horrific events only serve to raise the importance of acknowledging and learning from past events like the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Making sure that Senate Bill 234 becomes law will help make sure that the Armenian Genocide is not forgotten for this and future generations."



"The Armenian Assembly applauds Senator Kehoe for promptly bringing this legislation to the floor for a vote," stated Yeghig Keshishian, the Assembly's Western Region Director. "The Assembly would also like to commend Senator Wyland for introducing this legislation and thereby once again placing California in the forefront of national politics as it pertains to human rights education and genocide prevention."



Upon successful passage in the California State Assembly, State Senator Wyland's "Genocide Awareness Act" would then be signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.



The bill requires the California Curriculum Commission to vote on the inclusion of an oral history component related to genocides as part of its high school curriculum, including the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. California pioneered new education standards by adopting the Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide, which includes the Armenian Genocide.